Life & Work with Dash Jo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dash Jo.

Hi Dash, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It was a rainy evening Thanksgiving and our local theater was mostly empty. My mom let me choose my treats from the concession stand, a small popcorn and a tall blue raspberry slushie. We got to our seats and soon after I was hit with lights, bright colors, and music coming from the largest screen I had ever seen. The words Toy Story filled the screen and from there on I was taken by the appeal of watching a movie. I became obsessed with the screen that my parents had to cancel our cable subscription so that I can be more focused on school! But I soon followed up my obsession with acting classes in high school and then theater in College. I found myself creating opportunities for me to be part of theater and filmmaking by starting a drama camp for youth and putting up plays/musical productions in my community back home in Brockton, ma. I can’t for sure pinpoint the exact moment that I decided to be a storyteller but I know that cold rainy night sparked something that I carried for the rest of my life.

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?
It hasn’t been a smooth path. I think as a creative our biggest enemy is our inner voice. While silent to the outside world, the whispers of doubt, imposter syndrome, and fear were so loud in my head. Every time I thought to move forward, I ended up knocking myself down. But with each doubtful sound, I had to push myself to not drown in it. It’s still a struggle to this day but I have to continually remind myself that I’ve made it this far so I can’t be that bad, Right? Aside from doubt, one of the biggest struggles was finding opportunity. My small town in Brockton is NOT like LA where movies and shows are being made every day. Opportunity to perform is hard to come by. I had to create my own by putting up community plays and musicals and launching performance programs.

I also knew that if I planned to make a dent in my career, I’d have to get into the belly of the beast. So I moved to LA. What I hadn’t prepared for was how little of a fish I’d become in a large pond. So I still had to create opportunities for myself in LA. I’m still growing and pursuing what I want to accomplish as a filmmaker But when I’ve finally met my goal, I want to do more to provide opportunities for people like me who don’t have the resources or support to pursue their dream. There’s a seat at the table for everyone who has vision and passion.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a filmmaker. However, I started out as a playwright I’ve written scripts for church and company events. I’ve always enjoyed storytelling growing up so it was inevitable that I’d end up pushing to see my stories come to life. Even when I didn’t have that many resources to put up productions, I found ways to express my love for storytelling. My proudest moment was when I started a summer drama camp. I created a program that worked with children and youth to come out of their comfort zone using performance art. To me, this was more than a summer camp for parents to drop their children off before work. It was the opportunity for me to do what I love while encouraging youth to be their most expressive self. I got to witness so much growth during the program and I loved seeing that the students were eager to return the following summer This is really what my love for storytelling is really about, creating an opportunity, platform, and story, that helps people grow, learn, and feel.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Over the years I’ve seen the growing influence of social media. We have Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter… these are platforms people use to promote themselves I don’t see that stopping anytime and, to be honest, I am not mad at it. I think it’s easier now for deserving artists to display their work and become known. It’s not for everyone but I definitely see how it has benefitted some of today’s popular names. And I feel like there are going to be more avenues in social media that would cater to artists and creators. Also, Artificial intelligence is scary BUT I cannot ignore how much “easier” it will be for shows and movies to have CGI and AI work together which on one hand can save filmmakers time and money but at the same time sadly hurt the artists.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @dashjo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dash-jo-61562a97/
• Twitter: @ohhhdash
• Other: IG: molassesthemovie

Image Credits
Aaron Adrian Prithvi Chauhan