We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katricia Kariuki. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katricia below.

Katricia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

My training began when I was 5. I took LAMDA acting lessons along side regularly performing in stage productions. I always had a desire to perform and I was fortunate enough to have supportive parents who nurtured that.
I learnt a lot about acting through observing people and their mannerisms.
What I really found useful was going through tough experiences. I didn’t see it at the time, but it became a great tool when I got to university, as I learned useful techniques that helped me safely recall past emotions and bring them into the characters I am portraying.

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.

I was born and raised in Kenya. I trained there and moved to the states to further my education and and career.
A lot of what I do now is as a result of networking. By the grace of God I’ve been able to build a good team and am learning a lot about both the talent and business side of acting.
My vocal training is also coming in handy and my dream role would be something that incorporates speaking Swahili, and singing a cultural song or two in a project.
I’m also stained in stage combat, and so getting to do all there in one project would be an amazing personal achievement for me.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was 18, l messed up my knee at a sports game. I also had a very physical performance coming up and I didn’t know how l was going to get through it with my injury. I remember not sleeping well because I was in pain, and so I was groggy on top of everything. We were staging a performance of The Crave by Sara Kane that we directed ourselves. We used Bertolt Brecht as our practitioner and implemented his techniques in our play. We put emphasis on the theory of vertremdungseftekt which Is a tool that has many devices to disrupt the audience from merely watching the play, and get them to focus on the message being communicated instead. The goal is to make the audience think.
The production was a challenging yet fulfilling experience for me. I had to change and learn new choreography in some areas and tough it out in others. Not being a part of the production was not an option in my mind because I had worked so hard up until this point. The message we were communicating was about mental illnesses and the effects trauma has on the brain and how it slowly but surely kills people if its not addressed. I poured a lot of my own personal experiences into this production and I had to see it through.

It was challenging because not only was I physically exhausted and in pain, but I then had to draw on painful experiences to depict the character truthfully.
Despite all of this, I felt such a sense of accomplishment and pride in our work when we wrapped..
There have been a lot of difficult seasons l’ve had to navigate along side acting, but this project is top 3 in reminding myself that I can do really hard things, and do them well!|

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am driven by the goal of getting a good footing in the industry so that I can create more spaces for artists, especially artists like myself.
Being a young African artist has many pro’s, but there are also a lot more hoops I’ve needed to jump through and new systems I’ve had to get savvy to quickly.
I do however recognize that I am very privileged and that even getting to face and conquer these new challenges is a privilege. My goal is to be a good example to young artists, and help as many of them as I can along the way.
I want to take everything l’ve learned and bring diversity to the industry using the connections I am building.
Eventually, I want to open up a school back home in Kenya and bring industry professionals to educate African actors and writers on how to perfect their craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://imdb.me/Katriciakariuki?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaae8gJd2KC9LNiRfWlRrP-xuY7DYphCQz1aBk0gQL8oIpSYeHRX6I0zBbY_aem_D4G9aXoqJ6ySJfJLtaQeBQ
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__katricia__kariuki__?igsh=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katricia-kariuki?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app