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

Kristen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

A few weeks ago, I was able to gather a cast of talented actors into two recording booths, one in LA and one in NYC. They each were presented with a microphone, a set of headphones, and an iPad on a stand that was opened to a 200 page script. Getting them to that point had taken me nearly four years.

Back in 2019 I wrote, produced, and directed a 10 episode season of a fiction comedy podcast called Brimstone Valley Mall. It’s an irreverent love letter to 90’s mall culture. It’s quick witted and surprisingly heartfelt. It’s got about 10,000 wiener jokes. It was also the most difficult artistic project I’d ever worked on. While making this show I went from an actor with an idea, to a producer, fundraiser, line director, audio editor, show runner, production assistant, social media marketer, and wore just about every other industry hat you can think of. Then immediately upon releasing the first season, the pandemic turned the world on its head, and our second season was put on the back burner.

Bringing this project back to the forefront and finishing the story has felt like a Sisyphean task, and by the time I was standing the studio with the actors, who returned to finish the show after four years, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to be there anymore.

Until the first “action.” The moment I saw these actors, all of whom were my friends and colleagues, jump back into their old roles with joy and abandon, it all clicked into place for me too. One of our cast members put it best. “You know how hard it is to book work, much less work you care about or even like. Brimstone Valley Mall was some of the most self-restorative work I’ve gotten to do in a long time. I got to play. I got to do what I was good at. It’s a gift when a project like this comes along.”

In a career that is seemingly so individualistic and self-focused, I was reminded that the best part of being a creator is the people you create with. Asking others bring their talent and skills to the table to make something together. It’s why I did my first play when I was 11 years old, and it’s why I’ll continue making art for the rest of my life.

Kristen, 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’m an actor, voice actor, writer, and all around creator. I was told at a young age, as many millennials were, that I could be whatever I wanted when I grew up. Turns out, I wanted to be all kinds of things. After getting bit by the theater bug at 11 years old, I found that the best way to be all of those things was to go into the arts. I could play doctors, kings, and killers (even a teapot once). I loved the feeling of being part of a cast, the way we leaned on each other to make the story come to life. And most of all I loved the variety. I loved that my day-to-day, though often hard, would never be boring.

I’ve been making stories come to life ever since. Now you can find my work all over the internet. I’ve narrated over 30 titles with Penguin Random House. I’ve voiced characters in video games, commercials, and educational material. I’ve toured the country performing on stage, I’ve sung with full orchestras and bands, I’ve written and produced a full season of fiction comedy podcast, and I’ve even gone viral on social media a few times. It’s pretty clear that my need to always be working on something creative is compulsive at this point, and I’m excited to see where it takes me.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think one of the hardest parts about being a creator these days is the lack of community. We’re more connected than ever by social media, but it’s somehow harder than ever to find your creative troupe. America is experiencing a loneliness epidemic, and the arts are no exception to that. We see creativity as content to be consumed, instead of a way to connect with other people. The best way we can support artists is allocate funding to programs that create space for creators. That allows us a reprieve from the hustle and grind of an extremely competitive field and allow those talents the space to come out and collaborate.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

A large portion of my social media presence is catered to the LGBTQIA+ community. When I realized I was queer as a teenager, I thought it would always be something I had to hide in order to have an acting career. I was prepared to have a separate, secret life from my public facing persona. I would have never imagined that the circumstances would be so different. Now, I’m not only proudly and publicly out, I’m making content by and for the queer community.

So my advice for anyone just starting to build your presence is to be authentic. Don’t try and cast a wide net, hoping that everyone will like you. Instead focus on creating what you want in a genuine way, and your audience will find you. Because trust me, there is an audience for it, whatever it is.

Contact Info:

• Website: kristendimercurio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kdimerc/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kdimerc
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kdimerc