Meet Susanne Kretschmer-Schmidt | Actress – Singer – Production Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Susanne Kretschmer-Schmidt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Susanne, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
I recently discovered a quote by Milan Kundera that says “Happiness is the desire to repeat” and completely fell in love with it. It was eye-opening for me, and means so much to me because it allowed me to see and understand what I really wanted to do with my life. To really pursue the things that make me happy and incorporate them in my goals and work life. I started questioning the habits that I had everyday and changed my mindset into a more positive one. It can apply to everything in your life. You know, like we wake up early because We truly enjoy waking up early not because someone gave me an order. If you really love what you do, then there’s this desire and motivation to keep on repeating that thing every single day until it becomes a habit, and therefore, you end up finding your own happiness.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an international actress, singer and Production Designer. Growing up I had the opportunity to travel around the world and was deeply impacted by the different cultures that surround us. Coming from a family with a strong multicultural background, I believe the ability to illustrate other people’s stories through movies and film is essential to our society. It allows us to know realities that we often do not know or are far from our lifestyle. Most importantly, I feel it connects us all. It moves us emotionally, educates us on subjects we might not have know and makes us think of social issues in new ways. The same applies for music! It fell it moves us at such a deep emotional level of various kinds. I believe music allows us to channel trapped feelings and makes us elevate our energy. Heal and transform!

I have to say I had a long journey to where I am today. It was never easy! I started doing Musical Theater at a young age and later studied Industrial Design when I went to college. However I always felt my passion was in the arts. I made the decision to move and pursue my love for acting once again and through my journey fell in love with Set Design. I don’t believe straight paths to your goals exist, but it’s within those curves and bumps that you actually start learning what you love and find what feels right for you. One of the biggest challenges I faced was to leave my home and move to another country. I am very close to my family and having them so far was a strong emotional challenge I had to overcome.

As for my music, I have never felt as happy and connected with it as I am know. It is really gratifying to see it come to life and I’m extremely excited for the new projects that are coming these following months not only music wise but in all these three work aspects that I do in my life!

There are many lessons I’ve learned along the way but I’d like to share three that have become the most meaningful to me:

1. Don’t be afraid to pursue what you love: I know it’s very easy to say, but when you let go of it and throw yourself into it… You realize that what seems impossible to achieve or what you imagined would be terrible, in the end isn’t such a big deal. A bit of fear protects us, but too much paralyzes us and stops us from living.

2. Learn to love your mistakes. They happen all the time! As a perfectionist, this practice gave me a whole new freedom I would’ve never seen had I not taken the challenge. Starting with small steps. Now I like my mistakes, I like how I learn from them and most of all I don’t let them affect my peace of mind.

3. Changes are also opportunities. We tend to cling to our comfort zone, but now I see that changes are opportunities to change those things that did not finish convincing us and therefore reinvent ourselves.

Overall I believe my art greatly relies on my way of adapting to new things and finding joy in them. Smile at yourself and take life with a sense of humor. And last but not least I want to share this Japanese word that means a lot to me: Ganbarimasu “Never giving up”.

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?
There’s so much to see in this city that I have to say is hard to choose. My first choice would be the beach! My favorite place is Ocean Park beach between Venice and Santamonica beach as it doesn’t tend to get very crowded. Plus there are many boutique stores around to keep you interested for hours! As a fan of rooftops and restaurants I would recommend Elephante in Santa Monica, Mama Shelter at Hollywood, Joan on Third and Gjusta in Venice beach. The Melrose Trading Post is an amazing plan for the weekend I you enjoy shopping vintage, but I they like calmer activities I would take them to the Griffith Park Observatory around sunset, the Getty Museum, and the LA Philharmonic also known as the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to my amazing parents and sister for their never-ending love and always supporting my artistic journey and believing in me even when I started doubting myself. They have been there for me in everything I’ve done and I’m grateful for everything they’ve done for me. Also, to my friends who kept encouraging me and have brought incredible joy to my life.

Website: sukretschmer.com

Instagram: su_kre

Other: IMDB: https://imdb.me/sukre Casting Networks: https://app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/5a4902f4-bb75-11ec-9bdf-175e333418f6

Image Credits
Dominic Leano Getty Images