Today we’d like to introduce you to April Odom.
Hi April , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I became interested in filmmaking when I took a course called Minorities in Mass Media at NCAT. AGGIE PRIDE!!!! I was intrigued by the history of black actors and filmmaking. There have been many changes; however, some aspects remain the same when it comes to the representation of black creatives in Hollywood.
My creative journey has not been linear. Sometimes I feel like my life is like the character Lynn from the TV show Girlfriends! I earned a 2nd Bachelor’s Degree and a master’s to support my creative journey. That is one of the reasons I moved to Atlanta. To have access to the industry and other creatives. When I first moved to Atlanta, I was a blogger covering social events and conferences. I eventually started working as a Costumer on film and television sets. I loved working on various sets; however, I was not doing what I love to do, which is create. I always said I was going to continue producing my own shows, films, events, etc., once I do XYZ, but as we all know, “life be lifeing” and sometimes our dreams are deferred. One of my favorite lines is from Langston Hughes’s Harlem poem, “What happens to a dream deferred?” I think about that line a lot. Life has various ways of answering that one question.
Recently, I’ve been recovering from some health issues I’ve been dealing with for the last few years, and I was kind of forced out of doing Costumes in 2024. Realizing I’m starting over from scratch, I decided to launch my own media company, eleven83studios, LLC, this year. I was presented with the opportunity to produce a reality dating show, which I’m very excited about. These are scary times personally, socially, and economically for a lot of us. It can be discouraging to live your dreams, especially as an elder millennial or older, but we all have a personal duty to answer the call of our soul and honor our gifts. No matter what that call is. I’m excited and scared about this next journey, but I’m along for the ride.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road! I’m still waiting for the road to smooth out lol. Luckily, I was raised on dirt roads and backroads. I can handle all the bumps and debris along the way. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was 17 years old, and that impacted my journey and creativity in many ways. I also had to deconstruct and heal a lot of issues, which took up more time than I prefer. There were also issues with collaborating with other creatives. Dealing with people’s egos and their inability to compromise has always been a struggle. And of course, I have to mention the people who like to remind me and question me about how long I have been working on my dream. They love to pop up at the wrong times lol. Dealing with health issues and being in and out of the hospitals and Doctors’ offices the last few years has definitely taken part of my glow and drive. So yeah, it’s been discouraging at times, but honestly, because I live such an unconventional life, I’ve definitely had some good fun moments.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a creative, I’m probably known best for my fashion and my comedy skits. I love a good outfit and a good laugh! Also, I recently launched my media company, eleven83studios. We create and curate content that centers an inclusive black experience. One of my fellow North Carolinians, Nina Simone, said, “You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times,” and that’s one of our goals as a media company, to reflect what’s going on. We are not here to reinvent the wheel, but to offer authentic entertainment that most black audiences are craving right now. We are currently working on a reality dating show. I know, I know, “Not another reality show,” but I feel like the one we are producing is different, honest, fun, and refreshing. We have a lot of applicants and plan to go into production next spring/summer. I’m very excited about this project. I’ll include the links to this project with this interview. We have other ideas coming into fruition, but since we just started, we like to keep everything close to the chest!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One of my favorite childhood memories is of my grandfather watching all his grandchildren while our grandmother and our mothers went shopping. We were told not to play with the clothesline, but, of course, we did not listen, and we were playing and hanging on it. This was during a time when people hung most of their clothes on a clothesline to dry. We loved getting on our grandfather’s nerves, and we hit the last one that day! We broke the clothesline, and when he found out, he started chasing us. It had to be about 10 of us, but it didn’t matter to him. He was older but could be quick! We dispersed to different areas, trying to hide from him. I end up hiding in a room with my dad. When he asked me what was wrong, I told him nothing. My grandaddy found me hiding under my father, and he told me he was going to get me later lol. My cousins and I stayed bothering our grandfather, but he loved us dearly. RIP Grandaddy and dad!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/loveinthestarstv
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveinthestarstv/ and https://www.instagram.com/eleven83studios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577957005170
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@loveinthestarstv
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveintheStarsShow
- Email: eleven83studios@gmail.com
- Other: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfTdK6lZ72bLZY99R3B-oAX1HztIEJLrlklBxfBXYvJ_bHU_g/viewform
