We recently connected with Kaitlyn Krieg and have shared our conversation below.

Kaitlyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I moved to NYC in 2008 with a dream to be on Broadway. With no support and only relying on myself, I gave up after only 5 auditions. I didn’t fight for it because it was easier to accept that I was not good enough at 20 years old. Family was more set on the idea of getting a full time job with health insurance. And I did. I have been doing that for the past 10 years, but I’m not a desk person. I did improv for a few years, but that fear from my 20 year old self came back full force and I quit. It took until my mid-30’s to realize that if I want to have the career I want, I have to take charge. I made a small web series in 2018 called “Kait & Nic” and learned that I love being on sets in any capacity. That my passion was to create, to film, to tell stories. If I could go back to that fresh face, 20 year old kid, I would have told her to believe in herself a little more and trust her gut. She’s talented, but she has to fight for it. She has to want it more!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Kaitlyn Krieg. I’m a 37 year old lesbian who is just starting their career and pursuing the industry.

I was a theater kid in high school and moved to the Big Apple to become the next Idina Menzel. It did not last long and after giving up, it would take another 10 years before I go involved with improv at the Magnet Theater. This was a pivotal change in my life. It introduced me to sketch and filming. As a theater kid, I thought I’d never be into being on camera or in film, but being apart of only two sketches changed that forever.

I quickly fell in love with the idea of web series, back in 2014-2015 when they were booming across YouTube. My first was called “Kait & Nic”, which was a show about two awkward, queer, best friends trying to date in New York City. This show was part of the ClexaCon Film Festival in 2018, which felt like a true honor for my small start in the industry on a project that only cost about $3000 to make. Because of this small show, I met a good friend who got me on as many sets as possible. I love being on sets.

With her, I created my first short film “Allein”. This was mostly a non verbal film to show what a day in the life of being heart broken and battling depression truly felt like. It was accepted into the 2020 “Lift-Off Global Network Manchester” Film Festival.

I managed to also AD on a short film called “Velour” created by the incredible Miranda Manziano. This was the moment I realized that I was meant to be on sets in any capacity and it really changed the course of my dream drastically. I wanted to create and tell stories.

I am currently in the process of co-creating a new web series called “Upper Thirties” with my good friend, Jennifer Anderson. And so far, I would say that this has been my proudest accomplishment. We met doing improv and after writing a couple sketches to film, I asked if she would like make my sketch into a web series and we were off. This has been in development now for three years, but it’s because we’re both dedicated to making the best story possible. “Upper Thirties” is about two elder millennial friends who feel their lives starting to drift apart. It’s about the realities of female friendships as we grow older and start going on different paths. It’s a comedy. It’s ridiculous and I can’t wait to start to filming.

If there is only one thing you need to know, it is I’m a story teller. I love writing stories, currently on my first book, which is also new to me. Even though I have a full time job and a part time job, it’s film and creating stories that keep me sane and whole.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2014, I entered the work force as a full time salary employee with healthcare and benefits. After a few years of working at a bookstore and taking dance classes three times a week to working in visitor services at a popular museum in NYC, I had a desk job (still do). And I realized I’m not the desk job type. It’s not my passion. I work to live, not live to work. Obviously in 2025 this is a wonderful thing to have and I’m very lucky, but I felt like this new path was sucking the soul out of my life. So in order to find the joy, to find the thrill of theater again, I started doing improv and that helped feed my inner child, my creative side and because of doing improv, I have met some of the most creative people that have lead me into creating projects from the ground up. It’s my constant reminder that this is what I have to do now in order to survive, but when I get home I get to do the things I love. Work on the things I love. I still explore my passion and keep working towards the goal so I don’t ever have to sit behind a desk again.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I would have thought a little harder about how hard it is to make it. As a person who has battled with depression and anxiety for so long, it was hard for me to see anything good. It’s hard for me to talk about old projects because I wanted them to do better, to be better, to give me success. I also for a long time was so envious of celebrities because they made it. They did the thing and it took me so long to realize that the reason these people made it is because they put in the work. It took me so long to learn that you HAVE to put in the work. No one is going to do it for you and only you can make this happen. If you want it bad enough, you gotta work towards it. I wish someone would have told me that when I was 20 and moving to NYC, but at least 15 years later, I learned it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kaitlyn_krieg
• Twitter: @UpperThirties
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UpperThirties/videos

Image Credits

For the picture of me sitting on the steps in the green shirt and the image that says “Crown Heights” – the photo credit should be Janny Chiu 2024