THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

Fast facts:

Pursuit: acting, writing, producing

Definition of success: “Leaving the world a better place than when you entered it.”

She got her break on The Late Show with David Letterman – not a bad first rung on the acting ladder – and from there went on to appear in The Mentalist, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As well as a string of commercials, she has featured in a host of films from Supergator to Playdate. She’s a writer and award-winning producer and, I know she won’t mind me telling you, appeared as the voice of one of the unlucky pedestrians in the iconic game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (sorry but we have to have a little bit of trivia here on The Secrets of their Success). It is my great pleasure to introduce the talented and engaging Mary Alexandra Stiefvater!

At some point, I reckon most of us have wondered what it’s like to be a movie star, but what actually inspires a person to stop dreaming and climb up on stage in front of a gathering of onlookers, spotlight in their face, and accept that unspoken contract held between them and their audience: I will now entertain you –?

“I saw a production of Evita at The Music Circus in Sacramento when I was fourteen,” Mary says. “I was struck by how the performance made me feel. We didn’t just witness a story; the actors made us feel our own humanity through someone else’s tale. I wanted to be close to people who could create that magic so I signed up to audition for the school play.”

So it has more to do with the connection than the exhibition? 
“Reaching another person,” Mary asserts. “I think all artists aspire to create something that positively affects another person.”

It’s a welcome and refreshing attitude, but if you think you can lay back and allow an adoring public to carry you forth to utopia, think again. Success comes from hard work: I want to know how much time Mary devotes to her own pursuits.

“Minus the time necessary to sleep? All of it. Even when I’m doing other things a portion of my brain is working on a script or creating a poem or choreographing a dance. It brings me so much joy to create. I am an actor first, but writing and producing are a way to compliment the on-camera work and build upon it. I really enjoy the creative process.”

This is anything but a typical ‘job’ then?

“Nothing is typical. Sometimes I’m on set for twelve hours and some days I’m alone writing for ten hours.  Working in the arts is a test of rolling with the punches. You never know what project is going to come to fruition first so you try to stay as fluid as possible.”

Doesn’t that wear on you though, I wonder? All those hours, the relentless pursuit, almost as if you’re a willing slave to your passion. Just once in a while, don’t you envy those with the stability of a more ‘routine’ vocation, the ones who sit comfortably in the nine-to-five groove?

“No. I feel apologetic though when I can’t plan as far ahead as people with a regular routine. I often have to change my plans at the last minute for work and I feel awful when the mutable nature of my work disrupts someone else’s schedule.”

Well don’t apologise, just give us the formula to your own brand of success and we’ll call it quits..

“Set goals and work towards each one step by step but be fluid with them. Life is going to test you so be okay with change. Be clear what you want and what you want to give the world. Be happy.”

I’d like to thank Mary for taking the time to talk to me here at The Secrets of their Success and giving us an insight into her fascinating world. If you’re appetite’s been whetted you can find out more about Mary at her website www.maryalexandra.com. Keep an eye out for her forthcoming films Where the Eternal Noise Lay and Squaw, the story of Squaw Valley’s successful bid to host the 1960 Winter Olympics. You can follow Mary @marystiefvater and I can personally recommend you do – as movie people go, she’s one of the more engaging!

Intro image courtesy of Mary Alexandra Stiefvater/Fadil Berisha
Footer image courtesy of Mary Alexandra Stiefvater/Theo and Juliet