Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Joy Rodgers.
Shannon Joy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m from Austin, TX. Growing up, skateboarding then rollerblading took over my life. Through that I was exposed to a lot of cultures, music, and urban exploration I would never get anywhere else. I attended college at Huston-Tillotson University and graduated with a Computer Science degree. I worked as a Pricing/Settlement Analyst at LCRA until one day I was like, ya know, I’m not happy in Austin. I’m gonna move to Los Angeles and focus on acting! That was eight years ago, and here I am!
Comedy is a deep love of mine. I was obsessed with SNL(slept outside for stand-by tix three times when I was younger) and knew a lot of people I enjoyed were involved in UCB. So in 2010, the literal day after I moved here, I began taking classes. Quickly, I realized I loved performing, writing and shooting sketches more than performing improv. The following year I was on a UCB Digital team as a DP and Editor. I learned how to shoot and edit by making skate videos with my friends. And it’s one of my biggest passions in life.
I’ve been very fortunate with my time as an actor in LA. I’ve gotten to be on shows like Modern Family, Birthday Boys, Adam Ruins Everything, Fameless, and performed in a lot of sketches for Conan, Jimmy Kimmel, and the Late Late Show with James Corden, as well as a slew of Funny or Die and College Humor videos over the years. I’ve had a few odd jobs to supplement my income like nannying for a few families, but mostly editing has been my side gig for years. I fell into editing for some great places like JASH, Defy, BuzzFeed and Dick Clark productions. It’s great to be able to have that to fall back on if I need extra cash, but my main focus at the moment is on acting and writing. I’m currently a writer for a Maude team at UCB and really enjoy writing my own work and shooting it. I also do a ton of p90x and spin class to counter my candy and ice cream addiction!
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?
Easy? Honey, no. HA! Texas has it’s quirks, but I think the biggest culture shot for me was just how seemingly rude and competitive people are here. And not even competitive in actual talent, I grew up skating around a bunch of adolescent boys, I know competition. But competitive in talking the talk and not actually walking any sort of walk. People would rather put you down the second they meet you instead of making a new friend the second they meet you, and it made it really hard to enjoy a lot of environments in LA when I first moved here. I began to focus on things I can control which is how I react and not let things like that, or racism, or misogyny, affect me. And I get that focus through journaling, meditation, reading A LOT(Deepak, Pema Chodron, Sanaya Roman to name a few) keeping people around who are genuinely kind and friendly (quality not quantity!).
As far as anything strictly acting, be open to try a few avenues to see what works for you. Don’t pigeon hold yourself because the person next to you is doing XYZ. Everyone is on their own path. It’s ok to step away from things if they’re not serving a positive purpose in your life, even if they seem like great opportunities. I’ve done that a ton, and even made my way back to certain things in my career with a more mature outlook and it’s been a great experience.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Focusing a lot of my acting. Auditioning and coaching a ton. Working out characters and writing a lot. Also making sure I find a healthy balance that keeps me inspired and just generally happy. That usually comes in the form of going to a museum, or concerts, and eating lots of crawfish!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
This year I’m looking forward to all of the acting work I have coming soon. My writing is developing more and I have two scripts that I hope to shoot and direct myself soon. And I’ve been into doing more comedy raps so expect more of that. It’s such a fun playful outlet, and I love making the videos for them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shannonjoyrodgers.com
- Instagram: @shannonjoyrodgers
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