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

Alright, Laurie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was the short film, “Found.” This film was so meaningful because it was my screenwriting and producing debut. It was also very meaningful because it is about motherhood, friendship, and empty nesting. I wrote this film while going through many of the challenges and experiences of motherhood and empty-nesting, so it is very relatable and it served as a catharsis for me.

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

I was a stay-at-home mom of three girls who are all now young adults. When they were very young, I looked ahead to when they would be in school and I wanted to set myself up to have other things to focus on because I was worried about what my life would look like when they were in school all day. At that time, I started a business that I could do while being home with them. I started a promotional marketing business, Arrt Promotions.

As the girls grew up, they took acting classes for many years. At one point, one of them submitted for a national commercial which turned into a family commercial After doing a couple of family commercials, I realized I was interested in pursuing an acting career on my own. At that time, I started taking classes and working in television, commercials, and film. I maintained my business while pursuing acting. Between the two endeavors, I was able to have a great balance between being a mom, working, and having a creative outlet.

In both cases of starting a business and starting an acting career, I took leaps of faith and leaps of bravery, I envisioned my goals and I dove in head first. The same was true when I wrote and produced my first film.

I always take long walks on the trails by home. Moving through nature was a way to sort out my feelings, find peace, and get inspired. During these walks, I developed the story of my film. After a couple of years of writing, I was ready to take a leap into filmmaking. Creating the film about motherhood and empty-nesting helped me cope with the life changes and journey of motherhood by being able to tell my story, which is the story of many moms. It gave me the chance to create and to make a dream come true.

The journeys of starting a business, acting, and filmmaking all required me to get uncomfortable, venture into the unknown and trust the universe.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

In both my business and my acting/filmmaking, my personal goals came from a need to reinvent myself. Generally, I was driven by the need to be fulfilled creatively and socially, to always be challenged, and to reach for higher achievements.

As a stay-at-home mom, I wanted to find a way to have a career while being home with my kids. Back then, there were no options to work remotely, so I needed to create my own situation. My goal was to earn money, keep my brain working and keep one foot in the business world while being home with my girls.

Related to acting, I initially started to fulfill a need to be creative. Eventually, acting evolved into more than just a creative endeavor. I love that there is always so much to learn. I am always in classes and training. I am so grateful that the acting world has given me a supportive community of people who are not only colleagues in the business but also friends.

My goal in writing and producing my film was to tell some of the journeys of motherhood and share the challenges I was experiencing as an empty nester. It was so rewarding and fulfilling. Aside from telling the story itself, I really just wanted to make my own material. I still can’t believe I made a movie!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the imposter syndrome story. Imposter syndrome is having self doubt, thinking you’re not qualified and underestimating yourself.

In the cases of starting my business, acting and filmmaking, I literally dove in head first – a sort of “fake it till you make” strategy. Along the way I always had the voice in my head doubting myself. I always had the fear that people would find out that I was just figuring things out and learning as I moved along.

Now that I have experience and more education, I have fewer imposter syndrome issues, but it still pops up. Having a supportive family and community as well as tangible successes, help validate me and remind me that I can do anything I set my mind to!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.LaurieTieman.com. and https://www.ArrtPromotions.com
• Instagram: @LaurieTieman_actor | @found_thr-movie
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurie.dubintieman