Meet Anna Stadler

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

Hi Anna, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve always enjoyed the arts! As a young child my favorite pastime was playing dress up and becoming new characters. As far back as I remember, I would act out scenes and enjoyed performing in front of others and bringing laughter to a crowd.

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.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed acting and performing in front of others. I was in second grade when I first remember hearing the audience laugh as I delivered my lines and it literally changed something in me. By the time I was in middle school, my then acting and vocal coach, pushed me to pursue it as a profession. After attending several auditions, I booked my first paying job and I was hooked. I can’t imagine doing anything else other than bringing characters on paper to life on film.

It’s a challenge to remain flexible with your schedule, as auditions seem to come in waves and many times with quick turnaround requests, and bookings aren’t given a lot of notice. Thankfully, I was able to be an online student through high school and now college, so that I have the flexibility to audition and film around classes. It’s been so beneficial to work on my studies on my own schedule, a lot of times late at night from a hotel room when on the road. Especially since the pandemic, the majority of auditions are done via video submission or Zoom-type calls and not in person, so that’s cut down on the amount of travel and expense that many professional actors before now had to face.

The biggest lessons I’ve learned so far is how to handle the rejection, as you hear no (or no reply at all) far more than you hear the anticipated YES to booking jobs in this industry. The wisdom that a no doesn’t mean you can’t, it just means you can’t with this one project, has been something that was taken to heart early on. You really have to celebrate the wins, but not despair in the losses. I train hard, and with some of the best in the industry, take a script or scene apart to really get to know the characters as myself, and then submit the best audition I can. Afterwards though, you have to let it go, move on and try to just focus on the next challenge. I’ve found that this way when the YES does finally comes in, it’s a wonderful surprise and not something you’ve been waiting for, as that will really weigh heavy and steal your joy.

There is nothing more wonderful than inspiring someone else or being part of a story that made others ‘feel” along with you. Sometimes actors will say they “become the characters” instead of acting like them, to me that’s true, but I think the real measure of a successful performance is when you make the audience or viewer feel like THEY became the character, in that THEY feel like they’ve lived the experiences of the story. You want them to feel genuine joy when you laugh, feel heartbreaking sorrow when you cry and all encompassing love when you love. Acting to me is about creating and sharing emotions, not sharing characters.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I call Atlanta home right now and I love the city and all it has to offer. Sharing a perfect week would start at a local coffee shop in the small suburb I live in. We have a wonderfully walkable downtown area and we would start the day there for sure. There are many gift and collectable shops with unique local artwork and treasures you won’t find in the department stores. To the north we have the foothills and some wonderful hiking trails and truly beautiful river walks, several that include waterfalls- those would be a must see as I love that they are such a contrast to the hardscape of the city and it’s hustle and bustle. From there, we’d have to head into uptown Atlanta to visit the the aquarium, Centennial Park and the museums stopping to shop the local artists that make that area home and enjoying the small cultural restaurants and food truck vendors. The only thing that I love as much as performing is watching live performances of others, so the perfect evening would be a concert at Fox Theatre, or a performance at the Atlanta Symphony, as one of the best things about calling Atlanta home is that we have such fantastic access to the arts, including Mercedes Benz Stadium which books the major tour bands and artists. I spent a good portion of my young life on the coast, so I was surprised to find some really great seafood in the Atlanta area. One spot we love is a smaller, low-key coastal vibe where they fly the seafood in fresh daily from Louisiana. They have the absolute best oysters and even live music on Saturdays. We also have some beautiful vineyards that have lovely walking tours for those that don’t enjoy wine. I truly love hosting friends and family and introducing them to my new hometown. Atlanta is a perfect mix of locals and people from across the globe, making it a rich multicultural experience. The people are overwhelmingly welcoming and I’ve found it to be an amazing place to live both from a professional and a personal standpoint. Thankful to call this my new hometown.

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?
Kevin Jones of Kevin Jones Performing Arts School was the first to believe in my talents and push me to believe in them myself. My family has always been very supportive, as well. I still ask my mom to travel with me most times, as she’s a great assistant off set.

Instagram: @annastadler11

Facebook: Anna Stadler https://www.facebook.com/anna.stadler.7370/

Other: IMDb.me/annastadler

Image Credits
I own the rights to all photography submitted and do not need to add the photographer credit