Meet Tessa Bell | Cabaret artist and film producer

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

Hi Tessa, how do you think about risk?

In the mid-nineties, to heal from a terminal diagnosis of leukemia, I changed the direction of my company and began producing live off-Broadway cabaret shows. That was a big risk, but cabaret literally saved my life. I had a prim and proper one until I was diagnosed with cancer and given 6 months to live. The thought of leaving my children drove me to despair. It also gave me permission to do something crazy, something that wasn’t going to make me any money, wasn’t going to make me famous, was arguably completely useless… but just might be fun for the few remaining months I had on earth. Singing had always made me happy but being an artist didn’t fit inside the ‘success’ box of my world. I ripped that box wide open and wrote and performed my first New York City cabaret show, which not only was nominated for the Best Newcomer MAC Award (the Oscars of Cabaret), it kept me buzzing way past the six month deadline on living.

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 am a writer, film producer, and cabaret singer. Being a singer who produces films is a bit unique. I love the cabaret art form. It is very intimate, very personal. In a world of screens, with everyone vying for eyeballs, cabaret is an art form that can reach into people’s souls in a profound way that you just don’t get when you’re watching or listening to branded content. My journey has been full of twists and turns. In order to go with the flow and navigate all the obstacles, I have lived by an affirmation that states: “Acceptance is the answer to ALL of my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation- some fact of my life unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.”

I have lived by this affirmation for the better part of thirty years. It is magical. No matter what is going on, as soon as I work through my own resistance, I become a better person, which to me is the entire point of living. I used this affirmation to gain the strength to fight cancer, navigate bankruptcy, buy a house, make movies, to put together my show “Men Money & Madness”… It is magic. The best results always come to me when I go with the flow of the river.

The single most important decision I made that contributed to my success was to allow myself to define success itself. As long as I chased after what the world defined as success I was miserable and doomed to failure. When I decided that success was measured by my own personal value system and not what the culture pushes, I excelled not only in business but in life in general. Success is not a material event. It is a personal pursuit. I am sure that when I lie dying, contemplating my life, it will be the people I helped, the problems I solved, and not the accolades bestowed on me whose reflections will relieve the suffering of leaving earth.

My current cabaret show, “Men Money & Madness” at Theater West in July, is a reflection on the challenges we currently face, these cultural wars around gender, the economic inequalities that drive us, and the inevitability of insanity in a world that worships competition. I truly believe that everyone has a divine right to their own bodies, that as long as no one else is hurt, what a person does with their body, their sexuality, their gender, and their own identity must be defined by them, and no one else.

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?
I have friends from Europe and Africa coming to see my show, so I have lots of places I want them to go to. We all love hiking: Griffith Park is magnificent, and I know some undiscovered entrances that are not full of people. I love Silver Lake, Atwater, Echo Park, and Downtown. All east side. That’s where the exciting talent, whether in food, art or music, is living and working now. My favorite bar is Thunderbolt in Echo Park. Great cocktails. My favorite pastry shop is Proof in Atwater, and Dune, right across the street, is pretty good for a quick dinner. The best sushi is in Silver Lake: Osen Izakaya on Sunset. Of course, Downtown has great restaurants and outstanding architecture. Girl and the Goat (Amer/European), Baadmash (Indian) to name two.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shout out to Victoria Lavan, the musical director of my upcoming show “Men Money & Madness”, GreenLight Women and my children, Emma Bell and Chase Sterling Bell

Instagram: tessabainbell

Linkedin: Tessa Bell