LIFE / CAREER - I'M IN LA NOW - AND THEN SOME...
Updated: Aug 7, 2022
FEATURED IN HUMANS IN MY PHONE - FAITH & FEAR
*Referenced Links will be listed at the bottom of this post.
The video above is admittedly a lot of information condensed into a very concise bubble for the sake of Instagram time restrictions. So, let me attempt to expand slightly on the timeline between what led to this recording, the experience of getting to collaborate with a good friend and co-creator Gregor Collins, as well as touch on what has happened since.
In 2014 while living in NYC, I had the pleasure of being cast in a play written by Gregor Collins, based on his book of the same name The Accidental Caregiver (Available on Amazon). We had the opportunity to get to know one another through the time spent in rehearsals and I am happy to consider him a good friend. My time working on that production was a special one indeed and I feel a strong connection to it's cast and crew to this day.
Jump forward - It's February 2019.
Since wrapping our performance of The Accidental Caregiver, I had worked on a variety of productions ranging from short films, feature film, commercials, and voiceover. Many of the jobs had me travelling to different parts of the country. One role in particular took me West. And while I had of course been to LA several times before, circumstances during this visit gave me cause to question whether or not it was time for a more permanent transition. Jump forward - It's May 2019.
I left LA in late April to work another production in Austin TX and then headed to Florida to attend a dear friend's wedding. Once back in Maryland (my home base between 2017-2019), I took time to reflect on the journey I had returned from. Upon taking stock to the fact that things were going very well in a sense of stability and status quo, I felt the urge to shake things up. Jump forward - It's July 2019.
I've purchased a used car from a good friend's Father. I've loaded it up with basically everything I own and begun my drive across the country. Thankfully, I've also made it a point to visit close friends along the way. Upon arriving in LA, I have the good fortune that one friend in particular has invited me to stay in their apartment while they are out of town, thus giving me a good two weeks to decompress from the drive. This is about the time where Gregor reaches out to me. He pitches me his Instagram page @HumansInMyPhone and his intentions behind the video interviews. I'm flattered and agree to meet up. I don't have high hopes for what he'll get from me, but trust that he knows what he is doing. Jump forward - It's September 2019. Thanks to another good friend, I was able to rent a room throughout August and eventually find an apartment with a great roommate and their pup. That same friend I rented a room from would also set me up with a day job to keep me from blowing through the savings I gathered for the transition. Jump to - NOW - March 2020
As I write this, the initial release of the video is almost 6 Months behind me. It's wild to believe. A lot has happened in that time. Noteworthy events in my personal life, my career, and of course the world around me. We are currently in a nation wide, if not world wide quarantine. I won't embellish further, as anyone reading this clearly has access to the internet and therefore either know first-hand what I'm referring to, or merely have access to more reliable information than I can offer regarding those circumstances.
I would like to simply say this:
My perception remains positive. There certainly have been days where I've struggled with complacency or felt lost in my ambition, especially now. But I suppose part of the reason I'm sharing this on the website now is a result of a resurgence towards my embracing Faith and Fear. It's only now that the fear goes beyond my own comfort zone as we go through the following weeks/months in collective solitude. Yet faith that with kindness and compassion, we will find our way back to something reminiscent to a sense of "normalcy". I just hope that perhaps after this break from our standard day-to-day, we may all return to our shared world with a reignited appreciation for one another and with more awareness to our own and each other's actions. That we all might take some of this time to ourselves to reflect on where we are, how we got here, and embrace a desire to do better than maybe we had been doing before social distancing. Sending healthy and positive vibes to you and your's - Clayton
