Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauryn Henry.
Lauryn, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up as an only child in suburban New Jersey, I’ve always been a bit overly imaginative.
From as early as I can remember, I’ve been telling stories by myself, for myself in all forms. I wasn’t very loud then, but my mind was restless– I was always sketching characters, creating inventions, building worlds based on the stories I wrote in my head. My mother enrolled me in ballet and piano lessons during this time, probably to channel my energy into something tangible.
While I wasn’t terrible at the ballet, I was held back two levels… twice. I got bored of it really quickly, and I wasn’t good enough to be serious about it. As for the piano, I would sit on the bench and cry every day as I practiced. Needless to say, that didn’t last long either. To my parent’s surprise, I auditioned for a talent show in fifth grade– they had absolutely no idea that I was even capable of singing until they saw me perform.
After realizing that I enjoyed singing enough to do it in front of hundreds of people, I finally found an art form that stuck. I turned to musical theater, and from that point onward, I grew to be a quintessential “theater kid.” By the time I was 13, I wanted nothing more than to be a professional actress, but after realizing how little control I would have over my career through constant auditions that may or may not go my way, I told myself that the best way to guarantee I get cast in projects is by making my own.
Shortly after that realization, my parents gave me a Flip camera for my birthday, and I taught myself how to edit. I took to it pretty quickly and became a bit obsessed. For an embarrassingly long time actually, I gained a lot of practice and familiarity through making edits from my favorite movies and TV shows and uploading them to YouTube. By the time, I was in high school I started using DSLRs and shooting footage on those, in addition to dabbling and teaching myself about digital photography.
Everything I did in high school centered around the arts. I wasn’t great at math, but I was in AP Studio Art. I wasn’t on any varsity teams, but I was always in rehearsals– either for theater or for acapella. In my spare time, I continued to make films, took music production classes, and wrote really horrible poetry. During my summers, I attended film programs where I was first introduced to a network of filmmakers who have grown to be some of my closest friends and collaborators.
By the time I was a junior, my parents had finally realized what I always knew– ivy leagues were way out of the question. However, I was pushed to apply to the next best thing– USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2016. That same year, I became a YoungArts winner for Cinematic Arts and qualified as a U.S. Presidential Scholar Semi-Finalist in the Arts.
Now a junior at USC and an LA resident, I’m pursuing my BA in Cinema & Media Studies and a minor in Screenwriting. During my time in college, I have also done some freelance work with GirlBoss and PAPER Magazine.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’m still young, but there have already been sooo many setbacks. The biggest obstacles that I’ve faced thus far have been the physical challenges I’ve faced for over half of my life. I’m very much not an athlete anymore, but for a time in my youth, I tried a little bit of everything– soccer, basketball, tennis, ice skating, swimming, diving, martial arts, gymnastics…
When I was nine, I had a pretty bad gymnastics accident that I’ve never fully recovered from. It took a toll of my legs– my knees have been super unstable and unreliable since. I actually had to get a reconstructive surgery about two years ago on my left knee. It doesn’t affect me much these days, but it definitely contributed to the reason I found myself more drawn to the arts in my later years.
With being said, the instability of my knees even made theater extremely difficult at times. Other challenging moments have been more internal than physical. Since high school, I’ve struggled with anxiety, and at times, it’s been all-consuming and paralyzing.
I still struggle with self-doubt and anxious tendencies daily, but to a lesser degree– I make sure I’m taking care of my mind and have been checking in with myself more. I think discovering my voice as an artist, knowing who I am, and what stories I want to tell has helped tremendously.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Aside from being a full-time student, I’m a writer-director primarily. I just wrote my first pilot, so now I’m in the middle of preparing to direct proof of concept (that I’ll also be starring in) this summer!
As far as other film work goes, I’m an editor and have been doing a lot of work as a production designer lately. Wearing many different hats is a bit of juggle and can come with its own challenges, but I love it. I’m never bored. Speaking of many hats, I also just launched my brand as a musical act last week!
I’m super proud to say that because that’s been a project I’ve been thinking about for years. I released a cover mashup of some songs by Glass Animals under the name “RYL0” and made a dope music video with my friends. It’s kind of just for fun, but I have more releases planned, so we’ll see how it goes!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Being from the east coast, it’s taken me a long time to get used to this city. I grew up knowing Manhattan where things are relatively easy to get to, and traffic doesn’t dictate your evenings.
The coastal difference in pace stumped me for a bit, but with that being said, Los Angeles is definitely the place to be for everything I love. It’s the center of the entertainment world, and I’ve learned so much just by being here. Everyone here wants to be a multi-faceted artist with many hyphens and many hats.
That works for me because that’s what I am, though it can be hard here for that same reason. It’s hard to stand out among the oversaturated pool of writer-director-somethings. Yes, it’s inspiring, but it can be distracting because it’s so easy to focus on what everyone else is up to.
For someone just starting out, my recommendation is to remember to breathe and focus on the things you can control. You’ll never be in control someone else’s talent, skills, connections, or luck, so why dwell on it? As long as you can dedicate your own time and energy on honing in to what makes you stand out, you’ll find your way.
Contact Info:
- Website: laurynhenry.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/1EgAthFh52MeRfgWj901va
Image Credit:
Jules Nash, Vern Hass
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