Conversations with Veda Baldota

Today we’d like to introduce you to Veda Baldota

Hi veda, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am an actor. I started as an athlete and stumbled upon acting in a class at my undergrad college: UC Berkeley. Fell in love since day 1. It felt right. I started doing more advanced acting classes and college productions and more I did it, I realized this is what im gonna do for the rest of my life. I applied to MFA acting programs and got into MFA acting program at Columbia University. During the program, I have done many regional plays, award winning short films and after I graduated, I am continuing my journey as an artist. Currently I am working on couple of projects and I am an assistant to the genius, Mira Nair. I am grateful for my journey and excited for everything that my future holds as an actor.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The struggles I faced were/are mostly psychological. Some struggles I think I faced but glad I faced them, because now I can recognize them and actively work on it are-. .
Perfectionism- My idea of perfectionism and wanting to control everything to make it perfect, was negatively affecting my art because as an actor, you gotta let go and let the work you did, release! I feel I am able to do this more than ever and it is beautiful. I get so much more out of it without chasing or trying to make it perfect.
Being authentic- Being authentic in your work and in any room, is extremely scary and act of 1.Courage and 2.Kindness.
It took me a while to let go of any expectations I had or people had of me, and show up authentically in my acting and in my life. And oh boy! let me tell you, that got me jobs and made me make authentic connections with people.
Trust/Belief- In a business that is so uncertain, my faith and trust within myself and my work as an actor was challenged and sometimes is challenged a lot. It takes Unwavering faith and trusting that is the purpose of my life, to keep going.
Dyslexia- I am dyslexic and I used to constantly see that as a negative and think I would need to put more effort, do more work than the rest to be the same level as others. But over time, with practice and letting go, I don’t even think about my dyslexia, I use my creativity from dyslexia as my strength.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an actor/artist. I act in both the mediums: theatre and on camera. I am most proud of my grit, my discipline which I would like to owe it to my sports background, (I was a track and cross country athlete in high school and college)
What sets me apart from others is I am my own quirky, authentic self and my life experiences, that sets me a part. Because those are the things I bring to my art and make it my own.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I would say be present and curious and follow your intuition. for example: I was in a production trailer on the sets of a tv show in LA. I was doing my thing and this man walks in and starts talking to the people and mentions Denzel Washington and I am so busy doing my work, but mindlessly ask him, “You know Denzel Washington!?” and he was said very nicely, “Young lady, Do you know who I am?” and I was like, “No sir”. He was Clifton Powell and we started chatting and I was present and asked all these questions and turns out my Grad school teacher was his friend. And its few months later, and now he is my mentor and I am gonna be working on a project he is producing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vedabaldota.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vedabaldota/profilecard/?igsh=MXYwMnRpeno1b3IxdA%3D%3D
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veda.baldota/