We were lucky to catch up with Kamari Love recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kamari, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?

Signing with an agent can be one of the most daunting yet exciting parts of beginning your career. I remember taking my own modeling digitals and acting headshots several different times and submitting to every agency I could think of just hoping someone would choose me. I later realized how terrible my submission photos were because I just had no idea what to do! It wasn’t until 1 year into really grinding on my portfolio doing unpaid shoots and free brand deals, then learning how to properly take good photos before I finally secured my first LA & NY agent. It was truly one of the best days ever because securing a good agent for modeling and acting can be very hard. Not only do you need to be appealing and skilled enough for them to even want you, but they also need to have a vision for you that elevates your career and be good for you too. I learned that lesson even quicker. Just because you have a “top agency” doesn’t necessarily mean they are the right fit for you or that they’ll get you any real work. But I have learned that if you choose an agent who really sees you and values you as the talent your are, one that’s not trying to change you but grow you in your authentic state; those are the ones you can spend years with and can really change your career.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a southern girl who had dreams way too big to stay put! I had a vision early on in life about sharing important messages to the world through my art. Healing, life altering and inspiring messages. So, I came to LA to pursue exactly that, landing a career in acting & modeling where each piece of work I put out has the potential to evoke true feeling and emotions that can ultimately leave you changed. This is my absolute favorite part about my work. Alongside my creative endeavors, I have a passion for mental health and psychology which I am aiming to intertwine to specifically help people in the industry. I believe that actors are amongst some of many types of creators who almost require past traumas and ptsd to be great at their jobs. It requires real pain and places of darkness to sometimes elude some of the greatest characters we’ve ever seen on screen I.e. Heath Ledger, Robin Williams, Michael K. Williams, to name a few. What these artists had in common was uncanny talent on screen that required reaching to great depths of their past selves, or on the contrary; diverting these depths to create award winning performances. The problem was however, they didn’t have someone on the other end who could coach them in and out of character. It’s one thing to remember an experience to help evoke real emotion, but who’s there to help pull them back out of it? To remind them of what they overcame and where they currently stand? I intend to bridge that gap as a Neurolinguistic Programming practitioner; a therapeutic practice of implementing a set of principles and techniques aimed at enhancing self-awareness, increasing confidence, building communication skills, and motivating positive social action by way of rewiring the subconscious out of living in fear, through traumas, and other self-debilitating thoughts. To be a confidant in the industry that not only has a past of traumas myself to relate to them, but also someone who understands what it’s like to have to dig into your past in order to be great with your art in the present. How I change the narrative however is by providing tools for the actor to be able to consistently go back in and out of character without it negatively effecting their long term psyche. Someone who understands both sides of it. I believe this could help tremendously lower the suicide rate in the industry and then I hope to eventually work beyond that.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding part about being an artist would have to be being able to wake up and do what I want and create as I please. Being a creative is definitely one of the riskiest choices as a chosen profession as there’s virtually no real security in it. But although it comes with many uncertainties, the days where you do get to work or you are creating something out of passion makes you remember why you chose the risk and will continue choosing it. I’d say the other most rewarding part is getting to see your work out in the world or when friends and family get to see your work being published. They’re so proud and excited for you and it’s a real testament to the work you’ve been putting in. It really makes it all worth it!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think the hardest concept to grasp with being a creator is the rollercoaster of a life it comes with. That being in the physical and emotional sense. Luckily, I love to travel and am very much a busy body because my jobs will keep me on a plane every week, if not every other week and I’ll be gone for days at a time. I have to be prepared for my schedule to change at any moment and quite literally be prepared to fly cross country with 1 days notice. I personally love the spontaneity, however it makes it incredibly difficult to plan things in your personal life. The amount of times I’ve had family trips and vacations planned or even just tried to take a few days off gets changed or cancelled last minute because of a booking is too many to count. I’m luckily blessed with the best of friends and a very understanding and supportive family, but if you aren’t blessed with this type of circle it makes it incredibly hard to maintain a social life or to see the people love often. People tend to lack empathy with actors and models because it seems like everything we’re doing is so glamorous, when on the contrary it’s usually a very rugged, exhausting and frustrating experience. There are so many unseen details in the in between moments of making it as an artist, which undoubtedly plays a huge role on the emotional aspect of the roller coaster as well. You have to be so strong and resilient to even maintain a career as a creative and always be willing to risk it all on your craft. An anxiety and a sacrifice most non-creatives would have a hard time grasping.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/itskamarilove
• Other: TikTok: itskamarilove

Image Credits
@christophrcloud; @sarahmireyaphoto; @jonnymarlow; @meech213