We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tristan Cunningham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tristan below.
Alright, Tristan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
It was pretty clear to me from early on that I wanted to perform, and at the same time I was a very shy kid. I would create routines on our trampoline and then ask my mom to invite over the neighbors to watch me. I started gymnastics very young. I loved the physicality of it but hated the competition. My mom was such a blessing and saw this in me and found a touring youth circus for me to audition for (I know what are the odds) I auditioned at age 9 and got in at age 10. At age 10 I ran away with the circus and found my home in the circus ring!
Tristan, 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?
I am an actor, circus artist and teacher! It’s really a joy to juggle (pun intended) these three worlds and they bring me a balance I am super grateful for. I started circus at ten and toured every summer for 8 years. The circus helped me realize I was an actor. I LOVED being in the ring and creating characters for the show theme. I auditioned for a few conservatory programs with a monologue and a movement piece that involved a lot of back flips. I landed at SUNY purchase in their theater arts a film conservatory. The training there was amazing and tough and no joke. They made this circus girl into an actor but I never forgot where I came from. After college I worked in NY but got pulled for a show to California and never went back. I was never a fan of winter! Ever! And the Bay Area truly has this thriving theater scene, I was able to do incredible work and join both unions as an actor. To this day some of my favorite artistic endeavors were with companies in the Bay Area. California Shakespeare Theater became a home for me. From the circus ring to Shakespeare under the moon! I also taught circus to youth the entire time. Circus was my step, my window into the performer inside me and it’s always been a gift to now get to hold that space for youth. After a decade in the bay there was a pull for film and television and I found myself driving to LA auditioning poorly and driving back home. It became clear that I just needed to be in LA. So I made the move! I am here in LA running my own youth circus program at Cirque School LA and working in film and television! From the ring, to the big apple, under the moon, and now in Hollywood on set. It’s been a journey, and a tough one for sure but I wouldn’t change a thing. Starting in circus gave me the grit you need to survive this line of work. I will forever have sawdust in my veins. My students give me the hope and joy to keep trekking along.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I first moved to the Bay Area there was a theater I dreamed to work at. To this day it is my favorite theater in the world. California Shakespeare Theater. They have a giant amphitheater with the mountains as a backdrop and the moon above as your natural set. I saw a production of midsummer there and I’ve never laughed so hard at a Shakespeare play in my life. It was my personal goal to be on that stage. I did their general audition and was asked to understudy for the Scottish play I of course said yes! I went to every rehearsal I possible could even though it wasn’t required. I watched every actor in that room and took notes. I then was asked to understudy again and again. I was finally asked to understudy Ophelia in Hamlet. This role lives in my body and spirit. I knew the casting director was coming to the understudy run through. And of course I did all the set blocking but I gave this rehearsal my all, I lived in it and I made her my own. After the casting director said “off the record, it’s time” I was cast in the next season in two shows and then later this theater became my theater home. When they say you start with mopping the floors and working your way up they mean it and I did and I trusted that someone would see me and my hard work and they did, they saw me! You put in the work you will be seen, you will!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Getting to share what I do, and what I know and don’t know with my students. Art saved me! I lost my single mother at a very young age, which means I lost my home. The circus ring became my home, my place, the place where I was a star. It’s so rewarding now to try my best to create that space and that home for youth like me and not like me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @tristanavelinacunningham
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oj8auodYzfY&pp=ygUXdHJpc3RhbiBjdW5uaW5naGFtIHJlZWw%3D
- Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/TristanAvelinaCunningham
Image Credits
Diana Khachatryan