Rising Stars: Meet Soyana Pigniat

Today we’d like to introduce you to Soyana Pigniat.

Hi Soyana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ever since I was five years old, I’ve always wanted to live in California, so it’s not shocking that I ended up here. Originally I’m from Long Island, NY. I moved to LA when I was 19 to finish school and get my BFA. For as long as I could remember, I’ve always had a passion for performing, whether it was dancing, singing, or acting, but the one that still holds a special place in my heart is acting. I think the first time I realized the love I had for acting was when I was about nine. I would make my parents sit in the living room with their friends and I would put on a show I practiced for weeks before. Every time I would put on one of these shows, I would get so nervous but super excited. So from couch performances to pursuing a career in acting nothing much has changed. The love and giddiness I felt as a 9-year-old are still in me as a 22-year-old. If anything has changed between then and now, it’s that I’m now competing to be watched and discovered, whereas before there was no competition.

Alright, 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?
Personally, I don’t think life would be interesting if there weren’t any struggles along the way. Imagine living a life where everything is handed to you all the time. Yes, that sounds amazing and it’s an easy way to live life, but you wouldn’t have the grit that is needed to succeed in the acting business. I believe every obstacle I’ve faced in my life has shaped me into the person I am today. Even when it felt like my whole world was falling apart at times, I got through it. If I’ve learned anything in life so far, it’s to keep pushing, no matter how hard things may seem in the moment. There are so many people in the world who want the same things, but hard work and resilience are what make the difference in whether or not you’ll get the things you want.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m proud of myself for following my dreams to create, to be an actor. It’s an “untraditional” job to most people, but I never what to have a moment in my life where I look back and say, ‘what if I had done that?” I want to live life and create art unapologetically. I want to always follow my heart’s desires and live my life with no regrets. I think that’s what sets me apart from others. I will do want I want to do if my intuition tells me to do it. I feel like the reason people don’t follow their gut is because of fear, but the way I see it, is why be fearful? In my opinion, I think if people listened to their intuition, more people would be happy. We all have one life to live, so live it to its fullest.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I feel like the concept of luck can be interchangeable with timing. A time where I felt lucky in my life was at the beginning of Covid. I had lost my job and had no source of income coming my way, But on the bright side, I had savings, so I had time to figure things out. For the next four and a half months, I was applying to every job that was hiring and trying to get auditions for anything I could get my hands on. I started getting really stressed out because savings don’t last forever and mine were running out. There was actually a point where I was a bit short for rent. All I kept thinking was “how the hell am I going to pay rent?”. I wanna say it was 2 or 3 weeks before rent was due and my best friend and I booked a commercial for Snapchat. This was exactly what I needed in order to have a little more time…Not to mention that my best friend gave me her portion of the pay we got. Shortly after that day, I got three job offers. When that happened, it showed me the importance of what good timing can do, along with having people in your life who care about you. Not many people would have done what my friend did and I’ll always be grateful for that.

Contact Info:

• Email: soyanapigniat@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soyanaa_/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/soyanaa_