Meet Pamela Shafer Moser | Artistic Director of Village Arts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pamela Shafer Moser and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pamela, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I believe the most important factor behind our success is our ability to make families and children feel safe and heard. We work very hard, not only to create quality arts programs for children; but, to create a safe haven for all who participate in our programs – in our community.

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 was determined and driven to be successful as an actor. I have had a lot of success in entertainment through the years. As I was working with blinders on toward my goal, people were always trying to get me to teach children. While I loved kids and working with kids, I would shun any opportunity to do so. Sticking to my plan, to act and only act. Then to support myself between acting jobs I decided to give this teaching dance and theatre thing a try. I fell head over heels in love with working with kids. Today after close to 30 years of teaching kids, I feel so fortunate that life led me (however hesitant I was to follow) in that direction. Running Village arts and sharing my love of the arts and enabling other artists to share their love of the arts with kids is better than anything I had ever dreamed of for myself. Let the journey take you where it will, never say never and be open to what may come your way!

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.
I would take them to a Village Arts event!!! Ha ha, because our events are full of joy, heart and are darn fun! I would also want to share the nature of California with them. The ocean, the mountains, the desert, the diversity of the Los Angeles area. I would visit art like the Watts Towers. Take a walk around Echo Park lake so they can take in the skyline of LA, the architecture of Los Angeles and the mountains in the background. If you walk around that Lake you really do get a sense of LA and of the people who live in LA. I would visit Yamashiro’s because it is an icon with a rich history and a killer view of the city and take a mini train ride in Griffith Park and walk that area to see the architecture of Los Feliz OH, and my favorite hidden stairs walk in Hollywood that captures all the flavor of this city and the history as well and has a great view of the Hollywood sign. Much more, but will stop there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Father, Ron Shafer, was a highschool football coach. He believed that sports taught young people valuable life lessons. He was brilliant at praising you while also gently critiquing you so that you could grow and work to your fullest potential. My Father used humor, empathy and sometimes tough love guide kids through their journeys not only on the football field but through life. He did that as a parent as well. He made people feel heard. I learned that from him, I learned so much from him with regard to working with young people.

Website: https://villageartstheatre.org

Facebook: village arts theatre

Image Credits
Laura Biasini