We caught up with the brilliant and insightful McKenna Ralston a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi McKenna, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

When it comes to acting, I think there are so many variables that go into the craft that have nothing to do with technique, on-set experience, or what you’ve read in an acting book. Working on yourself whether it be self-worth, physical health, or enjoying life outside of the craft, I believe they can all be helpful when fueling life into your work. Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances. If we’re solely focusing on “the craft” and nothing else in life, the work is less believable and less fun to watch in my perspective.

Training, however, is crucial. I have found my community at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio. I’ve been in the Masterclass for a couple of months, and have thoroughly enjoyed training with Ivana. Her advice is honest, simple, and straight to the point. I work best with her 12-step technique, and not only in return am I becoming a more well-rounded actor, but I’m learning a lot about myself as McKenna.

I think the biggest obstacle that has stood in my way in the career and life in general is believing in myself. There is beauty in always wanting to improve, but sadly in return, sometimes I feel like I’m not good enough. Reminding myself that growing as an actor and human is a process, and there is no such thing as perfection. I can thank my competitive gymnastics experience for my always wanting to land a perfect 10.0.

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 got into acting because of my passion for understanding humans, their minds, and behaviors. I got my Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Washington State University, and was on track to get my Master’s after I graduated. Acting was something I was always very curious about, but wasn’t around a lot of creatives. From a young age, I always had a plan of school, career, and providing for myself. I never considered a creative career to support myself. I decided to take a leap of faith, graduate, and study acting.

I’m most proud of derailing my career as a clinical psychologist and becoming an actor and still not regretting it. Acting can not only bring on a myriad of positive experiences and endless knowledge about the craft, but it can also bring forth a lot of downfalls mentally and financially. With that said, I am proud I have continued to absolutely love what I do, landed the best team of reps, and all of the projects I was blessed to work on that have gotten me to where I am now. I couldn’t have done it without the love and support of my friends and multiple phone calls to my mother.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

For folks not in a creative industry, specifically acting, it can be hard to understand why you’re not on the big screen, why you’re not on Broadway, and why you’re not signed with a big agency. There are so many steps to take to get to where we want to go, and most of the time, it’s out of our control. The best thing we can do as actors and artists alike is take advantage of what is in our control. Most of the time by doing that, we will make far bigger steps in our career if our mental, physical, and emotional well-being is taken care of.

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” – Robin Williams, Dead Poet’s Society

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Listen and support your loved ones in the arts
Go to your local theatre
Donate to theatre productions
Watch documentaries on the making of films/theatre productions (to get a fly on the wall perspective of what it takes to make a production happen)
Refrain from asking, “When are you going to get a real job?”
Refrain from asking, “What’s your backup plan?”

Remember, we all have our inner child in us. Our job as actors is to tap into our most vulnerable states, and a lot of the time it requires imagination like we used when we were younger. For non-creatives, your inner child still exists in you. We just rely on ours, and if you take the time to tap into yours, I think non-creatives will better empathize with actors.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mckennaralston

Image Credits
Stephanie Girard (Headshot) Laurent Hou (Red Carpet)