Meet Cerene Shepard

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cerene Shepard.

Cerene, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. My interest in the arts began in middle school when I had season tickets to the theater with my grandmother. That eventually led me to enroll in a few performing art schools in town over the years. I was always talking my way into events I was too young for or productions I really didn’t have a reason to try out for but did anyway, sometimes without even preparing. I’d just be walking by and think “I should do that” without considering the age group. I just wanted to be around creatives and have my hand in everything from a young age.

When I graduated, I applied for a communications internship at the Museum of Contemporary Art where I wrote articles about the current artist’s installation and covered events. I also assisted in coordinating a special local art event called Sketch Cabaret. Sketch Cabaret had a different theme every month and catered towards sketch artists drawing figure models at events. It provided me with my first management position as the Youth Model Coordinator, which I still look back on with gratitude. This was a very special time in my life where performance art and contemporary art really melted together.

Years later, I was still performing and coordinating where I could in Utah when I met a new art collective, that would later be called The Imagine Nation. They told me of some events they planned on doing in Los Angeles and invited me to come along as a performer. So I did! We spent a year performing all over the nation, building immersive stages for concerts and then performing in them as characters. I worked as a performer, coordinator, and decor lead with them. In the process, I unintentionally moved away from Utah. The work kept coming and I realized I needed to make a decision to commit to LA fully or not. Five years later, here we are!

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?
For me, the struggle has always been missing home. Feeling torn between lifestyles. I’m a very family-oriented and community-based person which is hard to keep up with here while working so much in the city. Often times I am missing a slower-paced environment and nature in LA since I grew up in the mountains. Los Angeles is full of talented creatives and in order to be successful you have to be relevant, you have to hustle, market yourself, and determine what that means to you in your life balance-wise. Which is always under consideration I think as an artist. Often you are your product in business.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I specialize in immersive environments and designing custom entertainment for clients. Anywhere from farmers’ markets to music festivals to corporate holiday parties, I’ve provided entertainment for many types of gatherings in and out of state. Immersive marketing and immersive theater have been on the rise for some time. It invites patrons to become apart of the art. This is achieved through set design or costumed actors who focus on dialogue with guests. The story doesn’t need to stay linear, the 4th wall can be broken and If you’re seeing a performance, you might become a part of it. This is great for clients with a product or specific achievement they want to highlight because I can work with them to enhance that specific detail and create a memorable celebration or activation.

I personally work as a coordinator and producer for many different companies. Some cater more towards children and clowning, some towards high fashion couture it just depends on your needs. I’ve never considered myself a solo artist. I’ve always wanted to work with collectives and teams to bring opportunities to many people. I’m very proud that the companies I work with can provide pretty much anything you can dream up and do it with professionalism, witty improvisation and custom creations. In a world like Los Angeles, where many people are designing for clients, it’s my goal to remain genuine and honor the story of each individual to create something thoughtful.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I can name two moments that I specifically felt were milestones for me. The first being when I danced and headlined music festivals, Coachella and Lightning In A Bottle in 2016 with a performance group called Lucent Dossier Experience. A collective that inspired me for years. The second was the summer of 2019, when I casted coordinated and managed over 35 performers for Lighting In A Bottle and Coachella. Which was a big task.

I guess you could say the two moments are connected though because I have been attending LIB since 2013 yearly and Lucent Dossier was LIB’s headlining performance troupe for many of those years. There is a picture that is very dear to me where I can see myself in the audience of the 2013 Lucent Dossier show, front row crying watching the show. I knew no one from LA then, yet made a goal to make it on that stage someday. So when I was cast in the 2016 show, that picture really became a testament to how anything is possible and you are worthy of every opportunity if you work hard.

To later then coordinate so many people for the Lightning In A Bottle festival itself was a large challenge that I was very grateful to have. I was providing others the opportunity to create their own full-circle moment from observer to performer and that was very meaningful to me. I want everyone to have their opportunity to fulfill their dreams and get the validation they deserve.

Contact Info:

• Website: cereneshepard.net
• Phone: 801-842-8672
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @cerene_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cerene.shepard

Image Credit:
Curious Josh Photography, Jonathan Shoup Studio, Craig Brayton Photography, Samantha Fielding Performer the Book, Gina Joy Photo, Coachella, Insomniac Events, Stephen Payne-Paynie

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