Meet Dorothy Marie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorothy Marie.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Dorothy. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I grew up in a musical family and originally was pursuing solely music. I knew from a young age, however, that my true passion in life is people and connecting with them and their stories. My senior year of high school I attended a talent conference in Florida with the (now closed) organization Actors, Models, and Talent for Christ. It was there that I discovered how much I loved acting as well. That was six years ago now, and a lot of life happened in between.

My original plan to move to LA right after high school didn’t work out for various reasons, but I know in the end it was better than I stayed a few years. It enabled me to expand my music experience more (I played lots of hometown shows and had so much fun!), and I grew so much as a person. I finally moved to LA two years ago, and it has been the best decision ever!! The timing was right for it then, and I had more maturity to enter into my acting career with more wisdom.

The most helpful thing I feel like I’ve done is just say yes to every opportunity. Even if sometimes the work was less than glamorous or not always personally beneficial. I’ve worked background(paid and unpaid) to gain experience on set. I’ve worked as a PA and an AD. I even did hair for student film which was waaay out of my comfort zone. The experience of going into any situation with a positive outlook has really stretched me as an actor and a person.

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?
Yes and no. I was really blessed to be able to find a great community pretty soon after I got here. Even with that, I still struggle with loneliness sometimes. This city has a certain way of making you feel isolated even though you are surrounded by people.

One of my 2019 goals is to be a better advocate for community- people need people to be neighbors and invite them in for a cup of tea or give them a cup of flour when they’ve run out. I hope to embody that rather than just being too busy all the time.

The struggles of the entertainment business are endless, but I’ve realized that instead of focusing on how challenging this career path is it’s better to simply wake up and do whatever you can do that day. And eventually, you look back and see that you have taken steps forward, even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes.

I love the quote “When you get tired, learn to rest; not to quit.” Some days I need to take a break from submitting to casting calls and pressuring myself to write music. And that’s okay, there’s always tomorrow. Or next week. Consistency is the key to accomplishing goals, but rest plays an equal part.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Haha, I wish I knew, honestly. Sometimes I feel out of place among the other entertainers out here. I don’t love things the same way as everyone else. My love for my craft stems out of my passion for human connection rather than the love of exercising the skill itself. I know that I love to inspire people and I love to make people laugh.

I love how something about a song or tv show or comedy sketch can mean one thing to me but entirely another to someone else. I believe that God made me to lift other people up and to be a helper when things get rough. I believe that art can be beautiful and that alone is enough of a reason for it to exist.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This is probably unconventional, but my biggest accomplishment so far has been the renewing of my mind to see that I don’t have to play the game by anyone else’s rules but my own. I don’t have to reach “perfection” in my craft- I think it’s better to just do things out of passion and the desire to do it well. I’m proud of how far I’ve come in my mental health when it comes to my career and excited to continue that healing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dorothymarie.com
• Email: dorothy.marieb@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/dorothymariee
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothymariemusic
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothyymariee
• Other: www.soundcloud.com/dorothymariemusic

Image Credit:
Amy Casson Photography, ShutterStory Photography

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