Meet Lain Walls | Playwright, Actor, & Musician

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

Hi Lain, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
I’m a playwright and actor, and as an early-career theatre artist, and I think many folks don’t understand that as a professional entertainer, you’re an entrepreneur. I know lots of very talented actors and writers, but the ones who succeed are those who are treating their careers as small businesses. Professional entertainment, like entrepreneurship, requires you to have a strong grasp of who you are, what you do, what niche you fill, and, well, probably to not quit your day job at first. That’s a joke. Well, not really…

In fact, I think a lot of people don’t understand just how hard actors are hustling day-to-day. Every day, so many actors show up around 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning to a studio where auditions are held, put their name on a list, and PRAY they can even be seen by casting, let alone get a callback or book the job. All of this is for free, by the way. The grind is real.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a musical theatre writer, so definitely look me up if you want to read or listen to any of my work. In general I describe my work as music; when I am writing music, I am writing music, and when I am writing lyrics or spoken dialogue or silence I am writing music. I believe that the crux of comedy and drama and theatricality is rhythm and pitch and intonation and articulation and dynamics and tempo. What people consider the building blocks of music, I see as the building blocks of human interaction. The great musician uses music to express what cannot be put into words, and as a playwright I believe my craft is using words to express what I cannot put into words.

I’m sorry if that sounds pretentious, but I’m just opening the window to my soul here…

To digress a bit, I’ve made a livable wage from theatre over the past year, which I guess makes me a theatre professional. Of course it’s not always easy, but I strongly believe that, unfortunately, no one’s journey is. I would always encourage people, especially artistic people, to try a LOT of things. In college I spent hours and hours and hours animating, making video games, and drawing comic strips. All of these hobbies are things I will never use directly in my theatre career. However, I believe that (like many things) a career as an artist is wholistic. When I have the opportunity to teach theatre classes or workshops for kids, I often say “You can’t sell this dance without knowing the music and being able to sing it. And you can’t successfully sell the song without being a good actor.” While my games and animations are a little different than being a triple-threat, I truly believe that the more things you know, the more passions and hobbies you have, the better you will be at anything you do. Even if it just makes you a more interesting person.

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?
The theatre scene in Atlanta is AMAZING! From community theatres (like Momentum Arts – plug!) to professional theatre, there is ABSOLUTELY something for you.

Everyone knows the Alliance, but there’s a few other spaces that are great. I just did a playwriting residency at The Horizon Theatre, which only produces plays that have never been produced in Atlanta before. They do incredible work. I also love seeing plays and musicals at Out Front Theatre Company, which has the stated mission of telling LGBTQIA+ stories.

On a different scale, I just did the musical “She Loves Me” with the Atlanta company Acting Under The Influence. They do shows where the actors drink during the performance, and it’s always a good time. I’d definitely recommend catching one of their shows if that’s up your alley. And they perform at Red Light Cafe, which is another great venue!

I need to emphasize I’m barely scratching the surface on the breadth of amazing Atlanta theatre!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I owe any success in my career to my family.

My awesome mother, Maggie Walls (who also has a Shoutout article) runs a dance studio and community theatre in Snellville called Momentum Arts, and thanks to her and the studio I’ve had an outlet to experiment creatively. If it wasn’t for being in the theatre troupe at Momentum Arts growing up, I would’ve never had the confidence to persue theatre as my career.

I’m also lucky to have extremely talented siblings who I work hard every day to keep up with. My older sister, Edie is a music genius who teaches voice lessons, and I wish I had an ounce of her vocal knowledge and skill. My younger sister CJ is the greatest songwriter I know. Max, my youngest sibling is 9 years younger than me but has already had a prolific career as an Atlanta actor. Without learning from the three of them (no exaggeration) every single day, I’d probably be only singing in the shower and plays for my action figures to carry out.

Website: https://lainwalls.com

Instagram: @lainwalls

Image Credits
@antbirdmedia
Susan Cook Photography
Annie Brown
Jenny Rose