Daily Inspiration: Meet Taylor Rivers

Hi Taylor, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
At age 10, I began acting in my hometown of Vallejo, CA. I started writing not long after and the rest was history. Since I went to a technology-centered high school, I had to take my art into my own hands through film. Come time for college, I attended the University of Southern California with a major in Theatre Arts and a minor in Cinema. I assumed studying art would provide me more opportunities to tell my story. However, I soon found that SC’s theatre scene was not well equipped to represent people of color and that if I was to find a space where my art belongs, I would have to create it. Right after I graduated this past May, I gathered up some of my SC peers to produce a narrative podcast called “Jayden Jones: Private Eye”. Jayden Jones centers on the diverse persons of the San Francisco Bay Area and the mysteries associated with the region. I proudly play Jayden Jones and am the lead writer for the series. Currently, we’re working on Episode 2 as I write to you now.

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?
As I alluded to, the biggest struggle for me has always been finding a space where I belong. I’m a geek and a nerd, so often my interests didn’t align with my friends growing up. At USC, I was surrounded by more artists, yet their sensibilities were drastically different from mine since they were of a different culture. Even the other Black artists I met had trouble understanding my goals, as they had grown up in communities different from my own. I struggled to discern which critiques were valid and which were merely misunderstandings. There is also the big issue of income. Many times I’ve had to derail my art to financially support myself and my mother. I fear this problem will only grow now that I’m no longer attending college.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
When I was a kid, starting to direct my on sketches, my mother warned me not to be: “A jack of all trades, master of none”. I took this as challenge. Since then, I’ve set out to study a variety of art forms, under the assumption that having knowledge in one craft will enhance another. The job titles that I hold and continue to practice are as follows: actor, writer, producer, theatre arts instructor, technical director, and lighting designer. I am most proud of lighting design because I had no experience in it prior to USC, and before I graduated, I became the Lead Lighting Technician at my on-campus job. It is this wide range of knowledge, coupled with my unique perspective on art, that sets me apart from my peers.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I learned we shouldn’t wait for an opportunity, we should make it ourselves. When COVID hit, the entertainment industry came to a screeching halt. Theatre still hasn’t recovered and film productions have drastically reduced. What really irked me was early on in the pandemic, some studios decided to host faux casting calls to keep us optimistic and our “skills sharp”. That’s when I decided to make this podcast as an alternative for myself and other artists to keep producing during these tumultuous times.

Pricing:

• Series commission: $50 per episode
• Poetry commission: $20 per poem

Contact Info:

• Email: riverstaylor08@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riverstaylor08/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/jaydenjonespodcast/

Image Credits
Two of the images of me were taken by photographer Peter Valdes