Check Out Karie Vieira’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karie Vieira.

Hi Karie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I encourage the audience to read this melodrama like it’s narrated by Werner Herzog, Judy Dench, Idris Elba, or anyone who makes everything sound like magic and intrigue.

Karie was born under the sun sign Leo in a small city in Massachusetts.

She dreamed of becoming an actor, singer, writer and dancer. She found success on stage in high school and college but she struggled with doubt. Because of this, Karie convinced herself, in spite of her success, that she wasn’t good enough/pretty enough/whatever enough to “make it,” so she pivoted away from the only thing she ever wanted to do with her life. Decades pass. She started a family (whom she adores) and found stability (but not happiness or peace) in an alternate career: Karie asked herself, “Why, with all I’ve accomplished, do I still feel unhappy and burned out?” She entered into an era of self-reflection; her Spiritual Walkabout.

It was during this time, in late 2022, that Karie started working as a background actor for tv and film. She treated every day on set like a masterclass in making tv and film. She worked in small scenes with acclaimed actors and directors, watching quietly and learning enthusiastically.

Karie rediscovered herself. She was still an actor/writer/musician. (The dancing never stopped.)

In 2023, while watching a comedy show at Jack White’s (White Stripes) club in Nashville, Karie left inspired. She realized it was time to return to the stage. She jumped into stand-up. Karie loved joke-writing–getting laughs was/is the best feeling in the world–but she was bored. She wanted to play more with the audience, so she began studying improv. Improv unlocked her sense of play, on-the-spot joke writing and presence. But, something was still missing. One day, while scrolling online, she saw a “Clown 101” with Kendall Savage about the ancient off-shoot of Commedia dell’arte, Clowning (think Rowan Atkinson’s “Mr. Bean” for reference). Now this was something! Karie found the opportunity to study at Atlanta’s beloved comedy theatre Dynamic El Dorado. There, she met a group of people: performers from all disciplines of theatre hungry to dive deep into the study of this performance-style.

Clown breaks down artist vulnerability and, if done well, builds audience engagement and a sense of wonder. If the clown is lucky, the audience will feed the clown what they require to stay on stage: laughter. Laughter is the ultimate goal of the clown.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think the hardest part of this process was learning to really love and trust myself. This eventually allowed me to be completely vulnerable and open on stage. I cannot emphasize how important it was, in the beginning of my walkabout, to find little things about myself that I could be grateful for without criticism and, how those tiny acts eventually developed into confidence and love and a willingness to be patient and present with myself and where I’m at without self-abandonment.

It’s hard to overcome the internal programming (whether it’s epigenetic or cultivated from childhood) of self-destruction through imposter syndrome, seeking external validation and comparison. This really messes with any person’s belief in themselves. I did a metric shitton of work self-reflection and inner work (which never stops, btw) to break down defense mechanisms and emotional walls so I could get to authentic expression. At first I hesitated following my heart, worried I was too old to jump back into acting. “I have a full-time job!” “I have a family.” Then the familiar, “I’m not this enough or that enough.” but, as I worked with much younger folks, I saw how my age worked to my advantage.

Fortunately, I’m not the same performer I was when I was 20–a young person filled with anxiety and fear and assload of insecurity, sweaty for approval. These days, I can go on stage, flop hard, and walk off thinking, “Yeah, they (the audience) were right. That idea wasn’t that funny.” What a gift to shrug it off and go back to the drawing board.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
One of my mentors, actor/teacher/comedian extraordinaire Aitor Basauri would tell me to say I’m an actor. So, I’m an actor.

What am I most proud of with respect to being an actor? The fact that I gave myself a second chance to really dive into my craft and go for it without insecurity. I supported myself with the same degree of love and encouragement (and a touch of delusion) to pursue this urgency to play and, hopefully, make audiences not regret buying a ticket.

As adults, I think we see our dreams as frivolous and unrealistic but, I believe we deserve to at least take a swing and see how it feels. Studying clown after training as an actor and in improv was life-altering. It was unlike anything I had ever done on stage. I had to learn to fail openly on stage and try to win back the audience with humor and charm. It’s an incredibly honest and vulnerable art form and, for the first year, I’d cry after every class and workshop–but I was always motivated to go back and try again. I will say clown has broken me in the best possible ways, so far, and I’m a better actor and comedian and human because of it.

I don’t know if this “sets me apart from others” but I really love to collaborate. I usually wear a few hats: director, producer, writer, performer but, even then, I don’t want to micromanage. I prefer to tap someone I trust to direct me, so I’m not performing into a vacuum. Feedback is so important when working with an audience, particularly when there’s no fourth wall.

I suppose apart from creating characters, my specialty is unscripted theatre, though I hesitate to pigeonhole myself. I love scripted work (and my agent at Past The Gate Talent would agree *wink wink*).

I equate unscripted theatre to matching the excitement of jumping out of an airplane. To be clear, I’ve never jumped out of an airplane because that would be nuts!

It’s an unbelievably exciting adventure to step out on stage in front of a sold out audience and make something from nothing. There’s no way to know what the audience’s vibe is until I start the show. Some audiences are apprehensive and my play requires sensitivity and skill to (hopefully) win their trust so they’ll come aboard with me.

I’m in an improv duo called LITTLE THINGS with Stuart Fleisher, who is a wonderfully creative actor and improviser. We train like Olympians to create long-form narrative “plays” that are improvised on the spot. And, like the Olympics, we don’t perform that often. I also love being invited to perform in improv shows around the city, playing with different casts and different formats. With clown, many of my numbers are cabaret, like HEY, IT’S PORTIA, A.I. NURSE SARA(h), HELLEN HURTS: SAMPLE LADY, SANDY THE STEWARDESS, and SUGARPUSS PENDLETON. I recently developed a clown game show with heavy audience involvement called DOWN TO CLOWN. I tapped seven wonderful Atlanta clowns along with the wildly talented Scottie Rowell of Teller Productions to co-produce, direct and host the show. We premiered the show at Onward Theatre (Atlanta) on 1/23 to an enthusiastic sold out audience.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Presence.

When I’m present, I’m listening and sensitive. I can hear what’s not spoken and become curious. When I’m present, I can read a room, no matter if it’s empty or full of people. I can check in with my own feelings and ask myself if I’m ok.

I was just texting with my sister about the practice of presence, mainly because I was feeling some anxiety about my acting career. I mean, to me, anxiety is a fear of future unknowns, which I have no control over. Asking myself questions like, “Will I ever be able to quit my survival job?” or “Am I an idiot for pursuing this dream?” are really none of my business. My business is paying attention to all that’s happening in this moment. When I can’t settle, Right now, it’s waxing philosophic while my dogs snore and my computer warns that I’m almost out of power. I should really plug this thing in.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planetkarie/
• Other: https://www.pastthegate.net/adult-talent

Image Credits
Headshot image // Robert Wolfgang @robertwolfgang IG
Sandy the Stewardess // Dimitry Kagansky
DOWN TO CLOWN cast // Chris Cassidy @thefunnycub IG
HELLEN HURTS: SAMPLE LADY // Chris Arrison
LITTLE THINGS with Stuart Fleisher // Chris Arrison
LITTLE THINGS with Stuart Fleisher. // Chris Arrison
Sugarpuss Pendleton at DOWN TO CLOWN // Chris Cassidy
Lauren Estadt and I at CLUB TAROT IMPROV. // @yadingophoto IG
A.I. NURSE SARA(h) // Chris Arrison
As “Estelle” (black and white) ANTHOLOGIES PLAY FESTIVAL // @erica.acebo IG
As “Maggie” with Shannon Dempsey ANTHOLOGIES PLAY FESTIVAL // @erica.acebo IG