Meet Heather Renee Wake | Actress, Writer, & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Renee Wake and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Never underestimate the value of fun. Fun reminds us why life is worth living. Fun turns even the most menial task into something magical.

When I think of fun, I don’t only include lighthearted frivolity or humor into my definition. I also picture a certain spark that ignites your entire center and makes you feel more alive. It shows up when you’re pursuing passions or exploring curiosities, sure, but it’s also there when you are going just a little bit outside your comfort zone, when you are saying yes to a more expanded part of yourself. When life tries to put its shackles on you with endless to-do’s and disappointments, that spark offers momentary freedom.

I think fun is vital for anyone, but the relationship that artists have to it is uniquely special. Fun inspires us to keep creating, not for money or ego or worldly ambition, but for the joy of creating. And without that purity, our art suffers. In reality, being able to find the fun in life often takes rigorous discipline. It’s yet another skill artists must cultivate in order to truly thrive.

This is why I try—though I don’t always succeed, for I too find the siren song of hustle culture powerfully alluring—to incorporate principles taught by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way, especially her “artist dates.” Artist dates, if you’re not familiar, are moments once a week that you steal away to yourself in order to engage with your inner artist. Simple leisure is the name of the game with these. It could be a trip to the museum, or a trip to the dollar store to purchase some cheap stickers. You’d be surprised how much stronger your impulses get after doing these for a while.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I’m a full-fledged, card-carrying theater geek, I love wearing multiple hats (both figuratively and literally), I could never choose between comedy and drama, and I still hold onto the belief that acting is, at its core, a body-based art form. Meaning that when we incorporate practices that connect us to our body, we also connect to our inspiration, authenticity, instincts, star power…all those juicy qualities that make us unique and potent as performers. Even when prepping for a self tape—where there’s virtually little to no movement involved—I get up and see where my body wants to take me. That exploration might not, and often doesn’t, actually go into the final take in a way that’s visually perceptible, but it does help create something that’s alive.

And at the end of the day, that’s all I really want from my art. For it to help me come alive in some way, and in that process help others come alive. To share a meaningful, visceral, transformative experience with an audience—be it on stage or on set, be it through laughter or tears, be it at the beautiful, bizarre, even brutal aspects of the human condition—is what I know I’m meant to do.

Everything else is negotiable.

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?
Monday: We head off to spend the day contemplating in the rapturous beauty of the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. We’ll also enjoy the newly renovated Rose Garden Tea Room there…hopefully we made reservations months ahead of time.

Tuesday: We start the day off at Schatzi’s in Studio City for delicious German pastries, out of this world coffee drinks, and a happy, colorful aesthetic that can’t be beat. Then—today is your ultimate glam day. We’ll start with a facial from Skin Laundry, then head to the Andy Lecompte salon for the best haircut of your life, then grab some new duds along Melrose. YOLO.

Wednesday: It’s the middle of the week. I’m tired. So we’re using my AMC pass to see a movie. Probably the 16 in Burbank, where the seats leave much to be desired but everybody cheers during Nicole Kidman’s introduction.

Thursday: It’s karaoke night at the Star Wars themed Scum and Villainy Cantina in Hollywood. So yeah, we’re going there. Duh.

Friday: I’m probably craving some green tea pancakes from Bea Bea’s in Burbank, so we’ll start there. Then, a trip to The Last Bookstore in DTLA! Finally, attending CONGRESS—a monthly intimate dance show where choreographers at the top of their game showcase new works. If not that, then a show at the lovely Ahmanson theater. We’re in DTLA already anyway!

Saturday: If we’re lucky, the Lunam Love Mystic Market will be taking place somewhere in the City, where we can peruse various magical trinkets and spell ingredients. Maybe if we’re really really lucky, it’s close enough to also hit up the Silver Lake Flea Market, aka the BEST flea market in Los Angeles.

Sunday: Weather permitting, we head to the beach for Ecstatic Dance. It’s a great way to shake off the staleness and start the week fresh.

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?
Just as any witch’s magic becomes more powerful in a coven, so too does an artist become more potent in their craft when they find their community. For years, I struggled to find mine. But that dark chapter makes me appreciate my chosen family all the more.

Here are a few, but certainly not all, folks I’d like to thank for helping me get to where I am today.

Thanks to Chris Sheffield, the “Tim Burton to my Johnny Depp,” as I like to joke, who since day one of our friendship has believed in me, supported me, included me, inspired me, and had made me feel like anything is possible. It was our first passion project that made me realize I really can show up in the big ways I always dreamed of. And with every project we’ve worked together on since, I am reminded that as long as I keep showing up, others will too.

Thanks to Paula Crichton and Abra Kadab, a couple of new but fast friends who not only were kind enough to recommend me for a SHOUTOUT interview, but fill me up with so much joy and a zest for creating things. Whether it’s making an album or a historical drama or a festive movie night, you two nourish my soul.

Thanks to anyone who reached out to me for any type of collaboration—from creative projects to coffee chats. You have no idea what it means to me to be seen and chosen by you.

Thanks to my beloved show-fam from Castle in the Sky, an innovative immersive play that marked a turning point in my creative career. Tracy Phillips, Denna Thomsen, Kristin Campbell-Taylor, Nicco Marcantonio, Jamie Castro, Nicole Pacent, Circus Szalewski, Chad Coe, Connor McRaith, Cameron Lopez, Cathy Cooper, James Roch, and of course, all those who were able to come out and play with us…thank you.

And thanks to my love, Jorge-Luis Pallo, a fellow actor with the same passion for the art that I have, who encourages and commiserates with me, who helps me see myself in a more appreciative light, and who always makes me feel like my best chapters are still ahead of me.

I’d also like to thank the City of Angels itself. For all her faults, she provides the answers to all the seekers that come to her with their questions. They might not get the answer they had imagined, but they do get it, along with a great adventure to gain it.

Instagram: @heather.renee.wake

IMDB: imdb.me/heatherreneewake

Image Credits
All photos taken by the incomparable Don Hannah.