Meet Taylor Stone | Actor & Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Stone and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
I’d love to have built such a strong community of creatives that going to work was always just spending time with good people (and we happen to have been making art while we were at it). I would love to look back at the sets I’ve worked on and mostly remember all the laughter we had. I think often times people think professionalism and joy/laughter can be mutually exclusive. I think they actually go hand and hand. I hope I have fun in my career and I bring joy to those who work around me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m an actor, producer, and western enthusiast, (despite being from the city). If I could make period pieces forever, sign me up! I have a couple shorts and features coming out this year that I felt honored to be a part of, sadly not all of them were period pieces… Fortunately, each of them had an epic crew making it happen! I’m a big believer that the energy on set can be seen through the lens. Its communicated to the viewer on a subconscious level or something! I’ve watched projects that look like a hoot and a half to be a part of the making of and I’ve watched others that seemed painful. I’m most proud of the projects that were a hoot and half to make, including Tricks Can Go Wrong, Cowboy Currency, and Hart of The Wildbunch. I’m especially proud of the projects I get to do both producing and acting in with Aether Films.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I didn’t always think I’d be in the creative field. I always told myself “I’ll never work in the industry. That’s unoriginal and stupid.” I had friends who’s parents were screenwriters, everyone I knew was going to film school, and my city was over taken by people who can’t merge across 4 lanes on the 405 in a breeze and moved across the country to “chase their dreams.” And well, good thing I have a big smile, because I had room to put both my feet in my mouth with that one.

I think I felt this way because I was still a kid, sitting in my desire to be unique, special, and, well, original. But art isn’t an individualistic pursuit. We don’t have museums and then lock people out. There aren’t concerts with empty stadiums. We don’t read a story from the 15th century and cry because we can’t relate to it. We create so we can share our communal experiences. Once I saw art in this perspective, there was joy in asking for help, for collaborating, and I saw my craft change. I want to celebrate people, and explore what makes us people, rather than desperately try to prove I am so different. I hope the thing that sets me apart from others, is that I want to be like others, I want to experience what it means to be so deeply human.

I may have also felt so turned off by the arts early on because I didn’t see myself as an Artist (with a capital A). I was naturally more analytical. I couldn’t paint or draw or sing (at least all to a level I considered generally good) and honestly I can barely clap on beat. I wasn’t depressed and desperately trying to emote my internal struggle to the world. I considered these traits to be synonymous with art. For a while it caused me to walk away from the creative field because I wasn’t “crazy” enough for it. Crazy, yes. but not crazy enough. After reading the Artist Way, as many of us have, I now am a part of the big community that gets to claim that it changed my life and shifted the trajectory of my career. Thanks, Julia Cameron.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Eat all the Mexican food you can get your hands on. Not clean, healthy Mexican food. Embrace the grease! Los Angeles is a huge city made up of little communities. You can’t do all of LA. I suggest deep diving into one or two areas for the week and make it a goal to get back here to do the rest. I will always default to the westside or southbay because I grew up in the beach cities. Breakfast at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House, Sushi at Japonica, or (I repeat purposely) Mexican food from any restaurant that has red booths should be on your hit list. However, if you’re looking for a night out, Tikiti, pool and a cocktail at Little Joy, or snagging yourself a beer and photo booth experience at Short Stop on the eastside are top tier as well.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My big speech moment to thank everyone in my life, hey? I really am such a community driven and relational person. As cliche as it sounds, some people care about the journey or the destination, I find myself less attached to either as long as I have great company along the way. My husband, parents, and siblings are a constant support and encouragement. They aren’t shocked by any crazy ideas I have, rather they adjust and dedicate themselves to figuring out how we all make it happen. And I love that it’s never how they help me make it happen, it’s how we all make it happen. My success is their success. And to have a family take on your dreams as a united force makes me one lucky gal.

Additionally, my entire team at Aether Films have been a key to any small amount of success I can claim. They have created an atmosphere of support and creativity and a huge network of amazing people. Its wild how like minded people all congregate and find each other, and boy, are the people around Aether some good folks!

Instagram: @taylorstone

Email: stonetaylore@gmail.com

Image Credits
Matthew Marcheski, Riley Donavan, Brendan Arnett, Sophia Arguelles