Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalista Tamez.
Hi Kalista, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey as an artist started my sophomore year of High School where I first discovered my passion for singing, music, and performing through Show Choir. The beautiful combination of singing and dancing intrigued me immensely which then led me to get involved in the theatre program where my journey as an actor began. After reading my very first script, my heart immediately knew that I was embarking on something huge; something that would become my calling in life. Being on stage just felt right – performance helped me find myself in the midst of High School and I am so grateful for finding this passion at such a young age. I loved the process of preparing and rehearsing for production and craved more of it all. Acting challenged me in ways I had never faced prior and I wanted to learn as much as I could. This newfound passion led me to pursue a BFA in Acting at Boston University where my passion grew stronger than I can describe.
In Boston, I trained in a vigorous acting program alongside a fantastic group of fellow actors. I was embraced in an environment that inspired me, challenged me, and supported me. I overcame so many fears and learned more about myself than ever before. My love for acting grew fiercely and thrived in collaboration. Working with artists that loved this craft as much as I did was the best experience I could have asked for. The emotional vulnerability that I had to unveil in my training and performance was difficult but almost intoxicating. Molding into a character is one of the most beautiful processes; understanding and physicalizing every tick that a character holds is exhilarating. Storytelling is an art that goes back centuries and being a part of the evolution of it in acting is truly incredible. I discovered the exquisite art of movement through a class held by the brilliant Yo-El Cassell. In this class, I became in touch with my body and its capabilities for the first time. I explored acting through movement and movement by itself. I never considered myself a ‘dancer’ per say, but movement allowed me to freely move my body without any self-judgment. Movement has become an integral part in my artistry and I now see it woven within everything; it continuously impresses a new perspective in my creative processes.
Although my training was mostly based in stage acting, all of what I learned goes hand in hand with film acting. I took the initiative to get involved in film projects at BU and throughout the Boston area. Those were my first endeavors with film and I fell in love with it instantaneously. Not only did acting in front of a camera intrigue me, but witnessing the complex preparation that goes into creating a film set was eye-opening as I had never seen it firsthand. The collaboration of so many talented individuals to create even just one scene blew my mind. I wanted to be a part of that creation – not just as an actor, but as a filmmaker. I volunteered to be a production assistant for as many projects as I could. Just being a part of the behind-the-scenes setup motivated me to eventually start creating films on my own in the future. Despite not having formal training in filmmaking, I knew that this was something I wanted to pursue and that would also benefit me greatly as an actor.
I, unfortunately, had to leave Boston due to extenuating circumstances caused by the pandemic. This devastated me, but after a long break from any art, I am back and more inspired than ever. Starting this year (2022), I have now taken on photography as an additional passion. I had always been the person to take a million pictures on my iPhone and never once thought I could actually create a profession from it with the proper equipment. After purchasing a camera, I was immediately captivated by the way that I could capture people, moments, and landscapes through a lens. After only one month of owning a camera, I started the process of building up my own photography studio and photography business. I have always been inspired by photography that is rooted in a more avant-garde aesthetic and I am trying to emulate just that in my own way. Editorial photography is my favorite and I want my acting to influence it in which each photograph consists of movement, expression, and a character-like element. In this, I am pursuing a dream of mine to eventually photograph for high-end fashion magazines that incorporate extremely artistic and innovative visions. On top of this fresh passion, I am continuing to pursue acting, film and music all at once. The eagerness that I carry to create and collaborate in every medium of art is boundless. I cannot wait to embark on more new projects and to learn more about myself as a human and as an artist!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Growing as an artist has certainly not been a fully smooth road, but I try to take each obstacle and allow it to lead the way rather than inhibit it. Life is filled with abrupt interferences and that is what makes acting so powerful; storytelling through acting is a way to connect with everyone anywhere. It is a way for us as humans to nourish empathy more, to see ourselves in another, and to feel something. So when I encounter hardship in my journey as an artist, I try my best to not brush it away and to instead use it as fuel. The biggest struggle for me has been the pandemic and feeling as if it literally sucked inspiration out of me for an extended period of time. Being isolated from other artists was one of the hardest things I have gone through as a creative. Especially as an actor, where collaboration is vital, I was lost for a time. But after sitting in a rut of being stuck in an art-less life for a while since the pandemic first hit, I had a revival this year in which I said to myself ‘enough of this complacency – go back to doing what you LOVE.’ I realized that without passion, what is there? I knew it was time to feel like myself again and to put myself out there and simply create. One of the best things I have done for my artistry was creating my art Instagram this past March (2022) in which I share everything that I work on. It is a way for me to express myself artistically and to share my passions with others. I do not limit what type of art I create or share on that page and cannot wait to grow with it more.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an actor utilizing each skill within it to influence my work as a singer, mover/dancer, filmmaker, and photographer. I am absolutely in love with character work and creating pieces, no matter what artistic medium, that radiates almost other-worldly components – ones that lure you in to feel like you are experiencing something fresh. In all of my art, I work to embrace the human experience as much as possible. Being as honest and vulnerable as I can in my work is especially important to me. I am in the process of diving back into acting by finding new projects to be a part of and to create new projects as well.
I am focusing a lot on my photography recently as I want to build my portfolio to fully reflect my perspective as a creative. My photography is rooted in an editorial style that incorporates fun fashion, makeup, colors, expressions, and movements. I want for my photos to embody almost animalistic characteristics within the models – having each model embrace a certain animal and transform with those qualities in their own way. Each experience that I have with new clients is inspiring and provides me illuminating insight for future sessions. I am currently seeking models for editorial photos, so please reach out if you are interested in exploring this with me!
As far as singing, I am in the process of professionally recording some covers which will then lead to writing my own music. I love performing and want to sing at venues soon. My voice thrives in Jazz, Blues, Musical Theatre, and R&B. I have a lot of musical training under my belt and am ready to take the next step with my singing by sharing it more. Collaborating with other musicians and producers has been enlivening and I cannot wait to share some of what I have been working on!
Diving into the world of filmmaking has been a thrilling experience and I am continuing to learn more each day. Filmmaking is a beast and navigating the ins and outs of it is exhilarating. I am working with local filmmakers currently and acting in some projects, but plan to begin directing my own short films starting this summer. You will be seeing some movement pieces, music videos, short films, and more. Stay tuned!
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The pandemic changed everything for me. I came home for spring break my sophomore year of college and during my time back at home for this break, the world was hit by this unknown, terrifying large force that is COVID-19. I was told to not return to campus after spring break and have been in Austin ever since. For the rest of my sophomore year, our training was held online via zoom. Online acting school was miserable for me as I craved in-person connection more than anything. With this, I chose to take a leave of absence for the school year of 2020-2021 to work full time, which then led to me deciding to withdraw from BU ultimately as my life changed so drastically within months. Leaving Boston was incredibly difficult for me in many ways; I missed creating, I missed acting, I missed collaboration. For two years, I was lost artistically. I lost the part of myself that was on fire to create, to act, to sing… to do anything. I was lost – I did not know if I would be inspired to do anything artistic again, which scared me. But after so long of being complacent in not doing what I love, I finally woke up from this nightmare and I decided that I was done being artistically dormant. It was time to be ME again after all of this time. A few months ago, I purchased my first ever camera and little did I know that this camera would re-ignite everything artistic within myself; I found my vessel to begin creating again.
Ever since, I have started the process of building my own photography studio and business for editorial-styled photo sessions as I am in love with the influence of movement, fashion, and even character work in editorial photos. A dream of mine would be to photograph for high-fashion magazines in the future and I am trying to make that dream come to life. My newfound passion for photography has awoken every artistic fiber in me and I have recently started acting, singing, moving & dancing again. After two whole years, I am back. I am me again. The lessons I have learned from the pandemic have been eye-opening as I learned in the time of isolation that as a creative, I had to almost become my own ensemble for a bit. I did not know how to do that at first without other artists and discovered that I needed to learn everything about each artistic avenue that inspires me in order to then become my own ‘director’ so that I could then create projects on my own.
Since this epiphany, I have been teaching myself about photography, photo editing, filmmaking, cinematography, scriptwriting, and so much more. Without the immense curiosity to understand every aspect of each medium of art I am in, I would not be doing my work justice and I would not be doing what I am doing now. Although my life significantly shifted from this pandemic, I am grateful for the new paths that it has led me to. I am now fully based in Austin, Texas for the next few years and plan to make as much art as I can until I eventually move to either LA or NYC to continue to pursue my artistic passions.
Pricing:
- I am currently charging minimum $200 for Editorial Photo Shoots. Once my website is launched in the next few months, there will be session package options with different prices.
- For Family Photos, I am currently charging $200 minimum.
- For Senior Photos, I am currently charging $200 minimum.
- For Professional Headshots, I am currently charging a minimum $175.
Contact Info:
- Email: kalistatamez@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artbykalistatamez/
Image Credits
The photo of me acting was taken by Daniel Bastidas. The rest of the editorial photos were taken by me.
