Meet Elyse Willems | Writer, Host, and Performer

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

Hi Elyse, what role has risk played in your life or career?
As a naturally risk-averse person, I’ve worked hard to try and reframe my mindset. Risk, more often than not, will translate to opportunity. It doesn’t always mean making a chance investment, or starting a new enterprise. Risk can mean taking a foreign language class you have zero background in, volunteering in local events, or going to an open mic night. Sometimes it’s simply and enthusiastically saying “yes.” For a long time I felt very stagnant in life; I didn’t feel like I had prospects. But, I was also extremely guarded, and hesitant to so much as dip a toe outside my comfort zone. Once you realize that you need to put yourself in scenarios and situations — professional and personally — that make you feel nervous, or challenged to actually grow, you’ll see a difference. Do the thing that scares you, however small or insignificant it might seem.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Like so many other artists, I suffer from the desire to want to do and make EVERYTHING. So many different mediums excite me! And I think it’s this desire to position myself as a creative Swiss Army Knife has both set me apart in my career, but also can pose its own unique challenges. Namely, how to brand myself! I’m extremely proud of all the work I did at Funhaus making improvised gaming comedy content a la Mystery Science Theater 3000, I fulfilled a lifelong pursuit in publishing a children’s novel, I learn so much interviewing and playing games with SoCal’s best experts and academics over at PBS SoCal’s Won’t You Be My Gamer, and it’s been an entirely new frontier for me writing in video games… But it’s hard to convey all this in a succinct way! If anything, I hope my voice shines through and is in the unifying factor in everything I make.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d take her to an Angel City FC game at BMO Stadium (I’m a proud season ticket holder!); get dinner at my favorite restaurant, Hippo Highland Park; play pickleball at the Burbank Tennis Center; dance our troubles away at the Monthly Mixtape community dance class at Pickle Factory; take my dog on a hike to see the turtle pond at Ernest E. Debs Park; see a comedy show at Dynasty Typewriter; and play volleyball on the beach courts at Playa del Rey.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to shoutout, thank, recognize, and share my gratitude for Karen DeGrazio and Jeremy Hoffmann. Karen, my eternal hype-woman, believed in me enough to recommend me to Jeremy, who took a chance on me and gave me my first opportunity in the video game industry.

Website: www.elysewillems@gmail.com

Instagram: @elysewillems

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elysewillems/

Image Credits
Photo Credits:
Wes Ellis
Rene Salmeron