We recently connected with Karen Cecilia and have shared our conversation below.

Karen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I am greatly fulfilled when I am able to do any of the creative work I do. Although, I do have a regular “day job” that aligns with some of my creative skills. I found that while some people begrudge having a day job because they feel it takes time away from doing their creative work, for me, it is the balance that I need. It also keeps my foot in another aspect of a bigger world and in that, it gives me a perspective that I can use to my benefit while doing my creative work. I came to this conclusion after being in the position of begrudging one of my day jobs years ago. But looking back, it was the thing that motivated me to pursue my creative endeavors even more because I realized I did not want to have a life where I solely did a job that I was not fully passionate about.

Karen, 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 a writer, producer and a performer. I grew up as a dancer (ballet and theater dancing) and went to the theater regularly. I saw the emotional impact it had on people and that’s where I found my love for storytelling. Even though spent most of my early life as a performer, when I started writing everything seemed to click in. Then when I started getting serious about my career, I saw the roles for women were lacking in depth and truthfulness. I began to write roles for women from their point of view with more complexity, shying away from cliches. Now, I’ve been writing for decades. Artists are always exploring and reinventing themselves. So when everything shut down, I thought this was the opportunity to use all my experience and create a new venture because artists were struggling to figure out where and how to continue their passions. So, I started hosting and producing events and from that success, the door has opened for even more opportunities. Now I’m producing, teaching workshops, sometimes I direct and also play music. I look forward to where my artistic future will bring me.

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?

The arts are a challenging career path and I hope that non-creatives understand that someone who is pursuing their art is taking big risks, whether it be financial instability, emotional vulnerability, or opening themselves up for rejection and judgement. I struggled for a long time whether I was going to pursue writing as a career because of all these factors. I could not even call myself a writer for many years even though I was consistently writing because of those fears. I hope that non-creative consider these aspects when they judge whether art is good or bad in their eyes.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started writing, I wrote stories that I thought would “sell”. That lead me to inauthentic writing. Writing that had no purpose, no integrity, and certainly no voice. Over time as I grew in my craft, I learned to put into story what I felt needed to be said, whether is was going to be sellable or mainstream was not a factor anymore. Now, I realize that some of my work will capture a larger audiences and some of it will not and I am satisfied with both outcomes.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.karencecilia.com
• Instagram: karen.cecilia6
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/hk349zpQ760
• Other: @thecalltheatre.brooklyn on instagram