Meet Andrea Bensussen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Bensussen.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
The day I Dared myself cured My “Shy Gene” (DRD4)

Growing up, it was painful for me to open my mouth, to speak, to say what I wanted/and when; I was five years old and suffered from “The Shy Gene, (Chromosome DRD4).” My mom recognized that my social anxiety could be problematic in my adolescent years, so she enrolled me into dance lessons (in hopes of breaking me out of my shell). Ridiculed by my best friends for being “too short, too sweaty, too shy, too hairy.” I could not protect myself. My best friends were my worst enemies, and although they were my worst enemies, my conscience (my thoughts, obsessions, doubts, my inner me) was my BIGGEST enemy. I resented myself for my fragility and shortcoming. I loathed the fact that I couldn’t defend myself. “Just say something, ANYTHING!” I yelled inside my head — blaring at the top of my lungs to my elementary school-self, and not a peep came out. After an incident of taunting, I walked away to another playground after school, as they whispered, mocked and trailed behind me. (((This was the first time I came home crying from bullying, I had reached my boiling point. My parents didn’t realize how bad the teasing was until that day. P.S thank you mom, for giving me a comeback to say for the next day. You have always been my mama lioness. )))

Fast forward: In my pre-teen years, I was a bit envious of the class-clown. I noticed how in school, or in dance class I would think of the punchline of the joke long before the class clown would announce it, and I couldn’t dare to say it out loud. “What if they don’t laugh? What if they don’t approve and laugh at me.” These thoughts would circle in my head.

My hermit shell wasn’t broken until I was 14 years old. That was the day I DARED myself. I was in dance class, and I had my Jiminy Cricket coach me, “If I find an opportunity to say a joke/speak up, I HAVE to do it. Nothing bad is going to happen, they aren’t going to throw things at me, they aren’t going slap/punch me, they aren’t going to hurt me physically. I just have to be prepared emotionally for what they may say, and that’s the worst thing that could happen. So, I just need to put on my big-girl pants, be brave and just say it. Say anything. Just do it. Do it! Now! NOW!”

And…I did it. I said it. I told the punchline of a joke in front of the entire dance class…and there was nothing but silence. Those 3 seconds of silence echoed so loudly, it felt like an eternity, it pained me, I wanted to tear my shirt apart and scream from humiliation and frustration. My stomach was in knots, my heart was racing a million miles an hour! I looked around, awkwardly smiling. I hesitantly waited for a response and thought, “Maybe no one heard it, should I say it again? What if they heard it and they’re ignoring it because it wasn’t funny?” And at that moment…I couldn’t believe it…

I lucked out! They roared and cackled with laughter, it was entirely unexpected. They couldn’t believe that joke came out of me, the shy, quiet, short, girl nicknamed, “Pokey.”

Soon after that, I dared myself even more, and more, it became my drug –I was addicted to the high feeling of making people laugh. I made a game out of it. My parents started recognizing this, not necessarily the game I was playing, but my overall personality change, my openness, my zeal. One night, my family and I were watching television together, I made an impression of a character and my parents laughed the night away. My dad said, “You’re becoming a little actress.” I laughed, “Actress? I’m going to be a doctor.” I just enjoyed making people laugh (I think it’s the people pleasing aspect of me). Eventually, my dad convinced me to take an acting class, “Well, you do need an art credit anyway,” he explained.

Now remember, I’ve danced since I was a little girl but never dreamt of verbalizing in front of an audience. It felt surreal, alien-like, awkward, nauseating, my voice cracked, my palms dripped of sweat, “Was I too quiet, or too loud?” I didn’t know how loud I should “project.” It was an entirely different world that I wanted to investigate. P. S Thank you so much dad for convincing me to take that acting class because that’s the day—I truly felt like me.

To this day, I can recall my freshman College Professor, Star Rivera-Lacey, tell me, “Andrea, you will be extremely successful in whatever career you decide to follow; your drive and ambition will get you there.” I took this guidance to heart and became more proactive. I couldn’t let Plan B distract from Plan A, as Will Smith has described in his motivational speech. Since then, I have been acting for 13 years; a few years ago. I vividly recall a performance I did years ago, after the show a woman came up to me and said, “OMG, You were fantastic!” A compliment like that was the best gift I could ever receive; the excitement hasn’t slowed down. My acting journey currently is—to be continued.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am writing a project that I plan on pitching to Netflix. I love to tell intriguing stories. I tell stories through all different types of mediums: photography, painting, dancing, modeling, directing. My goal is to move an audience in some way, either to have them unravel a mystery, surprise/shock them, make them cry, to laugh, or just to impress them. I want them to be involved in my storytelling journey; I want them to feel.

“Lauren Higbie” was a five time award-winning film that I produced and wrote. I want to highlight this project because it is a story untold before and it’s a story we can all relate to in some way. In one of the film premiers, I had an elderly woman who sat behind me, and I could hear her sobbing. In that moment, I was conflicted, as a creative, I felt that I achieved my goal, I knew I moved her in some way, but being an empath, I hear someone else crying and instantly tear up with them. But this is the beauty of film-making/storytelling.

Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
Make your own projects, update your reel with your own team, market yourself, (because no one else will do it for you), create a YouTube page, Tiktok is also a great way to get noticed and to post your work. Go to networking events, (I definitely need to go to more of these) It is more likely that you will meet someone who will refer you to someone else, rather than “being found” on the street. It’s who you know, not what you know. Don’t wait for opportunities to fall into your lap –make them happen yourself!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: mermaid_unicorn_drea
• Facebook: Andrea Desiree Bensussen
• Other: Tiktok: Mermaid_Unicorn_Drea, IMDB: Andrea Desiree Bensussen
  Youtube/Vimeo: “Lauren Higbie”

Image Credit:
Aram Khachaturyan, Dane Rhys, Jake Schwartzwald, Fredrick Vang, Nolan Dean Le

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