Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shainu Bala. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
SHAINU, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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.
In a nutshell I realized that the hardest part of learning this craft is constantly telling yourself you’re not as good as you think you are and trying to get better. I think lot of people move out here to LA. Take a class get a agent book one costar and they think they’re good enough to not keep training, but the reality is the levels of this craft or far beyond what you first think you need to know and the only way to get there is to humble yourself And work on yourself this craft exposes all your blind spots on who you are and if you’re willing to humble yourself, you will build introspection and learn to understand who you are on a deeper and profound level because only when you truly understand who you are, will you actually be able To be Vulnerable enough to portray, genuine performances. Without fully loving yourself and loving all the things you hate about yourself you will not progress in this art form.
SHAINU, 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?
My name is Shainu Bala. I am in working actor and writer based in Los Angeles and Toronto. I started acting when I was 14. I booked roles because I was somewhat talented and after working on my craft learning all different types of performance arts and discovering who I am on the inside I was able to book work and move up the latter of this industry. I studied at the least Strasberg institute for method, acting, and comedy improv at all the Improv schools and a member of various theater companies. currently I am auditioning for a lot of big projects, But only because it was a constant moving from agent to agent manager to Manager. I have made strides in my art, and once you have made it far through your artistic journey, it starts to click, and when it starts to click, you realize that training is the utmost importance when it comes to keeping your skills sharp in your art, As I sharpen my skills, I noticed those around me or falling behind in the craft, not able to see what I could see, giving myself an edge and my performances, looking more three dimensional authentic vulnerable. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I was once that actor who thought he was the best until I was humbled and went back to training I grew, and I started to notice that I was competing with the cream of the crop actors for rules it’s not easy to get there if I had known this earlier, I probably would’ve saved a lot of time figuring it out
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I started acting at the age of 14 right when I turned 14 my mom passed away two months before I turned 14 and my mom was a big supporter of me pursuing the arts even though it was taboo or frowned upon and in my culture in my family, but my mom was a big supporter and she helped me get into a arts high school And from there after my mom passed away, I got an agent and as I pursue this acting that I realize life is short and it brought me to LA and I think when it brought me to LA I really I knew that this was my passion that I would never give up in my entire life so With the pressures of back home and all the things I wanted to run away from it kept me out in LA and it made me not take no for an answer. I couldn’t go back home. I had to stay. I had to make another and as I started to grind and hustle, I started to see career Out in LA it was going back-and-forth from home in LA that I found closure in these areas and help me grow into a better actor and a better navigator of this business . Not A day goes by where I don’t think about my mom she is my absolute inspiration, and I know she’s always been there every step of the way watching my back my guardian angel, and because of her, I will never give up no matter what gets thrown my way no matter what tears me down there’s no stepping back from this, this is my light and this is my heartand I will give it to the day I die
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I believe the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is your perspective on life I think often time we miss the beauty and the art and everything. There’s a flow that a lot of people are unaware of because they’re so consumed by their day-to-day thoughts that it clouds them you know, they spend too much time on their phone and bring some anxiety, and they struggle to manage their stresses, but I think appreciating the beauty and everything finding a purpose for everything for pain for happiness and understanding that it’s all part of who we are and loving those parts of ourselves. It brings more compassion into my life. It allows me to love everybody not hold judgment over anything , and understand things and people for what and who they truly are, and I appreciate this perspective keeps me from becoming more jaded
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Theshiningbeaconarts.com
- Instagram: @Shainubala
- Twitter: @Shainubala
