Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamison Scala.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jamison. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When people ask what I do, I often say, “Actor/Comedian… bla bla bla.” So inspiring 🙂 The “bla bla bla” isn’t a throwaway, rather it represents the pretty iconic Hollywood storyline of: moved from hometown, pie in the sky dreams, a million survival jobs to support the dreams, and still at it! I grew up in New Jersey, about 20 miles outside of New York City. I went to college at Temple University in Philadelphia and afterwards moved to LA. Almost 15 years later, I’m still in LA. I love the sunshine.
Directly after college, I worked briefly in New York City in TV production and through those connections, I began in LA working in TV production as well. My first job in LA was working on the pilot season of “Deal or No Deal.” I worked alongside a very SoCal gal who pronounced it, “Dil or No Dil” and that still makes me laugh. Shortly thereafter, I got a job at E! working on “Live from the Red Carpet” and the “E! News” companion show “The Daily 10.” I spent two years at E! and I made a lot of the friends I still have to this day.
After E!, I left to become a wildly successful actor. Thank God for unemployment. I went on lots of auditions, heard lots of noes, and had lots of odd survival jobs. The next handful of years I felt very LA-actor by working in a restaurant and I loathed it. Personally, I faced my childhood fear of organized sports and joined an adult volleyball league and loathed it. On a total whim, I started taking improv classes at The Second City (SC) and loved it. More auditions, more noes, and more odd survival jobs.
After graduating from SC, I became an active member of the improv/sketch community. At the time, SC had a partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and I got cast to perform sketch and improv at sea. Over the next 6 years, I did 4 4-month long contracts and enjoyed what it offered. I loved being a working actor working for a theater I was passionate about, I loved getting to see the world, and I loved docking out of New York City and getting to reconnect every Sunday with family and friends as the ship turned over its passengers. In LA, comedians are often performing for other comedians and at sea I got a more realistic temperature for what Americans think is funny. SC teaches us to improvise to the height of our intelligence, but I think people really just want to hear fart jokes. So, I think it’s finding the balance of telling a fart joke, but a smart fart joke that evokes some thought. My fourth and final contract wrapped up as SC and NCL were parting ways. I came back to LA and continued to be part of SC’s Hollywood community.
I began a weekly accountability group out of my apartment and it’s one of the most valuable groups I’ve been part of. It’s a challenge to be accountable when you’re your own boss. The group is a rotating group of artists that sets goals every week and reports back on them the next week. One member came in one week and said, “I started writing a movie and you’re going to be in it.” Against all odds, 9 months later we were in Chicago filming the indy feature film, “Freelancers Anonymous.” My first movie.
A year ago, I thought I had used up all my lives in the Hollywood game of life, no more tricks up my sleeves. It felt like a miracle when a friend recommended me for a job at SiriusXM as a Sound Board Operator. I was nervous I was giving up my dreams and goals for the sake of stability. I’m thankful to say, I landed in a job that, yes, takes me out of the audition game a bit, but gives me stability while allowing me to feel artistically creative, appreciated and fulfilled. This chapter has been filled with many wonderful surprises and I’m thankful to the person who got me here and I’m excited to see where this adventure leads.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A big struggle for me was learning to qualify success in different ways. In so many parts of the world, success is defined by money and a title. Neither of which I have and neither do most artists. My dream is to be on a sitcom, but I’m not and I don’t think it’s fair to me or my fellow artists to then qualify the efforts along the long road to that goal as a failure. It’s a cliché, but it truly is about the journey. When I’m a working actor, I’m no more or less talented than when I’m not a working actor, I’m no more or less valuable or worthy as a human. It’s easier said than done, but when I was able to embrace that success is big and small and can come in all shapes and sizes, life got a little easier. At the suggestion of another one of my fellow accountability group pals, I keep a “success jar” next to my desk and drop in little notes listing both large and small successes as the year passes. When I read them back at year end, it reminds me that good things are happening. I may not be sprinting through the marathon, but I’m at least going in the right direction.
A few years ago, I took on a survival job that I thought was going to answer my prayers and allow me to pay my bills, but also focus on my art, but instead it crushed every ounce of my soul. Dramatic much? Every day I would say to myself, “It’s not forever, it’s just for now.” When I got out of it, I spent a lot of time evaluating what had just happened. I eventually came to the conclusion that life is about going on adventures. And adventures can be all kinds of things and come in all kinds of packages. But statistically, the more adventures I go on, the higher my chances become that I’ll hit a bad one. The moral of the story isn’t to shy away from going on the adventure for fear it will be bad, rather “say yes” and see what happens. It’s the unknowns, the sorrows, the joys that remind me I’m alive. This whole journey hasn’t been smooth, but I don’t think anyone’s is. But life is good and life is not boring or predictable and perhaps that’s success.
Please tell us about your work.
Almost all of the fantastic opportunities I’ve had have come through people I’ve met along the way. I hope that the act of people offering me these opportunities is a testament to their belief in my talent and my work ethic. I’ve worked hard at working hard and I think it has paid off and continues to pay off. I think I’m most proud of my resilience. It’s almost disturbing and delusional that despite so much rejection, I’m still convinced I can achieve what I want to. I may get there, I may not. Who knows, maybe I’m already there and I just can’t see it yet. Is that an inspiration quote? Please feel free to put it on a coffee mug or reusable tote.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
When I was at E!, I would sometimes transcribe award speeches all day. Often, I would drift and daydream about who I would thank. First on the list was always Mom & Dad. I don’t have kids, but if I did, I hope my focus would be to make sure my child knew they were loved and supported. Somehow it seems that when that’s a given, the rest falls into place. My parents provide(d) that for me and I’m always thankful for that.
I often say to family and friends, “I suppose I could do this alone, but I’m thankful I don’t have to.” Success in the arts is truly a group sport. Almost all my wins have come from people setting me up for success and a cheering squad of family and friends and fellow artists leading me along the path to the win. I like to hope that a feather in one of our caps is a feather in all of our caps.
Contact Info:
- Website: JamisonScala.com
- Instagram: @HeyJamisonScala
Image Credit:
Sarah Liz, Pacific Symphony, The Second City
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