We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiffany Daniels a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tiffany, appreciate you joining us today. Do you have an agent or someone (or a team) that helps you secure opportunities and compensation for your creative work? How did you meet you, why did you decide to work with them, why do you think they decided to work with you?

I had just come off the road from the 1st National Tour of The Color Purple. I had been bit by the Acting bug while I was away and knew that I wanted to jump into class as soon as I got home. I stumbled upon an acting studio in Burbank, Ca that was offering a free intro class with an Audition Technique Teacher that doubled as a Talent Manager. Sounded like a no-brainer to me…so I signed up. We sat in a circle and listened to this incredible man share his insight & experience in the industry. From on-screen, to behind the scenes, to talent development, and creative direction…there is a reason why his title is now Chief Visionary Officer at Redrock Entertainment. At the end of this influential hour, Jeffery Brooks asks the group if there were any remaining questions..I raised my hand and naively asked the question that everyone else wanted to “Do you want to represent me?” He smiled and simply responded with a “maybe”. That was enough for me! I immediately signed up for his class & he has been on my team ever since. 14 years down and a lifetime to go. I once heard that your manager should feel like your “industry bestie.” Jeffery Brooks and the fantastic team he has assembled at Redrock Entertainment, checks that box and so many more. I am truly so blessed to have them in my corner.

Being in Jeffery’s class allowed him to watch me grow as an artist week by week. Being his student & his client gave me an edge on the competition with in house coaching and a carefully curated career path. He saw the potential in me, but we created the vision together.

Tiffany, 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 grew up as a dancer in San Diego, CA. I quickly fell in love with the stage and stumbled upon Musical Theatre at the early age of 10. Something magical happened every time I got to perform, but what I ultimately fell in love with was the people with whom I got to share the stage. I couldn’t articulate it at the time…but I had found my happy place. There was nothing in life that brought me greater joy than creating with my friends, building a piece of art for weeks or months at a time, and then bringing an audience to their feet full of feeling & celebration! I was brought to this life to make people smile, and I was lucky enough to discover that in the early days of my artistic journey.

I grew up doing dance competitions, Jr. Theatre, Christian Youth Theatre, Main Stage Musicals at San Diego SCPA & Summer shows at the Starlight Bowl. Anything I could get my hands on, I was there. I went to Cornell University for my undergraduate studies, and it was there that I realized I was never going to be fully happy pursuing anything but a life in the Arts. I moved to Los Angeles immediately after graduation and went to my first open call audition that Summer. There will always be a piece of me that wishes I would have discovered the possibilities of Los Angeles sooner…but as I have gotten older, I understand that life happens exactly as it is supposed to.

My first audition was for a Dance Scholarship program at Edge Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, which at the time was of the highest & most prestige training one could receive as a dancer getting started in the industry. They awarded scholarships to 20 students a year, and I was lucky enough to be chosen. This was my introduction to LA, the dance life, and the best decision I have ever made. It was not an easy program, and one of the most intense years of my life. But they took 20 caterpillars and nurtured us all into beautiful, able bodied butterflies & I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Once I signed with my first LA agency, that is when the real industry experiences began. I wish I had kept better records over the years so that I could see on paper the ratio of Auditions to Rejections & Bookings. Something that I learned really quickly is that No’s come way more often than the Yes’s do. That is not a lifestyle that most people are comfortable with. It’s the creative minds that are willing to risk a lifetime worth of rejection for that one life-changing YES! It’s the artists of the world that best comprehend that the high’s can’t be as high without the low’s being so low. Those are my people.

I have been so privileged to experience some incredible wins in this business. I have worked on over 10 National Commercials, 70+ Film & TV projects, I have toured the country in a Broadway National Tour, and I even got to cheer in the NBA & NFL! I love what I do. I live a life everyday where I am pursuing my passion. Making a living in the entertainment industry is not an easy life…but it is what makes my heart sing, and that is worth the low’s, the high’s, and everything in between.

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

I am not sure that this story illustrates my resilience as much as it illustrates the understanding that what is for you will never pass you by…so just keep going.

A few years into my auditioning journey, I was finally starting to find my confidence…finally starting to get into my groove. I had spent the prior year dancing for the LA Lakers…KOBE! Soon after, I received the invitation to audition for Christina Aguilera’s “Back To Basics” World Tour. I loved the vibe of that entire album and I thought there was no better fit for me than this music! The incredible Jamie King was the creative director of this tour and was running the audition with the assistance of Tabitha D’Umo. I made it all the way to the end of the audition and there was literally ONE spot left. Jamie decided that it was going to come down to a freestyle battle between myself and one of Christina’s CURRENT dancers. What is happening right now? My heart was beating out of my chest, Jamie is trying to pull the best version of of myself, and I am trying not to self-sabotage this potentially life altering moment in time. It. Was. WILD! Ultimately, the current dancer got to keep her job, & I was sent home. Those coveted positions on artist world tours were the Ultimate goal as a dancer at that time, and I went home that night feeling like I might never find that level of success.

Life goes on, and the following week I was already on a new path and invited to audition for the 1st National Tour of Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple. At this stage in the game I was confident enough to know that I had something to bring to the table, but simultaneously experienced enough to know that not every table needs what I have to bring. I kept getting farther and farther along in the process of booking this show until I ultimately received the call that I did!. The most incredible news! I grew up in the theatre, and now I was going to be performing at the highest level that one can achieve. I had been training for this my entire life. This was the job that was meant for me. I met some of my closest friends on that tour. I felt true love on that tour. I discovered my deepest potential on that tour. I stepped out of the background for the very first time EVER & I became an Actor. This is the job that changed not only the trajectory of my career, but profoundly changed me as a human. Had I booked the world tour with Christina…life would have taken me in a completely different direction & I wouldn’t be the Actor that I am today.

Life is full of twists and turns…just keep following your own yellow brick road and watch where the magic takes you.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The ultimate goal of any artist is to make a living within your artistic expression, doing what you love to do! In an expensive city like LA…it’s extremely challenging to make that happen without “the side hustle”. If you are lucky enough to find work that falls under the entertainment umbrella, it feels like less of a sacrifice for survival. Fortunately, I was able to join a few entertainment companies that welcomed me into the “gig life”. I had also found an appreciation and love of fitness in my early LA days and I was presented with an opportunity to become more involved in Group Fitness. I loved working out, and it had become a very important part of my daily regimen. If I am gonna do it, why not get paid for it. Right? I began teaching in 2015 and I still do it to this day. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a pivot, but more of a supplement to my artistic endeavors. I still get to make a difference in people’s lives…it’s just on a smaller stage covered with sweat!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.TiffanyDaniels.com
• Instagram: @ItsMeTiffD
• Other: TikTok: @It.sMeTiffD

Image Credits

There is a Getty Image that has the Getty watermark and The KCA Orange Carpet Pic is from the Associated Press.
The spin bike photo was taken by Trevor Paul Photos.

The others were all take on my phone or my friends phones