We recently connected with Jennifer So and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I knew from an early age that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally. It all started when I was gifted a Ballerina doll that actually moved and danced. I remember running down the stairs from my bedroom screaming, “I want to be a Ballerina! I want to be a Ballerina!” So, I began dance classes at the age of 3 1/2. Over the years what started with Ballet and Tap classes, led to Jazz classes. I even took Ballroom and Ballet in college. When I was six years old my mom and dad took me to my first ever musical, “The King and I”, at the Buell Theatre in Denver, Colorado. I sat in the front row, mesmerized by the actors on stage! This performance had Hayley Mills as Anna, and it was in that moment that I knew I wanted to perform on stage just like her. That sparked a lifelong passion for the arts, and I still love it today.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
This is such a great question! From the moment I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the arts I began to learn anything and everything that I could. After I saw, “The King and I”, I started performing in plays and musicals at my church and I started doing Drama Camps each summer through my elementary school. Once I aged out of that program, I returned as an intern and helped the teachers. I remained involved with Drama Camp for six summers, and I loved it! I love working with kids and youth. It was through those years that I formed my passion for the importance of arts education. My Gold Award in Girl Scouts was even arts focused. I worked with the pre-school program at my church and conducted a drama camp with pre-school children. I wrote the play, we made costumes, and the children performed for their families. It was beautiful!
When I went off to the University of Northern Colorado, I continued to pursue my passion for the arts. In 2010, I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Theatre Arts. Upon graduating, I started auditioning in and around Denver and began to perform in professional productions around Colorado.
In 2011, I went back to school to the Ohio Center for Broadcasting (now Colorado Media School) and received a Technical Degree in Radio and Television Broadcasting. I realized after college that it was tough to “make it as an actor”, and I needed more steady work. I kind of fell into broadcasting, but I’m so blessed and grateful that I did! I’ve been working in the industry for 13 years and counting! I love it! It’s given me a career, a paycheck, and it’s allowed me to work in a creative industry.
During the pandemic I found myself craving the arts. It was in 2021, that I started serving on the Board of Directors for Vintage Theatre and on the Artistic Board for Insight Colab Theatre (formally Theatre Esprit Asia). While my daily work schedule can make things difficult in terms of performing on stage, I do shows when I can. What I love about being involved with Theatre in this way, is that I’m able to still feed my inner passion for the arts. I believe that theatre can entertain, educate, heal, and be a safe space for everyone. With Vintage and Insight, I’m able to work alongside theatres that believe the same thing. I’m also very passionate about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and with Vintage Theatre I serve on their EDI sub-committee to continue to advocate for the voices of all people. Insight Colab Theatre was founded by pan Asian American artists and has been a creative space for an underrepresented demographic for years. Both theatres strive to spotlight inclusive, innovative, and inspiring works to illuminate our shared human experience. That’s what I love most. There’s something so rewarding with helping to foster and cultivate emerging artists. If this is one way I can help impact and change the world then my life is fulfilled.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Certainly! I’ve always been an empathic person; I feel emotions deeply and I wear my heart on my sleeve. Over the years, I’ve found support through essential oils to help support my emotions, through therapy, and through the support of my family and friends. I think it’s very important to be mindful of ourselves and what we need to survive in this world.
When I was in college, I began as an Acting major within the Theatre Arts program, but after one semester I was “cut from the program” because I didn’t “grow enough as an actor”. I was devastated and shattered, because my whole life I had this one dream to make it big and be an actor in Hollywood. In a blink of eye I felt like that was taken away from me. I felt lost and confused; I didn’t know what I wanted to do outside of acting professionally.
I probably should have switched to a different program at a different school, but I decided to stay at UNC and continue to audition to get back in to the acting program. I never made it back in, but I fought for the opportunity and I don’t regret that. It was definitely a learning experience and I did battle thoughts of being a failure or the thoughts of self doubt, but I truly feel like I persevered.
We are as successful as we think we are. Success is going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm. I may not have been cast in main stage productions and I may not have gotten the roles I wanted, but that theatre program was just a small chapter in the whole story of my life. I still continue to audition and I get cast in shows. I am still passionate for the arts and love any opportunity I can to share it with others. Regardless of what happened in the past, what I’ve learned has helped me see that we can still conquer our dreams even if the dream looks different than what we imagined.
Currently, I work for iHeartMedia’s Total Traffic and Weather Network as a Traffic Reporter and Producer. I broadcast the traffic reports to commuters during the morning and evening rush hours on various radio stations all around Colorado. In 2021, I was cast in an audio drama podcast called, “Foreward” (with an “E”), that chronicled one family’s story after the tragedy of a school shooting. This was an incredible experience, because as someone who lived through Columbine, I believe it’s important to have the conversations around gun safety and gun control. The podcast soared to the top 2.5% on Apple Podcasts and is available to stream on various platforms. Along with my work with Vintage Theatre and Insight Colab Theatre, I truly believe my journey of resilience has shaped who I am today. I know that this is just the beginning.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Cultivating a system where creative activity emerges can start anywhere. This ecosystem helps to cultivate creative thoughts, people, and distinct creative places. An ecosystem like this encourages the creative class to explore and participate so that it continues to thrive. As a society it’s important to be open minded and to welcome partnerships with everyone. We must push ourselves to expand our worldview. Anything is truly possible for anyone, and it’s important as a society that we continue to do the hard work through Equity, Diversity, Inclusion policies and practices. That means implementing those policies in our homes with our families, in the workplace at our jobs, and in any outlet that impacts our community. It’s through cultivating a thriving creative ecosystem that we can support other artists and creatives. It’s by creating a safe and welcoming space that reveals a blank canvas for an endless amount of possibilities. It starts with conversations and looking into local resources to help build and foster that ecosystem. For Colorado and our theatre community, it’s been through the resources of IDEA’s (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access) and through Rocky Mountain Artists’ Safely Alliance that community standards for theatre have been created to cultivate a thriving creative ecosystem. Now it just needs to spread to every other state and around the world so that everyone has an endless amount of opportunities to soar.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jso129
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenn.so129
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jso129
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jenniferso129
Image Credits
SAY MY NAME PHOTO CREDIT: Mon Ami Mindy Photography PHOTO IN HANGING CHAIR CREDIT: Whimsy Moments with Emily