Life & Work with Rose McAvoy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rose McAvoy.

Hi Rose, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? 
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. I started dancing at 2 years old and loved performing. I also did a few local children’s theatre plays in elementary school; In one, I played the sleepy mouse in Alice in Wonderland.

My favorite part about dancing was always how each dance number had unique emotional essence due to the combination of the character and the music. Growing up, school was never my favorite experience. So, having a creative outlet was always important to me. My favorite dance performance was as Clara in my studio’s production of the Nutcracker. That was the first time I got hooked and enthralled playing a character.

I also fell in love with TV & movies as a creative escape growing up. 

At the age of about 15 / 16, I lost my passion for dancing following an injury and experienced difficulty physically and emotionally trying to pick up where I had left off. My mom could see the impact on me of not expressing my creativity and suggested acting classes. Following that suggestion, I began taking classes at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco during my senior year of high school, quickly realizing how much I loved it. I later studied at Berkeley repertory Theatre. While I loved learning and taking acting classes, I was also trying to figure out how to transfer the knowledge and experience into working on film sets and in the theater. After a period of auditioning, I am grateful to say I successfully made the transition and have been lucky to have had opportunities with independent film projects, theater, and commercial work. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Most of my life I have dealt with chronic pain and chronic health issues. However, around the time after graduating from high school, those issues intensified greatly right as I was beginning to pursue acting. There were times when I doubted that I would have the physical stamina to pursue acting. However, not only was I able to, I found that acting was an escape for me physically. In between action and cut, stepping on and off stage, my focus is on the character, and the pain and fatigue I would usually experience melted away. Acting gave me a heavenly escape. It is a huge blessing/miracle… It was a huge blessing/miracle and shows how truly amazing the mind is when in a flow state doing something you truly love. Because of this, not only do I feel capable of acting and made it possible, but this experience has made me realize that acting is what I’m truly meant to be doing. At my lowest moments, it was the only thing that I really could do, and it brought me so much joy and purpose. 

With trial and error over the last few years, I have learned how to make pursuing acting not only possible but my present reality. I also feel very fortunate and lucky, hopefully, to be on the other end of some of the most difficult time periods of my health. 

Acting has been a huge part of my healing and recovery journey. 

It’s also been a big connector for me with other actors & artists in other mediums. I have met and crossed paths with a lot of people on set or in theater who have also had a history of struggling with chronic pain and chronic illness. I found that I was not alone. I have found that others share a similar experience of realizing that when in a flow state, doing something you love, everything else can become secondary.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love playing complex and interesting characters/women who I feel are a lot different from myself which helps me I learn and grow as an actor and as a person. I love transforming into the characters. 

When you get to create with kind, artistic people it is very exciting.

Hopefully I bring vulnerability and emotional complexity to each and every character / project that I’m doing, I think that is a common theme throughout my work. I used to think that my vulnerability and sensitivity was my biggest weakness. But through acting I have come to learn that it is one of my greatest strengths.

While I mostly do camera work, doing that play inspired me to hopefully do more theatre shows in the future. After learning a lot from that experience, I try to bring that knowledge with me while doing on-camera jobs. 

I hope to continue getting to work in different mediums. I really hope in the future to continue doing both film and theater with stories that I find meaningful and exciting while having an amazing experiences collaborating with others. 

 

Contact Info:

• Direct contact: [email protected] 

Image Credits
Star Tsai
Amal Bisharat
Ben Decastro