Daily Inspiration: Meet Caroline Quigley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Quigley.

Hi Caroline, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been an actor and performer for as long as I can remember. Performing and storytelling have always felt like the best way to connect deeply to others and contribute my voice to the world at large. I began acting soon after my grandmother took me to see my first Broadway show in New York City when I was just seven years old. We saw “Wicked,” of course! I remember tears streaming down my face because I was so touched and moved by what the performers had shared on stage. Being from a small town in western North Carolina, I had never seen anything like that before in my life!

I enrolled in acting classes as an extracurricular activity at my school and joined a theatre group. I learned the basics of acting in this program and my confidence grew through each audition and performance. I was everything from ensemble to leading roles!

When I turned 14, I wanted to dive even deeper into acting and researched performing arts high schools. After applying to a few across the country, I was accepted at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA. My excitement was through the roof! Just touring the campus was magical and I knew this school was the perfect place for me.

During my three years at Idyllwild Arts Academy, I studied Acting with a Concentration in Musical Theatre and this became the foundation of my acting technique.

My senior year brought the pressure and excitement of auditioning for various acting conservatories around the US. I was able to witness the skills of other wonderfully talented kids and knew I had to perform at a top-level. Thankfully, I was accepted at my first choice, Boston University School of Theatre.

I studied four years at BU and loved every minute of it. The classes were challenging and the professors expected a lot from the students. I learned everything from acting, stage, film and tech to the business side of an actor’s life. BU honed my acting skills and taught me many of the techniques that I still use each day. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from the BU professors and my classmates!

After graduating from BU, I made the big move straight to Los Angeles, CA to begin pursuing my artistic dream. Over the last year, I have acted in films, TV and theatre.

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?
Like every journey, there are many ups and downs along the way as I continue to reach my acting goals. For example, I moved to LA at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all film, TV and theatre had been completely put on hold (and for a good reason). For nearly a year, there were very few audition opportunities and I had to find new ways to stay in touch with my craft. Luckily, this is when I discovered my acting teacher and mentor Robyn Cohen, based in LA. She is such a gift!

Because I could not control the opportunities that were normally tapped through auditions, Robyn showed me a way to focus on new methods of performance…namely zoom! All in all, acting is about adapting and I learned so much during this period.

Though I have been a student of acting most of my life, I am at heart theatrically trained. Working with Robyn led me in a direction where I could develop skills in front of the camera and work with some extraordinary artists. She taught me that each artist is in charge of their own journey.

Simply, I acknowledge that I control my destiny by choosing to grow in my art every day, even when the phone is not ringing during a pandemic!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an actor and performer. I specialize in taking on characters that require immense transformation and have a story to tell that is deeper beyond the surface. I am drawn to characters who are very different from my own personality and I especially love strong female characters with complex personalities. I am super proud of my most recent work in the short film, “Where’s The B*tch?” directed by Sarah Hendry. All of the financing for this film was obtained through fundraising. The film itself was the first production for our newly created theatre company called “Liminal Playground,” which I am a co-founder with the writer of the film, Sahaja Douglass. Funding also allowed us to build our very own amphitheater in Topanga, CA, and this space was a huge blessing for many artists during the pandemic.

The idea for this film came from an exercise Sahaja and another actor from class, Brendan Wagner- Quinones, also starring in the short, did in acting class together that gave us all the idea to write the script and dive in deeper to the characters we created. My character, Rooney, is a rebellious, brooding animal-rights activist caught in a torrid divorce with my ex-wife, Celeste played by Sahaja. After being caught having an affair with Celeste’s personal assistant, played by Brendan, chaos and comedy unfolds. The title… is not what you think at first glance!

This film was a wonderfully collaborative creative experience where the actors worked on the script and used lines directly from improvisational rehearsals. We built the entire shoot, from the cast to the crew, and raised the money ourselves. Spoiler alert…there are some very cute puppies in the film. Watch for “Where’s The B*tch?” on the festival circuits in 2022!

What sets me apart from other artists is that I am willing to push my artistic limit as well as my own personal commitment to my craft. Each and every day, I am acting…without fail!! I push myself to show up every single day.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
No matter what your dream is for yourself, remember to show up every day. Each choice you make should support your progress. You can catch my performances in Nathaniel Clute’s feature film, “The Violet Hour,” Caleb Washburn and Donia Rogia’s drama, “On God Vomit,” and the Liminal Playground’s theatrical production of “Some Girls,” written by Neil LaBute! To find out more information and to stay up to date with our upcoming creative projects, please follow Liminal Playground’s Instagram page here! @liminalplayground

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@carolinequigley.com
• Website: https://carolinequigley.com/
• Instagram: @cariquig
• Other: @liminalplayground (Instagram for my theatre company) and @wtbshortfilm (IG page for short film)

Image Credits:
Kelly Fogel