Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Russell.
Cody, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was 11 yrs old both my brothers were involved with a youth theatre summer production of “The King And I”; my mother asked if I also would like to audition (or somehow be a part of the show) and I said “No, I’m good”, which, I’m sure, was not the answer my mother had foreseen, given that the original 1956 movie “The King And I” was my favorite movie.
With just a little prodding I changed my mind and fell in love with being at rehearsals: learning music, memorizing lines, laughing with new friends. I found my new “thing”. I continued acting and also reignited my love for music through choir and picking up the piano again. I later attended High Point University and earned a double degree in Theatre Performance and Music. It’s also in college that I found my appreciation for props design and set dressings. I spent my summers between semesters working as the Assistant Music Director for SMTE productions in Jacksonville FL. I moved to NYC after graduating and lived in an expensive living room of a one bedroom apartment. While I was in NYC, I booked my first professional gig: a nonequity national tour of Stuart Little. And also a titular role in a musical with NYC’s Fringe Festival. I was working, but something just wasn’t right.
So I moved back home for an extended period of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do next. In the meantime, I was fortunate in having the chance to work as a TYA actor for a company run by Jacksonville’s local JCA, teach musical theatre through a local dance company, workshop some choral music, choreograph and direct for ABET (a Jacksonville community theatre); I took up my old position of AMD over the summers (while adding a few production manager details this time around), teaching theatre summer camps, and occasionally performing at the regional dinner theatre Alhambra. When my friends from college (now ATL artists themselves) convinced me to audition for the Aurora Apprenticeship, I finally found my next direction. Truly the Aurora AppCo has changed my life and is the most salient element in bringing me to be the working artist I am today.
Has it been a smooth road?
I had some troubles finding my confidence as I prepared to graduate college. I felt secure in the work I was doing onstage, and I did well in any intercollegiate competitions I participated in, but with the looming idea of going out in the real world as an artist, I was quickly becoming a little overwhelmed. I wasn’t sure what made me special. And without being special, would I ever be noticed or hired? I was a good actor, I had a love and aptitude for music, I enjoyed visual art and prop design, but I didn’t feel like any of that was good enough. A professor had told me once “Cody, you’re so good at so many things but I really Really wish , instead, you’d pick one thing to focus on and just be Great at that thing”. He meant this as sincere, helpful advice, but it really stung. I didn’t have ONE thing to put above all others, and even worse I was pretty sure I never wanted to pick “one thing”. I am a HUGE people pleaser, so the realization that I don’t want to be this thing my mentor wants for me was diiiiifficult to process.
And I was torn now as I also believed that this act of defiance will also mean that I’ll never be special enough at ONE THING to be a successful artist. Cut to current me: I can proudly say that, as a consistently working artist, my versatility IS my “one thing”. I’ve found a strength in exploring an intersectionality of my arts. My understanding of music informs my visual artistry, which reinforces my acting, which compliments my teaching aesthetic.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m a Freelance actor, singer, designer, and teaching artist. In addition to my theatrical work onstage (currently performing with GET’s TYA touring shows, and Angry F**s at seven stages) I sing regularly with the Atlanta Opera Chorus, and as a staffed singer for Northside United Methodist Church. I currently teach all the musical theatre courses and camps at the Aurora Academy in Lawrenceville. I work as a Teaching artist with the Shakespeare Tavern. I often music direct the end of the year apprentice showcase at Georgia Ensemble Theatre. I am a company member of the Weird Sisters Theatre Project. And I work regularly all around metro Atlanta as a props designer, scenic designer, and scenic artist. I think my interdisciplinary outlook is perhaps what sets me apart from many others. As a music director, I promise to also insist on honesty and sincerity from my singers. As an actor, I promise to not break every prop that is handed to me. As a teacher, I promise to hold my students to professional artist’s standards.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I have found my home here in Atlanta. I have conjured some good work and wonderful colleagues. The only shifts I really have my eyes set on is continuing to observe the world around me so I can grow as an artist and a person. I want to work as hard as I can and be in the room as much as I can, till my reputation can speak for itself.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 9049232524
- Email: RussellaCody@gmail.com
- Instagram: PropertiesdesignsbyCody
Image Credit:
Jeff Roffman, Christopher Bartelski
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