Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Copeland.
Hi Cindy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a transplant from Los Angeles, California, here in Metro-Atlanta for 18 years now. As a single woman, I worked in flooring sales and during that time, I invested in properties and became a Landlord. I did all my home remodels from tile, to laminate, painting, building decks all on my own, crafts I learned from my amazing Father. But as a child I wanted to be an actress and in high school, I was in the choir and took my first drama class as a senior under Squire Fridell who was a working actor at the time on stage and film.
I auditioned for my first high school play, the musical, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. I was totally stoked when I booked the role of Lucy. I fell in love with stage. After graduation, a friend turned me onto pantomime and I joined a mime class in LA under the Mime Richmond Shepard, who had studied with Marcel Marceau. Though it was fun, my heart truly desired acting so I began to study under Ivan Markota at the Van Mar Academy back in 1974. Life at home was challenging so I moved to Hollywood to be closer to my class. Things were going well, but I joined the Army and my life took a completely different direction. I married an American Soldier in Germany, and in 1979 we left there, married and pregnant with my daughter, Casey. During that time, I was a housewife and raised my daughter as we moved from LA to Oregon, Washington, back to Riverside, CA then to Dana Point California until our divorce in 1996. My daughter now had graduated and starting her life but for me Nothing exciting after that until my move to Atlanta. One day I told myself, “Why don’t I take an acting class?” So I did.
But after two years I felt that I just wasn’t good enough so I decided maybe I wasn’t as interested as I was as a kid so I quit. But from 2015 on my life changed. I went to the reopening of The Marietta Theater in the Square of Marietta and I met the talented Tony Smithey. He liked me and wanted me in one of his plays. I’m thinking “Me? Really?” and that happened. I was in “Birdcage”. I played the natural Mother, an Irish maid to the Senator, and a Drag Queen. Oh how I loved the stage. In December I played Belle in Christmas Carol. The following year I did several plays at the Vineyard Cafe Dinner Theater. Steel Magnolias (Ouiser and Truvy 2x), Birdcage, Red, White and Tuna. I signed up with an Acting Agent and now auditioning for film. My first TV show was My Worst Nightmare on the ID Channel, Morty on Amazon Prime, a bit role Mrs. Timpkins on Paramount Network show called Paradise Lost. All my experiences were the beginning of what I was to next accomplish. I was in Steel Magnolias under a different Director and I realized I think I can Direct this play. So I asked the proprietors of the Vineyard if I could direct Steel Magnolias the following year. I had never directed before, but I had a vision and I wanted to see what I could do with the set, costumes and the direction of this play. No experience but I understood stage and blocking and I wanted my chance to know what I had.
So I already had the salon chairs and a couple of the other props, so I set up the stage myself buying props, making props, and creating a more real-life stage. I wanted narration, 80’s music, sound effects so I hired a sound man. I believed that this venue needed to be entertained the moment the show began until it’s very end. I developed a relationship between Ouiser and Annelle since they both were conflicting characters and ran this theme through the entire play that the audience found fun. I felt Shelby who was the main character should have an obvious relationship with every character in the play so I made blocking choices that assisted in making that happen. It was by far the best show ever and I loved every minute of it. I believe the I am in the entertainment business and it’s my job to entertain the audience. I wanted them to be moved. Laugh. Cry. It worked! We sold out all 6 shows. So, the next play I directed was with my great friend Gordon Danniels a SAG actor here in Atlanta called The Gin Game.
I built a set on the stage that was 11′ x 14′ feet. It was to take place on the back porch of an Assisted Living home we set in Savanah. I built a gondola type cover with white lights about it that we dimmed during the show for the nighttime scene. I built a water line from the back of the theater to the stage above so the recorded thunder and lightening with flashing light that created the mood, the sound guy in the back pulled the switch and it created the water leak that fell on Wellers head during the play. It by far was the best play I directed. Even on that small stage I built two 3’x3′ booths opposite each other that looked like back screened doors to the house that each of us went in after the first act and third act to change without leaving the stage. It had never been done there before. I was finding I was pretty good at this stage directing and set building that I wanted to now see what I could do with film.
I wrote and directed my own film recently and used my own home, but also I needed a doll house in the movie so I built one that looked just like my home. Everyone was amazed. “How did you build that?” someone asked. “I don’t know. I needed it so I built it!” I had only the picture of my home. Didn’t draw out anything. On top of all this, I purchased costumes, provided food, printed out Call Sheets, Shot lists, I produced it on my own and sold a rental to help out with it, Starred in it, provided clips for all 6 actors, put the entire Premier together including having the step and repeat banner made getting local acting studios, photographers, production companies logos on the banner with the name of my film MANUFrACTURED right through the middle of it. I also hosted the movie, had special masks and mugs made for the cast and t shirts for the crew with the logo on the front and their position on the back of the shirts. I never had training for how to write, direct, produce or handle any of the production end of it but by golly I did it! Every thing so far has been a success! I am a woman in her 60’s, who has told herself “I’m doing this MY way and I don’t care if you like it or not. If I love it, then I’m satisfied and fulfilled. I was told by someone who started with this production but backed out and told me I was way over my head. Well, I guess it wasn’t over my head because a year and a half later, I had a movie! What all this has shown me personally is that, you can do anything you set your heart out to do even against the odds. It takes perseverance and drive to make it happen.
My skills are vast in building sets and props thanks to my Dad who gave me the building bug and to all the rentals I have personally remodel and repaired. My attitude is “If I need it? I build it. If I want it? I create it.” I never think I can’t do it I only think how I can do it. And honestly? That’s have the fun solving the HOW I can. I think sometimes people don’t try because they think they can’t or will mess it up or it won’t turn out. That does happen but it’s not failure it’s a learning curve to completion. It’s how you think about things in YOUR mind so if you think you’ll fail you will. But if you think you can you will. Because of this and the fact my Father taught me, “You can do anything you want…” “I can?” I thought. He was telling me to think outside the box. Once I did, anything was possible. As far as my film MANUFrACTURED we will be entering it in a film fest soon.
I have another very short film I want to do and two more screenplays in the works, and a series I’m interested in completing. One more thing I want to say about doing your own film, especially as an actor, you learn so much more about how to play the camera, what real stillness is all about and how powerful it is than words, how to direct actors, what really works on camera and what doesn’t and you can appreciate the casting side of things after casting actors yourself you understand why or why not you get the job, and how hard production works to make a film. In short, I have gained so much more experience, and especially confidence in myself and my abilities directing plays and film than I have ever had in my life. This is just the beginning. I may be in my 60’s but I’m not dead yet. LOL. I plan to do so much more in our industry and realize you can’t wait for your dream to come to you have to come to the dream and say “Here I am. Let’s make this happen.”
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth road? NOT. I came from a family that didn’t encourage me to seek out my dreams. There just wasn’t the encouragement or support. I had low self esteem and lacked love for myself so I succumb to all the users out there that took advantage of my innocence and goodness. Marriage was a challenge as I was committed to raising our daughter as my husband worked 60 hour work weeks or traveled weeks at a time. Being married pretty much was my career. Divorce took a toll. I bought a mobile home in San Juan Capistrano and worked hard to live there. Then I met someone from Georgia and I thought we had something going so I sold my mobile home only to find once I got here, he wasn’t interested. I felt depressed and not real good about myself. I always battled feeling not good enough and just that mentality made my life, work and relationships strained. Rejection was hard through my life, but I struggled through. I can’t say there was one big event in my life that was totally difficult.
I think the divorce of 19 years was kind of hard, because it felt funny to go to a movie by myself. Never really did that. But now? I could fly to another country alone. Been single 23 years. I like it that way. I guess being the sole provider, just maintaining my properties (rental) has been a hard challenge evicting tenants and dealing with their lies. They all have those. Now the biggest challenge to everything is my 91 year old Mother. She is to the point she can’t be alone. I just spent two weeks there and my sister is there now for 8 days and she lives in Georgia too and Mom’s in Los Angeles. Though my brother lives on the property out there, he has is own emotional problems and does only what he can to help Mom. Therefore, we are deciding now if bringing her to Georgia is the best move. This truly will be a difficult situation to deal with. She needs a lot of my time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I could build a house! I can repair plumbing, move walls, build decks, trellises, walk in showers, tile, laminate, build sets, landscape, cut down my own trees with a sawsall, build fences, paint, install cabinets, etc. I have all my own power tools, tool belt, you name it! Thing so far I am most proud of is the doll house I built for my Movie. O yes, the airplane too. The roof comes off for one of the scenes. That’s the latest thing I did.
I specialize in creating what ever I need. I remodeled my rental from the ground up myself. Laid tile, laminate, new kitchen counter, raised the cabinet above the stove for a microwave, faux finished both bathroom cabinets, and painted the laminated counters, added two new sinks, LVT flooring in both bathrooms, hung all new light fixtures and fans, new blinds in every window, repainted all walls, added a stainless steel sink and new facet, lime washed the fireplace, EVERYTHING NEW. There was a bid war on the property and it sold in 4 days.
But the thing I’m truly proud of is the fact I wrote, directed, starred in my own Movie. Biggest accomplishment to date. It even is a great film if I do say so myself! I’m different from most because I can do so many things. My good friend Mitzi tells me “you have crazy mad skills. No one can as many things as you can do!” People that know me, and come to my house are amazed at all I have done on my own. I believe it’s because I never think I can’t. Never. I just think I need to fix this so I do.
I broke the water line to the spigot at the house in the front yard. I pulled the hose because it had a kink in it, and it snapped off right at the house. Fortunately, the previous owner moved the line there attaching to the existing supply line and added a turn off valve. So when the water line broke, I crawled under the house and turned it off to that line only so I didn’t need to turn off water to the house. To do the repair was the challenge. I had to crawl 35feet to get to the line and then I had only two feet from the hard ground to the top to work in. Had to lay on my back to cut the line and add a new one. Most homeowners would call a plumber. The fix was less that $5.00.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Moving from Orange County California across state to Atlanta, Georgia. For some that’s a risk. Directing 2 plays without formal training, writing directing starring in my own film and being the only producer I had to sell a house to finish it. That meant less income on a passion project.
You know being retired, my SS every month for life doesn’t even cover my house payment. I solely rely on my 5 rentals. During COVID I didn’t have even one tenant that couldn’t pay, but imagine if none of them could? I’d be hurting since I do have 5 mortgages. So being a Landlord is a risk. Even your life can be threatened by bad tenants.
I jumped out of an airplane it was tandem but none the less we were 14000 miles high in the sky in a small 6 seater plane. Door opened and out we went. It was nothing. You fall so fast you have to keep your head up or you can’t breathe. You fall about 9000 feet in less than a minute. Then you pull the rip cord. Now you are around 5000 feet and it’s so cool look down at the ground below. Suddenly you’re landing very softly to the ground. It’s over in 6 minutes. That was the scariest thing on my bucket list and it wasn’t as frightening as I expected.
Buying properties and taking on mortgages scared me to death. I was afraid if I lost my job I’d lose everything, Thing is I bought when the market was so low that the mortgages with taxes and insurance on the first home wasn’t too bad and grossed $600 every month on top of my own income and it wasn’t as scary so I bought another, then another, etc.
Contact Info:
- Email: ga54belle@gmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/cindy.copeland.3139
Image Credits
Photos at my Premier where taken by Photographer Jason Grindle
