Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Catherine Jean.
Hi Sarah Catherine, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A curly-haired gal who is all about living life to the fullest and going for your goals with gusto. I was born in Richmond, VA, and have had the pleasure of living in a few different places throughout my life thus far: Michigan, Chicago, Birmingham, United Kingdom, New Jersey, Connecticut, Alabama, and San Francisco. However, the place that has always had my heart? Los Angeles. One of my most vivid memories is the first day I visited Los Angeles with my family as a little girl. I was mesmerized! One day, several years later, I set aside a suitcase and taped a pink post-it note, and wrote the words “LA, here I come!” with a nice pink Sharpie. It is still so surreal that my dream of moving to Los Angeles came true-several locations later, haha! I have been very blessed to have such a beautifully supportive family (shout out Mom and the Jean clan! Love you!) who are very supportive of the arts, as well as setting all types of goals. I have a family member that works behind the scenes in the entertainment industry and my family loves watching a wide array of films and tv shows. From ‘The West Wing’ to ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ and even ‘Legally Blonde’, I was transfixed! I think the late great Alan Rickman said it best, “Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theater, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.” I was completely amazed that not only could you tell a wide array of stories and get paid for it, but you can also make a tremendous impact in someone’s life! Elle Woods certainly inspires me to have a strong work ethic. I was hooked at an early age and knew immediately that I wanted to pursue being an actor. Additionally, I loved playing pretend with my siblings growing up and putting on puppet shows. One day we were pirates the next day we were fashion designers in our given circumstances. It always changed! Eventually, I started training at various different locations in the USA and even in the United Kingdom for a bit, and focused on building my resume and enjoying the process.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I believe when it comes to pursuing a profession such as acting, no matter what “stage” you are at, you have to really love it with your whole heart and soul (and stay persistent!). There is no XYZ path to achieving your “desired goal”, whatever that may be, and especially in this creative pursuit. It’s incredible at how vastly different actor’s journeys are! Of course, I think any fellow actor in any market can agree that there are indeed moments (or several!) of adversity in this business! I think no matter what our “backstory” is, moments of adversity that are unique to us can certainly shape us in an empowering way! For me, one of the moments of adversity that shaped me was being diagnosed with several learning differences and spending a brief period of time in Special Education classes during primary school. No matter what the “name/label” of our educational environments were/are, we are all humans striving to become the best we can be and offer different perspectives!
Often times I was told in these particular environments that I would not only struggle to achieve goals and learn in general, but I would also have trouble with a variety of day-to-day life skills. Even though my family are huge supporters of goal-setting, the messaging that I received in school definitely did a number on my self-esteem and confidence for a long time. Despite writing my goals down here and there during this time, my attitude on life did not match the energy of the goals I was writing down. One day I decided I no longer was going to tolerate believing this story in a negative mind frame and decided to “rewrite” my particular moments of adversity into a more empowering perspective. I started deep diving into lots of personal development and even won an essay contest where the prize was a ticket to Tony Robbin’s event called ‘Unleash The Power Within’ (pre-Covid!).
I started writing affirmations, which is turning affirmations into a question and then allowing your subconscious mind to find answers to that question. An exercise that I found especially helpful is writing down the version of me who has already achieved XYZ goals on my list. What is her physiology? What are her beliefs? What is her morning routine to start the day? How does she train and work on her craft? How does she study the business of acting? During this time, this is actually where my suitcase to LA idea came to be. Of course, there are those normal ‘off” days. But found this mindset shift to be so transformative and it continues to be! I also love incorporating Emotional Freedom Technique, Wim Hof breathwork practice, and keeping a gratitude journal. Oh, and scripting about your dreams as if they have already happened! Talk about a blast and a way to rock and roll, haha! One of my favorite written works is by Seneca, who was a Stoic philosopher and wrote the essay called ‘On The Shortness of Life’. While there are definitely elements out of one’s control in the acting space and life in general, this essay reminds me that even in moments of adversity, to enjoy every moment that we have here on Earth and to go for things with full force. Additionally, I love this quote by Jim Carrey, “You can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” Those keep me focused on my north star vision for myself, no matter what!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In terms of what I am working on now, all of my auditions are self-tapes. I have a self-tape setup at home and I have been cranking those away, haha! I often play the quirky leading lady, something akin to a character like ‘Mary Jensen’ in “There’s Something About Mary”. I also had the pleasure of working on a comedy skit for a popular YouTube channel. I also just became SAG-Eligible, so that’s been pretty rad!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
With life being so precious, I’m one-hundred percent for risk-taking to maximize life to the fullest. I think especially pursuing a profession like acting, risk-taking whether it’s the bold choices you make during a scene or even putting yourself out there, for example, by sending materials to a potential agent/manager is so paramount! Getting out of your comfort zone is, in my opinion, where the discovery zone is. I’m all about asking the “What if it goes right?” questions and turning the “impossible” to “I’m” and “possible”. You never know what can happen when you launch!
Contact Info:
Image Credits:
James DiPietro Photography
