Today we’d like to introduce you to Carly Rogers.
Hi Carly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been a perfectionist – I wanted to do everything and do everything well. I could never decide what art I wanted to do more growing up, so I more or less chose to do all of them. Slowly, I began to find my main outlets in theatre, storytelling, and visual arts. I knew from an early age that I wanted to make art my career, initially thinking I wanted to be an animator before I found out how hard it actually was. I decided to pursue acting and musical theater, attending a magnet high school for the arts in my home town of Las Vegas. It was a magical and weird time, but it lead me to Southern Methodist University where I continued my education in acting. I’ve stayed in Dallas to cultivate my craft, which has expanded to freelance photo illustration and graphic design. I am still finding the limits of what art needs to be seen – what I can use for a career and not end up hating – and what art I can keep for myself.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My perfectionism has not always been a gift. In my sophomore year of high school, I was experienced my first mental break. I experienced my first panic attack, major depressive disorder, and almost flunked out of my magnet school. It took a year of trying different medication cocktails along with therapy for me to understand my diagnosis and how to move forward. I like to call it my “Bell Jar” year. In a recent development, I have also discovered underlying religious trauma from growing up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or in the Mormon faith. I have hatred towards the religion or those who practice it, but I have been working on deconstructing my understanding of Christianity and God since 2024. A faith in something bigger and merciful is key to my recovery from my Bell Jar year, but I’m still learning how to understand what I believe.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I define myself as an actor, writer, and artist. My main focuses are theater, short story writing, playwriting, visual arts, makeup, and graphic design. I unfortunately don’t know if I specialize in one particular thing, but I am working towards defining myself as a playwright, actor, and graphic designer in the DFW scene. I am most proud of my ability to try everything, learn everything, and remain curious. There isn’t an art I wouldn’t like to know more about. I am getting ready to debut as a playwright in the DFW theater scene, and I cannot be more proud and excited in myself that I was able to grow this idea that I just “wanted to try” into a full production. It gives me faith in all my other ideas.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
AI is a threat to both my interests in writing and poster design – although, the joke with graphic designers is that AI can’t completely take over because the client would first have to be able to tell the machine what it wants. But I see theater as becoming something very exciting and experimental as we all try to move towards the “real” and “tangible.” I am optimistic that theater will become something more available to the public; something experimental and scrappy and honest. But even if the world continues to see art as something less and less profitable in favor of endless content, I know that I and my peers will continue to make art, even if it’s just for ourselves. Some of the best theater I’ve done is by my friends for my friends, and I don’t see myself losing that any time soon. I just hope the industry doesn’t lose sight of that either.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carlyarogers.com/?utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZnRzaAOTULpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAadcSWIQUGwrjuKaMrMCgEztehD5vPiNY69RUGoFh5K78tmRJ85d8f-UpeR1jA_aem_vaT4H81O-aNpBwSltUaBiA&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carly.ann.rd?igsh=Nm5mYXI5a3ZvYXY0&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Cam Frontain (Main photograph, black and white mirror photograph)
Kiss with Apple (SheDFW)
Black and white photo illustration (Asher Thye)
