Check Out Nicole Garrabrant’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Garrabrant.

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 moved to LA about nine and a half years ago from central Illinois to pursue an acting career after deciding that I didn’t want to use the chemistry degree I had just earned. I wanted to follow my heart and my dreams. So, since that time, I’ve done a ton of commercials, short films, indie features, and web series, as well as some immersive theater. I’ve also co-produced a short film with a filmmaker friend of mine that I also starred in and got to play six different characters, which was a blast! It’s in post-production, and we plan to submit to festivals. 

About six years ago, I started to become interested in performing burlesque. I had seen a few big production shows and thought it was such a beautiful art form, so I started taking classes just to have something to do on the side. With the stage name “Nikki Bellanova,” I had my performance debut in early March 2020… so obviously, I couldn’t perform in public again for another year and a half, but I had plenty of downtime to work on new acts and costumes at home. And once I started up again, I kept booking more and more shows and it’s now my main source of income. I even started producing a few of my own shows in LA a couple years ago under my production company, House of Bellanova. And I’ve recently gone bicoastal with New York City where I’m performing and beginning to produce as well. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Honestly, the biggest struggle of pursuing an acting career is having the patience for booking jobs. It can get really frustrating when you haven’t been booked for a while or you imagine yourself being further along in your career. Those are things I still struggle with, but I also keep in mind that things are supposed to happen when they happen for a reason. I feel very grateful for my burlesque career and grateful for my teachers and the producers who took a chance on me when I was just starting out. I’m still climbing to where I want to be in the burlesque world, but I’m really enjoying the journey. And I’m grateful that burlesque allowed me to quit my serving job! That’s another struggle that can come with being an artist is having to do jobs you don’t like just to survive. I couldn’t wait to make my money solely off of being an entertainer. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a very classic burlesque performer, so I wear the big costumes covered in crystals and feathers and boas. Although I like to dabble in more modern performing sometimes, I’m well-known in the burlesque community for being a classic performer. I also love to work on my own costumes. Usually, I will buy the base pieces for my costumes, such as the corset and the lingerie set, but I will add every crystal by hand one by one, and I’ll sew or make any alterations I need. It’s all very therapeutic for me. And I love to see the final results and know that I put hours and hours of work into it, and I’m proud of that. A lot of performers in the community actually work on their own costumes. Some people prefer not to, but it fulfills me creatively and lets me build something with my hands, which is something I discovered I really enjoy doing. I also build some of my own ostrich feather fans and have started making feather-alternative fans and boas so I’m excited to start showing those off on stage! 

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Probably that I have a science background and that being an entertainer wasn’t a part of my original plan. There were years, especially throughout college, when I mainly used the other half of my brain and wasn’t using my creativity as much as I would’ve liked. And there’s a part of me that definitely wishes I knew I wanted to be an entertainer earlier so that I could have gotten a head-start. I’ve always kind of felt like I started things a little late, but it’s just something I’ve accepted that I can’t change. But I believe it’s never too late to chase your dreams and use your talents, especially if it makes you truly happy. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nicolegarrabrant.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole_garrabrant
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/nikkibellanova

Image Credits
TSB Studios
Mike Russell
Meredith Carlson
Silent 13 Studios
Edsger Studios
Slowhand Photography
Barrett Nicol