We were lucky to catch up with Shayna Blass recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shayna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

I don’t recall one particular problem, but living in New York as an artist is what I like to call, Daily Mental Olympics. If you don’t have someone paying your rent or supporting you financially, it’s definitely a different experience. My biggest struggle has been figuring out how to balance a bunch of different jobs while also performing and creating shows. There’s really a constant thorough process around what’s better; having more flexibility to take performing opportunities or taking the job that pays more but needs more of your time. Still working on figuring out that balance, but if you’re going through that daily, you are not alone!!

Shayna, 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?

Hi all! I’m Shayna Blass. I’m a singer, performer, producer, actor, and all-around entertainer. I started my “career” at 7 when I started competition dancing. I traveled all around the country with my family competing in group and solo numbers. When I was 12 I auditioned for a production of Annie and that completely changed my world view on performing. I dove headfirst into theater, performing in school and community college. I ended up getting a degree in Musical Theater from American University. Even though I was doing theater a few years after school I wanted to express myself differently to audiences. I felt like the theater audiences I was performing for weren’t aligning. I started making music and created these events in DC called Secret Monkey Social Club. It was a combination of music, food, and local bartenders. I really felt like I wanted to use my musical talents to create amazing events where people could meet each other. I then brought it to New York where I started similar shows called Basement Social. I now run a singer/songwriter showcase called Shay & The Good People. It’s a monthly show and I’m excited to grow it to become more of those “events” that I have created before.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The most impactful thing society, companies, or individuals can do to support artists is pay them a livable wage. This may be a bigger concept than our country can handle at this point, but funding for individual artists would change everything. The work would be so much better and creativity would be able to flourish if the pressure was taken off of artists to pay bills in such a constrictive way. I’m probably not smart enough to lay out a plan, but I know it is the single most important thing to continuing a thriving, creative ecosystem.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think this goes for a lot of us, but the pandemic really changed everything for me. I wasn’t doing theater for about 2 years and ended up teaching myself how to play guitar. I now play mostly solo and take the theater shows when it feels right.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shaynablass.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaynablass/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayna-blass-9177971a8/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShaynaBlass/videos

Image Credits
Chris Garofalo