We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jerome Allen-Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jerome below.
Alright, Jerome thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I come from a low-income background, where most of my life, I lived with only my mother and sister. In that environment, the one thing I strived to utilize was my drive to change circumstances. This translated into dedicating my life to public service and passionately, to acting and theatre. I found solace in stage and purpose on working in the community through the Ronald McDonald House and the Red Cross. Now at 29, I don’t think I would be able to imagine I would be where I am, when I was 16. Back then, being able to perform gave me a glimpse of hope of seeing a world outside of small-town Greenville, North Carolina. My biggest role as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, where we sold out three shows in a 800 person theatre. I don’t think I understand how seminal this would be towards the rest of my life. In college, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I worked on 22 productions, on-and-off the stage. All the while, finding a new passion in education, I taught in middle school and high schools on different topics. This symbiotic relationship between art and service was also reflected within my work in Peace Corps: Ukraine, where myself and another volunteer launched the first nation-wide theatre camp for Ukrainian teenagers. Following my time there, I earned my Masters in Acting at the New School and now, live in NYC, working as a full-time actor and theatre administrator. Being a creative and earning a decent living is hard work, but I believe that the decisions we make a long the way will land us where we are supposed to be. Investing each choice and dollar into a tangible goal was really helped steer me along the way. 5 year plans do not work for everyone, but intention can work. I journaled constantly about wanting to have the life I have and pushing myself to want more, to continue to be hungry. Persistence and a “sixth sense”, that there is more is what drives me today.
Jerome, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an Actor, Theatre Producer, Graphic Designer, Writer, and dedicated traveler.
I got into the industry, proper, through 1.) booking my first off-broadway show during graduate school (M.F.A. in Acting) and earning a prestigious spot in the 2050 Theatre Administrative Fellowship at New York Theater Workshop. During my time at the fellowship, I was able to learn the waves of persistent auditioning and gain hard skills that would help secure work for myself. Outside of that, I also worked retail at a Fitness Studio and tried my hand serving/catering (I wasn’t cut out for the latter). At the Workshop, I established my skills in Graphic Design, Theatre Communications/Copy, Advertisement, and general community consensus building.
I am most proud of successfully completing this fellowship and now, earning a living as a freelance theatre administrator between two producing groups, where I have now led ad campaigns and increased ticket sales for the shows I’ve worked on. I am proud that I can say I know how to launch a show and who to talk to. I am proud to be in the community.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Within the context of the American Theater, there needs to be more resources dedicated to keeping the arts alive and thriving. If we look at the European model of funding for theatre, it is easier to prompt up new, experimental, and weird shows that push the boundaries of performance and become lightening rods for how we view performance. The American Model is based off of scarcity and deficit, unfortunately, and I believe this has created competition between theatres for a race to the bottom. The bottom being the celebritification (celebrity-fication) of the American Theatre, where ticket sales are only driven by movie stars and ticket sales are the only things that keep Theatre alive. I recognize that including well-known artists is not inherently wrong, but it does squeeze out the ability for new artists thrive and reinforces the scarcity model in roles AND funding, whether through grant funding or establishing a robust donor base. All things that are not easy for the independent theatre producer.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
To work with people better than me and learn from them. I do not strive to be the best, but I strive to work with the best. Community is at the basis of my love for theatre and acting. Where I felt left out in high school, I found refuge in the weird and discomfort of theatre, where self-expression was the currency. I have never lost that and continue to work that way. Obviously, we all want to work towards awards and recognition which begets work with the greats, but it can be a slippery slope.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jeromeallensmith.com/
- Instagram: jerome.allensmith
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerome-allen-smith-54751a96/
Image Credits
Photography by Nathaniel Johnston Photography