Emma
“I’m inspired by any woman who has to start over. The courage to begin again after a breakup, a death, a career blow, a diagnosis etc. It’s incredible.”
Emma is an actress by profession, and an optimist by choice; she is inquisitive, passionate, and inviting. After experiencing tragedy at a young age, she forged an unbreakable relationship with acting that served to comfort and strengthen her. Meet Emma. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
E: Hi, I'm Emma (She/Her). Professionally, I am a theatre and film actor, and also an emerging theatre director, playwright, and voice actor. Currently I'm producing/directing/writing my first animated short film – The Magpie.
K: Describe yourself in your own words
E: I'm extremely friendly, ambitious, energetic, and tend to live my life with a general sense of organized chaos! For the most part I am an optimist and work to take life one day at a time. I identify as a bibliophile, travel enthusiast, workaholic, and a lover of dogs and self help books. I am eternally curious.
K: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
E: My ability to talk to almost everyone. My name Emma means 'universal', and generally I really jive with that. I get jazzed to interact with people and learn their stories.
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
E: I started in acting when I was 9, and was already deep into it by my teens. In the middle of my teenage years I experienced a family tragedy that definitely could have sent me down a dark path. I still sometimes look back and wonder how I got through it, and I honestly believe it was my love of the arts (which sounds corny but it's true.) I'm not saying the arts healed me, but pretty soon after I began working on a community theatre show that rehearsed for about 6 months. I was the lead, and having to dedicate time to 4 rehearsals a week, plus school really helped me keep my head above water. I also made beautiful relationships with my castmates. In the years after, I came to believe that this tragedy was a huge help in preparing me for how difficult life can be, and specifically how difficult the life of an artist can be. It gave me a certain resilience and thick skin.
K: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
E: Don't sweat the small stuff, you have bigger fish to fry. Also don't devote so much time to boys.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
E: This is actually a bit of a tough question for me. I don't think too much about it. When I do think about what being a woman means to me, I always come back to what women have to deal with that men don't. I think a lot about period equity and removing menstruation as a taboo topic. I think about the ticking clock that women have to think about in terms of having children. I think about my own relationship with my breasts and how sexualized they were as a teen. I think a lot of negative things, sadly.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
E: I'm very inspired by my mother, and I try to tell her that often. I'm super inspired by the life and career of Allison Janney, she's one of my absolute favourite actresses. But I think what I want to say is that I'm inspired by any woman who has to start over. The courage to begin again after a breakup, a death, a career blow, a diagnosis etc. It's incredible. I look up to so many women, and if I could I would thank them all for showing me how to be resilient.
Check out Emma’s website here.