Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Lowder.
Hi Adam, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Adam Lowder, and I am a storyteller. My earliest memories revolve around a desire to emulate artists through impersonation as a means of escape and adventure in my childhood. Before I was old enough to go to school, I spent hours watching and rewatching how artists performed and then mimicking what I studied while my mother watched through the eyepiece of her camcorder. It’s not a stretch to imagine how shortly after graduating from McKinney High School I moved to New York City where I would live and work for eleven years as an actor, writer, and director (along with a myriad of part-time positions). Those years are peppered with personal and professional milestones (acting in over 60 projects, writing/directing a dozen others), but paramount to any achievements are the relationships I was blessed to build during that time. Somehow, I was fortunate enough to meet an Arkansas girl in the middle of the concrete jungle, and Katie Barbaree and I married in 2018. A couple years later, just after solidifying some exciting professional partnerships in Los Angeles, the pandemic was upon us, and my wife and I decided to move back to North Texas while the industry was on pause. We thought the move would be temporary, but after making up for lost time with family and getting to know the wonderful people and artists of North Texas, we decided to stay. In 2021 we started an independent film company, Anytown Pictures, and an acting program, Anytown Actors LAB. We also just wrapped our first feature film in October 2022 which we shot in the surrounding North Texas area and which we plan on premiering across the country in small towns in 2023. Why Anytown? Our belief is that the next excellent artist, film, or story can come from any town and it’s our daily mission to engage and inspire them.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road as an artist making a living in the entertainment industry has been anything but smooth. There are the personal struggles of an artist: seeking validation through your work can leave you decimated on a daily basis; the professional struggles of an artist: seeking employment from an industry designed with an expiration date on your value in mind; and the spiritual struggles of an artist: seeking to maintain integrity where peers and employers seem to swap theirs for status in the industry every day. The road to one’s purpose hasn’t been smooth either, but when you look back you see more clearly the purpose of those struggles. I see they were placed there to fortify my trust in the journey, and it’s given me immense gratitude because I can now see that my struggles ultimately aren’t for me. They are there so that I may use any wisdom gained from surviving them to serve others who will inevitably go through similar difficulties.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As I said, I am a storyteller. Sometimes that means I act and sometimes that means I write, direct, and/or produce films. In the most recent project, Wayward Kin (a feature film premiering in 2023), I did all four along with the absolute best cast and crew and the support of local towns and people the likes of which I had never before experienced. That project was developed through the production company, Anytown Pictures, and written and produced with my creative partner, David Joseph Volino, where we sought to connect people through film by telling the most meaningful story we possibly could. The potential success of this film would be in the fact that it helped audience members feel seen. Another marker of success for us would be if the film inspired other filmmakers to connect and unite humanity by boldly telling their own stories. That’s our hope. In addition to telling stories, I also teach actors how to act truthfully. After working and studying as a professional actor in New York City for over a decade, I now have a firm grasp on which tools are effective in bringing out an actor’s ability to act truthfully and I’ve developed a one-year program in person as well as one-on-one training online where I strive to help actors reach their artistic potential no matter where they live. Few things are more gratifying in my work than seeing an artist realize that they can do what they love with excellence.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
A risk places you in potential danger. A healthy dose of common sense would tell you that danger is to be feared or demise is imminent. But within the human experience, fear is not always healthy. We all recognize which things in life should be avoided, but how do we discern those risks which are more complex? Do I send the email to the casting director or agent, or do I hope my work will inspire them to reach out? Do I take on this role which will bring me money and fame, but also comes with a reputation I’m not very fond of having? Do I pursue this story or do I let it go? Do I strive for success no matter what the cost? Life is full of risk and things to fear. In my experience, if your values remain steadfast, there’s nothing to fear. Your values will lead you to the right choices along the path of your purpose and there will be no risk too great to see you to the other side of your destiny. When I drilled to the center of who I am, what I believe in, and what I will not compromise, decisions became much clearer and easier to make and risk-taking became inevitable. Someone once told me to “go out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is.”
Contact Info:
- Website: anytownactorslab.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anytownpictures/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anytownactorslab
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@anytownactorslab?lang=en
Image Credits
Sherine Toussaint
Vu Nguyen
