Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laura May. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Laura, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

As a child, I always used story-telling as a form of escaping to my own world. I was the youngest child with an older brother who was in and out of the hospital a lot because of his epilepsy. So a lot of times, growing up, I found myself alone at home because if my dad was at work, my mother would have to be with my brother in school or taking him to a doctor’s appointment. In my household with my parents, my brother was the priority because of his condition. And while I understood that, and was also protective over my brother even thought he was older, I still felt alone. The only time I never felt alone was with my maternal grandparents- especially with my maternal grandmother. She and I had a bond that was inseparable. Whenever I had school holidays, I would rush to spend the whole holiday at my grandparents home. They saw me, my grandmother made me feel seen.

I was always acting and telling story from a very young age. I would make up scenarios in my head and then acting them out and play all the different characters for as long as I can remember. I loved performing as a kid, loved taking part in talent shows in school and being on stage. My dad was an entertainment, charismatic, a musician, a ballroom dancer, basically and all around entertainment. Definite got the performing bug gene from him.

I didn’t think about pursuing acting professional until I got to college. Up until college, it was just something I did for fun or to escape. It was my sophomore year in college when I felt the calling to move to L.A to be a part of the entertainment industry.

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

I moved to L.A for acting and on the process of making my own projects and working behind the scenes on movies and T.V shows, also felt in love directing and producing. About 5 years ago, I got tired of hearing how there weren’t enough women of color directors in Hollywood. I had felt that way too and one day it just hit me and I said “Laura stop waiting for somebody else to step in and you go be the thing you want and need.” Working on set in front of the camera, I had always been curious about directing. At first I felt I needed more under my belt to try directing for the first time. I was a bit nervous to just jump into it. “What if I do not what I’m doing?” Then when covid hit and every thing shut down and we all were in lock down, I was going crazy at the lack of creative outlets in my life. I needed to fill my creative void.

A few years prior to 2020 I had written a comedic scene for acting class and performed it with my scene partner. It got a lot of laughs. After that class I thought “I should shoot this as a scene.” I was going to initially get one of director friends to shoot it and I was just gonna act in it. However, after having that moment where I told myself to be the person/director I was searching for and being in lock down, I thought I should just direct it myself. My director friend also encouraged me to direct it since he knew I wanted to explore directing.

I gather my production team together, and in Feb of 2021, directed my very first short film. I also wrote, produced and starred in the film. Directing gave me a different kind of adrenalin and I really enjoyed it. I have since written more scripts and am scheduled to direct 3 more projects within the next year. I am still pursuing acting actively as I will always be passionate about acting, Still trying to open doors and get my big break which I believe is going to happen soon. I’ve paid my dues, continue to hone in on my craft and am continuing to create so something has got to give right?

The entertainment industry is not for the faint of heart. The many rejections we have to get constantly, coming so close with call backs only to be told no. It’s a competitive industry and also timing and luck play a big part as well. At the end of the day, you have to believe in yourself more than anyone else, and keep at it and surround yourself with great support. No room for unsupportive friends who are insecure and do not know how to be happy for you, no room for friends who look at you like you are the competition. As soon as you sense those people around, let them go, cause who has the time?! We got dream to fulfill and trails to blaze!

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

We need to have more programs for creative people to one seen. We need more people to take chances on talented artists who haven’t been in a huge studio movie. It’s unfortunate but I’m surrounded by talented people who aren’t represented by managers or agents because agents and managers do not want to take on developing talent. They only want someone who already have experience , well it’s a catch 22 isn’t it? Someone gotta take a chance on us! You know how they have singing competitions, they don’t really have stuff like that for actors. It doesn’t even have to be a competition, but we need more showcase for more talents to be seen. We also need these showcase to accept diverse talent of all ethnicities, sexuality, sizes and background. Pick people based on talent not based on what you think they should look like. Our industry needs it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The amount of times I have been told no or the amount of times I have come close to booking stuff and then nothing is more than I can count. Too many tears have been shed. Sometimes feeling like maybe I need to quit. Every time I think about quitting, there is voice inside of me that whispers “No keep going.” Recently Ive started to challenge that voice because I’m like you keep telling me to keep going but how much longer?! I can’t seem to walk away because of that voice. Deep down, I truly believe it’s going to happen for me and this is what I’m meant to do. So as exhausting and frustrating and painful as it’s been, all I know is to keep going. It takes one person to see me and give me my big break and change my life. All I can do is trust that it’ll happen. It has to. In the meantime, all I can do is work on my craft, keep creating and allow myself to feel all my feelings but also remember to keep pushing and stay positive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/laurajulianemay
• Instagram: @laurajulianemay
• Twitter: @laurajulianemay
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/laura-may-293573461/laura-may-commercial-voice-over-reel
• Other: https://youtu.be/pbONJs1Zl88?si=TbpHX-dWV2–uZQ3

Image Credits

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