Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Paul Bouyear. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Paul, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I am very fortunate to be making a living as a musician and actor. Straight out of high school I was paid to go back to my alma mater and be a pit musician for the school musicals and as a theatre artist I was paid to be a stage manager at Long Beach Playhouse. As a musician I did tour and gig very consistently for over 5 years. I never really had weekends open to myself from having to keep dates months in advance. I also give music lessons during the week and early morning/afternoons on the weekends. I did work out of music studio for a few years but had to leave cause they didn’t pay nearly as much as having private lessons in students home but when I left the studio a lot of my students followed me for private lesson. As a professional actor I am always auditioning and aiming for principal roles but I do a lot of background work as well. Some of those days as background can consist of 15 hour days. Luckily since college I had teachers supporting me in my decision making by telling me if I am already being offered paying gigs in acting and music that I should take them now and drop out of junior college. As an actor I wish I would’ve been doing background work sooner. One of the first professional acting gigs I got was for a MTV micro series and after it wrapped I had a hard time finding an agent which made me turn more to the musician world but if I would’ve kept myself in the film world I think I would have landed an agent sooner. Today though I still balance both, recently booking commercials and being cast in an AEA production of Million Dollar Quartet while also playing one off shows with a variety of bands.
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 always knew I wanted to be an entertainer. I started off in the music world by playing guitar for my grade school parish Saint Anne’s. I continued music into high school in addition to falling in love with theatre and began auditioning and performing in the school plays. I’ve taken Acting classes from South Coast Repertory, Craig Colvin commercial acting class, Mel Mack’s Signature course, and Erica S Bream “Oh Sh!t” course and all have helped me advance into my acting career. As a musician I’ve just been playing by ear and constantly gigging for half of my life and that has been the best teacher, but I have taken guitar and bass lessons from master musicians like Danny B Harvey and Djordje Stijepovic.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As actor I’ve been passed on and told I need acting classes multiple time but it makes it that much sweeter when you book a role. You have to let no’s bounce off you and keep working on your craft.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I have had the honor of teaching young actors and musicians who end up continuing into high school and that is soul warming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm4466596/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
- Instagram: @lightninboltkid
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-bouyear-8721028a?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: @lightninboltkid
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lightninboltkid?si=JddVeZ2ajxfoWBYl
Image Credits
Phototherapy by Paul Michael Cooper