Meet Casandra Groves | Actor – Writer – Poet

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

Hi Casandra, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
Not feeling ‘good enough’ is something a lot of people deal with. For me, it took a personal incident to realize I deserved better. Not only in my personal life, but in my professional life as well. A mindset shift happened like no other. I was instantly transported into a higher state of consciousness revolving self worth. I not only knew I was meant to pursue a career in voiceover, I started to truly believe I deserved it.

I write poetry as well, a line in one of my poems is “believing in yourself is the key to go far.” Once I made that decision, my life changed.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been drawn to creativity ever since childhood. I grew up performing theatre, singing, dancing and writing stories. Most children have the luxury of immersing themselves in imagination and play, adult responsibilities usually come later in life. This was me, and I was fortunate enough to have a family who embraced my craziness and allowed me to flourish in my creativity, unapologetically. The sky was the limit and I felt unstoppable.

Although I was thriving creatively, there was an underlying pain simmering under the surface. I suffered a brain aneurysm at 6 weeks old and lost my father to a car accident at 2.5 years old. Creativity helped me cope through my loss, however understanding and processing my loss was a whole different story. I struggled with the pain for years and limiting beliefs soon entered my life. Once adult responsibilities were unavoidable, I found myself drifting further and further away from that creative little girl.

Getting to where I am today was not easy. I had to fight through my limiting beliefs, mostly feelings of unworthiness. I had to come to terms with what was, and be okay with it. I learned to surrender to my feelings and allow them to pass through me, instead of holding onto them. I learned to be patient and enjoy the journey, It’s the process, not the product that’s most valuable. I learned to connect with others in a way of service. It’s not about what others can do for you, but what you can do for others. I learned to reconnect with that crazy little girl who felt unstoppable.

Nowadays I let my inner child — that crazy little girl — take the lead and explore her playful imagination again, all I do is follow it, I follow my intuition. At the age of 13, I wrote my first poem (about my dad) and got it published in a book of poetry that I still have. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of. I’ve also created a 12 part animated series that I’ll be turning into children books, that’s what I’m most excited about right now. So look out world, there’s more to come!

I want the world to know I’m a fighter. I’m perfectly imperfect. I make mistakes and learn from them. I aspire to inspire. I’m stubborn and persistent. I love humanity and see the good in everyone. I want to uplift those around me and help them reach their full potential as well. So if there’s a dream in your heart you’ve been afraid to follow, know I’m right there beside you. You have my love and support, always.

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?
Ohh, I do this a lot! Last one was 4 months ago, ha!

I’m from Wisconsin originally so whenever friends come out to visit, I turn into a tour guide. Now, I have been told I’m not the best, but then again, I don’t charge for my services.

Places: Living in Los Angeles, there are the hot spot touristy places I HAVE to take them. So, Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, Beverly Hills, Griffith Observatory, Universal Studios, Disneyland, and HollyWoOoOoOoD (gotta go to all those museums). There’s also Chinatown, DTLA (although, not so much anymore), Santa Barbara, and Queen Mary.

Eat: Garden Café, Boneyard Bistro, In n Out burger (can’t believe I didn’t put that as #1!), Casa Vega, Miceli’s.

People: Me, duh (jk!)

I have not done this yet, but I’d possibly go to San Diego or Vegas for a night or two.

I also don’t really do “itineraries”. It’s a “what do you feel like doing today?” Kinda vibe. Hmmm…maybe that’s not why I’m a good tour guide.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My voiceover journey began with online classes through Voice Masters in 2020. Paulette Lifton and Mimi Maynard are two incredible women actively working in this industry. They’ve not only been encouraging and supportive throughout my journey, but it’s because of those two women, I got my very first voiceover credit on a dubbing show for Netflix. I will never forget that moment. It was the first time I felt like a professional and I’ll forever be grateful to them for that.

I also want to shout out my good friend Collin Hughes. He was a fellow student of Voice Masters who wanted to start his own animation project. Through that project, I met other writers, like Jason Leadingham, who were creating their own projects. I was able to get cast in podcasts and video games through a domino effect of referrals. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The VO community is the most kind and supportive community I’ve been a part of, I definitely found my home!

Website: https://www.casandragroves.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casandra_groves_vo

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/casandra_groves_vo