Meet Shayna Benardo | Actor and Artist

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

Hi Shayna, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
This career, this industry, used to be the absolute center of my world. I really never had a work-life balance until the pandemic and subsequent strikes forced me to – and thank goodness they did.

Starting in this career as a teenager, I was (and still sometimes am) quite stubborn and hard-headed about it. I listened to the clichés of ‘you have to want it more’ and ‘you must not be working hard enough if it hasn’t happened yet’. Being that dedicated, in my young mind, I felt that any sort of distractions/ ‘time away from the desk’ was time wasted.

That isn’t true. In fact, it’s unhealthy. (Peers did say this to me, but of course, I had to learn it myself).

Artists ultimately source from their cumulative life experiences. I know that now. But before I found a balance and took that sentiment to heart, I was so sure that if I just kept my head down and waited for my name to be called to be in the next big show, it would happen. If these past few years have taught me anything, it’s that there is no such thing as deserve, maybe there never was and I was naive to think so.

Resentment was bubbling up inside me, and my optimism was fading. I was looking to my career for fulfillment and happiness. Well, what happens to a person with that mindset when everything shuts down?

Looking around and seeing that after years and years of that ‘head down’ mindset, I’m not where I thought I would be by now, I was forced to reconsider the sustainability of that attitude. I realized that all we really have is the present moment and this whole time I’d been planning to be happy ‘one day’.

So I did the work. I took a step back and realized just how much power I was giving this industry. I talked to my friends, I talked to mentors and counselors and found that work life balance I had heard so much about. I’m more social, more outgoing, I’m even learning how to play the drums and make fancy cocktails!

Having developed a stable sense of self outside of the industry, I can now return to the joy this pursuit and craft bring me. I look at my career and the future with fresh eyes. I can keep progressing in the thing that I’m passionate about without the influence of an unbearable pressure I was creating for myself. Nobody has control, and I’m taking that in stride. What choice do I have? and in the same sense, how freeing is that?

I’m no longer putting my happiness in ‘if and when’ but in ‘here and now’.

Maybe I’m a dramatic example, but hey I’m an actor after all.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art is evolving and I’m excited about that. I knew it was time for me to redefine what kind of artist I was when I looked at my Instagram profile and it said ‘Actress’ under my name. It wasn’t a vibe. I’m a lot more than that. The people need to know. So I changed it to ‘Artist’ and that felt way better.

Truly, I get so much joy out of just being creative. I’m a bartender as my day job and I realized I love it so much because you get to be really creative and experimental and you’re constantly learning something new. I love talking to people, getting to know what they like, and then making a drink based on that. I never thought I would be a bartender. It’s like you’re making a meal for someone right in front of them and then you get to enjoy their satisfaction with your creativity. Maybe I should be a hibachi chef next.

My writing partner Amber Martin and I joined forces this year to produce our own content. We’ve written a comedy short that we are in pre-production for and are super excited about!

The challenging times of the strikes led to this chapter of my evolution. The new concerns about AI also weigh heavy on my mind and lead me to think back to why I started in this career in the first place. Why should we wait to be creative? Us humans with our cameras and C-stands aren’t going anywhere. Let’s make some cool stuff.

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?
Ooo. Walking the Beltline is a must, as we all know. Check out Ponce City Market ( a little touristy, but there’s A/C and that’s important in these summer months). Head over to Inman Park and get a delish cocktail at Little Spirit made by the coolest bartenders around. While you’re there run into Bartaco. So good.

If you need caffeinating, go to PERC. I’m obsessed with their seasonal lattés. Get the ‘Bananagram’.

Next, we’d have to go thrifting in Little Five and get a burger at Vortex. See a lil indie movie at the Plaza Theater on Ponce.

If you’re a Walking Dead fan, we’d take a little drive through the heart of the city and then head down to Senoia to see some filming locations! Then I’d drive over to The Town at Trilith. It’s a picturesque little utopia across the street from Trilith Studios- formerly known as Pinewood Studios. They’re already an iconic part of the Atlanta film landscape, and they continue to support indie filmmakers while housing some of the biggest productions happening in the world right now. Check ’em out.

If you’re into nature, and brought some good shoes, hike up Stone Mountain for some amazing views of the city. When you’re done, there’s a little piano bar in town there called Public House. You might get lucky and be there on karaoke night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes!! The list is so long.
Firstly, my kickass new team at 22 Talent. Susan Fronsoe, Juliet Reeves and Skyler Wegmet. They just opened up their Atlanta office and I’m so proud to be repped by them. Much love!

Dustin Lewis, Alex Collins, Jason MacDonald and the entire Drama Inc. team. They’ve been a great source of guidance and encouragement ever since I moved to ATL. I’ve met so many of my people by being in class with them. Truly a safe space to grow and that can’t be underestimated.

My peers who have been my support system- Rachel Comeau, Katlyn Horstkamp, Yago Lupi and his beautiful family, Victoria White, Lawrence Collins, Amanda Keiner, Dalex Miller, Ciara Caffey, Kraig Dane, Jenna D’Angelo, Michelle Love Santoro, Jillian Batherson, the list could truly go on forever!

My writing partner and producer, Amber Martin and Carlee Soeder. We’re embarking on a journey of making our own content and I’m so grateful to be working with these two genius ladies. Check out Carlee’s company, Creekside Studios!!

Most importantly, my family!! And our two cats, of course. They provide emotional support.

Website: https://linktr.ee/shayna_b

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaynabenardo/

Image Credits
Chase Anderson