Rising Stars: Meet Emily Rose McLeod

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Rose McLeod.

Hi Emily Rose, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
From the time I was very young, I’ve been obsessed with stories. It started with a worn-out copy of “The Little Mermaid” that I watched until I could recite every word. Eventually, my love of stories grew into a passion for stage acting. Tennessee Williams, Shaw, Shakespeare—these were my heroes. After college in Fresno, I was hired by A Noise Within theatre company in Pasadena. I pursued my crazy dreams all the way to Los Angeles with less than three hundred dollars in my pocket.

At A Noise Within, I was surrounded by some of the city’s finest actors. It was a privilege I am still grateful for today. In time, stage acting gave way to film acting and screenwriting. I created my web series, “When Mary Met Betsy,” because I wanted to tell a story about friendship and moving on. Once I finished writing the show, I found that I wanted to tell even more stories. I’m now lucky enough to act, write, and produce—both for my own projects and for my job at Totally TV/Totally Studios, a large YouTube channel specializing in family-friendly content. I’ve found that my experience as a writer has deepened my acting ability and I highly recommend that actors find a way to create their own content.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Day jobs! I’ve been a barista, a waitress, a teacher, and even a birthday party princess since moving to LA. On the bright side, I can make a mean cappuccino and I can tell you more about organic produce than anyone should. While that might not sound like an obstacle, I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t already done so to try waiting tables for a day. Luckily, those experiences help me write and act. I think that you can learn from any experience and I never take that for granted.

Most actors will have a period where they aren’t working much. Acting and writing classes have been something that inspires me even through my roughest patches. These classes created a safe space for me to gain confidence, explore, and spend time with the things that bring me the most joy. I think sometimes people graduate college and think they’re done learning, but classes have provided me with community, friendship and have led me to where I am today. In my opinion, you’re never done learning.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an actress, writer, and producer. As an actress, I’ve been blessed to work professionally in film, Shakespeare, and children’s musical theatre. I’ve somehow made a career of playing princesses! I love working with children and on pieces where language is key—that’s why I’m such a big fan of classic sitcoms and Shakespeare (they’re more related than you’d think!). As a writer/producer, I specialize in stories that empower women and young people. I am a person who sees the world from a bit of a Mr. Rogers perspective, and I love to share that with others.

I am most proud of my web series, “When Mary Met Betsy.” As I mentioned earlier, it’s a story about friendship and creating your own definition of a happy ending. My production team and I ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for the project via Seed and Spark. We used the money to create an entire season of the show, and we hope to release the project later this year. I am also tremendously proud of my feature, a coming of age drama that I hope to find distribution for in the future.

I think what sets me apart from others is my drive. I’ve been rejected more times than I’d like to admit and told that I wasn’t talented enough, pretty enough, etc. But the problem is, I’m stubborn, and I love what I do too much to quit. If I hit an obstacle, I try to find a new way of looking at things.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I’ve been lucky in that I was able to work through the pandemic. I think all of the downtime would’ve driven me crazy otherwise. In a strange way, it provided me more time to work on writing and developing projects. Also, I’m really great at making bread now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @itsemilyandroses and @whenmetbetsy
• Facebook: facebook.com/whenmarymetbetsy

Image Credits:
Stephanie Girard, Meyer2Meyer Entertainment, Totally Studios, Wyoh Lee Schneider, Arneet Singh