We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Cigan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

It was 2015 after recently graduating college and quitting my job in the public health field. I’ve always had a passion for acting ever since I was a child. It was the first job I remember wanting to do when I understood what a “job” was. “Sarah, what do you want to be when you grow up?” My response was always an excited, “an actress!” My career interests changed over the years (like wanting to be an event coordinator or an investigative journalist after watching the film Good Night, and Good Luck) but acting was always something I loved to do. I remained active in theater during elementary and high school, took youth acting classes and a summer program at the Goodman Theatre. I thought about majoring in theatre when I entered college, but I convinced myself that it was too risky and getting a degree in something with more job stability was the better move. I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where I received my bachelor’s degree in community health with a focus in health education/promotion. I still took theatre/acting classes while in undergrad and participated in theatrical extra curricular activities on campus. After graduating and working in my field for a year, I felt unfulfilled and unhappy with what I was currently doing so I decided to quit. When I thought about making a change, the one thing that kept coming back into my mind was acting. It was the only steadfast activity that I’d been passionate about my entire life and that never felt like work. Even when I was behind the scenes doing crew work on a few occasions, the energy and excitement of what we were creating never made it feel like a boring job I dreaded doing. It was during this time in my life that I realized I needed to pursue my dream of being a working actor, risky or not, or I’d always regret it. I started focusing on more tv/film acting, broke into the industry and haven’t looked back since.

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’m an actor born and raised on the south side of Chicago and very proud of the city I come from. I’m very family oriented and have 3 young kids, one boy and two girls. I’m currently represented by Hayes Talent Agency and have credits that include Netflix, Hulu/Starz, BET+, Amazon Prime, Tubi, and numerous independent film projects. I started acting when I was 6 and grew up doing a lot of theatre work. When I first started pursing acting professionally, I decided to focus on tv/film. I wasn’t sure where to start, so I began taking on-camera classes at the Acting Studio Chicago. I was able to learn a ton, especially honing in on my “on camera” skills versus theatre acting (trust me, it’s different!). I networked with other students and teachers which opened up opportunities for jobs and building my experience. “No pay but you receive credit, copy, and a meal” is something pretty much every actor has heard at the beginning of their career and gladly agreed to.

I experienced my first real film set when I started doing extra/background work for the show Empire as well as the Chicago shows (Chicago PD and Chicago Fire at that time). I remember getting bumped up to “featured extra” one time and thought it was the most exciting thing ever. Then, I got chance to work as a stand-in a few times for one of the characters “Chicken” on the show which allowed me to get an even closer look at how film sets operate. I remember being in close quarters with Taraji P. Henson during a scene and studying her expertise. How she positioned herself and knew exactly how to move with multiple cameras while still performing the hell out of her character was like a free and rare masterclass that I was fortunate enough to have access to.

A little while after starting my journey, I was elated to sign with Hayes Talent Agency and have representation. I continued to train, audition, work on different projects to gain experience and network with other actors/producers/directors/writers/etc. It might be cliche but it’s the truth when people say, “your network is your net worth”. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with some amazingly talented people over the years, many of whom have helped me grow in this business. And, call me bias, but Chicago actors are DOPE as hell and don’t get enough credit/are often overlooked in the film/tv industry for talent coming from the LA market. It’s one of the reasons that I make it a point to be the best I can. Not only to be a great representation for myself and my family but also for my city and show that powerful leading actors aren’t only found on the west coast.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I would’ve understood utilizing your network and the power of creating your own opportunities opposed to waiting for someone to hand them to you. While social media wasn’t as much of a beast 10 years ago as it is today, there was still plenty of opportunity to make your own lane. I used to think that your only real shot at being a successful, working actor was to train, audition and hopefully land something or meet someone who could offer me my “big break” and change my future. What I’ve learned during this incredible journey is that sitting around waiting on an opportunity or a phone call or for some big network executive to notice you is like watching your dreams become stale and wither away. The beauty of our current online and streaming world is that there are no more gatekeepers. If you have an idea, you can self produce it. There are so many ways to raise money (or even find people who will help you for free) and phone cameras these days can shoot an entire feature length film like a pro. It’s something I often remind myself which is that there are no excuses! If you want to achieve your goals in a business as difficult as entertainment can be, YOU have to make it happen for yourself.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think a lot of people who aren’t on a creative journey and in this line of work don’t understand why we do it. Why the long hours, little to no pay, constant rejections, criticism, self-doubt and imposter syndrome, and many other frustrations are worth it. It’s honestly hard to explain, but for me I would say it’s the freedom that you feel when you do something that you’re passionate about. The camaraderie you share with other creatives while on set or during classes and having life experiences with other people who have a similar passion as you is priceless. Putting blood, sweat and tears into your art and seeing it finally come to fruition is the most fulfilling and rewarding experience (and it’s a nice bonus if people actually like your work). The best kind of high, no drugs involved. Simply put, we love what we do and won’t be deterred no matter the obstacles.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Sarahcigan