Meet Candace Mizga | Actor, Producer, & Writer

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

Hi Candace, why did you pursue a creative career?
I chose a creative career because I fell in love with stories as a child. Growing up home schooled on a small farm in rural Michigan, I found myself disappearing often into books and my own imagination. Fostering a holistic upbringing, my parents discouraged television and anything to do with digital screens, but my own imagination was always vivid and wild. I spent summers running barefoot through the creek, finding crawfish, and building homes for the fairies in the woods. The ability to visit new places, experiences, feelings, and perspectives through imagination and art has always fascinated me. I decided I wanted to act for the rest of my life on a sticky summer night while watching Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in a frigid Stratford Shakespeare Festival theatre. Before I knew it, I was shipping my whole life off to New York City to pursue a career in acting.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I work primarily as an actor, but have recently dipped my toes into writing and producing as well. My professional acting career began with my studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I earned my BFA in Drama. My whole world exploded when I moved to New York City from a small farm. It was a difficult adjustment but I think it fostered a mental strength I might not otherwise possess. I moved to Los Angeles mid-pandemic to pursue a bicoastal career, and I am so grateful for the life I’ve built here.

I made my writing and producing debut, cowriting, producing, and starring in the horror comedy anthology series, Trauma Bond, with two of my girlfriends and former NYU classmates. We work with a primarily female team and my goal is to create a safe and empowered space in the industry for female identifying artists to collaborate and story tell.

The most difficult thing about being an artist is that there is no one right way to do it. Everyone’s path is so different and being an artist demands risk taking, trying new things, and embracing the potential of failure. And to do all of that while willingly allowing yourself to be seen during the entire process. For some time, I felt paralyzed by these truths. I’m proud to have made our series Trauma Bond because it was a big step in allowing myself to be seen, even if it wasn’t perfect, and the whole process was a learning curve, a risk, and a creative exploration. Our entire series is on YouTube and we’re currently working on a pilot as we speak!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’d grab a slice of pizza at Larchmont Village Pizza because I miss New York and then take a walk around the neighborhood. I also think about the bread and Creste Di Gallo at Olivetta in West Hollywood on a daily basis. I love grabbing a sandwich from Gjusta and having a little beach picnic moment in Venice. For happy hour, we’d grab a cappuccino, dirty martini, and escargot at Figaro Bistrot in Los Feliz. And if you’re here in the summer, I’d take you to an outdoor film screening at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to my mom 🙂 She is the reason I exist, quite literally, but also the reason I had the courage to pursue an artistic career. Although I was shy and strange growing up (and proudly still am), she encouraged me to discover my voice through singing and acting lessons. And of course, a special shoutout to the cowriters and producers of my series, Kelsey Susino and Alex Kattan. I love the support system we’ve built in each other as we navigate our individual careers and also build something together.

Website: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm10849727?ref_=nm_nv_usr_profile

Instagram: @candace.mizga

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@traumabondseries/videos 

Image Credits
Chase Yi, Lina Bell