We were lucky to catch up with Kristen McCabe recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

It’s hard for me to pick just one risk that I’ve taken in my life, but two stand out.

The first was moving to Australia by myself. I never realized how much people underestimated me until I went, and found out people from my high school were amazed – “Kristen?? Kristen MCCABE went to Australia?!” There are plenty of things I’ve doubted myself for in life, but moving abroad was never one of them.

Somehow my desire to prove myself to everyone led to an inner doubt (aka, that people-pleasing monster so many of us deal with), that resulted in the exact opposite.

People told me they never thought I’d even get on the plane. But I did. And I fell in love with the country and lived there long enough to become a citizen, and am proud to still call Australia home. I stepped into the country knowing no one, with nothing but an au pair job lined up, and built a blossoming life for myself that I will always treasure.

While that risk crossed boundaries set by land and sea, one of my other biggest risks crossed my artistic boundaries.

I was born to be an actor. And while I am still charting my course for what roles that will take me to, I know there are big things in store for me. Balancing that with the practicalities of a day job in marketing is not an easy task. (Believe me when I say that the many sleepless nights are not an exaggeration!)

But I am always delighted and amazed at the ways my careers overlap.

When I lived in Australia, a large part of my job included event marketing, including planning and running conferences for the country’s top CMO’s. (Mcdonald’s, Uniliver, Kellogg’s, you name it, their CMO was likely a member of our organization).

As I spent time on set, I noticed what into the planning (and communications!) of planning a film shoot, and found myself mentally planning aspects of the shoot in my head.

They say as an actor, now more than ever, “Don’t wait for opportunities: Make your own.”

I started making my own by producing a film for the 48-Hour Film Project. (I figured hey, if it turns out to be terrible, I only had 48 hours to make it – the excuse is literally built into the project!)

As it turned out, the film was not a success, went on to be a finalist, and even win an award.

But that wasn’t the scariest part: I wanted more, but that more required me to really create my own work. As in, create the actual story and lines used in the script. Which was absolutely petrifying.

As an actor, I used to feel more confident saying the lines scripted for me than the words I myself would say between takes. Sure, someone can judge an actor’s delivery and performance, but they don’t get to judge the actual words you’re saying: Those were created by someone else.

Writing the script exposes such raw vulnerabilities. Not only are you exposing your creativity to critique, you’re asking other people to come on board with you, and spend their time and talents to bring it to life. It’s humbling. And, personally, I find it high-pressure.

But I did it.

Covid hit, and the only way to keep creating, and keep something positive in my own life, was to put pen to paper and actually write that script myself.

Thanks to the support of some wonderful filmmakers, we managed to make a 15 minute short film, never having more than two people in the room together. (They were long days, but it was Covid – at least no one had anything else to do!)

I’ve now written and produced two films that have earned 45 laurels, including nine Best Comedy wins, and eight Best Acting Awards for my work.

My third film, Inferior Decorating, is currently in post-production. (And the risks involved in that one are another article entirely!) ;)

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Despite my parent’s desires for me to have a stable life, I was born an actor. It is not something I can shake. I sometimes ponder how much easier my life would be if I could be content with just the 9 – 5 job, but it’s not in my heart.

In addition to marketing, I have a Master of Commerce in Marketing that I earned while living in Australia. (I needed a new visa to stay in the country. I love shopping. As it turns out, marketing was a great fit – who would’ve thought?) ;)

As it turns out, Australia granted me more than my master’s degree, it gifted me with a second profession I love.

Because here’s the thing: Acting and marketing? They’re all about people. It’s all about understanding human behavior, and what incites us to take action.

Why, in these crazy wonderful brains of ours, do we as human beings make the (not always rational) decisions that we do?

As an actor, I’m diving into my character, building out their backstory and an entire life that weaves back and forth with my own. Building a buyer’s persona as a marketer is pretty much the same thing. Character work adds an extra level to understanding people’s objectives.

The best acting and marketing both depend on authenticity. It’s funny what a buzzword it is in both industries. Sadly, for some businesses, it’s not more than a buzzword: People are too afraid to be authentic if it means turning away potential buyers.

(See – businesses and people, we all have the “please like me!” syndrome!).

For my personally, my authenticity comes down to kindness and embracing my love of being a girly-girl. This is another thing that businesses do not always embrace. It’s something I was quite surprised by in my career, but have learned the hard way.

Thankfully, I work for an amazing digital marketing agency that does actually embrace kindness, authenticity, and true care for others above all else. This is true for both clients and staff.

Whether it’s content marketing (one of my specialties – I will happily geek on out SEO any day), LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, or any other area of digital, there is a commitment to doing good work and delivering great results, while being authentic to yourself and caring for others.

I love attention to detail (hence the thousands of words I will write in this answer), and focusing on marketing that gets results.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to further women in the film industry.

Prior to producing, my experience had been a world where I was surrounded by actors, the majority of us females, fighting (fighting but supporting each other!) for a minority of female roles. I’m no mathematician, but the odds never felt in my favor with a 9:1 female-to-male ratio of auditionees, when not even 20% of the roles were female),

Suddenly, I was on the other side of the camera, surrounded by men. Directors, producers, writers, cinematographers…so many of these positions are dominated by men. Which has a direct effect on the stories that we see around us.

Looking at the top 100 films of 2022, according to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University –
– Only 33% of protagonists were women
– 80% of males had more male than female characters

And it’s not just telling more women’s stories – it’s how we portray women.

I once spoke on a podcast about being a “strong female lead.” So often, strength takes on a male characteristic. Aside from Barbie and Elle Woods, how many fierce females in film and television wear pink? I’m here to show that strength comes in many forms.

Remaining kind, and believing in the good in the world, when everything around you is saying otherwise? This is one of the deepest forms of strength we need to stop overlooking.

It’s a passion that continues to extend to my business career: Don’t discount me because I like pink, have a glitter pencil holder, and wear a bow in my hair.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love bringing people joy. Life is hard. (#biggestunderstatementever).

I appreciate hard-cutting dramatic films that leave people in tears. I love acting in these roles myself.

But laughter is one of the best gifts I can give people.

No matter how hard life gets, there is hope in laughter: It means we can keep smiling through the pain.

Whether it’s that hope and resilience that comes from finding that laughter, or the ability to escape from life’s latest heartache, my goal is to help people keep finding joy through the stories I tell and the roles I play.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kristenmccabe.org
• Instagram: @ausmericangirl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenmccabe/
• Twitter: @ausmericangirl
• Other: Digital Marketing Agency: www.commonmind.com

Image Credits
Jon Kline Jayson de Leon