We were lucky to catch up with Rayna Verdine recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rayna, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When it came to learning my variety of crafts, I was for some of them trained at an early of four years old through my church’s children’s arts academy until I aged out of the program and others I self-taught myself observing watching people how they do and practice it on my own. I wished I did have the more proper training and resources growing up but I was raised by a single mother who did her BEST and UPMOST everyday to take care of myself and her which inspired and led me to teach myself these different crafts. Even without those resources and tools, I still managed to learn everyday how to MASTER the craft to get to the level I am now that I consider myself a professional without society and world giving them title as professional. With all this knowledge and skills, the most essential one is CONFIDENCE, DETERMINATION, OPEN-MINDED, DRIVE AND SELF-MOTIVATION. The biggest obstacles I faced was going through trauma from my abusive father who was in and out of mine and my mom’s life and abusive towards us mentally, verbally and at time, physically and being sexually assaulted by someone who I thought was a friend to me. With all those obstacles, it did put me in a very dark, scary situation but it gave me the drive to keep going because I decided to quit after that, then I wasted a lot of time and wasted the time of the people who trained, motivated, groomed and saw so much in me.

Rayna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an only child to an amazing mother growing up in the city of Long Beach, CA. I was introduced to the arts when I was four years old through my church, first getting involved in singing then moving into theater, dance, banner and flag ministry & writer’s workshop. I grew up and was known through my family as “SUPERSTAR” always being the performing on both churches and school stages. I have auditioned numerous times to be on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon in which they companies wanted me but there was always a catch to pay this crazy amount of money to take courses and get an agent in order me to move forward into the industry. I wanted to take that chance and opportunity but I, myself and my mother decided I should focus more on school, learn how the industry really works so I probably prepared and to be sure I am ready for that.

Later in the years growing up, I was introduced to my other crafts ; filmmaking, creative directing and modeling.

I started doing more film work after graduating high school making small videos for fun and for myself and entering my freshmen year of college at LBCC working alongside friends creating a small student production company making sketch comedies, radio shows, mini series, music videos and short films. I was part of the team as an actor, one of the lead writers, producers, creative directors and and directors. After working with them for multiple projects and doing on-stage productions at the college, it drove me to write my own films and start my own small, independent film company that is being developed right now.

Now, I am an aspiring professional model (print, fashion and runway) walking in LAFW with The Model Experience (October 2022 and March 2023) and Lady MV (March 2023 and Swim Week 2023) for about four years with being published in THE BLACK MAGAZINE three times and I started an all female networking, business, mentoring and production company called LADIES FIRST NETWORK which launched in April of this year.

LADIES FIRST NETWORK is a exciting new female based company that I started inspired by working with some many different women and childhood and school friends with similar and different craft backgrounds to come together to not only just network ; build friendship / sisterhood, grow and build businesses, mentor and motivate each other, create and develop productions and projects, be in an empowering female community with positive, beautiful feminine energy and have fun. We already had two successful events in the last three months after launching and today we are still growing more and more to reaching our goal from being a local company being being known all over, NATIONALLY & INTERNATIONALLY. We want to be company for all women of different backgrounds, cultures and sexual orientation to feel comfortable, safe, encouraged and motivated to be who they are and that we stand with them.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Society has a type when it comes to artists and creative that it’s almost impossible for anyone to have a chance, opportunity and that one ‘yes’. They have been saying for years and years, decades that “the industry is changing” but where is the change? Where is the proof that society is changing? How is it gonna change?

Society needs to be more open minded and understanding that they’re very different, beautiful, talented people out there who all don’t look the same. We weren’t born in this world to all come out looking the same. We are all beautiful, unique, special, gifted and amazing. God makes no mistakes and society taking advantage of that. Give more chances, opportunities even resources to many artists and creative who don’t have it easy like others do. It’s sad and unfair seeing not many equally talented people, even more talented not get the same privilege and chance as the people with “society’s favorite look” does. It’s heartbreaking that artist would go out of their way to make and change themselves so society can accept them.

My advice is to NEVER CHANGE WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE BECAUSE SOCIETY SEES YOU DIFFERENTLY. Let them see you differently. Don’t follow their rules, make your own rules. Being different makes you stand out as an artist and a creative.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

There are many goals and missions I have driving and pushing me in my creative journey ; owning and running my own production companies, create many stories to share with the world on the silver screen, be an inspiring model for the younger generations, be awarded for my creative work as a filmmaker, director, screenwriter and actor and keep living my life to the fullest.

What drives and inspires me to keep going in this journey, truthfully, is my mother. Without her, none of this would be possible or happening. She inspired me to use my gift that God has given me to do many amazing things that would not only please and amaze HIM but for myself and the world. She’s my biggest support, my biggest cheerleader, my mentor, my manager, my best friend and simply the most amazing woman. Any time I tell her something new I am doing whether its with my company, LADIES FIRST NETWORK, doing a photoshoot or runway show, writing a new script, reconnecting with friends collaborating on projects, etc., she would always get super excited and happy that I’m doing these different things and at times she would want to be part of it with me. It makes me happy to have her as my support system and most of all, being there for me to see me shine and grow as creative and artist but most of all, as her daughter.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ladiesfirstnetwork.my.canva.site/raynaverdine
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjustrayna___/
• Other: https://ladiesfirstnetwork.my.canva.site https://www.instagram.com/ladiesfirstnetwork/ https://www.instagram.com/raynaverdine/?next=%2Fitsjustrayna___%2F https://ladiesfirstnetwork.my.canva.site/modelportfolio

Image Credits
Lauren Lightfoot (@iam_laurennicole) Emi Ford (@emianaford) Patrick Thompson (@patrickonthemoon)