Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Sevey.
Hi Nicole, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started acting in community theatre when I was eight years old. I was the type of kid that tried a lot of different hobbies, (gymnastics, tennis, golf, girl scouts etc), but nothing seemed to stick for me. That is until I saw a local production of Annie and thought, “I want to be up there. I want to do that!”. A few months later, I decided to give it a try. My first show was The Wizard of Oz, and being up on stage (in my munchkin costume), something clicked for me and I knew that this was something I wanted to spend my time doing. After ten years of community theatre, I decided to study musical theatre in New York City, before I eventually transferred to the University of Southern California. That’s where I began studying film, and, much like when something stirred in me while I was in the Wizard of Oz many years prior, something stirred in me again at USC and I knew that I wanted to pursue cinema.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it definitely hasn’t been easy. I spent a large part of my life thinking that all I wanted to do was musical theatre and I trained hard for it. Once I started to shift perspective and open myself to other possibilities, although promising and exciting, it was a bit scary. I kept asking myself if changing my focus to film was the right decision. Now, I can see that it absolutely was the right choice for me and I’m very happy with the direction that my career is taking me, but it wasn’t the simplest of decisions to get to where I am now. I still really love to sing and I’ll always have a piece of me that loves musical theatre, but cinema feels like a truer part of who I am as a person and an artist.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Last year, I had the opportunity to star in a feature titled Grassland. It’s about a young woman finding her path in life through the grief of losing her mother. It was an amazing project to be a part of. We shot for a couple of weeks on a beautiful ranch in Merced, California. I even got to work with horses! Getting to go to work every day in an incredible natural environment was exciting, but the project itself was also incredibly artistically fulfilling. I had the opportunity to really open myself up and dig deep into my character as she’s navigating a very difficult and complicated moment of her life. The kind of moment that shapes who you are and how you choose to move forward. It not only challenged me as an actor but as a person too. I was able to learn and expand my own sense of self through the essence of who the character was, which is exactly the kind of work that excites me the most and reminds me about the power of storytelling.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love being in an environment where we are surrounded by other creatives. I love that you can walk into a coffee shop and hear writers or directors talking about their newest project or be walking down the street and hear people passing by passionately discussing details of a film they loved, or even hated! It’s invigorating and it feels really special to be a part of that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nicolesevey.com
- Instagram: @nicolesevey
Image Credits
Michelle Figueroa
