Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lissette Nichols. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lissette, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I went to New Mexico State University: which is where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Acting. I took amazing classes such as Stage combat and Voice & Movement. I had the pleasure of working crew for all the wonderful plays that went on. My favorite was working the spot light for the ever famous Christmas Carol. I got to operate them from these cages above the crowd. I remember thinking it was a really cool experience. I can honestly say I wish I could go back to my college days and truly cherish the education I was given from all the wonderful classes that were offered. I, unfortunately took for granted my precious time in college and wish I could go back and take it as serious as I do now. After my third baby, I lived in Dallas, Tx which is a big commercial market. I found the amazing T-Bell Acting Studio and started training right away. I’ll admit, I was a little rusty 3 kids and 10 years after graduating. I knew if I didn’t give it my all, I would regret not fulfilling a childhood dream of mine. So I did everything I could to hone into my craft again and learn about the industry. I devoted all of my free time looking up anything I could find about starting an acting career. While in class I took every opportunity to learn everything and anything I could from my classmates; from local agencies to submission databases. A couple months into it, I booked my first commercial, as one of the principal roles, with very little “on-set” experience. Thankfully, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the most wonderful humans, who to this day, are still really important friends to me in this industry. That experience not only taught me that can I truly live out my dream, with hard work and determination, but that I truly love being on set watching the magic come to life as all the puzzle pieces work together to create the project.
Now, 4 years deep into the industry, 3 agents, and 1 pandemic later, I have found my groove; thanks to the wonderful coaches and experience I’ve had the pleasure to work with. Everyday I thrive to work at least 15 minutes on getting better, so I’m ready when those auditions come in; that’s 1% better everyday! I greet each audition with gratitude for the opportunity to work that “muscle.” I have the most amazing network of working actor friends that I talk to daily on Marco Polo; where we encourage and support each other in both the industry and in life. I try to “spoil” myself with a new training class I’ve never done before or a Casting Director Workshop when I have the finances; all the while striving for strong scene work weekly in Glenn Morshower’s Extra Mile Working Actor’s Workshop.
Everyday has been a gift and so far this has been a beautiful, yet very challenging journey… but I LOVE the challenge and couldn’t be more grateful to be apart of it! My favorite part about this journey, is that I have my 3 kids cheering me, and sometimes joining me on this fun ride!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m your friendly neighborhood half Dominican, half Panamanian 1st generation American…AKA Your Panaminican Cheerleader! I started off as a stage actor, took a bit of a mommy hiatus, then jumped right into commercial acting, and have expanded my credentials with theatrical work for film & television. I’m excited to celebrate the 2 films and 1 mini-series I was honored to be a part of, this year! I’m a lucky momma of 3 super cool kids that are my world. I’m a woman of faith and thank God daily for the blessings He pours into my life continually. I love to cheer people on, inspire others to live out their own greatness, and I love nothing more than to help people find their special God given talents and watch them flourish as they succeed in their passions. I currently offer a service, on my website @ lissettenichols.com to help brand new actors get started with their business; where I share “golden nuggets” that took me years to figure out on my own, through lots of thorough research. I am also certified in Mental Performance Mastery Coaching under the amazing Brian Cain and will be launching my own Mental Performance Mastery Coaching Program for all Actors at the beginning of this summer on zoom! For more information or to sign up, visit my website and email me through the contact page. I would be honored to help you level up in your career through the power of mindset. You live life once…so with hard work, determination, and perseverance…anything is possible!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I truly believe that there is so much power with our Mindset. I believe that Mindset can make or break your success in your dreams and passions. Since I could remember, I’ve always wanted to be an actress. As a child, anytime my mom busted out the camcorder (haha…I totally aged myself) I jumped in front of it and instantly wanted the spot light. Growing up, my family was very much into sports; as was I. I found myself wanting to pursue both, but as many of you know, these are two different worlds that require much of ones attention. So I didn’t really dive deep into acting until I was in college. Even then, I was conflicted with so many things I wanted to pursue and not give 100% to my craft; until my senior year of college. I felt more connected, grew a sense of confidence; I also FINALLY landed a lead role for the school musical. I was charged, excited, motivated…until I met with my acting professor about auditioning for the Masters program. I’ll never forget the icky feeling I had when he told me I wasn’t good enough and that I shouldn’t waste my time with auditioning. Unfortunately, this was not the first time something like this was said to me and I allowed it to put a long pause on this dream. Many years and maturity later, I knew if this was something I really wanted for myself, I had to make a choice! I could allow my professors words and others to label me “unqualified” for something I’ve always dreamt of doing; OR I could use it as fuel and motivation to work harder and smarter to live out what I love. I chose the fuel! This is MY dream that lives in my heart. This is MY path I get to live out. And while my professor may have had reason to say what he said to me that day in his office, I live everyday with the choice to never allow anyone to no longer take my powers, my dreams, and my passions. Mindset is everything! The choice is ours…
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect about living out my dreams is that I get to inspire others to live out there’s, as I share my journey through my Instagram account and speaking engagements. My favorite thing to do is to cheer them on and watch them live theirs out as well. I love celebrating people’s WINS!
Contact Info:
- Website: lissettenichols.com
- Instagram: lissettenicholsofficial
Image Credits
Arianne Martin Photography, Loomis Agency, Bryan’s Photograpy LLC