- Fariya Nasir
Following a Passion
Growing up many of our actions are motivated by the things we see happening around us. From watching superheroes to wanting to become heroes of our own, or seeing a doctor and choosing to study medicine, at some point almost every one of us has been influenced by these little moments that have impacted our decisions for the future. Singers, dancers, writers, doctors, teachers, actors: all these careers are most often influenced by what we’re introduced to growing up.
Similarly, at a young age, Paige Evans was fascinated by the programs her school held. With the possibility of an arts camp she grew interested in the idea, but between instruments and visual arts, she felt there wasn’t a spot for her (more specifically an area involved with drama). Her newfound determination to continue acting outside of school soon grew. Since she wasn’t able to go camping, she started practicing and playing out scenes whenever she could. What started out as a hobby soon turned into a passion. Paige continued to take lessons and slowly started attending classes and workshops. She set her goals and worked harder every step of the way, that goes without saying her journey hasn’t been all easy. Many setbacks and determining factors were taken before she decided to further take acting as her career.
At first, acting wasn’t the career Paige directed herself towards, at the time she had just received a full-ride scholarship for volleyball. Unfortunately, she became injured which held her back from going forward with volleyball. After she realized that she couldn’t continue to play, she was persuaded by one of her teachers to give acting a chance. With a new determination, she went back and started getting back into her passion, this time pursuing a degree.
Fast forward a couple of years, Paige developed a degree, a career and a huge platform with an audience of over 400k. Her talent and passion soon became more focused and brought light to a social media platform: Tik Tok. She began to post videos on TikTok, including a video that received a huge amount of likes. At first, it was just for fun. But as time passed on, she discovered how much support and positivity her audience provided her. Paige mentioned how her fans are what keep her going. The support from her parents always made her feel more than grateful. However, with this audience, she’s able to give back to a younger demographic and inspire them to fight for their passions as she did. “I’m so blessed I’m able to do what I love and help even just one person a day”.
From one side of the screen, 60 seconds of a scene is played. What isn’t seen is the time, the role-playing, the emotion, the recording, and the effort that goes into a simple clip. A lot of hard work is put into these clips of acting, which leads to what keeps an individual motivated and inspired to continue working hard in this profession. A support system can make up an important role in an actor’s career; particularly, having someone to cheer you on can mean a lot. Paige was heavily encouraged by her parents; they had always supported her choices. When it came to her decision to pursue acting, they stood behind her through it all. Typically, it takes Paige 3-4 hours to simply record and post a video for her viewers; for a single scene, many factors have to be considered. Paige mentioned how when acting in a scene, it is important to develop the character, understand their story and really grasp the emotions that make their own stories unique.
“I dive into feeling different feelings, characters, and movements”. Paige Evans
Going forward, Paige is continuing to do what she loves. She is currently filming and working towards bigger projects. She continues to build her own skills all while helping her audience and inspiring them through her acting.