Meet Antonio Sacre | Storyteller and Writer

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

Hi Antonio, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
There are two things I think about: joy and money.

If the pursuit brings me joy, I keep going. The older I get, the more the term joy changes. Joy for me when I first started had to do with achievement, recognition, and career milestones. While is still true for me now, I also find joy in reading books that won’t necessarily advance my career but will expand my knowledge and exercise my brain. I find joy in a hike in the hills with friends or family. And I find great joy in my writing practice. Often I write on deadline or for pay, and I am so grateful I get to do that. But most of the time, I’m writing for just the joy of writing. Getting myself to a place where I can sit quietly with my ideas and with my notebook and pen (on creating days) or at my computer (getting it ready for my agent and publisher days) and see my ideas form with a chance to live in other forms (books or screenplays) in the world gives me the encouragement to keep going. If a pursuit doesn’t bring me joy, or not as much joy as I feel when I’m with friends or family or when I’m writing, I give it up. For example, before I had children, I loved traveling to tell my stories or support my books at events and festivals around the world, often over 200 days a year. Now, I travel fewer than 10 days a year, and only to very special events. I quit an activity I once loved to devote my time to an activity that is even more meaningful to me now.

The second thing that helps me know whether to give up or keep going is money. There is an author I have studied the past two years named Cal Newport. He has said in his books and on his podcast to use money as a neutral indicator of value. Should I quit my day job and become a yoga instructor, or in my case, quit my job as a waiter and become a storyteller? I loved telling stories so much, there was no way I was going to quit doing that, but I had to pay the bills. Eventually, as my skills increased, people did start to pay me for my stories, so much so that I could imagine the possibility of quitting my day job, and eventually did so with much confidence. Strangers parted with their money to hear me tell stories, an indicator that I should keep going and even double down in my efforts.

Telling stories brought to me the opportunity to tell my stories in books, print, and in screenplays. While I have written numerous screenplays and been paid for a few, none of been made, and the little money I have made as a screenwriter indicates to me that I need to put more intention, practice, and skill into my career. At this point, there isn’t an indicator that I am skilled enough to quit my job as a storyteller and author to become a screenwriter, no matter what my friends, teachers, and writer group says about my writing. I don’t quit screenwriting because it brings me joy to write the scripts.

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.
My father jokes that it’s amazing I make a living as a storyteller, because I’m only the 9th or 10th best storyteller in my family! While it seems at first like an insult, it’s actually a huge compliment, because I come from amazing storytellers from both sides of my family. My mother agrees with my dad, but adds that I’m the best listener in my family.

I am an amazing listener. I can find connections and humor and drama and inspiration from the quotidian life of my family, and when I craft it and put it on stage or publish it or attempt to put it on the screen, they see themselves for the wonderful, flawed, and inspirational people they are, even if they don’t see it themselves.

Because of my bicultural background and my ability to perform in both Spanish and English, there are audiences I can reach that very few other storytellers can.

My path in some ways was spending time finding stories that only I can tell, and crafting them to a degree that audiences of all ages all across the country and around the world can relate, regardless of their background, I also worked incredibly hard to find the audiences that really needed to hear my stories; often, this was in places that couldn’t afford to bring me in. Part of my own business path was finding other places that could afford to pay me, and then volunteer at those other places.

I want my audiences to delight in my family, while simultaneously being inspired to find and tell their own stories, even if it’s just for the people in their own home.

The last thing that sets me apart is my ability to continue learning, even in my mid-career. Learning to speak German (badly) so I could perform in a festival in Austria; delving deep into folk tales from around the globe; learning to write screen plays, pitch TV series, and collaborate in a writer’s room; figuring out how to make a living on Zoom during the pandemic, and even learning to invest the money I made early in my career in a way that supports my family still has allowed me to continue to tell stories in many different ways.

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.
Because I have two children, it would be a family friendly trip. We would start with short hikes in Griffith Park, or if they were feeling good, all the way up to Dante’s Peak above the observatory.

For sure trips to the beach. My children are learning to surf, and AquaSurf in Santa Monica has great instructors. I get to watch them (and the dolphins off shore) and then play in the waves with them when they are done.

A trip to the Central Branch of the downtown library is a must. I do a lot of research there and love performing there, so it has a lot of memories for me.

We are a family of climbers, too, and the Stronghold Climbing Gym in Lincoln Heights and Echo Park would be a stop for us.

The Getty Musuem is also I place I have told stories at many times, and I place I know well. I had to learn a lot about the musuem, and I’m a pretty good guide!

We are always looking for fun, free things to do, and all of the wonderful museums in LA are great places for all ages: LACMA, The Broad, MOCA. For not much money, the Petersen Automotive Musuem is a blast.

We don’t go out to eat much, but we love Tomato Pie Pizza in Los Feliz, Silver Lake Ramen, and Playita Tacos on Sunset.

My absolute favorite spoken word event is Flypoets; they have shows every month, and if it is the Summer Classic at the Ford, even better!

LA is a huge spot for underground storytelling, including The Moth and other great venues, many of which I have performed at.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My high school chorus teacher Mary Ellen Schauber set me on the path and remains a constant inspiration to me, all these years later.

My first solo performing teacher, director, mentor, and now dearest friend Paula Killen has shaped my current path more than anyone else and believes in me more than anyone outside of my family.

And of course, my whole delightfully crazy Cuban family in Miami and Boston/Irish family that continue to provide more material than I know what to do with!

Website: www.antoniosacre.com

Instagram: @antoniosacre

Linkedin: Antonio Sacre

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AntonioSacreAuthor/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AntonioSacre1

Other: Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Antonio-Sacre/author/B001KHJ77E?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6EE0bVyat8nHVz6YOImZxZ

Image Credits
Kristin Burns all photos except: Me at the mic, Dean Zatkowski