We were lucky to catch up with Samantha Belén Lester recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Samantha Belén thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

This is a difficult question to answer, and I want to handle it with the utmost care because being an artist is HARD. In my opinion, it is the hardest job one could possibly choose. It IS a job. Yet, we as a society, idolize the stereotype of “the starving artist”. Artists, whether they are actors, visual, writers, musicians, etc, are more often than not asked to create and perform for free or below any sort of living wage.

Am I happy as an artist? On some days, yes. On others, no, I’m not. The happiest days are the days when I’m in a creative flow, working on set, painting, or spending time with my loved ones. The rough days are the days that are jam packed with responsibilities for my day job. I haven’t openly admitted this before, but there have been so many days where I have pulled up to an appointment for my day job and CRIED because I didn’t want to go inside or CRIED because I didn’t have the time or the brain capacity at the end of the day to sit down and write, but I have to put food on the table. Weirdly enough, that pain has created a lot of great poems lol.

More and more I do find myself asking, ” What would it be like to have a regular salaried job?” Stability would be nice instead of the balancing act of a day job, making ends meet every month with what is supposed to be a side hustle, and actively creating doesn’t necessarily set me up to plan ahead. And that’s where I’m at in life: thinking and planning for a new stage. I would like to start a family in the next 5 years, and I would like to feel a bit more stable, so maybe I should think of getting a salaried job…THEN I remember that I am NOT made for a salaried job where I have to show up at the same office every single day from 9am to 5pm. So, I guess I will continue to pursue the life of an artist because the fulfillment that comes from creativity cannot be replicated.

As I’ve grown, I’ve come to realize that life happens in seasons. There is a season that is all day job, day job, day job, and there will soon be a season that is all art. The job of any artist is to hold on during the day job seasons and know that another time of creativity is just around the corner. Being angry with myself for not writing or acting one day will not serve me as an artist tomorrow, so the best that I can do is ride the waves and look for the special little moments in my day. Being a happy artist is about keeping that little fire of hope alive inside of me, getting creative with my finances, and recognizing my worth.

Samantha Belén, 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?

There was no hope for me from the very beginning of my life. I was going to be some sort of creative whether I liked it or not. I blame my mother. Instead of hiring a babysitter when she had play rehearsals, she took me. She and her cast mates watched me, well as much as they could, as I scooted around the auditorium. I also blame my father. He’s a doctor, and not in the creative world, but he instilled my love of the written word in me. With these influences, my imagination took off.

As an adult, I would describe myself as an actor, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. I moved to Los Angeles at age 17 to be an actor and have found some success in the world of independent film with my biggest credit being the lead in the found-footage horror film “Area 407”. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in English Literature and found the most joy in my screenwriting and playwriting classes.

Acting can be a very lonely and disheartening profession. Not only are you judged on your actual talent, but I would say that you are even more harshly judged by your looks. I struggled through all of my late teens and twenties with body image issues and had to learn to develop a rather thick skin. You can only hear the word “no” so many times before you feel like your head is going to explode. I think it’s all of those feelings that truly propelled me into the beginnings of my career as a poet and visual artist.

Tired of keeping all of my feelings in my journals, I wanted to give back. I came up with the idea of writing my poems on stickers and putting them out on the streets of Los Angeles. My hope was that maybe someone who stumbles on one of them would recognize a bit of their own struggles in my writing. So, I did just that and signed these poems under the name of Tru(th). I was floored at how much joy writing these poems about my own struggles with heartbreak, body image, dreams, pursuing a creative life, and my experiences brought me. AND THEN I was even more floored by how many people started reaching out on Instagram and reposting my poems on their pages. This little experiment eventually led me to a community of street artists, and the incredible artist Teachr reached out and offered to teach me how to make one of his screened paper stencils. I am forever grateful to him for teaching me how to make a stencil and leading me into the world of paint. From there I began painting walls with my words and the image of a heart. Another amazing artist, VyalOne, mentored me and taught me more about composition, light, and really pushed me to not only focus on the words but the experience I was creating with the entirety of the image.

One of my favorite heartbreak poems became the inspiration for my first short film as an actor, writer, and producer. My acting teacher and great friend, Tammy Minoff, pushed me to write and re-work the story in our acting class and eventually signed on as the director of our short film, Spell It Out in Neon. With the help of Tammy and our producing partner, David Fickas, at Drama 3/4, we made a modern day romcom that really champions women to love themselves. I am still in awe that we played at 27 film festivals around the world including the Palm Springs Shortfest, were nominated for 19 awards, won 9, and are available to watch on Omeleto! Spell It Out in Neon is the piece of work that I am the most proud of and has brought me the most fulfillment in my career so far. I am forever grateful that I got out of my own way and began taking my career in my own hands.

Looking to the future, I started a newsletter and small production company called Stiff Upper Lip Productions with the aim of telling stories that really champion women and ask for nothing but complete vulnerability.

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

I want young women to feel empowered and seen by my work. I write very honestly about my own life, whether it’s through poetry, essay, or a screenplay, hoping that another young woman can relate and see herself.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The success of a creative is not linear. Yes, we do struggle with this, but constant nagging about quitting and getting a “real job” will not help. We are stubborn, just like you, we have similar life goals, but we have to find our own way to move forward and find success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://samanthabelen.substack.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthabelenlester/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slesteractress/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCkjAOgJJE