We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leah Harper a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Leah, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Are you happy as an artist or creative? The short answer, yes, very happy. I could not imagine my life not being able to create and tell stories. I love being in the arts so much because my job is to make people feel. To make them stop whatever they’re doing in the day, whatever stress or frustration they are going through and just stop and focus on what’s happening in front of them and feel happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, fear, whatever that scene is for them. If I can do that for one person, I feel as if I have done my job for them. The story is also very important in the character. To have the opportunity to tell someone else’s story, and have the audience be able to look at a different perspective, and feel a different perspective is so important for society. I love having the opportunity to be a window for the audience to look at someone else’s life.
Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a regular job? Yeah, I definitely think about it sometimes. But I know for myself I’m not supposed to have a normal 9-to-5 job. For my personality type I think I might go a little crazy. There’s nothing wrong with having a 9 to 5, at all, but for me, I don’t think I could do it. It sounds very interesting to be able to have a time you know you’re going to work and a time you know you’re going to end work. With acting, you are almost always working. You’re always studying, you always have a script to get through, you always have auditions, you can always do more. But, that’s where it’s really important to remember to live life as well, and not just work all the time. If you work all the time, and never get out to the world, you will forget what acting is all about and that’s life.
Managing time can be difficult. You are your own boss and you can decide how much you want to work, although I do have three agents two in the Midwest, and one in LA and I always reply to them, but we are more of a team then a boss employee relationship, so it would be interesting to be “off the clock”, but my personality does not fit that lifestyle.
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 am an actress, model, and voiceover actor. My daily routine normally starts off with a workout, my skin care routine, auditions that generally are about five hours a day, script reading, and studying, which means a normal day of work normally starts at 7:30 AM till 11 PM. If I end up booking a gig, which means I have to go to set and shoot, my workday can go from anywhere from two hours to 18 hours. One thing I have definitely learned with this career is that you must be flexible.
I got into the acting world by passing Houde school of acting on one of my walks when I was a teenager. I went into the school, introduced myself and met the owner. I would like to say that I felt this awakening moment, that this was my time, and that I was supposed to do this, but that’s not what happened. I actually walked out of that school and didn’t come back to acting for another 2 1/2 years. It was actually the Covid-19 shut down they gave me the time to really think about what I wanted to do with my life, and then I remember the acting school. My husband and I discussed it, and decided that I should go for it. We had a lot of freedom at the time, so we decided to take the risk and change our lives and I’m so glad we did. I ended up falling in love with acting, and the Meisner technique which is what is taught at the Houde school of acting. Meisner technique is all about believing in imaginary circumstances with true emotion, so it sounded safe enough to me. I ended up taking about 15 to 20 classes a week. I could not get enough of acting. I ended up signing with my first agent relatively soon after I started taking classes, and booked my very first gig for an Eat & Park commercial through my agent, The Talent Group. I was ecstatic! Ever since then things have been going great. I am a full-time actor represented by The Talent Group, Heyman Talent, and First Class Talent in LA, I book gigs regularly, and I’m always auditioning and studying. I love where my life is now, and I’m very happy with everything that I have done so far.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey? That is a very interesting question. I think it’s very important to tell people stories that may not have had a voice, or a safe place to speak up, and I think many people have a story to tell. So many individuals may feel alone, or may feel, trapped, or may feel isolated, and I definitely feel driven to help make those people heard by telling a story that may be just like theirs. I guess it boils down to I want to help people not feel so lonely and with my acting I think I can give them support in one of the most unifying ways.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative? Some thing that I think is so cool about being an actor is being able to feel so many emotions in a safe place. I think that is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. Because, sometimes there are characters that I get to bring to life that I would never think I’d be able to understand, and part of my job is to try and figure out why that person is the way they are. There are so many emotions you have to go through, and so many aspects of their life to bring you to this final human being, For me, it has made me be able to understand many people in my personal life, and in my work life much better. I love how being an actor has helped me personally become a more understanding and better human being.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealleahharper/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/leah.harper.395?eav=AfYp_3YHGHENR7o6Y1bdXBqmDh5PRYLGq36cgX25dHtD6II7peTdqzpYnkurkFagSHg&paipv=0
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/DvIC_1uXEnU https://youtu.be/F8h9tzAvnOU https://youtu.be/BrB45ZPeQBQ
- Other: IMDB Pro: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm13403577?ref_=hm_prof_photo Casting Networks: https://app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/45742496-f4b3-11eb-bcd5-49f3be28d1bc Actors Access: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/LeahHarper Backstage: https://www.backstage.com/u/leah-harper/
Image Credits
Shannon Ahlstrand – shannonahlstrandheadshots Ryan Koppelman – beyondthemovingpicturestudios The Story Is