Meet Erin Neupauer | Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Neupauer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Honestly, the tug of war of daily life between pursuing art versus surviving is something that I was not prepared for once I graduated. How can you really put it into words? Everyone’s path is different, so there’s not a clear way to go about becoming an actor. Yet, coming out of school into a world of post-pandemic, inflation, and a strike was not on my bingo card! I had to sit myself down and remember that if I was not working on a project, that I was still an artist. I make sure that every single day I practice my craft, whether its through yoga, reading a new play, writing, or studying a movie. Those small feats make you just as much as an artist as performing in a show or attending a film festival. The transition from acting every day in school to not at all is incredibly jarring-but it helps you realize that you can now pave your way for the artist you want to be, and you have all the freedom to do so!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started acting when I was 10 years old. I remember the first time I stepped out on stage in front of an audience. We were doing High School Musical Jr, (it was sold out, I was a nerd in Gabriella’s clique, it was a big deal), and I felt this strangely familiar rush of adrenaline through me. I could see bodies, but not faces. The world turned in on itself, and it was just me on stage. I felt for the first time, truly seen (which is pretty ironic, considering there were about 30 other kids on stage with me.) I knew this would consume my life.

I was definitely the theater kid growing up, but I never went to schools that heavily focused on the arts. I wanted to make it my career, but wasn’t sure how to. There was no guide or handbook that I knew of in my small Catholic school that could tell me the steps I needed to take. I ended up studying Media and Communications at Seton Hall University, concentrating on Film. I minored in Theatre, and here I met Gretchen Hall. Gretchen got her MFA at NYU, and was the first person I met that truly opened the world of acting for me. I believe she saw that there was no other option for me in this world as I continued my studies, and pushed me with challenging material during classes. She helped connect me with a coach (Lee Aaron Rosen) for my graduate school auditions, and off I went into the terrifying world of professional auditions for the first time. I went to the URTA’s, where schools from all over the country came to watch us perform for 2 minutes. I got 17 callbacks. For the first time in my life, my dreams felt attainable.

I had been accepted into Disney’s College Program to work for their entertainment division, and was set to get my MFA in Acting the year after. Everything felt set, and I felt like flying..until I got a notification on my phone that a mysterious virus was sweeping the country. Within 2 weeks, everything shut down. I was supposed to graduate! I still haven’t gotten to reunite with a lot of the people that became family in college.

I decided to push my graduate program up and do my first year remotely, as Disney cancelled our program. I was one of the youngest in class. I was terrified that I was in over my head. But, choosing SCAD ended up being the best decision I could’ve made for myself. It gave me a sense of purpose in lockdown. As I finished my first year, became obsessed with Meisner, finally moving to the surreal Savannah, GA, I was feeling hopeful again.

My second year consisted of TONS of camera work. What I loved about my time there was the emphasis on the business side of the industry. They drilled into us audition techniques. The found our tics on camera and squashed them instantly. We worked on our branding, our type, and budget plans on how to afford our lives as an actor the first few years after school. I felt more prepared and excited to enter the “real world” than ever before. I was on Cloud 9 when a professor of mine (Scott Alan Smith) wanted to direct my thesis. As I graduated, it felt like the first time I stepped on stage. I had adrenaline in every fiber of my being, knowing I could take on the world.

Nothing prepares you for the shock of acting and creating every day, to trying to keep your head afloat in the real world. I believe that’s understandable for any major, really. You got from studying with your friends, creating, getting feedback and attention from professors. Then it all just…stops. I moved back home, trying to figure out my next steps. You walk into an audition room where no one knows who you are. You have to convince them you’re ready to be cast. The irony is, I felt invincible with my degree, but a lot of places want real world experience before they cast you. How do I get that if they won’t cast me? The transition into your mid-20’s is a lot more confusing than I thought it would be. I guess that’s the beauty in it. You can make mistakes, but no one’s going to use that against you to give you a “B”. No one is watching you make those mistakes…but on the flip side, no one is watching you make those mistakes!

In the year after I graduated, I worked with a local indie director in New Jersey to lead my first feature film (on Amazon Prime and Tubi). I met an awesome group of women also right out of school, and we made our New York debut together with “Horse Girls” by Jenny Rachel Weiner. I’ve done countless pay to play auditions for agents and casting directors just so they could see my face.. I met my agent, Cheri Von Loon, at Marilyn’s in the Southeast. I was Sister James in “Doubt” by John Patrick Stanley in Philadelphia. Every person I have met on set or stage has stayed with me. I continue to network and work with many. I have watched the other actors and their craft, and they shape the artist I am today. I have come to realize that I am being shaped every day into the artist I am meant to be. I was a blank slate the day I graduated. I am flying by the seat of my pants, submitting for everything under the sun hoping something sticks. It does! It will continue to. It will ebb and flow like the ocean. I will see my cohort in commercials and plays while I have not worked on a project in months. I will have to decline projects because I’m already booked. I will get major additions just to never hear. It’s taken quite a bit of adjusting to the world of rejection and redirection. A lot of it is silence. When you apply to day jobs, you usually get an email of ” Thanks, but no thanks.” Here, my audition becomes a ghost, floating in space, haunting the back corners of my mind. Was it not good enough? Did they even see it? Should I have had a different take on it? There’s nothing that can be done. Every audition, booked or not, I have come to learn something. What to do, what not to do. You have to be okay with not being perfect. I’ve come to realize you have to work on yourself as a person before you can give a multi-dimensional performance. Find other interests. Know what makes you irrationally angry. Find what fuels you. Take all of it and shape it into your work. It’s going to be uniquely you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m biased! I worked as a Performance Manager for SCADStory in Savannah, GA. It’s a 4D show that shows the history of the school. There’s weather pattern changes, music, hidden doors, and more! They’re opening one in Atlanta, and I’m hoping everyone gets a chance to go!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
God, how many characters do I have? I’m extremely blessed to have an incredible support system for my art. I’m very privileged in that regard. My family has been there every opening night, and has even thrown multiple post-show parties for the cast and audience! My wonderful collaborators and cohort, they have shown me my power as an artist and what stories I want to tell. Sam, for being the kindest human and for recommending me for this piece, my professors who have shaped my craft and instilled confidence in me I never knew I could muster, and my wonderful partner Steve, who wants nothing more for me than to follow my dreams!

Website: www.erinneupauer.com

Instagram: @erinneupauertalent, @erinneupauer

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinneup/

Youtube: @erinneupauer5842

Image Credits
Headshots: Paul Sirochman