Today we’d like to introduce you to Tess Bellomo.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started performing as a child. I was always in front of an audience, whether it was in theatre or as a young professional figure skater. In my free time, I was constantly making movies with my brother, putting on shows in my backyard for my mom and writing mini scripts; probably at the time inspired by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies. It wasn’t until high school that I got more into producing and directing when I took my first film class. I remember loving being in control creatively but terrified of what people would think of the films since I was only confident with acting. I ended up focusing on more acting throughout college, majoring in Performing Arts and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco.
When I moved to Los Angeles five years ago, I immediately followed the footsteps I thought were my only options to get involved in Hollywood: a day job and auditioning. I got a commercial agent, worked early mornings at a fitness studio, and had some success in my first year. However, I was very frustrated with the roles I was being sent out for and often felt uncomfortable and degraded during these auditions. I wanted to write characters my friends and I would actually want to play. I felt so stuck and didn’t know what the next step was.
When my best friend and creative partner, Hannah Bear, moved out to Los Angeles the following year, we decided to take more control of our careers and co-create, write, direct and star in our own web series called, “Liked”. The two seasons, about a relationship blogger who fabricates all details of her love life, including a fake husband, was discovered and then owned by Elizabeth Bank’s digital platform for women in comedy called “WhoHaha.” This really inspired me to produce more of my own content, which is when two of my friends, Tommy Cramer, and Claire Donald and I started our own production company, No.3 Media, focusing on social media branding videos for female-owned companies such as Bev Rośe, Harper Wilde, Après, and Almost30 Podcast. Since then I have been focusing on comedic narrative work, writing my own screenplays and directing my own short films. Claire and I co-produced “Marital Bliss” which premiered last year at the Los Angeles Shorts Film Festival, and we just wrapped our newest short “Witch, Please” which will premiere this fall.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I used to focus so much on the negative with the industry: what part I didn’t get, what audition I didn’t want to go to, what acting class I didn’t feel was benefiting me. I had a moment of realization that this outlook and mentality would really ruin me and I had to change my perspective, take control, and not only support myself, but other women in the industry who were starting out. It wasn’t easy for me at first being on set as the creator and executive producer of my own series with a lot of men in the crew. I had to find my voice, own my strength and stop apologizing. I remember I would often say “Well, this is what I think but I’m not the cinematographer, so you choose…”. I stopped that dialogue by the second season because it wasn’t healthy for me. I don’t know why it took me so long to confidently feel empowered and in control. I think it is part of growing up as an artist, and a woman, that you have a moment where you just stop making excuses and respect yourself and your craft. Just because you’re not making millions of dollars like a consistently working professional on television, doesn’t mean you’re any less worthy or valuable. It took me a while to stop comparing myself.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I specialize in producing and writing female-driven comedies from web series, to short films, to feature screenplays. The proudest moment for me was when our series was discovered by Whohaha. It felt very rewarding for a company that focuses on funny, diverse women, to find our show on Youtube and own both seasons for a year. I had always looked up to Elizabeth Banks, not only as an actress but a producer and director, so it was a dream come true. I think Hannah and I made a really great show about real women. I always dislike when people say we need more “strong female characters.” I think that’s actually a toxic commentary. Women are always strong. Also, it’s still restricting a female character into another label. I just want to focus on bringing women to the forefront of every story, including diverse talent.
It is always such an honor when people email me saying they watched “Liked” and it inspired them to just make their own series. I have always had a go getter mentality and find a way to just do it, make it happen, and self promote. I go crazy if I don’t have some sort of project in the works every month. I am a big believer in making art without thinking of the outcome. We have become so obsessed with views, followers, and rewards. I am happy if I am working on a script everyday and know that it may never go anywhere. But it’s giving me purpose.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’ll never forget our first public screening for our web series. It was an intimate crowd, 80 of our closest friends and family, but I just remember looking around the viewing, and I could see everyone’s faces lit up, laughing, and nudging their friends at a funny part. I definitely cried a lot that night, I felt like a proud parent. The most you can do is put work out there, hope the majority of people will like it and move on to the next project. But I didn’t expect the success and positive response the show would have. We had also cast and hired a lot of our friends for the series, and it felt like something we could all celebrate together. It felt like home, a family. I was like “Hannah and I did all of this!” I was so moved!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tessdbellomo.com
- Email: tdbellomo@gmail.com
- Instagram: @tessiewessieee
Image Credit:
Alexis Dickey, Alex Lark
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