Today we’d like to introduce you to Tessie Herrasti.
Hi Tessie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Mexico City and started acting at a very early age. I’ve always thought of myself as a storyteller. Since I was a child, I told stories to everyone around me and to myself. I was fully immersed in the world of imagination and was able to carry this gift into adulthood. On that account, I’m a dreamer, an impersonator, a wacky wise woman whose biggest illusion is to portray stories that shape the world.
Sharing our stories is crucial for our social-historical enlargement. Stories heal trauma, create connections and build bridges between different cultures and belief systems. We are all made of stories, forged by them, represented by them, haunted or blessed by them. We carry the stories of our land, of our heritage, culture, ancestors, families, and communities.
Within our stories, lays the meaning of our lives.
Growing up, I began training in Classical dance, Bel Canto, circus, music, painting, and fitness so I consider myself to be a hyphenated person but my true passion is Acting.
After obtaining my diploma as an actor, I shared the stage with amazing actors in Mexico in absurdist, clown, modern, and classical stage productions. I also began to model and learn about voice-over. In 2008, I left to explore new horizons. In my quest for growth and artistic expansion, I landed in Paris and stayed there for almost 10 years.
Living, studying and working in Europe provided me with a different frame of mind and induced a vast curiosity to explore different acting techniques, cultural approaches, and art history, and blossom in social skills.
Subsequently, the train of life took me to Los Angeles where I expanded my acting into the business of Hollywood and learned about the entertainment industry. I don’t think I experienced a cultural shock in Europe the way I did in the United States. Some people would think because Mexico is so close, our ways of thinking might be similar, however, joining the American dream became a laborious journey for me where I had to learn the perks and technicalities of the industry and at the same time, deal with a lot of racial rejection. In spite of this, I was fueled and committed to follow and continue through the path of storytelling
During my first year in the city of Angels, I obtained my SAG-AFTRA card and this particular milestone opened up a different perspective on how to approach my acting work in the US. In 2019, I wrote an absurdist play about PTSD and participated in the Short & Sweet Hollywood Festival. The play was so well received that it took me on a tour in Sydney, Australia to present it at the Short & Sweet Sydney Festival during The Women’s Week Celebration.
In that same year, I started writing a fantasy novel titled “Jewels of Light” which moved on to be a short film/proof of concept. I intended to create opportunities for me and my acting friends so I ventured myself into producing, acting, and completing the short on that same year. This film happened to be an immense learning curve for me.
Throughout the whole process, I learned from the different filmmaking departments, worked with incredible and professional artists, and became proficient in editing, producing 1st AD-ing, and overall visual storytelling. The proof of concept of “Jewels of Light” has since then won over 27 festival awards including best TV Pilot, best female empowerment fantasy short, and best original story.
Once the 2020 lockdown took place, a lot shifted for me as a performing artist, however, it brought with it, a new opportunity to go inwards, reflect and develop newer and different approaches to my career. I was inspired to take action, to get involved in as many productions on Zoom as I could, meeting people, enjoying nature, appreciating silence, self-care, and journaling which unfastened my writing into something more rich and profound.
All my life, I’ve been studying the human experience and observing emotions and social interactions. I understood quickly the power that resides in stories and the responsibility that artists have in society. Stories offer solace, hope, joy, and compassion in the hearts of people and I want my work to reach further. Since 2016, I started studying, researching, and participating in multimodal art therapy sessions. I have facilitated and co-facilitated workshops, especially in creative writing and drama as tools for healing, mental wellness, and social-emotional skill development within diverse populations in the US, Europe, and Latin America.
All human beings, share something in common: the need to be seen, heard, and belong. It is somehow, the same goal that an actor aims to achieve meanwhile telling a story. This has been a constant reminder of how stories can affect, create awareness, relief or benefit the people that receive them. To connect humanity through the power of storytelling is my mission statement.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been any, I don’t think anyone has a smooth road in life hehe but it has been an expansive one, one of growth and magic. Growing up is filled with challenges and enchantment, being alive is overall the best experience of it all.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My achievements so far have been:
Honorable Mention for Fantasy Proof of Concept: Jewels of Light.
Best Female Empowerment Short-film for Jewels of Light.
People’s Choice Award Semifinalist for the Short & Sweet Hollywood Festival with my original play Matilde & Lula.
Special Guest at the Women’s Week Short & Sweet Festival Sydney, Australia with my original play Matilde & Lula.
Guest at the Today Show in June 2021 for The Traveling Diary Community.
Featured Poet at the National Poetry Therapy Association.
Presenter at the Expressive Therapies Summit LA 2021 with a session titled “Nature-Based Expressive Approaches for Healing from Medical Illness: Coping Despite COVID”.
Over 35 stage productions and over 20 short films filmed in different countries and languages.
What’s next?
I’m planning to begin working on Broadway, I would love to be Beetlejuice and the big plant in Little Shop of Horrors. The SIX was an amazing and fun play, I would love to work constantly in the theaters in New York City and radiate with the vibrancy of its sleepless streets.
I aim to publish a few novels I’m currently writing and one I finished recently is in review with a publisher. I would love to teach Acting at different Universities around the world, participate in the Edinburg Theater Festival as well as produce a theater play with the Odin Theater.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tessieherrasti.com
- Instagram: @tessieherrasti
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tessherrasti
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMiLh5pcsPc6msqKNYYXiZw
