We were lucky to catch up with Tara J Paterson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tara J, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

It took me a long time to realize that feeling misunderstood in my career was because I had struggled to be true to the work that moved me. By saying yes to everything, without any through line of the work I was trying to do, I started going nowhere quickly.

So while I was chasing a feeling of career validation (which doubled as personal validation) I was moving further from myself in the process. Now, I am coming back.

Tara J, 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?

Hey Canvas Rebel readers, my name is Tara J Paterson (but I’ll happily respond to TJ, Tpatz, or the occasional YO DUDE) and I am an actor, producer, director and content editor.

I grew up in a sweet little town in Ottawa, Canada to parents, Janice, (an Administrator of OSU Soccer) and David, (a Former Property Manager) with my older brothers Tobin and Devin who I have always looked up to. Because they are tall. And yeah, admirable.

I took my first steps on stage when I interrupted my middle brother’s school play because I thought to get to the bathroom you had to walk across said stage. Ironically as someone who ended up loving directing and being directed, I was, and currently still, completely terrible with physical directions.

The next time I took to stage was actually on purpose to perform a scene from Othello for my high school’s talent show with my poor sweet friend Paolo who did not want to do it, but humoured me, and was wonderful. I remember the feeling when we finished, a mix of pride and vulnerability that I had never experienced publicly. I never felt I really fit in at school and when I got to express myself on stage it was the first time I felt seen, even if it was just me seeing myself.

I fell in love with the whole process. I moved to Toronto when I was 17 and gained my honours diploma from Humber College’s Acting for Film & Television Program. During this time I had also become obsessed and studied with various acting studios and professionals. To date these include the late, great David Rotenberg, Michèle Lonsdale Smith, Claudia Jurt, Second City, and classes at the Uta Hagen conservatory in New York.

After a champions performance in Monologue Slam Canada in 2019, I was signed to Andre Newell of Shortlist Artists Management, who quickly became a mentor and frequent co-creator. I then began my professional (keyword here) film & tv career, acting in short films, web series, video games, radio plays, and tv series’ with roles in shows such as THE HARDY BOYS (HULU), RABBIT HOLE (PARAMOUNT), PLAN B (CBC), IN THE DARK (THE CW), and recently the buzzed superhero in GEN-V (AMAZON/SONY).

I also fell back into the world of theatre when I was cast in my home city of Ottawa as the fiery #7 in Gladstone Theatre’s THE WOLVES, combining my love of acting and soccer. Directed by fellow interviewee, the incredible Krista Marchand. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to perform roles such as Hermione in THE WINTER’S TALE (Dandelion Theatre), Mya/Rose in HOUSE OF WHALE (Monologue Slam), and most recently as The Dancer in The Great Canadian Theatre Company’s season opener THE SUPINE COBBLER.

In addition to acting, I fuel my creative passions of producing, directing, and editing as a freelancer and within my own company, Creative Difference & Co. which has produced the filmed adaption of my directorial debut, ANTIGONE: PRESENTED BY THE GIRLS OF ST. CATHERINES. Creative Difference is currently in post-production of the film AMPLIFIED, set to release in 2024.

As an editor and videographer, I continue to work on original content that showcases the world of film, television, theatre, dance, events, competitions and more, with my work spanning across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. I help create and edit content for fellow actors demo reels and portfolios, and have been lucky enough to mentor, teach, and film for youth acting retreats in all aforementioned areas. I’m an advocate for artists making their own work and aiming to do lots more of that this year.

I now split my time all over Canada and beyond, working behind, in front, around… basically anywhere near the camera and the stage.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

After graduating Humber, I really thought it was my time to shine. This was not the case. Maybe shoes. I fell into a trap of feeling entitled to a film & tv career that I did not have, and resentful of the one that I did. At 19, I quickly moved into a world of what is coined as “low hanging fruit” type of roles and projects which were easy to come by, didn’t require much work, non-union, non-paying, and honestly often times pretty sketchy.

I want to be clear that I believe a lot of non-union film work (student films especially) can be so incredible, impactful and a great learning tool for artists. However, there are often very little, if any, measures in place to make sure the people involved are safe and respected. This can make for a dangerous game when mixed with someone eager to work, desperate for some sense of career validation, and not extremely well versed in the industry (which was wink, nudge… me.)

Looking back, and with the help of my friends and mentors, I realized that taking and making myself available for this type of work kept me in the comfort zone of feeling like I was working, but really just chasing the dopamine dragon. Which did wonders for my ego at the time, but not for my career, sanity, or growth.

I had to learn to unpack my entitlement and that even with how much work I felt I already put in, there is no shortcut. Consistency, discipline, solid community, working with the right people, and learning when to say no, have been the biggest pillars in any of the success I’ve had so far. I am blessed to have people around me who show me the ropes on creating my own work and learned that if you are going to say yes, make sure it is a hell yes.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Nowadays the most rewarding part of being a creative is that I pick it up everyday, and everyday it is different. Sometimes I’m working on my own projects, sometimes I’m helping friends with theirs, and every now and then I’m lucky enough to be working with my role models. Whereas I used to get really scared of getting older and not being far along enough (which those thoughts of course still come) I am now settling into a place of realizing that I will work my whole life on striving to be better, and all I can do is put in the work everyday.

Performing, filming, editing, designing, writing, dancing, cooking, connecting and creating content keeps me feeling alive. As cliché as it sounds, I really still am that kid who doesn’t always know where she belongs, but some of my most impactful moments in life have been feeling seen through shows I’ve watched, books I’ve read, and songs I’ve felt deep in my heart. The goal in my work is to try to return that favour by beginning again each day working to be a bit more truthful.

Contact Info:

• Website: tarapaterson.com
• Instagram: @t.j.paterson
• Facebook: Facebook.com/tarajpaterson
• Youtube: @t.j.paterson
• Other: imdb.me/taraJ

Image Credits
Jessica Chin King Photography, @photo.jck Jaclyn Vogl Photography, @jaclynvoglphotography