We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marcella Young. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marcella below.

Marcella, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

Not my first dollar earned, but my first cheque from ACTRA and I won’t forget that milestone. I had been auditioning for non union projects but when I saw a commercial posting with one of my special skills listed, I submitted myself unrepresented. I think it was that special skill that made all the difference.

It was a role that leveraged my background training in boxing. I was on hold for the role and didn’t get it in the end but I learned so much about myself and also the audition process. I worked so hard at preparing for that and got in the room on my own. The whole experience gave me some hope for what I could do in the future if I kept at it. I cashed the cheque digitally (it was for $50) so that I could keep it forever as a reminder.

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

I am a Canadian actress based in Toronto, Ontario. I grew up in the performing arts and my love of stories and acting led to a degree in literature and actor training at Second City and LB Acting Studios in Toronto. I believe in the power of storytelling and its ability to bring understanding, empathy and joy into the world.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

We need to value the arts and consider creative expression as necessary to our survival as human beings. I have heard before that the opposite of depression is self expression. Life is hard right now for almost everyone and it doesn’t appear to be getting any easier. At this point, we all need to find a way to express what we are carrying. For our own mental health, for our collective healing, to make change in the world. Creative expression helps us see and understand ourselves and each other better. It also helps us dream together by allowing us to create and share different realities that could be possible. We need to support the arts within our communities and support the artist within ourselves.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the act of acting is the greatest reward – being able to create and play. My inner child is running around in circles squealing when I’m on set. I love the whole experience and that I get to be with other people that are passionately hyperfocused on the creative process. I am so grateful every day that I’m on set, in a class or rehearsing – it’s all my happy place.

For a long time I didn’t support the artist in myself. I believed it would be impossible to be an actor and I didn’t pursue it even though I knew it was what I wanted to do the most. I saw it as a win or lose game with the odds against me. But when you love something that much, you need to pursue it for the sake of doing the thing. And gosh am I happier to be out here trying. I am still at the beginning of my film and TV career but already I have had so many opportunities to act that have brought me so much joy. If you love something, I think you should pursue it in the ways that you can. Make some space for it and that will be a reward in itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8196751/
• Instagram: @marcellabellacella

Image Credits
Darryl Schipper, Mondo Lulu