Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tera Hendrickson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tera , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Many of my fellow artist friends had childhoods steeped in the creative arts, followed by drama or music tracks in high school and college. My background and preparation differed from the bulk of my peers. While I did study piano for a couple of years as a child, that chapter closed early and there was no additional formal training during those formative years. Even so, I had an ardent love of story and music from the time I was very young. This fascination has only increased over time and fueled the drive to study on my own.

For both acting and music, my learning program was self-directed and fairly intense. I consumed information and knowledge voraciously, through private classes, books, and observation of the masters of the field. I was fortunate to find inspiring acting coaches (some that I still follow today), and exceptional music teachers that changed the arc of my career. Even when I started to work regularly as an actor and musician, I continued with classes and self-study. There is always more to learn in the arts, which I find both stimulating and humbling. You never know it all, and if you think you do, either pride or apathy can infest.

This career is not for the faint of heart. I discovered early that it was necessary to be willing to work harder than the next person and continually develop my skills and hone instincts. One concept that took me longer to learn was the importance of networking. I cannot over-state the value of skillful networking. The arts are a business like any other business, constructed with ladders of connections and relationships. I naively believed that training, diligence and application to the craft would be sufficient to create in-roads in my career. While these are indeed essential building blocks, I learned over time that building constructive relationships is critically important. The team that one builds with fellow artists, peers, agents, managers, mentors, and protégés becomes a fundamental part of one’s working life.

I now regard effective networking as a bona fide art, one that requires sensitivity and finesse. My initial hesitance was probably due to some natural shyness on my part, but this kind of reluctance and reticence does not serve at all. Gleaned from my own experiences, I am constantly reminding new performers to cultivate boldness and step outside self-imposed limits.

Tera , 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?

I craft stories for a living, sometimes as an actor in a film, a voice in a D&D video, and other times as a singer in live performance. There is an almost inexplicable joy in bringing lines in a script or lyrics on a sheet of music to life. I may be stating the obvious, but the more closely I am able to connect with the character, the more interesting and relatable the performance.

Something that has opened some very special doors in the arts is my passion for and ability with foreign language. The world opens up like a flower when you are able to communicate in a foreign tongue. Even when I had finished my formal schooling, I continued with a self-study program, traveling to France with a text book that I referred to on a daily basis.

This ability with foreign language has given me a distinct edge in booking work. In my view, it is part of an artist’s responsibility to identify one’s unique strengths and offerings and to capitalize on these. The work I invested over the years in honing foreign language skills has yielded some interesting results. For instance, I have played a French witch (in ‘Addams Family 2’ and ‘Charmed’), a Spanish teacher (on ‘Hannah Montana’), an Italian priest (in Netflix’ ‘Love & Gelato’) and a Portuguese maid (on ‘Days of Our Lives’). If not for these language skills, these roles would have gone to someone else.

In the music arena, foreign language has again been the ace in hand. My musical ensemble Les Zazous specializes in French pop-jazz and modern cabaret. While this is admittedly very niche, we have enjoyed incredible opportunities stemming from our repertoire of world languages. Some highlights include performances for two French ambassadors, the Secretary of State, the French Embassy in DC, the Library of Congress, and a residency at The Hollywood Bowl’s Museum Stage bringing the music of France to young audiences.

One of our very first appearances as Les Zazous, and one of the most memorable, was performing with the Academy-award winning film composer Hans Zimmer and his orchestra for the Hollywood premiere of the film ‘Inception’. My trio played a one hour set of French selections for an audience that included the cast of the film and director Christopher Nolan. Following the trio’s performance, I sang several solo film cues along with the orchestra’s performance of the film score under the baton of Hans Zimmer. Singing Edith Piaf’s “Je Ne Regrette Rien” in the midst of a herd of exuberant French horns was a singular experience!

To this day, I continue with my study of foreign language. Every time I get into my car, I listen to French conversation lessons, and I attend world language conversation groups regularly. Embracing foreign language has been an investment that has changed my life and my career.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started out in the arts, I was easily intimidated by my lack of experience. Every artist needs to accept that there is always a starting point to the journey of learning and discovery, and trust that experience will accumulate organically.

As a corollary to this, constant comparison to other artists can damage self-esteem and sabotage progress. I have always been inspired by the line from the ‘Desiderata’, “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” I apply this concept to my personal expression in the arts, acknowledging that there is an enormous range of style, talent, and what qualifies as ‘success’ in the world. I would encourage new artists to make peace with their specific abilities and to delight in expressing them. And delight in the talents of others! I truly love that no two voices are the same, every person is imbued with a unique character and a distinct sound.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I enthusiastically recommend Steven Pressfield’s ‘The War of Art’. It is an excellent and inspired work on how to approach a career in the arts, from both a philosophical and practical perspective. I have a copy near me at all times.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leszazousmusic.com
• Instagram: leszazousmusic
• Youtube: @leszazous

Image Credits

Sarah Little/LA Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl