We were lucky to catch up with Shannon Beshears recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I knew I wanted to pursue a career in a creative/artistic way since I was very young. However, being from a small town in Illinois, I was surrounded by people who told me my dreams were impossible and even delusional. Quick cut to me being nominated for an Emmy this year for my stunt work on Stranger Things Season 4. I took so many chances on myself through investing endless hours into my dream and saving up the money I had working at JCPenny’s to train in Chicago at dance summer camps. I took a chance by training to be a professional dancer despite all of the noise surrounding me telling me it was impossible. Being a professional dancer is what lead me into stunts, a career I didn’t know existed. When I go back home and I explain what I do and I say “I am a stuntwoman” people still say, I didn’t know women did that, I’ve only heard of stuntmen? It’s a beautiful reflection on exactly how far I’ve come to succeed in an industry I didn’t even know was available to me. Journeying into the “wilderness” as Berné Brown calls it, and doing something no one you know has done, involves a lot of risk taking. The daily risk taking of training to gain the skills necessary to attain your dreams and to continue to believe in your crazy dreams when people laugh in your face about them.
To my creatives and people taking these risks, you have to do the additional work to fiercely believe in yourself, even despite the narratives we tell ourselves including, I’m not good enough, I don’t deserve to take this chance on myself, I don’t have the time to gain new skills while working 2 jobs to get by. Take a breath, find that fire inside of you, and in the 14th hour of your work day, invest in your dreams because we are all capable of so much more than we think we are.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a dancer, stuntwoman, nonprofit cofounder, and aspiring photographer. I have many creative channels I love to express myself through. I am currently in a dance company in Roswell called Sideways Dance Company, I am a SAG-AFTRA Stuntwoman, and I am the President of the Board of Directors of Upijata Arts Company which is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit. I got into dance by dancing my whole life, going to Oklahoma City University and majoring in dance. This gave me the tools to audition for dance rolls and book them. I was dancing in my first professional theater in a Musical called “Texas the Outdoor Musical Drama” and there was a full body burn. A stunt where you are lit completely on fire. I loved the team environment and the nature of the stunt and wanted to pursue more. I was auditioning as a dancer for a theme park that had a stunt show and I asked if I could audition for the stunt role. They told me no because there were only males roles. I decided to take a risk and audition anyway. They saw that I had done full body burns on my resume and took me more seriously to train into the high falls. That year I was a swing for the theme park, meaning I would cover for all of the shows and I was able to be in the gunfight show, but, I had to wear a fake beard. The stunt coordinator of that show knew someone that had a movie coming into town and because of that connection, I was able to get on my first film set and everything took off from there.
The main thing I would like for people to take from this, is to take that leap of faith to believe in yourself to do that thing that scares you because you deeply want it so bad. To do that thing that lights you up, even if you aren’t good at it right now, you can do anything with enough dedication.

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

Resilience can be a bright shining flame or a slow burning ember that cannot be extinguished. I have several practices to recharge my resilience when I feel it wavering. This includes sitting in butterfly position, curled over with my head near my feet and I imagine connecting to the magna in the core of the earth, channeling it into my body, and gaining strength from it’s endless power source. I would do this often in my college dance classes as I was taking 22 credit hours a semester, working 2 jobs at 30-50 hours a week, and working through being sexually assaulted and taking that person to court. I would imagine myself as a lion before I went into my depositions (when you explain what happened and retell the story, often times being re-traumatized) which I did three times as he switched his lawyers three times. I imagined myself as a lion when I went to the hospital after my assault and was turned away and told to go to a different hospital that had the examination kits, went to that hospital, then had to go immediately to work or I wouldn’t have been able to get groceries that week.
This taught me that you never know someone’s moment before and that simple kindness can go a long way.
This is when my dancing took a turn as I used dance to reclaim my body as my mind and body desperately tried to detach from one another. I received many comments from the faculty saying, “we don’t know what you are going through personally, but the way you are pouring it into dance is catapulting your technique.” This experience would lead me to cofound the arts nonprofit Upijata Arts Company which is in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This is one of the most impoverished areas of the United States and with the MMIWM (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Movement) people from the Rez are being assaulted, stolen, and killed with little to no justice. With my experience receiving justice from my rapist being put in jail and art being my outlet to reclaim my body, this cause has a deep personal purpose.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being a creative is telling stories that make an impact and create a feeling of connection. I believe my purpose is to encourage meaningful human connection by spread love and light into this world. Art has been my way of doing that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @shannonebeshears @shannonbphotography @upijata_arts_company

Image Credits
Dance photos from Chris Coates Photography