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

Mary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest risk I have ever taken was when I decided to move to Nashville, TN. I grew up in a very small town in Western New York called Wayland. We had two traffic lights and minimal food options. My graduating class was about 150 students. However, we had kids from about 5 different nearby towns attend our school to even reach that number. Our closest mall was about 45 minutes away and the nearest cities were an hour to an hour and a half away.

Once I graduated high school I moved to Buffalo, NY to attend college and play D3 soccer. Buffalo was the largest city to date that I had lived in. Not long after graduating from college, I realized I wanted to see what else was out there. Explore a bigger city, travel, and find new opportunities. Warmer weather would also be a plus. In 2015 I decided I wanted to move to Nashville. I didn’t have a lot of money saved or a job lined up. Renting a U-Haul alone would take a significant cut to my savings. After budgeting for the moving expenses, I had enough funds left over to last me about a month. Although that wasn’t much to go off of, I was young and had nothing tying me down. I figured if I didn’t take the jump then, I was never going to. If things didn’t work out I had family and friends that could bring me home. Luckily enough, it took exactly a month for me to land that full-time job in Nashville.

Fast forward a couple of years. I accidentally stumbled upon the acting and modeling scene here in town. Although it may come by surprise, I was a pretty shy kid growing up. I’ve always been personable but public speaking was never my strong suit. To my surprise, I wasn’t terrible at the whole acting and modeling thing and started to make a pretty decent career out of my side hustle. To this day moving to Nashville was the best decision I have ever made. I wouldn’t be where am I today without taking that leap of faith and risking it all. Sure the possibility of failure was scary but the result was so much more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.

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.

My name is Mary Booth and I am an actress, model, and stunt performer. I stumbled into acting completely by accident about 6 1/2 years ago but instantly fell in love with the craft. Diving into the acting world has allowed me to grow both on a personal and creative level by pushing me outside of my comfort zone. What I love most about what I do is that I’m constantly finding ways to challenge myself, learn, and grow in this creative space. Every opportunity and every role provides such a meaningful experience and new story to bring to life.

This January will mark my 2 year anniversary with my stunt team, Action Design Services. I could not be more thankful to be part of a team that is so supportive and constantly challenges me daily. Being able to train alongside such talented individuals day in and day out has truly been an amazing opportunity.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There are so many rewarding elements to doing what I do. One of the most rewarding aspects is having the opportunity to bring characters and stories to life. Acting allows you to escape into another world and explore a wide range of emotions, experiences, and perspectives. Getting to fully immerse yourself in a character is one of the best experiences alone.

Being able to dive into these characters and stories provides you with so many opportunities to learn new things you may not necessarily do otherwise. You’re constantly challenged to be pushed outside of your comfort zone allowing you to grow and better your craft regularly.

You also get to meet some pretty cool people along the way. Whether it be through a set cast, training, classes, or networking you get to build a relationship and bond with so many amazing people. My stunt team alone has become a family to me. I am truly blessed to be able to train and learn from such talented people day in and day out. To be surrounded by people who challenge your growth and development and support you every step of the way is the best reward of them all.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Being a stunt performer alone is as demanding, as it is exciting, as it is rewarding. I train regularly with my team to make sure I can perform a stunt safely and efficiently. However, training in the gym is also where we challenge ourselves and push ourselves to see what we are capable of. With that comes the possibility of injury.

For one of my first big fight scenes the choreography called for me to run up to an individual, jump off of their chest, and shoulder roll out. After multiple reps with one of my teammates, I had to transition to someone much taller. I ended up coming out of the jump a little higher than anticipated and came down on my shoulder wrong causing an injury to my collarbone. That led me to be in a sling and take it easy for a couple of months.

I switched up my diet and did everything I could to speed up my recovery and get back to business. I didn’t want to fall behind or miss a beat. Of course, with any injury, you try and push yourself to be ready as soon as possible. Although you may be physically ready when the time comes it doesn’t necessarily mean you are mentally ready. I was no stranger to this impediment. I was in my head and hesitant about attempting the stunt again. This mindset can lead to frustrations, disappointment, and setbacks hindering your confidence.

Did this keep me from training? No. Of my own accord, I made sure to attend all training sessions I was able to and partake when I could. For anything I could not participate in I watched and took mental note of the things I needed to work on. Being able to still attend our training sessions and be around my teammates made it easier to push myself harder to come back better than before. Having their support and staying connected with the team allowed me to stay focused on getting back to the task at hand.

The recovery process is always an important part of your growth. Although I had to take a step back it tested my determination, resilience, and mental strength. Regardless of the challenges faced, I was able to come back stronger and more confident in my abilities.
Every day is an opportunity to push myself further and test my limits. It’s insane to look back since day one and see how far I’ve come and the things I’ve accomplished thus far. I still have so much to learn and achieve but I’m just getting started!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boothy24
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/Gy57QjHHtnYosGKg/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marybooth24?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Other: https://www.stuntnashville.com

Image Credits

Joshua Black Wilkins