We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Logiudice a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Probably every project I do is the most meaningful, because I think I’m genetically wired to not be able to work on something that I’m not passionate about. So I’ll only take the time to create something or say yes to something if it’s in my heart.
What I’m working on now is comedy related to the misfit experience—feeling outside the box and like I never fit in. I grew up not looking like my family and feeling like an outsider. I most recently found out that I’m a sperm donor child. I’ve also dealt with many issues of identity as a queer person, both in terms of sexuality and gender. I feel like I’m constantly navigating shifting identities. I hope to create comedy shows and online content that can create spaces for other people who feel the same, so that they can heal as well.
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 did not come from a family of artists. I’m so jealous when I hear of people who had that experience.
Instead, I grew up in an Italian American neighborhood in Queens, New York. It was not exactly a place committed to the arts of New York City. It was very provincial. But when I decided I wanted to become an artist, I knew it was going to be performing arts. However, I had no idea what it would look like. I lived briefly in Oakland, California, and then in India. And when I came back, I was very clear about where I wanted my life to go. So I dove right in. I knew exactly one person in New York City and I went from there. My career has changed and shifted, but I’ve always gone with my heart.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
One technique I used to determine if I wanted to pivot was to look at someone who was five or 10 years down the line in a field or focus. I looked at their life and asked myself: Did I want to be like that? That was often the hammer, the big sign I used to know if I should pursue something or move on. I did this with commercials. I looked at all the nonunion actors who were 10 years ahead of me and saw how they did not live a sustainable life—I did not want to be that person.
Nonunion commercials do not pay enough; they do not pay a living wage. They keep you on a perpetual hamster wheel by taking all your time with auditions without compensating you appropriately in return. Once I made the calculation I joined the union and haven’t looked back.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being a comedian isn’t easy, but the fact that I get to choose what I do with my day, every single day, is very rewarding. I don’t think I was ever meant for an office job and do the same thing every day. The fact that I get to determine my fate in so many ways is very gratifying. I’m not relying on anyone else. I’m doing it myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laurenlogiudice.com
- Instagram: @laurenlogi
- Facebook: /laurenlogi
- Twitter: @laurenlogi
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaurenLoGiudice
