We were lucky to catch up with Nikki Lyn Neurohr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nikki Lyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Oh, I try to make all of my work meaningful – time is precious, and I hate to waste it. Gosh, there’s so many paintings, films…I suppose the first thing is my feature film (Baggage Claim) which I wrote, produced, directed, and starred in – (yes, I am tired, haha). It’s a dark comedy about two siblings that haven’t seen nor spoken to each other in years but have to come together to drive across state to identify their mother’s body, and also identify the issues they have with each other as well as themselves – it’s a film that unapologetically wears its heart on its sleeve. It touches on topics of abandonment, addiction, depression, identity, and so much more – ugh, I just can’t wait to share it with you all! We are hitting the festival circuit soon as we are in the final stages of post (finally), so be on the lookout for exciting announcements and teasers!

This movie is so meaningful not just because it’s my first feature but also because of the journey its been just to get it made. I wrote the thing (with the assistance of my wonderful co-writer Rick Hansberry who is just a wealth of compassion and knowledge) after nearly losing my sister to addiction in 2019. It was meant to be a way of healing for me, I guess. I couldn’t control the narrative with her and my family, so I decided to create one where I could. While it’s somewhat of a personal project, it’s meant to reach audiences across the map (and I don’t just mean that geographically) – Baggage Claim is for everyone.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I do a lot of different things, to put it bluntly. Acting, directing, modeling, painting, writing – I do a lot. I technically got my start in acting and modeling back in Pittsburgh (where I am from). Then I took an internship at the Jerry Springer Show in Stamford which was my first real deal production experience – from there everything kind of just started snowballing. While in Stamford working my way up the ladder, I managed to get to NYC quite frequently for any background acting work I could get and just never stopped auditioning. I ended up going to freelance route after two years with NBC and have since worked production (in various departments) on music videos, staged productions, shorts, features – you name it! As for acting – I have several films slated to release this year that I’m beyond ecstatic for the world to see; I’ve been blessed to work alongside amazingly talented individuals and on some bad a** projects. Something I’m also really proud of that I do – I paint. I love to paint and I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. I get lost in the colors, from the mixing to the actual application to a canvas. It surprises me what can just come out of nothing; I love it. I’ve sold a few paintings which is neat and also have been featured in a few shows. I also take commissions!

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is having the ability to create your own world. No matter what form of art it is, the act of creation itself is just such a powerful one. There really is nothing like it. I love being able to have the freedom to completely change the trajectory of a characters arc, or to be able to take a painting from one level and transform it to the next simply with color or texture – it’s magic.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I like to think every day is a testament to my resilience. Honestly. No, but actually, there is one in particular that stands out.

When we were filming Baggage Claim, one of our last production days (which was slated to be an outside shoot) was rained out. On the fly I rewrote the scene (in literal red pen on the back of the original sides to be used) and we really just had to go for it, there was no time to panic. And so we did. Everyone was amazing, it all fell into place beautifully but holy cow was that a terrifying day. It’s always terrifying when everyone is looking to you for answers! Resilience is key!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nikkineurohr.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikneurohr/?hl=en
• Other: LITTLE PINWHEEL PRODUCTIONS INSTAGRAM:
  https://www.instagram.com/pinwheelproductions/?hl=en
  LITTLE PINWHEEL PRODUCTIONS WEBSITE:
  https://littlepinwheelproductions.com/?https://tinyurl.com/mb9xjwn3

Image Credits

JON TAYLOR
STEPHEN EMERICK