Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Shae Hooper.
Hi Mary Shae, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story is long and filled with side quests – so I will do my best to stick to the relevant facts. I am a creative, actor, director, writer, musician, dancer, and poet generationally from Austin, TX. I am proud to be a native of this great, creative, unique city and the pulse of what made Austin that way is the undercurrent for everything I have pursued in life. After graduating from Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, I attended college at NYU Tisch where I received my BFA in theater with a minor in Music. COVID hit New York City while I was still in school, so I moved home to Austin to finish out my degree where I continued to act professionally, make music, teach dance and acting, and found a new pursuit: ministry. I work full time at an evangelical church in the creative sector. I create worshipful experiences and environments through my creative gifts like music, lighting design, graphic design, social media, you name it. I have worked with major churches across the United States for the last ten years and am settled now in Georgetown with my sweet little family.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, in fact I would say it was quite a rocky road. But what is interesting is I truly believe we as humans are sent through trials and difficult situations to build something within ourselves we never knew was there. Whether that be resilience, patience, grace for yourself or others, or some other quality that makes for a good human being. When I was young, I was diagnosed asthma and Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD), both of which directly affect my ability to create art in the mediums I love the most. Later in life I experience extreme anxiety and depression. Turns out all of these physical limitations were rooted in one thing: stress. I would put such an extreme internal pressure on myself that it would manifest outwardly. This always targeted one thing: my voice. Not just in my ability to sing or speak, but also to be present in a room, to lead spaces, and to encourage others along the way. Not to say my life has not been blessed – I have been able to study with people who are literally the best in the world at what they do – from Broadway to the “big c Church.” I have a wonderful husband and an incredible son. I find myself now in the most content, grateful, quiet, happy season I have ever found myself in.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
For a very long time I was a professional actor and director. I studied at NYU under some of the greatest artists on Broadway and have worked alongside the best of the best Hollywood has to offer from the President of the DGA to Tony award winners. But what I am proudest of is the pursuit I currently find myself in. I am a mom, I am a wife, and I work full time as a creative in ministry. I get to actually be the hands and feet of the Church helping people every day on their spiritual walk with God and I primarily support other creatives. Artists and creative people offer so much depth and awe to daily life and seeing how their gifts flourish when they are spiritually aligned with all God has for them is an amazing place to find myself. I still continue to dance, read Shakespeare, enjoy great films and food – but caring for people and setting aside my own self interest has been the pinnacle of my life and career.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have the greatest parents on Earth, truly. They are not perfect people, they are not even perfect parents (neither am I), they never ever for one second spoke anything over me other than encouragement and bravery. To be courageous about who I am, what I love most in this world, and to go after it with all I have. That is the kind of mom I want to be to my son. When he looks back, I want his whole life to be so full of love he cannot help but be so sure of who God created him to be. I have had many mentors along the way and they all shared one thing in common – they saw something within me I did not see in myself.
We have this phrase in Christianese (the common language among life long Christians or people who grew up in church) which is when someone “calls you higher.” Whether that is to a higher moral standard, a higher calling, or a higher version of yourself. That is what my mentors over the years did. They identified the things in me that needed refinement, but also the things in me that exist naturally that just needed a little nudge in order to flourish. And I find myself flourishing.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_maryshae?utm_source=qr
- Other: https://canva.link/ye7vqevn3h67nlu
