Meet Emily Marsh | Actor & Puppeteer

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

Hi Emily, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
I think a piece of advice that gets handed out pretty regularly is ‘Pick a lane’. Especially in art, I think there is a lot of pressure to specialize and I used to feel a lot of guilt that I was both a puppeteer and an actor. But after discussing this with friends I’ve realized that so much of my success has come from not just being one thing. The whole artistic industry is one of creativity and melding mediums, and I think turning down work because it isn’t what you specialize in can actually be detrimental to your career. Or only promoting one aspect of yourself in order to not seem like a diverse artist. So I encourage everyone to embrace their multi-hyphenate selves.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think what sets me apart from others is my balance between confidence and deference. Puppeteering has taught me that being a good teammate can be even more important than talent. If you’re a jerk then you need to be extremely talented to justify why people would put up with your crappy behavior. It’s already hard enough to make a living being a performer, so why shoot yourself in the foot by being difficult to work with? That being said, it’s also essential to be your own number-one fan and to believe in yourself more than anyone else. So much of the work that I have gotten was due to me just reaching out because I thought I would be a good fit for the project. You have to be able to advocate for yourself and not wait for someone else to do it for you. Striking this balance between confidence and deference is something I am still tweaking to this day, but I think the mix of both is truly the secret to success in a lot of different fields.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Actually, I have had to think about this question a lot because I have been lucky enough to have many of my friends from the east coast come out to visit me in LA. So my challenge with playing tour guide is that I always overstuff the itinerary, so my go-to has become picking only one neighborhood per day with one activity and one food excursion. In Malibu, a beach day and lunch at the Old Place in Cornell. In Koreatown, dinner at Parks BBQ and bowling at Shatto 39 Lanes. In Hollywood, shopping at Melrose Trading Post and Genghis Cohen Chinese for dinner. I am also a huge fan of short weekend trips. Joshua Tree is wonderful for a quick trip. Santa Ynez Valley is great for wineries, and I love camping near Sequoia National Park. There are many different environments and activities available just a couple hours of driving away, so I really enjoy showing my friends what all of southern California has to offer.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This is a difficult question to answer because I would be absolutely nowhere without so many people and organizations who helped me build the career I have today. So knowing that I am leaving out a lot of amazing individuals, I want to recognize Raymond Carr and Joel Hodgson. Raymond Carr is the founder of Ninja Puppet Productions which is based in Atlanta. He was the first person who gave me the chance to start puppeteering in TV & Film, which had a huge impact on my career as a puppeteer. Besides that, he has been an inspiration in his kindness, dedication, and the vision he brings to his work on and off-screen. I feel extremely lucky every time we get to work together. Joel Hodgson, the creator of the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, also had a huge impact on my career. That he gave me the chance to host on season 13 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 has led to an experience that was a personal and career-high that I don’t know how I’ll be able to top. That he trusted me with that responsibility is still overwhelming to think about. Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Website: www.emilykmarsh.com

Instagram: @emily.k.marsh

Twitter: @emily_k_marsh

Image Credits
Ryan West Photography