Making it After 40
Making it After 40
Michele Simms - Acceptance of Yourself
In this episode, Lisa chats with Michele Simms, who is best known as the Carvana Mom from her 2022 Superbowl Commercial. Michele is a wildly talented character actor and she's just getting started. Lisa and Michele chat about overcoming depression, the challenge of moving to Los Angeles without a built-in network and how finding her community in improv really grounded her. Michele is funny and so incredibly sweet. It was a delight having her on the show.
Links:
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Follow Michele Simms on Instagram at @chelesimms
Check out Michele's one woman show on Youtube.
Music by my husband @jeff.roi
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Show transcript available on the show website.
Grab your cup sit down for a story Let's all go exploring Making it After 40, Making it after 40, Making it after 40
Lisa Rodriguez:Hello, friends. Thank you for joining me for this week's episode of making it after 40. I am your host Lisa Rodriguez. I am an actor and writer who is still trying to make it after the age of 40. On this show, we explore what it means to be an artist trying to make it as a middle aged person. First off, thank you for the outpouring of love for Michael and his family last week. I know some of you made donations, Michael was very touched with all the love. It's nice to know that this podcast is doing good things. So thank you. Thank you. I have one small ask of you all if you are loving the show, please share it with your friends share it in your stories on Instagram. Word of mouth is huge. And it would really help me out a lot. Okay, so, on today's show, I chat with Michelle Sims, who you all probably know as the Carvana mom from this year's Superbowl ad. Michelle is a wildly talented character actor who I first met at Second City Hollywood, which doesn't exist anymore. But that's for another day. Michelle shares with us her battle with depression and the challenges of moving to Los Angeles without a built in network. She also shares with us how finding community through improv helped her get grounded. And then learning to accept yourself as who you are now to find the roles that best suit you. Michelle is funny and sweet and just a damn delight. So sit back and enjoy the show. Okay, so Hi, Michelle. It's been so long since I've spoken with you.
Michele Simms:I know. This is very nice.
Lisa Rodriguez:It's really good to see you too. And thank you so much for taking me up on my offer to be on the podcasts. I like I told you in our emails. I really love your work. I love I think you're so incredibly talented. Yeah, and so I'm, I'm just so excited to have you on and get to chat with you.
Michele Simms:Thanks for having me. Yeah. No little nervous.
Lisa Rodriguez:Oh, no need to be nervous. It's like a conversation, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know if you've had a chance to listen to any of the other episodes. But generally, I like to start off and get a little bit of background about your journey. You know, I'll probably already say this intro but Michelle is an is an actress based in LA. And I met Michelle through Second City. She was kind of in that network. I got to be one of your understudies when you were in that. Oh my gosh, what is the name of that? I can't remember the name of the show the show that was at Second City with Eileen directing.
Michele Simms:Once upon a good time.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yes. Once upon a good time. Yeah. So and that was actually the first time that I had seen you perform. And I was like, Holy crap. Who is this woman? She's amazing. Oh, yeah. Yeah, but let's Why don't you tell us about your journey of how you got into your your acting and your creative spirit and whatever that is?
Michele Simms:Yeah, um, well, I, I was I grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and which is like a city of the arts. It's very arts driven. But the high school I went to you wouldn't know it. They were very sports driven. But, but we did have a drama Guild and I was very intimidated by our drama teacher. His name was Milton Bradley, just like the video or not video games, but the board games, board games. But I finally joined drama guild in my senior year of high school and when I was in that class, some film students from FSU came in and we're looking for a teenage girl to play this rebellious teen who attempts an assassination and to get on TV. Like it was very. It was very like it was very 9095 So I did that and that was my first acting gig and then that was that was it. You know, I knew it. I didn't. I didn't have a backup plan at all. So I jumped into it. I moved to Orlando and I started performing and theme parks and dinner theaters. And eventually like I got into commercials and film and TV. They're like I did an episode of Burn Notice and the Glades like all those Florida based Yeah, shoots were going on. But I that whole time I kept avoiding improv. I kept avoiding it. But I was so curious about it, but I was too scared. And then I went to divorce. I was like, I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I started doing improv it sat comedy lab in Orlando, and really, really good community there. Yeah, like I missed them a lot. But they, you know, prepared me, was there for about a year and a half. And then in 2013, I came out to LA with my husband, Arne. And, and we I don't think I could have done it without him. I don't know how people do it by themselves. It's hard.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. It's a hard city to move to by yourself.Yeah.
Michele Simms:Yeah. And like, I-
Lisa Rodriguez:Was he kind of the catalyst or were you the kind of the catalyst to make that move. Was it mutual?
Michele Simms:I think it's maybe like 75% Me 25% him, but because he was like, he could have gone to New York or LA. He was like I could do either. And I was like, I've always wanted to go to LA. We did. And, yeah, yeah. And it was kind of spurred by I, my contract at Disney wasn't renewed. And I was like, Well, that's it for me. Let's go. Yeah, um, because it was honestly I had the job that I had always wanted in Orlando, which was, it's called St. Miss sphere at the Disney Studios. And, and it's improvisers on the street. And like 1940s, get ups, and we got to create our own characters. And we just did shows on the street, we would do solo sets, and we could come up with our own bits. It was really that fun. It was really fun. And that's when I when I was there. That's when I was like, I've got to dive headfirst into improv. And I started going to sack and then when Arne and I, my husband, we when we came out here I immediately went to Groundlings because I was like, I want to all the questions I had about improv were about character and like, how do you get there so quickly? In those first few seconds, and I went to Groundlings and I had an amazing education. To to to a point I had a teacher that really basically, the last note she gave me was you need to stick to scripted material. Don't write don't improvise. That rep to me for a long time.
Lisa Rodriguez:That would wreck a lot of people. That's that's pretty rough.
Michele Simms:It was really brutal. And I'm like and the whole time. Like, I knew I was going to be okay, because when she said that to me, in the back of my head. I was like, that's not true. Yeah, I didn't say it out loud. I wasn't there yet. But but, you know, that was hard. And then from there, you know, I got through the first level of Writing Lab at Groundlings, okay, and I wasn't invited to the second level. So then I was like, what's next? And second city popped up in my feed on Facebook. Yeah. And so I was like, Okay, I'm going to Second City and then I had Eileen Montelione as my first teacher and it was like, she was healing me.
Lisa Rodriguez:Oh, she's so great. You Yeah,
Michele Simms:yeah, I, it was exactly what I needed. Second City was I don't know, I don't know. It was just exactly I thought Groundlings was exactly what I wanted. But second city was actually what it was. Because it's such a all encompassing comedy education. Yeah. As opposed to just character. Not to knock what Groundlings does, like, I know negotiate both, you know, well,
Lisa Rodriguez:I think I really, that really resonates with me as well. And like, I feel like for me, Second City felt like so warm, and accepting. And when Martin was on the show, he talked about how like, he just felt like it really became a safe place for you to fail. And you can't really grow and learn unless you're allowed to fail and second city you could fail and nobody's gonna be like, What the hell were you thinking that was stupid? They're more like, Well, okay, guess that didn't work. Let's move on. Or they like find a way to make the thing that didn't work. Make it funnier. Yeah. crapping all over your your failures. They like okay, well, let's turn this pile of poop into something interesting.
Michele Simms:I love it the whole this just being able to fail and not beat yourself up. Isn't? Oh my gosh, it's such a blessing. And I feel like it's, it's bled over into other parts of my life. You know? I, if I make a mistake? Oh, okay. What's next? Moving on? Now I know better. But yeah, I feel like my life has gotten better since I started doing improv because like, I was, once I got through second city, like I was doing, you know, shows and stuff, the monthly sketch teams that we all were on, and I, that was keeping me afloat, because I got really depressed. And trying to think of the timeframe, it gets a little jumbled. Yeah. But I must have been about four or five years, like I just laid low. I didn't put myself out there as far as an agent goes, like, I just, I kept studying, but I wasn't. I didn't feel like I was reliable. Because I was so depressed. And again, that's like living in the city with somebody. I can't imagine. People doing it by themselves. That's just incredible to me. Yeah. But yeah, I. And then it kind of came to a head last year. Like, you know, deep into the pandemic, my husband got a gig show directing for universal Beijing. And he was going to be gone for four months. And I was like, What am I going to do? And I, so I decided to do like, I got back into therapy. And I made some goals for myself, because I was at a point where I thought, like, I'm the heaviest I've ever been, I'm getting older. I'm not the ingenue anymore. And I felt like I didn't know how to get back on the horse, as I was like finding an agent is so daunting. But I set goals for myself. I said in the time that he's gone, I'm going to get a commercial agent. Yeah. As soon as I put my headshot up on, I think it was actors access, and you can set it to like searching for representation. Yeah, like two days later, I got a contact from an agency. And they wanted me to audition for them. And it was a great audition process. Like it was very detailed. Oh, good. So I could see like they presented a challenge. So I know they're like selecting people.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah, they're not just anybody. high bar.
Michele Simms:Yeah. So I was like, Okay, I like them. Yeah. And I ended up they ended up signing me and I, they signed me across the board, and I was just looking for commercial and that's fantastic. Nirvana happened not too long after.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah, yeah. So. So you, the listeners may recognize Michelle as the Carvana. Mom, you had your big Superbowl ad, which it is it is such a funny commercial. It is so hilarious. And I think you just like you killed it. And what Something that I really love about what you're doing. And I'm, I'm sure this is like a result of the therapy and the work that you've decided to do is, you know, you fully embraced who you are now. Right? Yeah, you know, yeah. And embracing that. Like, okay. I'm that mom. And, and that's allowing casting to be like, okay, yeah, let's give her that that kind of role. And you know you just like that. I mean, obviously the qurbana mom is a character, but it's a character you do so well. Thank you very much. Yeah, it was so
Michele Simms:much fun. And like, I, it just surprised me. It completely caught me off guard. But it was it's funny that you said that because it's like, once I accepted where I am right now, and and what I look, this is what I look like, and there's nothing wrong with it. You know? Yeah. You need all kinds to tell stories. And if you watched all Anjan news, it would get kind of boring like
Lisa Rodriguez:it would it would it mean, that's that's just it. I think it's such a challenge to go from being that Anjanette ingenue, and, and then, now, you know, like, suddenly, of course, it doesn't happen overnight. But sometimes it feels like it's overnight, and then all of a sudden, you're looking in the mirror and you're like, Are my gels looking? A little different? Yes. Oh, my God, pants are a little tight. Like, you know, and, and then you're starting to realize, oh, yeah, people don't stare at me anymore. When I'm, like, walking through the parking lot.
Michele Simms:I don't get whistle that are hit on me. And which I kind of don't want that. So what No,
Lisa Rodriguez:I don't want that. But does that mean that you know, like, I'm not attractive to most people anymore. And it is, it's like hard to not let it affect your ego. And then and then it's also as an artist, like, at the end of the day, right? Like, as an artist and a performer, you just want to be funny, just, you know, you just want to like tell stories, and you just want to make this art. But there's still that piece of you that has the person that you used to know as yourself. And it's, it's sometimes hard to like realize, like, Okay, well, I'm still that person. And my body is just like a little bit different than like, now I get to play with my body in this kind of way. And you know, I don't know. Yeah. It can be a little bit of a challenge.
Michele Simms:Yeah, it's some, like, just, you know, the challenge of getting dressed in the morning is, is hard enough. So when we sit back and look at like, what, what people can I play? And I, I mean, I've gotten some breakdowns for one was like a bush security guard. Okay. This is not what I would have gotten eight years ago. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Things like that. And like, just how people see you is? I don't know, I then I think like, Okay, well, how people see you, it has nothing to do with you. Right? Like, it's none of my business. But you kind of have to have that awareness. Yeah.
Lisa Rodriguez:Do you? Is it okay? If we talk on like, the challenges like after the Carvana ad came out? You started your own little series, based on the mean comments that people? So yeah, this Carvana ad came out. And so that was kind of like another like, another thing you had to navigate with aging and your body changing and now you're this different type of person. Right. And, and, and because the character I think, I think people reacted this way because the character stood out so much, and maybe it triggered them like their mom, like their mean mom or something or their annoying neighbor. I don't know. People are projecting their own issues on to this character that you created for this commercial to sell to sell us cars. And they would like post on the YouTube have the ad like really mean nasty things to you, but what I loved is you turn that into your own piece of art and you kind of like I don't know if I would say it was a clap back but like you kind of took their words and turned it into something I would love to hear like how you kind of found the way to not like let that beat you up and and make it into something funny.
Michele Simms:Well, I think the thing that kept me from like spiral When I read these awful things, we're just there's that book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel who is? Yeah. I love it. I love it. It's just take nothing personally, one of the four agreements in the book. I just practiced that for a long time. And I think that I think that enabled me to be like, Oh, whatever. Person, yeah, whatever. So they want to stab me in the throat, whatever. But then I started thinking about like, Jimmy Kimmel mean, tweet segments that he has, and I just, I've always thought those were hysterical, because it really takes the sting out of it. Really puts it on a pedestal. You see how silly it is. But I Yeah, and I just thought about, like, all the things I've worked on in therapy, and I'm like, What would my therapists say to these people? So it kind of went with that spin on it. Yeah, it was just a moment of inspiration.
Lisa Rodriguez:Oh, my gosh, I wish I could remember this specific one. But it was like You're like and repeat after me. As the person had had a typo. Oh, yes, it was. He'll know. He'll know what he was saying. Instead of saying, he'll know. He'll know. He'll know. Oh, my God. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Those are fun. You also have this movie coming out? Christmas, Karen.
Michele Simms:Yes. That is going to be I don't think I can say the exact dates. Yeah, no, no worries. They've announced it. But you know, this holiday season. It's a Christmas carol. And the Scrooge is is a Karen and that's who I'm playing. And you know, she has a visit from each ghost. And by the end, she's a changed woman. should be it should be pretty fun. We had this screening already. in Burbank. It was. That was fun. But they're gonna have a premiere in Florida where we shot it and then a premiere out here at City Walk at Universal. That's gonna I'm excited that it's gonna be a step and repeat in every food. That's fancy.
Lisa Rodriguez:It's like a big town. Yeah. So I wonder since you came from a creative area, is your was your family? pretty creative and artistic?
Michele Simms:Not really. I mean, the only thing I can say is my dad would sing. Whether anybody wanted him to or not in the living room, he would play the organ. Yeah, I think it drove my mom crazy. But he was pretty goofy. Yeah. So I think I get my sense of humor from him for sure. And, and he would, he would watch Blazing Saddles. Every time it came on TBS, which was like, every weekend, pretty much he would put Blazing Saddles on and I think I think that was the first big thing for me. And I must have been like, nine. Yeah. So I probably should not have been watching places,
Lisa Rodriguez:There are so many movies that my husband and I have tried to show my, my 12 year old but like we'd like, you know, he was like eight or nine or whatever. And we're like, oh, yeah, let's watch this. And then we realize, oh, we used to watch this on TV. Or like, Oh, that was acceptable. I don't like there were movies. Where it was like, I don't remember the scene. I was like, Oh, my parents recorded it off the TV. That's right. That's why I've never seen this stuff. That is not appropriate. Surprise, yeah. So then how did they feel about you like just going full force into acting and like, do they? Were they supportive?
Michele Simms:Um, in their way? They're very hands off, I guess you could say. So like, you know, they were like, do whatever you want. That's fine with us. Yeah. You can do it. And sent me on my way. Yeah. But my my mom and I actually moved to Orlando together and we lived together there for a couple of years before I moved out on my own. Yeah, yeah. But it was just her and I in Orlando for a while. Yeah. But yeah, they were and supportive and did you in their way
Lisa Rodriguez:did you meet Arnie through your improv community then? We aren't and I
Michele Simms:met at we actually the first time we spoke, was that a mutual friend's memorial of
Lisa Rodriguez:Oh my goodness. Yeah. And
Michele Simms:so like meeting him for the first time on, you know, a very somber occasion. And then we ended up working at that street misfit show at the Disney Studios together. And that's where we got to know each other and, and one thing led to another. And now we're happily married. We got married in Vegas back in 2015.
Lisa Rodriguez:Oh, that's so sweet. Well, you go
Michele Simms:we did the, we did the full Elvis wedding.
Lisa Rodriguez:That's awesome. You guys are like such a cute couple. I love that. I think it's really neat. From what I from what I know of you both the way that you guys support each other and correct me if I'm wrong, but he directed your one woman show right? Or the the first? Yes. The first one
Michele Simms:weapon of mass seduction
Lisa Rodriguez:weapon of mass seduction, that's, that's what I'm looking at. Yeah.
Michele Simms:Yeah. Yeah, he directed that one. The second one that I did. What is love I did on my own while he was in Beijing. That was another thing that popped up. And that that was that one wasn't as fun to do. Because it was it dealt with like some more serious stuff yet. But weapon of mass production was like straight up sketch. Yeah. And characters and stuff. It was. I want to do that again.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. And how did
Michele Simms:But I really like, oh, go ahead
Lisa Rodriguez:no, no, go for it. Go for it. I was just gonna ask you this, because they're
Michele Simms:really like, Oh, yeah. Um, I just it makes me want to do ensemble stuff more. I think though, as much as I enjoy it, like I miss working and collaborating with people.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah, yeah, I missed that too. I got to do. Rich Baker invited me to be the monologue, the guest monologue person for his monologues in May hymns. So it was my first time doing like the Armando format. And it was really fun. You know, I just got to, you know, tell stories, but it was just so fun to watch everybody do improv and be on stage and
Michele Simms:yeah, yeah. It's like there's really nothing else like it. It's pretty magical. Yeah. And just anytime you have like a breakthrough, or just a really great moment on stage, like I always tried to just remember it. Yeah, so I have that tucked away in my bank. Yeah, but it's, it's been a while I did. I did a two person improv set with Ally Picard. Yeah, we did it. There's a bad poodles Comedy Hour at the Wino vino. It's a little wine bar over in Atwater Village and like they have a show down in the basement. It was so much fun. But that's the only set that I've done. Oh, yeah. I miss it a lot?
Lisa Rodriguez:Do you find that as you've gotten older, it's become easier to take the chances on stage and I don't know make more a fool of yourself?
Michele Simms:Yes.
Lisa Rodriguez:A resounding yes. Tell me more about like, what do you what does that feel like to you? Like getting on stage now versus when you were younger? You know?
Michele Simms:Yeah, it's um it's I think my my stamina is not what it used to be. But I'm trying Yeah. But I mean, I've always been pretty willing to be stupid. Like when I worked at Universal Orlando I'm surprised I didn't get fired streaking through the break room like I don't think I could do that. Um, so like, I've always been pretty, free and goofy. Now it just feels like the opportunities aren't as often Yeah. cuz I'm not on stage as much. And I I miss it. Yeah. And you're making me realize like, I got to plan something because I've got the itch.
Lisa Rodriguez:So, my last the inner my most recent interview that well the interview that I've been editing this week is by this woman Tish Hicks and and we get into she talks about like, your creative soul is its own living entity. And she's like, you know, you need to, like, that's like your first baby. And you have to tend to that baby. And you know, like, you can put it down for a little bit, but you do need to go back to it because it has a heartbeat, and it's a part of you. It is you so and I really liked
Michele Simms:That's amazing yeah, I really liked the way that she spoke about that. And I think I think that I it's just sounds like in what you're talking about. It sounds like your creative baby is maybe calling to you. And needs more than just the occasional audition. I found that to be true. My my creative soul needs more than just the occasional audition.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah, it's like I try to I try to enjoy the auditions. But it sometimes they can be daunting with you know, checking all the boxes, making sure you did everything right, and the lighting and the tech and all that stuff. So read the directions three times. And and Wait, which way do they want me to slate? Is this a full body? Or is this? Am I showing my hands in this one? Is there? Yeah, there's each slate is different. So
Michele Simms:yeah, like I try to make it as fun as possible. But it's not the same as you know, creating I feel like we have to create and something I feel like. Like you hear that a lot as an actor, like you have to create your own work. But I feel like you want to do it the right way. Like, yeah, I found the more I've learned about writing, the more it's helped me be a better actor. In breaking down the script, knowing what's going on in the writers head where you know what his intentions or her intentions are. And I don't know what my point is here. I'm just saying. Like, I I like I love the idea of creating your own content, but you want to make yourself look good, you know? Yeah. And I feel like, again, like Second City, like everything that we learned there has been reiterated to me by my husband as well. So it's like very engrained in my head because I have to hear things multiple times before it sinks in. But he helped is still like, read and still, because the word I'm looking for the Second City Education like in all the sketch formats and yeah, screenwriting like he, I feel like I just learned so much about screenwriting for my husband, and, you know, he's got all the books, so I can always reference them if I want to. But just learning about writing is, I feel like is very beneficial for an actor.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. And I think I mean, they kind of say that, like nowadays, it's not enough to just be an actor, you also have to be a writer, which again, was why I'm so thankful that I went to Second City because they taught us how to write sketch. And that can translate to, to TV and to film. And of course, like there's formats and there's like, it's not sketch or you know, like sketches not is not TV pilots, but just the activity of like generating the jokes and like I think it's made my dialogue better. You know, because I can hear yes as in my head are generating scenes out of nowhere even like because you don't want to like start off the scene. Hi, how are you today? Welcome to my your you're a little bit better able to like jump into the middle of something or like even if you started off
Michele Simms:when I was looking at this. Yeah, start in the middle. Don't start in the beginning. And ease into it. Just jump in.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. All that stuff informs it. How did you come up with the idea for your for weapon of mass ejection because that's another Well, let me let me go back a minute, I do think that your strength is characters. So like, I don't know if that's from your Groundlings training, or if it's just like natural and maybe that maybe you just haven't actually they brought it out of you. But you're, you're you have so much strength and characters. There's this one role that you had in once upon a time, or once upon a good time. Where you were like, an advertising executive or something like that you had this blonde wig? Yes. And it was like you had been doing all these other things. And then you put her on, and I was like, Holy crap, wait. She's a different person. And I think I told you this after the show, and I stand by my comment. It's like, your type of acting is like a Meryl Streep where you don't just you're not Michelle with a little bit of a change, like you take on a whole different person. I feel like I was so impressed with the way that you you take on the character, you embody the character, it's like you get into their skin. It seems like, at least from from my perspective. Yeah. And so I'm curious how did you come up with this weapons of mass production? Because that's another like really? Hilarious. Not Good Looking Character. And you just go for it. And she is sexy. But she's not traditionally sexy.
Michele Simms:Yes, that the character on the poster for weapon of mass production. That's Betsy wetness. Yes. As a witness. She considers herself a seductress. And that's a character. It's, it's kind of evolved from a character I did before in a in a in a theme park. Oh, okay. So then I made an adult version. So I, I started expanding on it. And I had that character. I had my chicken character. Oh, yeah. And then there are like a bunch of little monologues and like a lip sync number that I did. And I just, it was a combination of wanting to do something with all of these different ideas, and just wanting to get on stage without having to try to get a cast together. Because it's so difficult. Yeah. And I was like, Well, I can just put on a solo show. And I kind of just did it. But I, yeah, just had all those ideas and like things that I had written, like going through conservatory. I just wanted a chance to, to get it on its feet and put it in front of a crowd. And but it was hard. It was hard to get consecutive dates at Second City. Because everybody's, you know, everybody's putting in for stage time. So I got I got a couple of shows in. And then I did a more updated version this past May, which was really fun. Betsy witness has a like her own talk show basically. Nice. It was it was a blast, like, you know, but what I want to do with that character now is there's a another show that Arne and I want to do together. And I'd be playing Betsy wetness. And her husband is sterling Silver's. And they have this variety show. We've got a lot of ideas. Yeah. Hoping. I'm hoping we'll be able to get it up on stage somewhere, like, in the spring of next year. Yeah. It's just hard to wait that long.
Lisa Rodriguez:I know. I know. But then like, you realize how long it takes to put everything together. Yeah, you know? Yeah. That's awesome. I'm looking forward to that. I didn't get to make it out to the may show. I can't remember what happened. I don't remember I got sick or something. We go through bouts of like, waves have colds and flus. Why? Not flus but colds? Yeah, the toddler.
Michele Simms:Yeah, it's bound to happen. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I did it in May. I filmed it. We did two nights and the first night like, I fucking nailed Yeah, I nailed it. And then the second night when we filmed it, I didn't nail like No, like it was it was still an okay show. But it wasn't where I wanted it. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, but no, yeah. Well, let me that's I feel like the improv shows kind of trained me to just go like, Oh, well, that's how it goes. Yeah, there'll be another Yeah. What were you gonna say? I was gonna say, Well, let me ask you because we talked about how you, you know, you started off and this industry is an ingenue. And then, you know, you've had to go through this transition where you're not that anymore, that were middle aged. Yeah, we're the models and stuff like that. What do you look forward to as you continue to age in this industry? Or do you look forward to? I do? I do? Like, I mean, I don't see myself retiring from acting ever. You know, there's only going to be roles as you get older, there's just more and more roles, different. Different archetypes, you know, you get the the Kooky grandma. Like right now I'm the wacky aunt. Yeah. And I'm just like, what's it going to evolve into? And just seeing, like, I kind of love that. In this business, that it's like, any day, you could wake up and get a phone call and something exciting could happen. Yeah. Like, it gives me something to look forward to. So just like day by day, I'm excited. I don't know. I don't know. I don't. I don't know if I've ever really thought about like, what is it going to look like in the future? Yeah, like 20 or 30 years from now?
Lisa Rodriguez:Do you find that it's getting easier or harder?
Michele Simms:I feel like it's getting easier. Yeah.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah, I'm hearing that a lot. A lot of people who are saying that it's getting easier, like, I think people, some people decide that they don't want to pursue it anymore. Or, or some people, they just they age into their type. And so it's easier for them to book the roles that they want.
Michele Simms:Yeah. Yeah, I feel like and, you know, there was a time when I was, you know, blonde, and ingenue, where there were like, I think it was three commercials in a row. They called in, they called me in wanting like, the funny girl next door. But then they ended up going with like, the sexy model supermodel type. And that was a brief time where I thought about quitting. Because I felt so discouraged by that. Yeah. Yeah, that was that must have been about like, 2005 2006 I think when that happened, yeah. That Yeah, isn't that that's, that's the only time I ever thought about quitting. Like, I'm, I'm gonna stick with this as long as I can work, you know?
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. Yeah. When you have, you know, you've got you guys have your own creative family, you know, you've got you and Arne are like, artists to your core. You're not gonna, you're not gonna walk away from that. Now, you guys are gonna keep creating and making making funny stuff and making people laugh and making weird stuff. And, you know, like, so my husband is a structural engineer, but he's totally creative at heart. And I tell him that he's like, Oh, I don't know what you're talking about. Oh, like, I tell you like, Hey, can you give me something that sounds like bossa nova for this, like, stupid video made? And he's like, just sits down and he plucks some things. I was like, how about that? Cool. Can you give me something that sounds like a Jack Johnson, Jake. Sorry, Jack Johnson song. And then he just like picks it up the air and so like, in that way I go, I get a little bit of a creative partner in terms of like, he's, he gets excited when I whenever I release a new video because I'm like, Hey, I've got a tip to treat. I need to make me some music. And he's like, okay, what are we talking about? Give me the video. What? Give me some references. And then he writes Yeah, yeah, it's nice when you have someone that you get to play with.
Michele Simms:It makes it it just makes life better. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. Like we, this is slightly off subject like just thinking about living with for someone that's creative. I took Ernie to a Dave Matthews concert the other night. And that's not that is not his bag at all. Yeah. But his rant about the whole concert afterwards was priceless. Funny, I would reenact it, but I wouldn't do it justice, but it's just just the thought of living with somebody that has that creative streak and just create this entertaining moment. Yeah, that you remember. That it's
Lisa Rodriguez:yeah,
Michele Simms:it's special.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. Because they like somebody who knows how to express themselves in a creative way that that is really special, right?
Michele Simms:Yeah, yeah.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah.
Michele Simms:Especially like comedically, like anybody that can make you laugh. That's, I love. That's just great. Yeah. I love that about comedy. You know, it's weird. Like, you go into a theater and you get on that stage. And you're purposely trying to elicit a particular response from this group of people. Just think it's kind of odd if I start to think about it too much. But,
Lisa Rodriguez:but the funny thing is, like, when you go when you go to try to elicit it, it's like, almost like, when you don't try to elicit it. That's what it is the best, right? Yeah.
Michele Simms:Yeah. It's when you're being as truthful as possible.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. And that's the key is trying to be as truthful as possible in comedy. Because like, yeah, it's like this weird kind of - my dog is driving me crazy. Hold on. He's been barking he never does this. He's barking the whole frickin interview. I'm like, most of all, all silence on my end. That's why I do this, that there's two tracks so I can cut him out. Hold on one sec. Oh, yeah, I think okay, so what I was gonna say is, it's like this weird kind of flow thing that you have to get into, where it's almost like, you know, what the rhythm is that you need to find to get the laughs but you also can't be trying to get the laughs But it's, it's like this kind of magical thing where it's just like, you kind of know, just right. Like, it's like your, your body knows or your subconsciousness. And you just fit into that. Yeah. Oh, so you're not thinking about it. So you're not trying but your body is trans? Yeah, yeah. I don't know how else to describe it.
Michele Simms:Comedy trance. Yeah,
Lisa Rodriguez:I know. Like, when I do my web series stuff. And I did the tips of Theresa, a lot of it is just like, I just kind of just start talking and whatever comes out comes out. I kind of know a general direction that I'm going on. And then of course, you know, then I get to edit it and pick the things that I think were the funniest. But we're getting close to wrapping up. But I just wanted to touch real quick on you had gone through this to this period of depression, you said, and you jumped back into therapy to pull you out of it. And and you wrote your second one woman show and that process? Was that part of your healing process? was writing the show to kinda get through that.
Michele Simms:Not consciously, but I think it did. Help me kind of get it out of my system a little bit like, and I also I had been doing in therapy I've been doing EMDR Oh, yeah, that's good. Yeah. And it really kind of took the charge out of those emotional memories. And I was like, I want to try to write sketches around these greens. You know, even though there was some, like, you know, some heavier shit in there, but trying to think of it in the in the format of a sketch show, I thought was cathartic?
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah.
Michele Simms:But there's also like that line, like, I don't want I don't want to be an actor working through therapy on stage at the same time. Like, what's that balance? Were like, I can share this story without, you know, making myself go through it again . Yeah. What? Yeah, it wasn't intentional. It just I got inspired because that's everything I had been working through and it just, I don't know it hit me.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah,
Michele Simms:came out that way.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah, that's cool. Well, and you're gonna, are you releasing that one? I think you said that you were gonna just release the video. Right?
Michele Simms:Yeah, I just posted it on YouTube the other day. And, and because I'm like, I don't plan on doing it again. So because it was so heavy. I'm like, I don't want to do the heavy stuff. I want to do the light.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah, sometimes it's hard to like, take that on, like, I know, like, I whenever I get something, and I don't know, I go through periods, there have been times in my life where, especially if I'm already going through some heavy stuff at home, and they give you a scene where you gotta, like, get emotional, or it's like really heavy. And I'm like, I don't want to do this. Like, yeah, I don't want to dig into these dark places. So I'm gonna have to go in order to find this and I don't want to do it. But, but then there's times where like, I've been going through a period where everything feels so like on the surface, but not in a heavy way. And so then I'm like, Yeah, then I'm like, Okay, let's, let's get a motion. Motion, motion, motion. Oh, we need to do some improv. Yes, we do. Anyway, well, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna start wrapping this up. I always ask two questions. Do you have any advice for someone who is either middle aged and looking to make a career change? Like, how would you approach the industry kind of thing? Or do you have any advice for maybe that ingenue? Who is going to start looking at change? How should they navigate that?
Michele Simms:Oh, gosh, I really feel like the word that keeps coming into my head is acceptance. Like the sooner you accept the changes happening within your body, sooner, you can be happy, you know. And a lot of it. I feel like a lot of auditions is going into the room and just being confident in who you are. Because if you walk into the room or put yourself on tape, and you're in your head, you know, you're not going to be present for the scene. If you're in your head being insecure, oh, God, do I look fat on camera? I probably look way bigger than I even am. Oh, gosh. I'm not getting back in the lines. Right? Oh, God. And just like, yeah, you're just not present. So like, the sooner you just like, accept yourself and it sounds so I don't mean it to sound so simple, because it's really not. But it's a practice. Yeah. You find ways of disrupting the negative voices. Or there's meditation, like meditation has helped me a lot. Yeah. And it keeps me grounded. So that I'm not putting everything on these auditions. Yeah. Because it's like, you don't want to come off as desperate. Because I mean, people don't take to it. Yeah. Which is really hard. It's I mean, this is an easy city to feel desperate. Yeah. Yeah. Static, keep the faith. Yeah. You know, you've got the goods. And I feel like everybody's gonna get something at some point, you know? Yeah, it's only a matter of time. It's like the laundry. Except it's you know, your livelihood
Lisa Rodriguez:and your validation your self worth. But yeah. Well, that's that's exactly is like you can't put yourself worth and whether or not you get the part because then you're just gonna feel like a pile of poop every day. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that there's so many people who are like, you see them and you're like, wow, you're booking so much and it's like, yeah, they had you know, how many 100 auditions and then they booked like seven rolls, you know, or so it's, you just have to keep that keep some perspective. I like the the acceptance I think. I think the acceptance is such a big part. Right. And like you said, because if you're, if you appreciate yourself for what you are for who you are, if you accept your talent, if you accept what you look like, well, then you're, you're gonna be you when you go in the room and, and, and that's the advice that you hear over and over again, right? It's just like, just come in, we want to see your essence, you know, be be the thing that we want, you know, like, if you're you that and we're looking for you, then you're gonna get the role. Yeah.
Michele Simms:It's, and now it's like, it's hard to hear that stuff over and over as an actor like to just be yourself. Just be yourself. Just be yourself. But that's like the best way to be. Yeah. What does it mean to be yourself? And I think it's just accepting. accepting yourself.
Lisa Rodriguez:I'm still working on it myself. So it's so me like in the room? Because it's hard not to like, when you get on tape, sometimes it's hard not to start to, like, get a little in your head or, you know, keep that groundedness I think I think it's a real challenge. And I think I've I'm much better with my tapes now. But I know that I have work to do.
Michele Simms:Yeah, same. Yeah. But you never stop learning. No, never stop growing.
Lisa Rodriguez:Yeah. So my other question is, what does making it mean to you? Maybe, maybe now versus when you first started out, but just in general, like, what? What does? You can answer that question that however, suits you. But what does making it or what does success look like to you
Michele Simms:I think the way it used to look to me was like, starring roles? Yeah, no. Yeah. The usual. Yeah. But now I think I feel like I find success and collaboration. And working with people and knowing that they trust me. Like, that makes me feel successful. Yeah, just people. Respecting what you bring to the table. Yeah. And, and to asking you for your opinion, like, like, on the Carvana. Shoot, they were coming to me and loving me improvised things. And I was like, This is crazy. This is so cool. Like they, you know, they trusted me to, to improvise. And then they were collaborating what they wanted the next tape to be. And it was, it was yeah, it's just, I don't know that feeling that feeling that's successful to me. Yeah.
Lisa Rodriguez:That's really beautiful. Thank you so much. I really, I'm so glad that you accepted my offer to come on my show.
Michele Simms:Thank you for having me.
Lisa Rodriguez:I'm so glad I got the chance. Oh, cool. Yeah, to really have a good conversation with you. It's kind of hard to have a conversation at Bordner sometimes. So yes, yeah.
Michele Simms:As fun as it is, yeah.
Lisa Rodriguez:It's so funny, because there's always this kind of like, I don't know what I would call it. But there's like, these friendships that that I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like they have these friendships. But I you have these friendships with people where it's like, oh, you know, in real life, we've spent like, you know, half an hour, you know, 20 minutes here and there. You know, like a few like party conversations. But then, like, follow each other on social media. And then I feel like, Oh, well, like we're friends. I know her. Yeah. Because, like, I know so much. So like, it's nice to actually like, you. We've been conversing through posts and stories and whatnot. But now I finally get to have like a face to face. Well, a virtual face to face conversation with you and, and it's been lovely.
Michele Simms:Very lovely.
Lisa Rodriguez:Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing. All right, talk to you soon.
Michele Simms:Thank you for having me.
Lisa Rodriguez:Thank you all for listening to this week's episode. You can follow Michelle on Instagram at Shell Sims that c h e l e s i m m s. Since we originally recorded the show, Michelle got some updates on the release date for a Christmas Karen, which will be released on December 13. And you can preorder starting October 21. And if you want to check out her one woman show I've put a link in the show notes to where the show lives on YouTube and you can watch it there. Please if you're enjoying the show, don't forget to rate review and subscribe wherever you listen and share with your friends. Word of mouth. Oh, I can't tell you how important word of mouth is be sure to follow the show on Instagram at making it after 40 the number 40 And to catch up on what I'm doing When I'm not podcasting check out my Instagram at Lisa Rodriguez thank you all for listening and have an excellent week
