Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Dailey.
Cassandra, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started dancing when I was three years old. Lots of years and dedication went into classes. My goal was to be one of the beautiful Radio City Rockettes. I came up short though, only being 5’5” that is. The height requirement is 5’6”.
So I re-evaluated what I was to do with my creativity. I thought I could help others, which I still love to this day, by becoming a dance therapist. It was the best of both worlds, I understood dancers and could relate to their struggles. While I was in school studying, I was asked to take a Fine-Art to round out my education.
I opted for acting. I figured it was like dance but with words. It was, and I fell in love. I used my imaginative mind and extensive dance training to embody someone else. It was fascinating. I never looked back. I kept my psychology major, minored in theatre and graduated in three years. I wanted so bad to get out of school so I could get out in the real job market as an actor. After graduating, I weighed the options of where to go.
Pennsylvania will forever hold my heart because it was 21 years of my life, but I knew I had to fly the coup if I wanted to succeed. I looked into acting schools and classes that might ease the newly grad into reality. I applied for a class scholarship at Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles. They enjoyed a tape I had from a workshop I did in New York, and I was awarded to attend a Method Acting class in Los Angeles for three months, I was stocked.
I put a handful of clothes in a suitcase and hopped on a plane. I was terrified, but all I could do was try. I did not know a single soul in Los Angeles, I stayed in a hostel for a few weeks to understand how the city worked and found my way. I got my bearings, and as time flew by, which it does in this city, I started to accomplish little stepping stones along the way.
Now looking back, I can’t believe how far I’ve come. We at times take for granted, the small wins, but we need to celebrate them. You have to enjoy the journey otherwise this process can be very hard.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being an artist is never easy. It’s art. It’s different for everyone. You have to love what you do. Once you learn that your art is your own you’ve conquered a battle many can not. In this industry, like every industry, everyone will have an opinion. You have to stay true to yourself. If what you do makes you happy, do it.
There are always going to be highs and lows with anything you pursue, but if you truly love it, the lows won’t seem so low. As an actress, one of the hardest things I had to learn is, it isn’t personal. I’m sensitive, what artist isn’t? When I didn’t get a job or get called back, I wanted to know why. I wanted an answer.
We never really get an answer, and that used to kill me; I had to learn to let it go. You do the best you can and once you walk out the door, leave all the worry behind you. If you constantly wonder, you’ll be a hamster running in a wheel. It’s not an easy task when you get so close to getting a job, and they don’t, but I learned once I started only looking forward things changed for me.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
What I’m most proud of recently is the accomplishment and recognition of my business partner, Chae Talley, and I are getting from the TV Pilot we produced. A few months ago, Chae came to me about a fun idea for a show. We both work together in a well-known sushi restaurant in West Hollywood called Katana. The wait staff is about 80% actors and actresses.
Day after day, we would hear the hard but very real stories of all the rejection. Again, it wasn’t personal, these are amazing thespians but like with anything it’s all about timing. So we said why wait to be on a show, lets put one together. So Chae wrote, “Thank You For Your Patients” a hospital comedy where the doctors are just like everyday people. They are simply trying to make it through the workday.
After weeks of prep, almost the entirety of the cast came from the restaurant. We shot it in three days with two red helium cameras and put almost our entire savings into it — first time filmmakers with an eye on the prize. We had the talent, team, and heart behind it.
We had a small piece put in The Hollywood Reporter on us this November and have already won Best TV Series at the LA Film awards. It just shows that with passion and persistence you truly can do anything.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck, in my eyes, is a majority of how things happen or don’t happen. I also think it’s timing. I’ve heard over the last couple days that sometimes we don’t get a role or a job per se because we aren’t ready.
That doesn’t mean we aren’t ready as a performer, I think it means we aren’t in the right place in our lives. I believe when we are ready the world will show us and things will happen, but when things don’t, it’s time for growth. Patience is a virtue.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @thankyouforyourpatients
Image Credit:
Bryan Koss
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