Today we’d like to introduce you to Gia Banner.
Hi Gia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
So I have always been very involved in the arts – I was very involved with art classes, painting, and drawing. I also started training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Acrobatics at a young age. I eventually focused on hip hop and was a competition hip hop dancer throughout my teenage years. I was also very engaged in theater productions as well. As I moved into college and my life as a young adult, I moved away from the arts for a bit as I pursued a career in education, which eventually took me abroad. During the two years I lived in Ghana, I re-found my passion for the arts, and that is where I decided to more seriously pursue acting. I moved back to the states in 2019, right before Covid hit, and that is when my acting journey really got started. I started out taking classes at the Philadelphia Acting School with Bernard Glincosky in 2020, and from there, started booking acting gigs with his help and guidance. I was eventually able to secure the lead role in a movie that will be coming out this summer on Amazon Prime, as well as acting as the principle actor in a local theater production. I am currently working closely with my acting coach Adam Ratcliffe and continuing to book projects. My acting journey has also taken me in the direction of “news anchoring”, having been able to interview several local politicians as well as moderate local debates. It has been an amazingly wild ride so far, and I continue to look forward to the challenging road ahead!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all! For me, deciding to pursue acting meant choosing to be vulnerable with myself, and really explore my experiences and emotions and put them into my art. Vulnerability has always been a weakness of mine – I tend to put on a tough face for the world at all times, masking my true feelings. To be an actor is to feel – your own feelings, understanding those of the character, of the scene, situation, etc. and opening up that part of yourself to tell a true, real story. Learning how to do that after spending a lifetime masking my emotions has been the biggest challenge for me – it has also been very rewarding, as it has allowed me to get to know myself, and feel confident in my own skin on a much deeper level. Other struggles of course include booking roles! It’s a grind, and truly a labor of love.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
So, during the day I am a Recruiter! I essentially phone screen people and set them up for interviews for jobs. Before becoming a recruiter I was in education for about seven years – I started out teaching and counseling court adjudicated youth, then I moved into a more teaching-focused role (I was a high school science teacher!) that had a group counseling/behavior modification aspect to it. After a couple of years I moved abroad to Ghana, where I worked as a middle and high school Science/Biology Teacher, as well as a Career/Guidance counselor, helping students apply to universities across the globe while working with international recruiters. I then moved back to the states in 2019 and moved from secondary and international education into higher education as a recruiter. After about a year and a half, I decided to leave the education field and focus on Recruiting. Outside of acting, recruiting is truly my niche – I absolutely love learning about people, their paths in life, and helping them step through that next door on their journey. I arguably love acting for the same reason – getting to step into another person’s shoes and understand their experiences, their path, and their inner self.
At this point in my life, I am most proud of the community I have built around me. I have truly amazing people in my corner – family, friends, colleagues, mentors – many people that are rooting for me, there to help and guide me, and pick me up when I am down. It’s a community I have built throughout my lifetime and I am truly proud to have so many amazing people supporting me every day.
I would say what sets me apart from others is my spirit – I have always had a resilient, tenacious, free, empathetic, positive, fighter spirit. It carries me into everything that I do and every challenge I face.
What matters most to you? Why?
This is a really hard question. I think what has always truly mattered the most to me is making sure that whatever I do in this life, I do with love, with authenticity, and with integrity. I have always had a love for people, and wanted to do my part to make my corner of the world a better place. To help people, to make a change. I am still figuring out the best way for me to do that, but I think I’m on the right track! Haha.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12760506/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giavonna.antoinette/reels/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.backstage.com/u/giavonna-banner/
Image Credits
Kevin York Photography Power Home Remodeling
