We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Liz Vassey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Liz below.
Liz, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
My first dollars were from doing dinner theater in Florida. Specifically “South Pacific” when I was 14. I did eight shows a week, my high school was very understanding about me leaving for matinees, and I felt like I’d made it. That was one of the most educational experiences of my life, and I’m forever grateful for it. I wish everyone involved in the arts started in theater; it’s an incomparable way to learn about teamwork and to learn that it is not, in fact, all about you. Plus, my God do I have stories. Dinner theater in Florida is a subculture with no peer. I absolutely loved it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Liz Vassey and I have been in the entertainment industry for roughly 147 years. Okay, maybe not. But I’ve been acting since I was 9 so sometimes it feels like it. I first became interested in theater when I was very young and I saw my sister in a play. For some reason I intrinsically knew it was what I was meant to do. I auditioned for the next show that same theater company was doing and ended up in “Oliver!” playing the lead role of Oliver. (They needed a girl to hit those high notes!) I remember being onstage singing “Where Is Love” and I was bitten. It’s all I wanted to do. It felt like home. I did theater for the next six years and then got on a soap opera (“All My Children”) at the age of 16. My mother, grandmother, and I moved to Manhattan from Florida and I was in heaven. I’ve been fortunate enough to work in the industry ever since. I started writing about 10 years ago while I was on CSI. They let me write an episode in my fifth season, and I felt like that 9 year old discovering theater for the first time: I was bitten once again. Since then I have sold eight pilots, a TV movie, and directed and produced a documentary (“The Human Race”) that got global distribution. The circus life (that’s what I call it anyway) is all I’ve ever known and all I ever wanted in a job. I am grateful to this day to get to be a part of it.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Hands down the most rewarding aspect is that I have fun with my work. There’s that saying that if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. Now, many parts of this business are incredibly frustrating. There are times we all feel like Sisyphus, pushing that rock up the hill only to have it roll right back down. But overall, my work life has been filled with joy and creativity and I can’t ask for more than that. Plus, I have met the most interesting people in my life through work. Including my husband! There is something inside creatives that’s just different. For people to know how much the odds are stacked against them, but still choose to do this? It takes a very specific type of person, and it’s been rewarding to know and work with them.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
If you stay in this business long enough you will get fired. Probably more than once. I was told that early on but I didn’t really believe it. I have since found out it’s absolutely true. This industry is, for the most part, based on subjective opinion, not objective fact. I have learned firsthand that you can feel like you’re doing your best work, but someone in charge might not feel it’s right for the project. I was let go from a show about ten years ago, along with several other people, after one producer wasn’t involved with the series anymore. I kept acting but, more to the point, I also pivoted. I started to write. I was frustrated by things I couldn’t control so I sat down at my laptop and created a show from scratch, with no one telling me what I could or couldn’t do. I ended up selling that show and that paycheck was the most fulfilling one I’d ever received. I also learned that I can land on my feet if I’m open to embracing change.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.vassey.54
- Twitter: @LizVassey