Life & Work with Cat Clements

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat Clements.

Cat, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It all started for me when I was a young kid. As an only child, some of my closest friends were the characters on my TV. From Raven to Hannah Montana – I found myself writing parts for me on each of my favorite TV shows. For Raven, I would be a psychic from Los Angeles, or on Glee I wrote full scenes that had me roaming the halls of McKinley High as a freshman before taking over the whole show with my charm. It was clear for me at a young age that acting wasn’t just a passion for me, but a vocation. The opportunity to put on a million different hats and evoke emotion and inspire action in others was a calling. Throughout elementary and middle school, I found that most people grew out of being an artist, yet I found myself only growing more into it. Going to USC as a theatre major, I solidified my calling and found myself branching out to producing and directing and figuring out the power of theater. I have started to become a full-blown artist through my studies and begin a journey of self-discovery that has helped shape my ability to act. Acting is more than just the character and the art that is produced can literally change the world.

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?
Nothing in my life ever seems smooth, yet I find that I always end up where I am meant to. This past year I watched as COVID affected my ability to continue my student acting career on campus and showed me how precious life is. Before the pandemic, I found that the biggest struggle was building a genuine support system throughout my career. I have found that a lot of people support you as long as there is something they are gaining from the relationship and that the second you begin to struggle, they can’t be bothered. When I was a young girl wanting to act everyone around me supported me – it wasn’t until it actually became clear that I was going to act as a real job and not just a dream that people began to question me. Even my closest circle. Everyone always wants to know my backup plan or what I really will do once acting fails, but no one gets that at this point there is no fail. Failure is not an option because doing what I love for the rest of my life is my only goal.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For me being an actress is my major passion. Acting is where I find my calling and my purpose. Within the acting community, I have also found that I have quite the knack for directing. Throughout my college career, I found that there are many more people that wish to see you fail than succeed. In accepting this, I also saw a huge hole in the directing ability of many of people around me – everything was some sort of competition. I found that once I identified this and got the opportunity to direct some people myself, the magic of the theatre was clear. The theatre and acting are a vocation because for the people that feel that they are called to do this constantly give away pieces of themselves to become entertainment for others. Doing that show and showcasing people that may have never felt worthy because of the constant competition is one of the things I am most proud of. Art can change the world for the better if we use it correctly.

How do you define success?
I define success as true happiness for yourself and enough time to help others. To be truly successful is to be able to give back and to be able to come home at night and in the last breath before bed – smile.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cat.rose.clements/

Image Credits
Nevi Outylr ; Cailynn Knabenshue