Today we’d like to introduce you to Gia Ochsenbein
Hi Gia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started acting at the age of three on a community theater level, but progressed to professional at around 8 years old. In my hometown of Houston, Texas I studied with the Alley Theater, Theater Under the Stars, Houston Grand Opera, Hits Theater, and many more. With theater training under my belt I moved onto film acting at the age of fourteen and have not stopped since. At a very young age I began writing stories, mostly horror, and decided I wanted to write my first play. It was a short play, but I began writing nonstop and began forming my own style. After graduating high school, I moved out to Los Angeles to pursue a degree at California Institute of the Arts where I continue to further my acting training under the teachings of Mirjana Joković, Travis Preston, Marissa Chibas, Lars Jan, and Andrea LeBlanc. At Calarts I have also branched out into new ways of storytelling, and have delved into screenplay writing and filmmaking. One of my biggest influences is my teacher Janie Geiser, whose toy theater class has enriched my use of found object puppetry and performance through object work. I have recently used these techniques in my film “Vampir” (2023) and performance of “Salt” (2022). I hope to continue exploring and creating with these learned principles, and branching out into other forms of artistic expression.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There were struggles along the way, mainly balancing work and life and the hardships of growing up. My career as an actress is something that I rely heavily on as a distinguishable characteristic of myself, and it has been hard to find time to lean into my creative pursuits on the side. Self intimacy is hard when you don’t quite know how to be with yourself all the time, which is something that I continue to learn. Being in college is a rigorous journey full of ups and downs, free time and busy work, and learning how to be a person outside of that is difficult, but not impossible. You have to have life experiences in order to create, and you have to be a person to be able to explore the human experience.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have had extensive training and work as an actor on the stage, Shakespeare, and screen all over the United States. My art through performance is seen in my process, and what I use to ground myself into a character. When I receive a script the first things I do are read it entirely (or the portion I am given), understand what the character is truly saying (usually through rewriting the words as I understand them), and then I begin to put this being into my body. How do they walk? How to they breathe? Where is their center? I then begin to put this into my own body, and see where these aspects conflict with my build and rise to them. I would say I am very physical performer, and this approach helps me understand the character better. I also use this approach in creating my own work. The work I do as an actor aids my role as creator, and I find that I am able to connect with the bodies of my characters that I write, and the people I direct. When I write I work from a bodily perspective, a focusing on how the nature and image of the story will make the audience internally feel. I like directing humans as my dolls, and using the body as a set. Another aspect that sets me apart is my love of the goth subculture, and how I utilize it in my arts. I work a lot with makeup, especially trad goth styles, in my films as I find that it adds some interesting visual dynamics. I work with the occult and ritual in most of my practice for creating art, relating my subjects to the esoteric in however I can.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like best about LA is the people I’ve met thus far in the city. I’ve got to meet some of the most outstanding people from all around the globe that have opened my horizons to new forms of artistry and community. I’ve recently gotten sober, which is a feat I could’ve never accomplished without the people I have met here. My calarts peers, teachers, and directors that I’ve gotten to work with are some of the best in the business and have all taught me so much. To all my friends, roommates, family and more out here, I love you <3. What I like least about LA is the current culture surrounding art in city. So much of what we see coming out of big studios and other spaces is complete bs, and the culture sometimes reflects this. I do hate the conversation that this is only what LA has become, because again it’s all about the people you connect with. If you come into this city looking for something surface level and self obsessed, that’s all you’re going to get.
Contact Info:
- Website: Coming soon!
- Instagram: @giaochsenbein
- Facebook: Gia Ochsenbein
Image Credits
Alejandro Caminos, Elle Reck, Myself.
