Conversations with Skylar Okerstrom-Lang

Today we’d like to introduce you to Skylar Okerstrom-Lang.

Hi Skylar, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Today’s story began with me calling a tow truck to pick up my beautiful Prius in Los Angeles, CA. I’m an actor and my girl that has gotten me everywhere I need to be, “Prequel” the 2009 Gray Prius, brought me up to The Bay, 7 hour drive, to see my Big, Hunter Bryant, from DePaul University’s closing night of his production of Orpheus Descending at Oakland Theatre Project. it was awesome and we partied the night away at Thee Stork Club designed by John Waters. I got back to LA, another 7 hours, last night and slept like a baby. Woke up to go to my job working as a pickleball coach and Prequel couldn’t handle it. So now I’m sitting in a Starbucks telling my story while I wait for a tow. I’ve been acting for 15 years. Started in middle school doing local theatre trying to impress the high school kids that played the butlers in “Annie” while I played an unhoused member of Hooverville. I was born in Great Barrington, MA where i was raised and did theatre, drank purple Fanta, and played World of Warcraft in equal portions. I started wanting to make acting my life when I was a sophomore in high school when people started clapping at me and saying I was really good. That was awesome. Took my talents to Northern Michigan and went to Interlochen Arts Academy which was basically like conservatory in high school. I replaced math class with stage movement. I also stopped taking my medication for ADHD here, which was big, another story…I then went on to DePaul and lived in Chicago for 4 years which was the first city I ever lived in. Amazing artists, best friends for life (including Hunter), great drugs, getting through high school heartbreak…Chicago was everything. After I graduated, did a stint back in MA at Williamstown Theatre Festival as an apprentice the summer of 2018 at a program which now does not exist. Got shut down because our supervisors were “cross-faded” all the time and it was “unsafe” but I thought that was the charm of it. We partied every single night for two months. I had solos in the cabaret show every couple weeks and each solo went from tenor to baritone to bass parts because I was smoking so much weed. Awesome summer, met the love of my life, Jasmine Lesane, and moved to NYC. Tried my darnedest to make it big, which to me looked like getting an ensemble role at Clubbed Thumb, but I never made it. Jasmine came out to join me after she graduated and after 4 nights said “I’m not f*cking living here” which made me sad, but inevitably, as has always been the case to this day, I came around to realizing she was onto something. Pandemic struck, moved back home for half a year, flew to Texas in the middle of the pandy to shoot a music video of mine and randomly met Fredrick Ewelike in the nature preserve in Mansfield. Freddy seems important to mention. Through him I’ve been making projects in Texas for the past 6 years. Jasmine said “people are calling me out to LA”. Jasmine is a badass lighting designer/producer who graduated Carnegie Mellon and hasn’t stopped being in demand since she exited the womb, I said “f*ck it, let’s ball” we drove out West. We watched the desert form around us and found ourselves living in The Valley. First theatrical audition I had in LA, I booked it. Co Star for “Better Things” on FX. Since then I’ve been booking 1 or 2 major jobs a year, from 4 months shooting Zach Snyder movies to helping cast and act in a Michelob Ultra Superbowl pickleball commercial. Now I’m producing movies with my friends, writing, directing, and starring in a Bodybuilding Horror feature, and just trying to get artists on screen and paid on time. Performing will always be my passion, but the performance of producing is such a pleasure. Enough about me, tell me about you!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Struggles…every…day. I think anything worth doing is hard and the best feelings come from incredible difficulty. Main struggles are thinking about where other people are at in their careers and being pissed it ain’t me and then I remember I’m me and that’s awesome. Comparison is a bitch. Community has always been a struggle. Like the fact that you really need to work your ass off to find community in LA was a big realization. So I try to work mad hard and bring people together wherever I can. Sometimes it backfires and I forget about myself and keeping my cup full, but I’d rather overextend than chill out. I like the struggle. I live for it. I live for relieving it where I can, but I know the struggle will never go away. Excited for the problems I am going to face.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a SAG actor and starting to get my first producer credits. That’s where I’m at. Top Three performances of my life, LET’S GO; #3 I’ll say Conrad Birdie in “Bye Bye Birdie” in 7th grade. First lead role. First time playing a rockstar. I’m an attention whore so the red jumpsuit really helped that part of myself. #2 Moritz in “Spring Awakening” my senior year of High School. I went over to Interlochen after I found out that the school was doing Spring Awakening. First time I really manifested something into my life and it turned out better than I could have ever expected. #1 Alfie White in “The Alfie White Project” directed by Fredrick Ewelike that I wrapped on 3 weeks ago. A role specifically written for me and has an insane range that let me put everything on camera. So excited for y’all to see that one and to keep working toward the feature film of Alfie.

Producing is going to be what takes me into my next chapter. About to go to the premiere later this week of the first project I Executive Produced. By EP I mean I helped with script rewrites, guiding director on casting choices and questions they had, and supported in the edit of the film. Got my taste involved which felt great. I think apart of my talent is recognizing amazing talent so I want to continue doing that and motivating folks to make the art that they were made to make. Now, I’m producing my first feature, that Bodybuilding Horror project I talked about earlier (@spotmemovie) also I’m line producing a feature, and I also Executive Produced the Alfie White project! Lots of fun.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Hit me up. Let’s get coffee. @skyolang on instagram. I’m always down to get inspired and inspire. I’m always looking for gigs and to set people up with gigs. It’s a small, dangerous, beautiful, hopeful, war torn, world and we gotta get each other’s backs.

Pricing:

• Acting Day Rate 500$ (Friends and Family discount is half off)
• Advisor Rate *Depends* (Script Analysis, Production Support, Anything Film/Theatre/TV, I gotchu)
• Producing Rate *Depends*

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @skyolang
• Other: Movies: @spotmemovie @thealfiewhiteproject

Image Credits
Miida Chu