Meet Erica LaRose: Producer & Actor

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

Hi Erica, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk taking has had an incredible impact on my career as an actress/producer as well as the exploratory process of my art. As a child, I was quite scared to take risks. I could feel how debilitating that was for me and wanted so badly to cut that cord and set myself free. There were baby steps along the way that brought me to the other side of this before making my first move to LA and pursuing my dreams.

For example, I was terrified of roller coasters until about 8th grade. I remember being at six flags and was just like “You guys go! I’ll stay here…gladly. Smiley face.” One of my friends at the time somehow convinced me to get on the Superman ride that same day and surely enough I was addicted. I loved it. As soon as I took the risk to confront one of my big fears, it was like I had instantly healed myself of Six Flag’s doom. This same idea served me in a lot of other areas in my life. And in the unfortunate case that your risk taking “doesn’t work out”, I learned that one can at least learn something of value for the next venture.

As a new actress in LA, I had a lot I wanted to express…it was certainly a dream of mine that lived in my imagination since I was very young. But once I arrived here, I had this urge to write out my own monologues and perform them. I was utterly scared…Oh the fear! But I booked a few auditions and even landed a talent manager performing the first piece I wrote. Those were some of the most gratifying moments for me. The fact that another human could appreciate my authenticity while performing something meaningful/personal was priceless to me. And just like the roller coaster, I never would have predicted I could have done that. It was a very scary, vulnerable risk, that has served my confidence and resilience until this very day. Long story short, I am a huge fan of risk taking and only a fan of fear if you use it to your advantage.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Great topic. Although setting myself apart was not my motivation, I think that my response to the risk question above answers that . Writing your own material as an actor is always a very personalized and unique experience to set one apart. Same for really diving deep and working on a character. Anything that is given the time, effort, and attention it deserves will surely stand out.

It was not easy to get where I am today and I don’t expect the future to be an easier. I overcome challenges in a few ways. For one, I’ve protected my energy by filtering out people’s skepticism. When others insecurities are projected onto me, I try to spin it into a challenge for me to work past it instead of being in disbelief, stunted, or attacked. I did not choose a “safe” path and don’t expect others to be understanding of that. I have the same mindset when it comes to other challenges: taking everything as a learning experience no matter where it stands on the scale of difficulty.

I’d like the world to know that my goal is to create content and touch on topics that make people feel not so alone on this earth. There is plenty of distraction from reality out there. I think producing and acting in content that allows people to confront their fears, as uncomfortable as it may be, can be very cathartic and freeing. I also like to make sure a lot of laughter and fun flows throughout the process!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Day 1: A day at the beach to unwind from travels- checking out Venice and Santa Monica

Day 3: Hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains with a picnic

Day 4: Find a friend with a boat and ride around the Marina Del Rey – and if no boat, kayaking will do!

Day 5: Sit on the second level of a bus tour- they take you everywhere and it is such a unique view. Nice way to see Hollywood

Day 6: Go downtown – Taking a walk around the Biltmore hotel- they have hallways with interesting Hollywood History

Day 7: Malibu- wine tasting. Cielo farms is amazing.

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?
I’d love to dedicate my shoutout to Thomas Moore: my collaborator, writer, and director of my first independent short “165 Starr.” Thomas, you are a very passionate storyteller, photographer, and director with a unique vision and aesthetic. Couldn’t have done it without you my friend! 165 Starr is now available on Amazon proceeding it’s festival circuit.

Website: www.ericalarose.com

Instagram: @ericalarose

Image Credits
Gary Reisman