Today we’d like to introduce you to Stevie Marceaux.
Hi Stevie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
There was a pivotal moment in my life when I experienced the loss of my mother. She was sick for a large portion of my childhood, and counter to the everyday experience of her cancer, it was a surprise when she passed. I remember my sisters and I were calling one another days before being informed, attempting to find out why she wasn’t answering our calls. At that time, I was lost, unsure of where to go. I found we often learn more from our losses than we do when we succeed, which is when I came upon acting. I discovered that through acting, I could not only express loss, grief, and mourning but the human experience. I don’t believe you’re living if you’re not feeling all the feelings, good or bad, or avoiding difficult experiences, and through acting and my loss, I could connect to what it was to be human. We live in a reality where it can feel like we can’t be who we truly are. There is an ideal of what and how one person should be. In turn, we end up feeling alone, and to a certain degree, without one parent, I felt that deeply. This form of suppression chains us and doesn’t allow us to move and flow through life. For me, acting has become the art of storytelling through the ability of letting go and showing oneself. I am lucky to be in an art form where I can connect to the human experience through life events such as grief. If someone sees my work and thinks to themselves, “Hey, that’s me,” or can recognize a part of themselves on screen and move through the experience, I feel I have done my job. There is so much to experience in life; I don’t believe positive emotions should only confine it. I feel lucky when I can remind people what it is to be human and to feel every crevice of their soul. Acting is a medium that allows those places and spaces to be. It is a space where those emotions can be free and have a place of belongingness without judgment. These days, I’m at a place where there is still room to grow, and I hope by witnessing others and being present, I can continuously learn and bring more to the art form.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. I don’t think most things are typically smooth sailing with anything you do in life. If there is a place for things to be smooth, I have yet to find it. I found most things to be a mixture of things. Such as when I started acting, I had to overcome the fear and anxiety of being on screen. Pressure blended with anxiety didn’t allow me to see outside myself and created several roadblocks, leading to my work being inconsistent and not flowing. I could imagine what it was like to work with me those days, and I still laugh. In one of the first films I shot, I read reviews about my art that hurt my feelings; honestly, that was my worst nightmare coming true. I sat at home reading them and analyzed other people’s opinions about my work. However, looking back, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, even though it may not be considered conventional or something I would recommend happening to a friend. Regardless, I learned you must continuously put yourself out there to understand yourself more and improve your craft; the mistakes show you where you can grow and are a part of the journey. Overall, I try to remind myself where I have been and what growth has occurred.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an actress specializing in the Meisner technique, which I have studied for over seven years. Typically, I am known for playing dramatic and emotional roles. My friends have told me characters with trauma are my strong suit, and it seems my acting coach, Laurel Vouvray, picks plays/scenes for me to work on that reflect that. One piece I am particularly proud of is a short film called “Early Autumn,”by Jackson Kibby and Jose Corres which I worked on about domestic violence. It showed the inner dwellings of women’s internal struggle, despair, and hardship in abusive relationships. I put my heart into that short and understand the woman in me who ended up in a past relationship that were in some way unhealthy. In a time when I didn’t know any better or felt I was unworthy of anything else, which I think many people experience everywhere.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love how creative Austin is. Not only do you have East side, which is filled with graffiti, artwork and a playground for foodies, you can also go to Barton Springs. It is a city that has something for everyone and has a culture that allows one the freedom to explore themselves. The Austin community will always hold a place in my heart. However, the cost of living is ridiculous and I feel for the people who struggle to make ends meet. I’m unsure what the solution would be for that.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steviemarceaux/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6923763/
