We recently connected with Shamora Carter and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shamora , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Having a passion for artistry and theatre has made it crystal clear that this journey will be full of risks. To date, there is one specific time I took a risk that changed my life as well as my mindset. I was 20 years old working at Sprint selling cell phones. At the time, it was minimum wage + a ridiculously low paying commission plan. I was doing my best to make a buffet out of breadcrumbs. I sat through all of the training courses and immediately excelled once I made it out to the sales floor. Management was impressed and would remind me how great I was doing in the company, but I never felt like it was where I belonged. By this point, I had already fallen in love with writing and had a newfound passion for directing.

All of my free time was dedicated to writing, I was working on my first script for my first stage play, “Out of Time.” Once I finally finished it, I was so proud of myself. I would sit at work picturing the red curtains retracting and I’d visualize giving a speech about following your dreams as I thanked everyone for coming out to the sold out show. Suddenly, I realized what I was missing; time. If I wanted this dream to manifest, I had to make time for what was important to me. I did everything solo, I knew nothing about production, I just knew I loved it and that it felt meant to be, it came naturally.

I began plastering flyers around St. Lucie County to announce that I would be hosting auditions for a stage play that was coming to town. I held my breath audition day with sweaty palms, nervous that no one would show, but they did. I gathered a cast and we began rehearsing, everything was going better than I could imagine. That is, until things changed at Sprint. They needed me to work twice as much as I had agreed to, and since they felt I was an asset to the team, they figured it would be best for me. More money, but more time away from what I loved. I had a talk with my manager and explained why I wouldn’t be able to take on the extra responsibility, I even told him why I couldn’t. However, he gave me an ultimatum. I had to make a decision. I thought long and hard, tossing and turning. Could I afford to leave my job? How would I even fund the show with no income?

I finally decided, It was time to take a risk. I gave my two weeks notice and focused on my play full time. We did fundraisers, got sponsors, and God handled the rest. Months later there I was, watching those red curtains retract. Taking a bow, giving a speech about following your dreams right before thanking everyone in that sold out theatre for coming out to watch my first production. I know now that nothing worth it comes easy. It was definitely a risk worth taking.

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 am a 27 year old writer, songwriter, director, spoken word artist, event producer and mother. I have a passion for all things pertaining to the arts. I am the CEO of Shamora Carter Productions LLC (SCP) which is a platform for creatives to express themselves through their art. SCP hosts several events and productions which includes stage plays, films, talent showcases and open mics. I am most proud of the fact that Shamora Carter Productions is officially an LLC as of 4/20/2022, and that my hobbies have transformed into an additional source of income for my son and I. I would like any followers or fans to know that everything that I do is derived from love. I genuinely love creating, and I love to see others create and simply be in their creative element.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

All my life I was told to be careful. “Better safe than sorry.” This is a lesson I had to unlearn on my creative journey. Although in life it usually is much better to play it safe to avoid unwanted results, as I mentioned earlier, some risks are worth taking. Both entrepreneurship and being an up and coming director in the entertainment industry have one major factor in common; you have to stand out. There’s no room for playing it safe. Growing up I’ve always dreaded situations where I needed to wait on approval because I loathed rejection. It was a very hard wall to break down and it took years of building my confidence to be able to proudly take risks knowing that the fear of falling isn’t enough to keep me from flying. Now I understand that even if I fall, I can try again.

A specific instance was last January, I was reflecting on an artist showcase that I produced called Poetic Persuasion. It grew to be popular in my community in 2016. In January I couldn’t stop thinking about bringing the show back. The difference was, this time I had a child, and a much heavier load of responsibilities. I contemplated whether or not I should announce the return and if it would succeed after all the time that passed. I decided it was no longer better safe, I went through with the return of the show and it was hands down the best one! That experience taught me that I have to follow my gut as an artist. I have to take the leaps even when it looks like a far fall. Unlearning that lesson has been more beneficial than I would have ever imagined.

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

Yes. My one and only goal is to be able to live a comfortable life without feeling like I’m breaking my back to make ends meet. They say money can’t buy you happiness but if you’re able to make money by doing what makes you happy, I feel that you have succeeded in life. My goal is to be able to provide for my son and myself without needing to spend most of my waking hours working, or at least without working at a job I hate. I believe so many artists have tons of talent with no outlet and I want to be able to bridge the gap between talent & careers so every artist has a chance to be discovered and also make money for doing what they love. In a nutshell, my goal is for my platform to pay me, and open the door for other amazing artists to walk into life changing exposure opportunities for themselves as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: shamoracarterpro.com
• Instagram: @shamoracarterproductions
• Facebook: Shamora Carter Prductions

Image Credits
Jaharie Scarborough