Meet Carlye Tamaren of Drama Drama in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlye Tamaren.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Carlye. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in St. Louis, MO the oldest of four kids. Our house was super creative, packed with art projects and costume boxes while we watched movie musicals over and over and over. Everyone in my family sings so we were like a little Von Trapp family running around all the time. It was so much fun. I pretty much was born performing — I got into gymnastics at a very young age, and then once I discovered dance at 12 it was game over. I remember seeing a regional theatre show when I was about 12 and learning that those people up on stage were just regular humans, just like me and if I could figure out how to audition, I could actually be in a show! From then on, I was dead set on getting on stage. I booked some regional theatre shows and got in a dance company, and I ended up going to college for musical theatre. Then, I accidentally fell in love with film and tv, which led me to directing, writing and producing!

I recently shot a teen movie musical called Drama Drama where I get to sing, dance and act all at the same time for tv — that’s the dream right there!! The movie is a coming-of-age teen musical dramedy where I play Veronica, the resident tomboy that accidentally becomes part of a girl band. In anticipation of the movie’s release, we just launched a super fun music video for “Saturday Night” that can be watched on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b8CcEDCw9Q&feature=youtu.be.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth? Not always. And I imagine it will be not so smooth many more times in my life. This career is hard, hard work. Yes, luck happens but that in no way means those people have staying power. You have to be an expert at your craft, and that takes lots of training and studying and watching all of the content out there. The actor’s struggle is also definitely waiting around for auditions, jobs, basically permission to act. And that can be completely debilitating to live your life that way. My biggest struggle has been learning how to put that power back in my own hands and making my creative projects, not waiting for anyone else’s permission. When I am creatively fulfilled in my own right, I am happy; my acting is better, and more jobs come in!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I began my career in entertainment as a gymnast with eyes on the Olympics. That shifted to dance, and I danced in a professional dance company, which led me to Musical Theatre, which led me to acting! So today, I am an actor that specializes in dancing and singing. About five years ago, I started to pick up Martial Arts as well, which has been such a fun journey. I train in Capoeira and Krav Maga and dabble in weapons and stunts. I am also a director, writer, and producer. I have created two shows and am pitching my first feature! I think I am most proud of my ability to grow and acquire new skills. I love learning and challenging myself to face my creative fears — anything that makes me think “no I could never do that,” I change the conversation, learn about it, and do it. I think it’s the conglomeration of all of these creative skills and interests that sets me apart.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have started earlier and maybe gone to college in a place where I could already begin to start auditioning. I loved my college program at the University of Michigan, it’s an INCREDIBLE musical theatre program, but part of me wished I had been able to start already laying the groundwork in NY or LA from the start.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dramadrama.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/carlyeraetam
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlyeraetam/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlyeraetam
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/dramadrama/

Image Credit:
All For One Media

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