Meet Kelsey Bentz | Performer, Singer, Livestream Producer

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

Hi Kelsey, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
This question has popped up multiple times throughout my life, and used to make me squirm, but it’s one that I’ve pulled up a metaphorical chair next to and come to be familiar with. I’ve always been a stubborn “non-quitter”, generally speaking I throw myself into my commitments and passions wholeheartedly and want to see everything through to the very end. But when it comes to my greatest passion in life which is singing and performing, there have been many moments of doubt because performance is a professional field riddled with “no”s. The question of whether to give up stems from doubt for me, which comes from the fact that so much of my identity is tied into my passion for performance. When I experience failure or setbacks, it feels personal. It feels like someone is rejecting ME. After sitting with this doubt that ebbs and flows for many years, I keep coming back to the analogy of a scale. I put the doubt that I feel in that moment up against the intensity of passion I have for my career. I put the doubt up against my most successful moments. I put the doubt up against the greatest feeling of joy I’ve ever experienced in my career. And up until this point, the intensity of the doubt has never prevailed over the passion, so I continue resolving to keep going. Maybe one day my passion will shift somewhere else, or the passion will no longer outweigh the doubt and hardship that comes in this line of work, but for now I let it fuel me to keep going.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I want to talk a little bit about the other side of my professional life, because though I am an artist and performer I have also roamed into the corporate realm in the last two years. I work at a virtual live-streaming company called StreamYard, where I have held the title of Senior Customer Success Manager for a year now, and just took on the title of Head of Production as well. Graduating with an arts degree into the pandemic threw me for a loop, obviously, and I stumbled upon StreamYard which was then hiring virtually for a tech support role. I applied on a whim and got the job, and that totally changed my life. Not only did it support me financially right out of college when I otherwise would have been totally broke, it allowed me stability during a time when so much was up in the air with my performance career. Even better, because it is a livestream platform, I was actually able to connect with other artists, performers and actors during the pandemic because many people were taking their performances virtual. It felt like I could stay connected with my artistic community while working at a job that supported me, which I was so grateful for during lockdown. I never in a million years imagined myself to be working a corporate job, but I am so thankful for this experience because I have learned so many skills that I will use forever. I am so proud of the way I have learned to communicate, manage my own schedule and others’ schedules, take initiative, adapt from feedback, and advocate for myself. I’m excited that I was able to learn new skills, but I also utilize a lot of the skills I learned in acting school daily to succeed and rise up in my place of work. All the world’s a stage!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Somehow it took me 4 years of living in New York City to figure this out, but spend as much time as you can in Central Park. Seriously. I know everyone knows the park, but there are so many areas and parts that are hidden if you don’t take the time to really explore it. I’m blessed to live a 10 minute walk from the park so I’m there daily, and it has become such an essential part of my daily routine. Also, when I have friends come to town I organize our entire itinerary around where we’re going to be eating. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I will plan it all out and make the reservation so you better come with an empty stomach.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my Shoutout to my dear friend Raina Silver. Raina and I met freshman year of college, we had both just moved to New York City for acting school and we were friends right away. Unlike some of the other fast friends I made that year, she solidified herself in my life and in my heart. We trained together in college and spent countless hours working on material, rehearsing, critiquing, eating, and hanging out. We both graduated right into the pandemic during 2020, and though we spent months on opposite sides of the country she was someone who kept in touch with me and supported me through that time that felt so stagnant, lonely and isolated. She is one of the most hardworking and generous people I’ve ever met. I have admired her drive so much especially during the last few years when the performance industry has been so affected; Raina has not stopped putting herself out there and making strides in her career. I had been feeling like I lost momentum in my performance career, and wasn’t quite sure how to get my wheels turning again. Recently Raina had been cast in an off-broadway play here in the city, and when she heard they were looking to. cast understudies she sent me the all the information right away and encouraged me to reach out to audition. She helped me put an audition on tape in her apartment, and filmed it for me, and I got the job!! I’m making my Off-Broadway debut this month. She was nothing but gracious and I feel I owe her such a debt of gratitude for her support all these years. She is a life-long friend.

Website: www.kelseybentz.com

Instagram: @kelsbentz

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-bentz-471288a4/

Facebook: facebook.com/kelseybentz12

Youtube: youtube.com/kelseybentz

Image Credits
Drew Nelson