Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Lee.
Hi Rebecca, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Oh man, how much time do we have. I grew up in Florida and went to public high school and college and during that time, I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to do with my life. I tried on a ton of different identities to see what felt best to me but was struggling to find what felt authentic. I ended up getting a business degree in college because it was what my dad wanted me to do and looking back I think it’s good I have it but I’m not sure I would choose it myself. I did graduate college early because I didn’t feel like I fit in there. I went to a really big state school like 50,000 people and it was very sports-heavy and very sorority and fraternity heavy and I just couldn’t find my people. And it was during that time that I had my first big bout of clinical depression that I began medication for. So because I graduated early and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, my boyfriend and I at the time decided to move to Colorado for no reason other than it seemed like a cool place. It was the first time I went against my parent’s wishes of wanting me to get a job in some type of business profession right away. I realized deep down that that wasn’t what I wanted. It was the first time I proved to myself that if I stay true to the authentic me and want something, I can achieve it.
While I was living in Denver, I signed up for acting classes at the Denver Center of Performing Arts and fell in love with the craft again. As a kid, I did theater but as I grew older, I was told there was not a career path for acting and that I would be crazy to pursue it professionally. But when I picked it back up in Colorado, I knew that this was something I had to do so I decided to move to Los Angeles. After being in LA for about a year and a half I got accepted into a conservatory theater program in New York City called Atlantic Acting School so I went there to do that and when it was over came back to Los Angeles and I’ve been here ever since. When I got back, I enrolled in UCB and completed all the coursework there and started to perform on the Franklin stage doing improv which is where I cultivated my comedic sensibilities and timing. It was at UCB that I realized that comedy is where I want to be.
It also made me realize that I wanted more creative control than acting allowed me to have so I began to write and direct my own short films and sketches. At the same time, I began to invest in my mental health, which I had been neglecting since graduating college. I started taking an antidepressant again and that really lifted the cloud that was eclipsing my brain and opened my mind up to more creative outlets that I didn’t even know I was interested in. It was like my brain capacity was already occupied with this illness so there was no additional room for anything else including new creative skill sets. And when I started on my antidepressant consistently all the sudden my brain had this extra space so I began to you expand my art into writing and directing and painting and applied arts. It has been so incredible to learn about these different modalities and in turn learn about myself.
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?
As with most artists, I’ve gone through dry spells where I’m not getting work or making money and I have to get creative on finding a source of income to support my art, but I’d rather talk more about my struggle with mental health because I think it is an incredibly important issue to address in our country. Growing up was difficult for me and without going into great detail (you can listen to my podcast for more details), I had to reparent myself as an adult, something that I’ve been working on in therapy for years now.I believe that your upbringing is a huge part of what makes you tick as an adult and that if we don’t work through the issues from our childhood, it will come back to bite us in the ass as an adult. My upbringing, combined with my personality is what pushed me in the direction of becoming a multidisciplinary artist. It all stems from the fact that my favorite thing to do on this planet is to grow and because of that I have learned to be an artist in multiple areas including acting, writing, directing, hosting, painting, and applied arts. I also want to talk about my mental health journey because my hope is to remove any stigma that’s associated with it. I do think that we’ve come a long way in the past few years about normalizing therapy and programs and getting help, but I think we have a long way to go especially given the lack of resources we have in our country for mental health. A lot of people want and need therapy but can’t afford it because of our healthcare system and that’s a huge problem with great impacts on our society and needs to be changed.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a classically trained actor, which is what I’ve been doing the longest. The latest project I’m in is the Comedy Central movie Out of Office with Ken Jeong and Jay Pharoah. I also produced and acted in a play Spring/Summer of 2022 called An Intervention written by Mike Bartlett. I decided I wanted to put this play up as a tribute to my late friend who was killed in a motorcycle hit-and-run accident at the end of 2020. I wanted to both pay homage to him and heal myself through the process of this production. In addition to acting, a few years back I realized I wanted more creative control. I started to watch what directors did on set more closely and realized that directing was a path I wanted to go down, but in order to direct, I needed a script which is why I started to write. Now I have multiple pilots under my belt and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
In 2020 I wanted to try new modalities of art so I started a mental health podcast called How the F*ck Did You Get So Confident?, where I interviewed my friends, peers and strangers to figure out how the f*ck they got so confident. I love hosting that podcast so much because I believe that I’ve been put on this earth to connect to other people and allow other people to connect to themselves and I do this best through different artistic mediums. Now the podcast is on season two. This time it’s called How the F*ck Did You Bounce Back?, where I interview folks to find out how they recovered from low points in their life. It’s available on Apple Podcast, Spotify and everywhere else you listen to podcasts.
I also create applied art using found objects under the brand name Fatherless Behavior. I use mostly expired pills and vitamins that are donated to me and make catchall trays, ashtrays, coasters, wall hangings, etc. out of them. I have a new series out called The Humanity Series where I use text message conversations that I’ve made up between myself and Humanity based on my experiences in life as a way to reflect on the world around me. It’s from the perspective of me a queer woman who struggles with mental health. I touch on topics such as depression, anxiety, social media, social norms, etc., all with a comedic twist. You can find these pieces on Instagram @FatherlesBehaviorArt or on Etsy by the same name. Support queer, woman-owned shops and buy something rad for yourself for someone else this holiday season.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I think we’ve all gone through a lot both individually and collectively over the past few years and for me and I’m sure others it’s been hard coming out of that. Something that has helped me is really getting to know and trust myself without judging it. So find out what you like, what you don’t like, what makes you tick, what you’re passionate about and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t or shouldn’t be that way. Don’t settle. F*ck anyone who tries to bring you down. Because this life is so short and as pessimistic as this might sound at first, ultimately nothing matters, so anything can. Choose what matters to you and go after it. Everything else will fall into place. If you’d like to follow me on socials, my handle is @Its_RebeccaLee. Be good to yourself and others <3
Contact Info:
- Website: rebeccaleeofficial.com
- Instagram: Its_RebeccaLee
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FatherlessBehavArt,
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-the-f-k-did-you/id1510487336?app=podcast,
https://open.spotify.com/show/0RuaUlhZ5aJzZxCj5Ht0jc?si=c6945f2936784876
Image Credits
David Muller Natasha Austrich
