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

Hi Molly, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I often say that my sister Maria and I won the “Parent Lottery”. My mom, Denice, and my dad, Shawn, are two of the most creative and supportive people I know. I can hardly recall a time when there wasn’t some kind of art project or VERY elaborate “doll-set” that wasn’t taking up precious space in the living room, landing of our stairs, or even our garage. They always encouraged us to create something that was uniquely ours rather than copy exactly what someone else was doing, and they always took interest in our art projects or school activities. They asked questions, They saw how proud we were of ourselves when we had a really great violin recital or when we brought home a new piece of art or painted pottery. And when Maria and I found a love for Musical Theatre in High School, they came to every show. Doing creative things made me PROUD of myself, and it was the first thing that I could take ownership of as a kid. I think they saw that pride in me and let me run with it. Creativity was the one thing that gave me confidence — I didn’t think I was pretty, I thought I was too shy, too quiet, not the top of the class but not the bottom either…just kind of in the middle. But my creativity was beautiful and it made me feel strong.

Molly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I do a lot of things. I am an actor, a singer, a fiddle player, a freelance graphic designer, and a Children’s book illustrator. So whenever I get asked “What do you do?”, I really just want to say, “I’m a Storyteller.” Because that is essentially what I do every day, no matter what medium I happen to be working with. I am lucky enough to be my own boss, which allows me the flexibility to audition whenever something comes up. For example, I am currently working on a Children’s book and was able to take a “break” from drawing today to go to a last minute commercial audition. Working for myself gives me the flexibility needed as an actor in a very demanding industry. But it also means I need to have the discipline to get my graphic design/illustration work done within the project dates when acting opportunities arise.
These days as an actor, I do mostly commercial work (WorkingNotWorking, Heinz, Petco) and musicals (this spring I did my DREAM show ‘Once’, playing Reza/Violin at Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre). But I am falling in love with on-camera work and hope to get into more TV/Film more in the coming year.
As an illustrator, I am working on a Children’s book called “A Beagle with a Bagel in a Borough” coming out in December this year! It is an adorable story about a beagle named Duke who finds a bagel on the streets of Astoria and in doing so, he learns all about New York City. It was written by my downstairs neighbor, Emily Hawkins, and I could not ask for a better collaborator (and neighbor…she is literally the sweetest human alive).
I am also doing concept art and character design for an animated series in development called “Captain Moriah’s Map of the World”. It is a dystopian-steampunk-adventure show with a lot of heart, and I can’t even put into words how much fun I have when I get to work on a new character or environment for this project. The Steampunk world is SO detailed and I love adding little things here like gears or electrical embellishments to make a new character or location really come alive.
And when I’m not doing all of THAT…I am creating a superhero TV series with one of my best friends and an awesome actor/director/writer/filmmaker, Teresa Catherine.
I got into all of this because I LOVE making things. I am a huge nerd and I love learning new skills and putting them into practice. Sure, I have a degree in acting and vocal performance, but I learned everything I know about graphic design on YouTube, I learned about Character Design and the world of animation from a Continuing Education class at the School of Visual Arts (NYC), and I learned how to be my own boss with a WHOLE lot of trial and error. I truly believe that if you keep learning new things, always stay curious, and learn from your mistakes, that the world will teach you what you need to know to succeed.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I feel like a lesson I am CONSTANTLY unlearning is the idea that success lies in the approval of others. As an actor, you are always relying on people to say YES for you to have a job. You are constantly relying on someone picking you, choosing you, wanting you. And it has taken me until THIS year to learn that the only person who needs to choose me, is me. I have to be my biggest fan and cheerleader, because if I don’t believe I could play the role, then casting sure as hell won’t either! I actually have a little felt pennant that I made that says “I’d cast ME!” hanging up on my wall so I can see it every time I do a self-tape or a Zoom audition. If I can go into an audition and leave that room (or Zoom room) proud of the work that I did, and if I can say “yeah, I’d cast me,” then I am successful. YOU determine your success. No one else does. The same goes for illustration. I had three portfolio reviews last year; two were overwhelmingly positive, and one was absolutely soul crushing. I remember crying for a whole day afterwards and making some very sad art as a little pitty party for myself. But through making that pitiful art I realized….art is subjective. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and just because this one person didn’t like my art….that’s ONE person. ONE. And I like my art, and I made that art because….I like making art. And isn’t the purpose of art to make things you like? Things that are uniquely you?! And some people are going to LOVE your art and want to buy it! And some other people will just pass it by and that’s okay. As long as you are making things that makes you happy and proud, that is success. YOU. DETERMINE. YOUR. SUCCESS.

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

I was lucky enough to be a part of three “Theatre for Young Audience” productions at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA that had performances specifically for deaf or hard of hearing audiences. For these shows, each character on-stage had a sign-interpreter “shadow” that followed the character around and became a living, breathing part of the production, signing that character’s dialogue and song lyrics. Instead of having one or two sign-interpreters off to the side of the stage, anyone could watch our show just like it was originally directed. We had a lot of extra rehearsals for these performances due to the cast nearly doubling with our sign-interpreting counterparts, but all that work was given back to us TENFOLD. At our first performance, when the opening musical number ended and the audience would usually start clapping, THIS audience held up their hands and waved at us with what I’ll describe as Jazz Hands or Bob Fosse hands — or applause in ASL. I was immediately overwhelmed with emotion. This whole audience full of people who were deaf or hard of hearing getting to experience theatre like the show was originally directed…it was so special. I will never, ever forget what it felt like to be a part of these sign-interpreted productions.

Contact Info:

• Website: ACTOR: www.mollycoyne.com, ILLUSTRATOR: www.mollycoyneillustration.com
• Instagram: @coynemolly, @mollycoyneillustration
• Other: Etsy shop for cute and whimsical fan art: www.etsy.com/shop/HeroesOfWhimsy

Image Credits
SubUrban Photography