We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tori Keaton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tori below.

Tori, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Every one of the films I’ve worked on has been a meaningful project to me. I feel that each project comes into my life right when I need it. There’s always something to be learned and something to be released. There seem to be no coincidences in this work, as my acting coach Irene Muzzy would say.

Tori, 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?

Yes, I’m an actor, newly established producer, and also a corporate America professional! The 3rd part of this equation is often the most shocking for many creatives. I’ve been working in corporate for nearly a decade in the software industry, having various roles in Finance and Operations. This has put me in a unique position to get into film production. The broader goal with my corporate position has been to fund my acting career, and more recently, my production career, all while learning as much as I can about business. I first got into acting when I was about 16 and fell in love with the stage, which later turned into a love affair with film in college. I double-majored in theatre and business, believing I could have the best of both worlds. It has been, and continues to be, a challenging and rewarding journey!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

This is a beautiful question. I’ve battled trying to suppress my creative side, especially being in corporate America, but I’ve found that this is one of the quickest ways to unhappiness for me personally. I think the “mission” of my creative journey is about deepening my spirituality. It’s terrifying to pursue a creative endeavor, at least for me. There are huge leaps of faith that must be taken and it’s extremely vulnerable to share my art and craft with other people. I’ve found there is so much fear underlying any creative pursuit and this is where I think the deepening of a spiritual connection really comes in for me. The more I follow my creative journey, the more I have to rely on a force greater than myself and the more I have to face my own self-centered fears. To sum it all up, I feel the mission of my creative journey is liberation from self; a sharing in the oneness of the human condition.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I actually gave up acting for about 5 years, from the time I was 22 when I graduated college, until I was about 27. I won’t go into the reason why I stopped acting, but I didn’t want to stop. I tried so hard during those 5 years to kill the artistic side of me. Let me tell you, that is a flame that won’t die out! When I made the decision to get back into acting, I felt old, afraid, and I really had to burn my existing life to the ground to be able to get back into acting. It was a crossroads in my life, but it’s a decision I’m grateful I made. My hope in sharing this is that it can remind someone who may have given up on something they love to go after it, no matter how much they have to lose. There’s a quote by Dorothea Brande, I believe, which says “act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid.” I think that in itself speaks to resilience!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: torikeaton13
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/torikeaton
• IMDB: http://imdb.me/torikeaton

Image Credits
Matt Marcheski