Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ric Reitz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ric, appreciate you joining us 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 didn’t always want to be an actor/writer, as it was a ‘one or the other’ type of proposition according to others. But once I really got into my career, I found both aspects of artistic expression helped me compete on a higher professional level much more quickly. In fact, it enabled me to actually make a full-time living early on, whereas writing and acting individually would have made survival much more difficult.

Ric, 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 got started in professional show business after graduating from Bowling Green State University (Ohio) in 1977, where I majored in Radio/TV/Film, with theater and marketing as minors. That Fall, I had the opportunity to audition for a repertory theater company, the Art Center Theatre in Rochester, New York (my hometown), on a bit of a lark, and I’ll be damned if they didn’t cast me. For the next two years I really learned the ropes and, because the company did live music reviews and educational pieces for young audiences, it turns out my ability to write really came in handy.

Following that stint, I began Summer Stock gigs and eventually moved to New York City. There, I got more experience acting and writing, which oddly brought me to Atlanta, Georgia. To make ends meet, my writing took front and center for several years at WSB-TV, WSB-AM Radio, “Good Morning, America,” and The Weather Channel. Happily, I was still able to work acting gigs on the side, starting with a comedy troupe, Comedia, then local theaters, television, and the exploding Southern film industry.

Well, one thing lead to another, and by 1986 I went freelance with my writing in order to support my more serious acting habit. To date, I have acted in over 150 TV shows, movies, and plays, in addition to writing children’s books, stage shows, television shows, and films.

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

The most rewarding part of being an artist is that I constantly get to feed my creative juices. I can’t seem to get enough. When people ask what I like to do in my spare time, it’s acting, writing, plus studying acting and writing. Frankly, moving from project to project in quick succession also keeps my life active and never dull. From a personal aspect, this is important, because I have a short attention span. Considering that I’m happily working in my 48th professional year, I’d say it worked.

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

There was a point in my writing career, when I was writing music education videos for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), and I recognized that there was not enough fresh material for young audiences. So, I adapted a children’s musical book that I had written, “The Journey of Sir Douglas Fir,” for the stage and a live orchestra. It worked. So, the ASO asked me to write a family holiday show as a followup, entitled “Second Chance Christmas.” It, too, was successful, but when I pitched it for television, a producer with a local public broadcasting station told me no one was interested in watching orchestras in any form on TV. I was crushed. Twenty years later, that very Christmas story has been retooled as a movie with a new title, “The Holiday Rule,” and it has made the finals of an international screenwriting competition, wherein it’s getting a lot of interest.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ricreitz.com
• Instagram: ricreitz
• Facebook: Ric Reitz

Image Credits

Headshot credit – Bjoern Kommerell
“Will Trent” photo credit (boardroom) – Staff/ABC
“Florida Wild” photo credit (stagecoach) – Staff/Florida Wild Productions
“Law & Order” photo credit (with microphones ) – Will Hart/NBC
“The Wonder Years” photo credit (standing alone) – Staff/ABC