Meet Karolina Kwaśniak | Actress

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

Hi Karolina, what role has risk played in your life or career?
When I think of risk I immediately associate it with fear. And from my experience fear is an integral part of pursuing a career in the arts. There is a lot of doubt and uncertainty involved and it requires a strong belief in something that most people think is impossible to achieve. It takes guts to keep on going. But in my opinion fear or a feeling of risk is also a guiding tool. I have a saying I like to live by: “If you’re afraid of it, you should do it.”. I’m referring to this kind of a feeling that both scares you and excites you – high stakes. Something that doesn’t allow you to sleep at night – a feeling of longing, trying to find the thing you’re made for.

In my artistic journey, acting has felt like that for a long time and finding courage to start pursuing it took me a couple of tough years and it was extremely scary. I remember feeling that if it wouldn’t work there would be no point in doing anything else, because in my mind acting was this perfect thing, but an unrealistic one, completely unreachable for me, impossible. And that exact fear kept on coming back to me for years until I finally realised I can’t ignore it anymore.

So I took a chance. I changed my life completely – in 2019 I went to New York for a summer Acting Course at AADA, that same year I started my studies at The Baza Acting Studio in my hometown Warsaw, Poland, and a year later applied for an MFA Acting Program in the States. I got in and took the biggest risk of my life – I moved across the world from Poland to Los Angeles not knowing anything about the city or California and not really having anyone there. I’ve left behind all my family, friends, everything I’ve known.

But now, when I look at it from a perspective it was the best decision I ever made. I had to make a lot of sacrifices, which is just a part of this profession, but I gained so much. I grew and changed both as a human being and an artist. I proved to myself how far I can go. And I look forward to seeing where this risk-taking approach guides me next.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My journey with acting started during my Opera Singing studies at the F. Chopin State School of Music in Warsaw, Poland. I attended an acting class which was freeing and made me feel safe and excited. It was an escape from the strict and abusive classical music training. It allowed spontaneity, vulnerability and making mistakes.

I have spent many years wanting to pursue an acting education, but deep inside felt I was not ready for it and was not sure if I wanted to study in Poland. In my home country getting into one of the national drama universities felt like an impossible thing. Whenever I would talk to people who pursued it they didn’t have the best experience and were often criticised or felt they were not good enough – even if they were already students at those schools. Because of that I was scared to go back into an educational institution and possibly repeat my difficult experience from the music school I attended when I was a teenager. Right now I know many people who had a great time studying acting in national schools in Poland and speak highly of them, but my journey was different.

At some point in my vocal studies I realised opera singing didn’t allow me to express myself fully and truthfully, so I decided to go in a different direction. I did a BA in Music Production at The Academy of Music in Łódź, Poland and during those studied I met an incredible mentor – Mr. Robert Kamyk – who encouraged me to pursue my acting dream.

It would still take me a couple of years to find myself in the States pursuing an MFA degree in Acting at California Institute of the Arts. During those years I studied Acting at the Baza Theatre Acting Studio in Warsaw, started working professionally as an actress in Poland and after I found out I got into CalArts, during the pandemic, I spent 2 months in Africa with my partner.

Moving to California was a difficult decision for me and changed my life completely. The experience of pursuing an MFA in Acting was a crazy one – both scary, exhilarating, difficult, unconventional, tiring, valuable and overall hard to put into words. I’m extremely glad I did it, because it allowed me to completely step out of my comfort zone, find courage to go through all the hardships and build up my self esteem, which I needed. It was the best decision I’ve ever made and I came out of it a lot stronger and more loving of myself believing that I can trust my gut and it will lead me to where I’m supposed to be.

Right now, after graduating from CalArts in 2024, I find myself at a new chapter once again. Although the first half a year after graduation was a challenging time for me and felt a bit like I was moving through a fog not really seeing things ahead of me, at the moment I’m beginning to feel more confident and comfortable with where I’m at both professionally and personally. Lately I performed in an opera-theatre piece “Umbra” composed by Elliot Menard and directed by Hector Alvarez at Highways Performance Space and I’m currently in rehearsals for a greek tragedy “Raja Oedipus” directed by Tristan Samson which will open in June at the 1st Gamelan Festival. Additionally I’m working on a couple of short films, which I am very excited about.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely go to the beach, visit the Griffith Park, the Observatory, the Broad, Disney Concert Hall and The Getty. Additionally I would take them to see a movie at the Vista Theater and see the turtle and duck pond in Beverly Hills. I’d drive down to Laguna Beach for a day trip and visit the Pyramid Lake.

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?
To be honest, I have so many people to be thankful for in my artistic journey. My parents and my brother who have supported my decision and boost my confidence daily, my amazing partner Kuba Zagajewski who is my best friend and a huge support, my artistic collaborators, fellow actors, directors I worked with, who pushed me, believed in me and gave me so much artistic freedom and input, for example Luna Izpisua Rodriguez or Hector Alvarez. My mentor from The Academy of Music in Łódź, Poland – Robert Kamyk – who has encouraged me to pursue acting and all my teachers at California Institute of the Arts who helped me grow as a performer and an artist.
A huge shoutout to the creators of the film that sparked my idea of studying acting in the States – “Call Me By Your Name” directed by Luca Guadagnino, with whom (manifesting it!) I hope to have a privilege of working one day.

Website: https://www.karolinakwasniak.com

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