Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Blackwelder.
Claire, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been performing since I was a little girl. What started as living room shows with my two sisters evolved into a rigorous study and practice of theater and music. Growing up, I was in every school play and musical I could audition for and started piano lessons in first grade. I was incredibly fortunate to have parents that not only supported my artistic pursuits but understood the world I wanted to be a part of. My mom is an incredibly talented actress and received her Master’s Degree in classical acting when I was nine years old. While my dad’s penchant is for business, he loves and respects the arts and has always encouraged my passion for them. I moved to LA in 2011 to study Theater at the University of Southern California, where I performed in several plays and musicals, was introduced to film and TV through a few student films, and sang with the ICCA-winning a cappella group The SoCal VoCals (to whom I give credit without reservation for teaching me the importance of confidence, assiduity, and communication… and how to throw a really great party). The summer before what would have been my senior year of college, I studied Shakespeare at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford and found out the day before starting the program that I had been cast in two seasons of Power Rangers on Nickelodeon.
Luckily, I was able to finish my degree that fall while filming in New Zealand. After Power Rangers, I starred in a couple of films that premiered on Lifetime. I then turned my attention back to theater and performed in a rock musical on a Norwegian cruise ship for seven months with For The Record Live, a theater production company that I am incredibly grateful to have been introduced to. I am now part of that very same musical back in LA and am currently playing Hippolyta (the Amazon Queen… a hilarious role for a girl who is 5’2″) in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga as part of their summer repertory season. I continue to audition for TV and Film and play music.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Any individual in any field who can claim that their journey has been “smooth” is either lying or unfathomably blessed. If you love what you do, you will likely never be completely satisfied because you will always be searching for the next way to move forward and improve, and it can be disheartening to feel that you are not constantly operating at your full potential. One of the most common and frustrating challenges of pursuing a career in performance is the complete lack of stability that you just have to get comfortable with. You can be riding the highest of highs one day and the next day be lost, scared, and confused. I was a series regular on 44 episodes of Power Rangers and never throughout the entire nine months of filming felt that I had “made it.” It turns out that my trepidation was not completely misplaced because I finished the job and proceeded to bartend for years and perform very little while auditions were scant.
Our default as human beings in times like these is to retreat within ourselves, fall into patterns of self-flagellation, shy away from risk, and blame our circumstances for keeping opportunities out of our reach. However, it is always important, especially when times are hard, to remain open, practice gratitude, and keep pushing forward. Your output in any situation is reflective of your input. If you walk into an audition room lacking confidence and feeling angry with the world, I guarantee that the casting director will smell it on you and have little desire to work with you. As crunchy-granola-idealistic-hippy as it may sound, the universe responds to the energy that you introduce to it, often in ways that are completely unexpected. I am largely to blame for those years of bartending with little acting and music work. I had a constant script in my brain telling me that I was not talented, unique, or interesting enough to work in the ways that I wanted to, so I didn’t actively pursue my dreams as aggressively as I should have.
When I finally changed my perspective and started working from a place of determination rather than doubt, things began to change. Of course, putting this kind of work ethic into practice is incredibly difficult, particularly for women. We are taught for our entire lives that we don’t deserve to take up space, so we mince our words, sit on our hands, ask for permission to speak, and withhold ideas for fear that they won’t be well received. I still struggle with my tendency to edit myself and step away from challenges, often starting a project and getting too scared of its failure to see it to completion, but I’m learning the value of telling myself that my ideas and abilities matter. In your weak moments, channel your inner Junior Bevil and Yul Brenner from the popular 1993 bobsled comedy Cool Runnings: look in the mirror and tell yourself “I see PRIDE, I see POWER, I see a BADASS mother who don’t take NO crap off of NOBODY.”
Please tell us about what you do.
Oh boy, now this is when that total confidence is put to the test! I am best known for my work on Power Rangers and I absolutely loved the experience of filming that show and being introduced to the community that comes with it, but I don’t know that I would identify it as what I “specialize” in. I am first and foremost a performer. However, that manifests itself in several ways. I have a case of the Jack of All Trades Syndrome – there are a lot of things that I do and my focus shifts depending on the phase of my life. For a while, I struggled with the feeling that I was a Master of None, but I am figuring out how to embrace my diversity of interests rather than reject it. I feel that my desire to really dive into so many different subcategories of the world I have chosen is what sets me apart. I act, I sing, and I play music, but there is variety even within these fields. I love Shakespeare, film, TV, contemporary plays, and musical theater. I sing rock, jazz, pop, and folk music. I play classical piano and write my own songs. I enjoy combat and have started training in Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. I’ve begun to write scripts. I have a genuine love for and interest in every facet of performance, which stems from a true fascination with people, and I believe this translates into the work that I do. I am enamored of these weird and wonderful ways in which we humans try to connect with one another and nothing excites me more than the idea of doing it forever.
Who have you been inspired by?
MY. MOM. This is the least original response I could have possibly given but holy moly is she impressive. The woman can do anything she sets her mind to and she does it all with grace and generosity. In my 25 years, I have watched her play Titania and Helena at the Shakespeare Theatre of DC, run multiple marathons, raise three loud and headstrong daughters, move our entire family into at least seven different homes, take on a career that she never anticipated but mastered nonetheless, nurture the perfect example of marriage with my dad (which I blame for my incredibly high relationship standards), and all the while remain humble, inquisitive, and kind. She recently moved back to her hometown and was almost immediately asked to run for mayor (she’s not doing it, but still). HER mom is also a massive inspiration to me. She is the prime example of a matriarch and was a successful businesswoman back when women were not often seen in positions of power. She hosts a big Christmas party every year and is famous for knowing every guest’s name, as well as at least two facts about them. She exudes class and doesn’t know what a day off is. My dad’s mom is also a force to be reckoned with. She is a scholar, a businesswoman, and tough as can be. And you know what? I really admire my two sisters – my best friends – for their tenacity, compassion, and wit. I was truly just blessed with a wealth of bafflingly badass females in my family. Outside of my gene pool, I am inspired by women who exemplify a powerful combination of talent, intelligence, hard work, and humanity: Natalie Portman, Helen Hayes, Ella Fitzgerald, Brie Larson, Kate Winslet, Sara Bareilles, Emma Thompson, Lake Bell, and the list goes on…
Contact Info:
- Website: imdb.me/claireblackwelder
- Instagram: @claiblackwelder
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ClaireBlackwelderOfficial
Image Credit:
Chris Violette, Abel Armas
Pink shirt photo: Keshia Sih-Tseng
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
