We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Dietzel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lauren , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Honestly, the first time I knew I wanted to do theatre was the nano-second I knew it was a thing! Growing up, I’d watch all kinds of movies and dress up like the characters and recite their lines to my mom who would start laughing when her 7-year-old was attempting a Hermione Granger impression. I’d hear that laugh and knew I was doing something right. And unfortunately (fortunately?) I was hooked. It honestly baffled me that some people didn’t want to be actors- it seemed like the greatest job in the world! And it kind of is!
Lauren , 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 grew up in Pasadena, California and discovered my love for performing almost immediately. I first visited NYC when I was 13 and knew that one day I’d be living there pursuing my dreams. Since then my dreams have altered slightly- while I am in fact a working actor in NYC specializing in comedy and musical theatre, I am also an indie theatre producer. I work with small budget artists to put together shows in venues all over the city (and the world!) I love getting the chance to help other artists have their vision come to life- maybe that’s why I love new works so much. However that doesn’t mean I don’t love the classics- I’ve performed Shakespeare, Chekov, and Ibsen, and I’ve been in love with Golden Age musicals for as long as I can remember. But if anyone is interested in putting up A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, my contact info is at LaurenDietzel.com.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Everyone’s journey is totally different, as are everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s up to us as people to understand how we can recognize and use our strengths to help each other to create wonderful things. It’s also equally as important to acknowledge our weak spots and understand its ok to ask for help. Turns out, the people who truly want to support and work with you actually WANT to help you! I love being able to lend my strengths to a friend’s project- qualities I thought were just inherent personality traits- drive, organization, willingness to talk on a phone, etc- are actually quite useful when getting a one-person show to the Edinburgh Fringe festival!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
In all honesty, it’s being able to look at something and say, “I did that. I helped make that happen”. A genuine sense of accomplishment is so so rare in this industry and it feels incredible to see something come to fruition. An added bonus of that is just the outpouring of support you get for your hard work- whether it be flowers and “you were SO good”s from family and friends after a show, or listening in the corner of the lobby as strangers exit quoting jokes you wrote, even an instagram DM recognizing your accomplishment can mean the absolute world. (again, my contact info is at LaurenDietzel.com and as a Leo rising, I also appreciate a compliment.)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laurenddietzel.wixsite.com/mysite
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurendeetz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5fo1gEGmKuPWz1iBjyJMkg
Image Credits
Strongbox Theatre, 54 Below, Mckenna Poe, McKenna Poe, Lauren Dietzel, Lauren Dietzel, Drew Van Dyke