Today we’d like to introduce you to LaChelle Chrysanne.
Hi LaChelle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised just outside of Minneapolis, MN. I left the Twin Cities in 2012 to embark on my journey as a creative. Before leaving, I didn’t intend to pursue the arts because I thought I needed to do something more practical to pay my bills. After singing at the funeral of a family member, I was approached by a pastor who told me I had gifts that I wasn’t using. I was inspired to take a shot at writing and making music, but the resources for thriving as an artist were a bit limited in Minnesota. After leaving, I took a non-linear path of making music, studying graphic design, curating events, and DJing. Now I work as a freelance producer in experiential marketing and branded content. My most recent project was a red carpet + after-party event in Westwood for the season 4 premiere of a Netflix series. In terms of day jobs, it’s a pretty nice situation to have.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I definitely have struggled with feeling pigeonholed and like I needed to focus on one thing. I’ve always had a very fluid approach to my creativity. If something engages my curiosity, I’m going to try it out. Typically if I’m gravitating toward a creative medium, I end up being good at it and I think this comes from just being super intuitive. This confuses a lot of people who may have met me when I was focused on one medium and have affixed me to that specific box. As a multi-hyphenate artist, my imagination is pretty boundless and difficult to contain. Throughout the years, I’ve learned to have discernment between my creative interests and my passion. There are things I’m interested in, that I do for fun or out of necessity, like DJ’ing, collage work, or graphic design. But my passion is what keeps me going. It’s what I think about obsessively, like the stories I write and want to direct. That process of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks was a necessary part of my artistic development, even if, to others, it made me seem inconsistent or all over the place. If I didn’t do all of those things, I wouldn’t be so grounded in what I’m focused on right now, which is filmmaking.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve recently made my debut in filmmaking with my short film “One of The Guys” which is premiering at the Micheaux Film Festival on July 14th. Making it was one of the most creatively fulfilling things I’ve ever done. It was like I had this “a-ha!” moment where I realized everything I made up to this point was leading me here. Filmmaking is the culmination of my interests in writing, music, design, and even the world-building that I’ve done in experiential production.
The film is inspired by my experiences as a woman musician navigating the male-dominated indie r&b/hip hop scene. I wanted to tell the story of a woman who was in a friend group with only men because that is an experience of mine that has not been fully explored on the screen. The film is a commentary on toxic masculinity within male-female platonic friendships. “Toxic masculinity” is a bit of a buzzword right now, and a lot of the complexity of how it can show up in interpersonal relationships gets lost in discourse that mainly focuses on flagrant and egregious transgressions from men towards women. Sometimes, toxic masculinity is subtle because it’s so deeply engrained not just in men but women and our perception of what is acceptable behavior from men as well. Our society was founded on toxic masculinity, and we all have a responsibility to start unpacking how it informs and influences us. My hope with the film is that it expands the conversations on complicity and how men can show up for the women’s friends in their lives. I’ve talked with a few men who screened it, and said it opened their minds and made them think about their behavior in a different way, and that was extremely affirming.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I spent a lot of time alone as a child which gave me the space to explore and cultivate a unique set of interests. When I remember who I was then, I think of the little girl in her room, writing stories, reading books, singing on her karaoke machine, and creating make-believe scenarios with her Barbies. I’m proud to maintain the essence of that little girl through my artistry.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lachellechrysanne.co
- Instagram: @lachellerising
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@88hues
Image Credits
Personal Images: Yekaterina Gyadu https://www.instagram.com/yekaterrrina/?hl=en Film Stills: Sanjay Singh https://www.instagram.com/sanjayvision/?hl=en BTS Images: Shanise Gibson https://www.instagram.com/itsmsgibson/?hl=en
