Today we’d like to introduce you to Phoebe Pearl.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I went to the Los Angeles High School for the Arts and majored in dance. That’s where I fell in love with Musical Theatre. When it was time for college, I moved across the country to attend the Boston Conservatory on scholarship majoring in dance. My parents moved crossed the country after me because I’m an only child. Do I need to say more? After college, the dream was always NYC. That dream came earlier than expected. On the last day of my sophomore year, I took the bus to NY to audition for the Rockettes on a whim. I hadn’t particularly ever thought about being a Rockette but it was a prestigious dance job and my mom said “go for it!” Well, I actually ended up booking the job and started as a Rockette that year at the age of 19. I did the job from September-January every year and performed in regional theatre shows during the summers. I took a hiatus from the company for a year to go on the national tour of Dirty Dancing where I was dance captain and understudied Baby and Penny. I never thought I’d go on as I was the 3rd understudy in line to go on for either of the roles but when I did, I fell in love with it. I fell in love acting. At the year mark, I had my fill of touring and left the show to head back to NYC and the Rockettes. Things felt different though. I craved something else. I started taking acting class while continuing with the Rockettes for a couple more seasons. My exit from the company was one for the books too. It’s too much to get into but if you’re curious, just google my name and “rockette” or “inauguration” and you’ll see it all.
Anyway, after departing from the Rockettes, I dove into acting. That, however, meant I was going to start from the ground up again in another art form that felt completely foreign to me. I was excited. I was taking classes religiously and got myself representation. I booked a few really great parts on some of my favorite shows and many, many indie films.
Right before the pandemic hit, I had 4 survival jobs and felt like momentum in my career was speeding up. Lockdown forced me to figure out what my next steps would be, as it did to a lot of people. It was LA. Back to my roots. Back to a place I never thought I’d call home again. Actually, it was my dad, who passed away in 2017, that came to me in a dream and gave me advice. We were standing in a familiar spot from my childhood in LA and looking at each other. He said, “You should be here.” I said, “where?” and he responded, “in LA. You have to come to LA.”
Skip to the summer of 2021. I’m back in my hometown and it feels brand new. I’m on fire with determination to make the most of this move. I came here to make a name for myself doing what I love most.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’m an impatient person and I feel like I put 110% of myself into my art. So when you continue to put yourself out there and try your best and nothing comes back in return, it’s soul-crushing. Any artist knows this feelings and frustrating. I keep feeling like a clock is ticking and the more time that goes by that I’m not where I want to be, I’m failing. I always need to remind myself that it’s a journey, not a sprint. I just gotta stay on the bus because the people that get off early never make it to their destination.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
“I’ve just recently figured out what I really value about my acting. Like every actor out there, it’s been a world of self-tapes and after watching many of my own auditions, I realized that I have a very expressive face and very expressive eyes. I know how to make each character’s point of view specific with the help of my expressive nature. I like that about my work. I want to hone that even more.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My acting teacher in NYC, Neal Matarazzo, always told this great analogy. Think of a camera. The apeture represents your attitude and the light that comes through the lens is your talent. If you have this huge, endless source of light (talent) but a very narrow apeture (crappy attitude) then hardly any light will be able to come through and the picture will be incredibly dark. In short, I believe that hard work is key but also relationships and valuing people are just as important. Be an empath.
Contact Info:
- Website: phoebe-pearl.com
- Instagram: @phoebeopearl
- Other: https://vimeo.com/383073542, imdb.me/PhoebePearl
Image Credits
Personal photo is by Ted Ely Photography
