Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Comedian & Actress Courtney Scheuerman Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry

An Interview With Ming Zhao

Don’t give so much power to social media.I think this is pretty self-explanatory, I know personally I’ve spent so many hours thinking of content to put up when I could’ve been investing that time and actually meeting people in person. 😬

As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Courtney Scheuerman.

Courtney Scheuerman is a stand-up comedian and actress. As a stand-up comedian she has been featured on Carson Daly, Comedy Central, Oxygen, and Gotham Comedy Live and she is best known for her roles in Lionsgate’s ‘Haunted Boat’, ‘Zburbs’ and Nickelodeon’s ‘Life Humongous’.

A graduate from UC Berkeley in Theater and Performance Studies, Scheuerman is the recipient of notable theatre honors including, being nominated for an Irene Ryan scholarship, recipient of the Best Actress Award from the Pasadena Playhouse. Courtney currently holds the record at the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Annual Drama Festival with 7 first-place finishes in the Monologue Division.

Her stirring solo show ‘Holding Court’ is currently playing at the Hudson Guild Theatre and is an official selection of the United Solo Fest in New York City.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in Woodland Hills, which is in Los Angeles, California. I’m the youngest of three kids, and both of my parents were very involved. I was raised in a household with over 50 animals, everything from dogs to tortoises to a potbelly pig. This greatly influenced my love for animals, it also ensured that there was never a dull moment in my household. My love for acting started around the age of four. I knew then that I wanted to be on stage performing for people. And that’s exactly what I did.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I always knew that I wanted to be an actress. I did my first production of ‘Annie’ when I was four years old. I played Molly, the youngest orphan. From there I went on to perform in 42 productions by the age of 18. I loved everything about live theater. I then went on to get my degree in theater and performance studies from UC Berkeley.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I’m not sure this is funny as much as it is regretful, however I can look back at it now and laugh about it and how naïve I was. Right out of college I got a referral to an agent (who I won’t name) in the first meeting with him he went on to explain to me that he didn’t know what to do with me. He said, “You’re not pretty, I mean, you’re not ugly, you’re what we call in the business ‘interesting looking’”. My regret is that I walked around with this perception of myself for years. The labels and ideas that you allow other people to imprint on you can be extremely damaging. I guess I laugh at it now with the realization that I should’ve taken that as a compliment, I mean now I’ll take “interesting looking” over pretty any day!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’m extremely grateful to my parents. Not that I ever took their support for granted, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized how lucky I was to have two people behind me supporting me every step of the way. They never questioned my dreams or desires, but rather elevated me and always pushed me to follow my heart. I realize what a privilege that was.

You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

The prospect of failure is not something you can be afraid of, but rather something you have to embrace. There is no succeeding without failure. If you can’t embrace the bad you won’t be able to embrace the good, so you really have to look at this career as a journey with peaks and valleys. You’re allowed to be sad when things get hard, but you have to pick yourself up and keep on going. There are definitely going to be times when you’re knocked down and will feel defeated, but it’s how you handle it in the moment that decides whether you’ll have a future in this industry.

What drives you to get up every day and work in TV and Film?

My passion for the craft is what drives me. It has always been 100% about the work for me. This is why I’ve made it a priority to continuously be a member of an acting studio since I was a child. For me, it’s about continuing to hone and work on my craft, because it is constantly changing and evolving.

You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?

Thank you, right now I think the most interesting work that I have done thus far is the one woman show that I created, ‘HOLDING COURT’. That is a solo show that I created all on my own and took several years to put together. It’s the most honest raw piece of art that I have created and I’m so proud of it. I feel like this project has elevated me and my work and I think that will transpire into my future projects.

We are very interested in looking at diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture and our youth growing up today?

It is critical that we have diversity in the entertainment industry and it’s taken far too long to even get where we are today (which still isn’t far enough!). People need to see themselves represented in art. Inclusion for everybody needs to be seen by the masses in order for every voice to be heard and understood. For far too long this industry, that holds so much power, has only been representing a small portion of the voices in our world and it’s clearly a misrepresentation of the world we actually live in. These changes are both invaluable and necessary and cannot happen soon enough.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. This career is a marathon not a sprint. I remember graduating from college with my degree in theater and wondering why every Casting Director wasn’t knocking down my door. Looking back I would laugh and say to my younger self and anyone in the part of their career, “Slow your roll child and trust in divine timing.”
2. Don’t give so much power to social media.I think this is pretty self-explanatory, I know personally I’ve spent so many hours thinking of content to put up when I could’ve been investing that time and actually meeting people in person. 😬
3. Pick a lane and stick to it. Like most people in this business I’m talented and can do a lot of things pretty well. I can sing, I can dance, I’m great at comedy…. but my greatest strength is as an actress. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to throw my talents against the wall to see what would stick. When the truth was the thing that brought me the most happiness was acting, so that’s the lane I needed to stick to and allow myself to shine in by focusing all of my energy there.
4. Get a really good day job and make sure that you feel safe and secure with your financials and living situation. I spent many a year in jobs that drove me crazy and exhausted me. And at the end of the day, the honest truth was that I didn’t have a lot of energy left for what I really wanted to be doing, which was acting.
5. The most important thing you need to be a thriving artist is to love yourself. Without self-love you have no ground in which to take flight.

Can you share with our readers any selfcare routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.

Work out and take care of your machine. The best thing I ever did for myself, for both my body and mind was to stop drinking. I’m not saying that everybody needs to do that in order to feel good, but for me it was life altering. It changed every aspect of my life in such an amazing way and really taught me how to take control of myself.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

It’s a Henley quote that I have hanging in my room from my mother. It was on the back of the necklace as well that she gave me for my graduation. “ I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul“ I say this to myself often, it reminds me that in this world where we have so little control, I have control over myself and my thoughts.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

I’m a huge fan of Jane Lynch! I think she is wildly talented and one of my favorite artists to watch. I love the choices that she has made in her career, and as a woman she is fearless.

Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?

I sure am! You can find me on instagram @courtneyscheuerman

And my website www.courtneyscheuerman.com

This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!