How to Find Balance and Stability While Pursuing your Career in NYC with Avanthika Srinivasan

Today I am sharing with you a conversation with Avanthika Srinavasan. Avanthika was born in India, spent her childhood in Singapore, and her teenage years in New Jersey. She went on to study at Princeton and ACT, and is now here in New York pursuing a career in theater and film and TV.  We discuss work/life balance, cultivating community, and finding her place here in the city while she begins what I’m sure will be an impressive career as an actress. 

Find Avanthika:
https://www.avanthikasrinivasan.com/
IG @avanthikasrini

Theme music written by Rachel Dean and orchestrated by Katie Coleman

Audio engineer Mike Rukstad

Special thanks to the following folks from the SIX Boleyn Company for lending their voices to the intro:
Mike Rukstad
Dylan Dineen
Sarah Ortiz
Jane Cardona
Kaitlin Ciccarelli
Kami Lujan
Jillian Bartels

Transcript

 [00:00:00] Hello. Hi. Congratulations. Oh, on what? On, on this podcast. I mean, thank you. Thank you for being one of the first people to, to say that you were game to be interviewed, and I'm so thrilled. I know. I'm excited to be here. I've always wanted to do a podcast. Do you listen to? Um, I, I do. Sometimes. I love, um, girls gotta eat. 

Oh, I don't know that one. Yeah. Cool. So, so I was remembering that we ran into each other in like a grocery store on the upper West side, right? We did. It was across from my apartment. That's so funny. I was so thrilled that you said something. I feel like networking and who you know is like everything and huge. 

I'm. Yeah, and I'm a little bit shy, and so I don't always do that. Like even if I recognize someone, I'm like, oh, you know, I'm not sure that they'd remember me or whatever. But every time someone says Hi, I'm so grateful. The idea of networking, I've really been thinking so much about it lately, and especially I used to be somebody who. 

Like put a lot of effort into Right. From like applying to this started when I was applying to colleges. Sure. And it became networking for the sake of networking to achieve a certain goal. And this goal was to get into Princeton. Yeah. And I sort of lost track of the purpose of networking in itself, if you know what I mean. 

Right. Um, what is it the, like it's just a means to the, to the end, whereas now, yeah. There is no end. Like I, I, I wanna be a working actor, but for me, networking is like, Taken a different form in that I reach out to people in the industry who like I just vibe with. Right? And I ask myself like, would I actually wanna be friends with them in real life? 

You know? Exactly. I, they could have nothing to give me. I don't even care if they're like big time director or like, I don't like, it doesn't matter who they are, you know? But absolutely with them and would I vibe with them? And if the answer is yes, I will go ahead and reach with them. Reach out to them. 

And if the answer is no, and even if they worked on freaking like 10 Broadway shows, I'll be like, no, because I do not wanna, it's not worth it. Exactly. It's, I'll tell you, it's just exhausting. Yeah. Which is why when I saw you the, I was like, Katie, I loved Katie and 

this is a person I like and it doesn't matter what they can do for me. Exactly. I was like, cool chick. I was like, I would totally go to lunch and like get coffee. Yes. You know? So we'll have to do that. I don't have to do that. Yes. So, okay, so you went to Princeton. What did you study there? So I started off as a chemistry major. 

Oh my gosh. And I, yeah, I was a big time nerd in high school and like mm-hmm. All AP classes and SS a T prep and all of that. And yeah. Um, I, I loved science and I still do, as I got closer and closer to declaring my major and just like really diving into what it takes to, you know, go to med school and stuff, I was like, I don't know that this is what. 

Makes me happy and Right. I can't see myself in academia or in a lab or whatever. So, um, I ended up kind of floundering for six months and mm-hmm. Thinking of other different majors and at the end landed on declaring myself as a French major. Okay. Because Principal doesn't have a theater major, so mm-hmm. 

And had taken a French theater course, um, and was doing a lot of French theater work actually at that time. Interesting. And loved being in rehearsal and working on scripts and reading plays and. I was like, okay, maybe this is another avenue that I could explore. So that's what I did. So I majored in French and then minored in theater and then started taking a lot of like checkoff scene study and like drama courses and literature courses. 

And this was exploring theater and acting. And I was like, okay. But it actually wasn't even, I didn't even drama school and stuff like that was not even on my mind. It wow. Until Wow. Until the fall of senior year where I was, my parents were like, so what? What are you gonna do with like, what whatcha doing this? 

Amazing, now what? Now what? And yeah. But then drama school found its way to, to reveal itself. Yes. And then you went on to a c t American Conservatory Theater where we met. 'cause I was playing piano for your [00:05:00] class. And that was an M F A in acting. Yes. Yeah. That was an M f A impacting and that was like 2018. 

Did did, were you done by the time Covid hit? Yeah. Uh, we were, so I graduated since this 2016 to 2019. I graduated 2019. Mm-hmm. Great. Just right before the pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. You were just in a show, you're living in New York now and you were just in a show at Atlantic Theater Company. Yeah, so Atlantic Theater Company is a major off-Broadway house and it, um, the show that I was in was called Elyria. 

And well, beautiful play. It's a new play by Deepa Rohit, and, um, it's about the town of Lyria, Ohio. And two women who, um, used to be best friends, um, growing up. I believe Kenya, and then by, um, by way of Baroda, India and then Iria, Ohio. Mm-hmm. And, um, and they find themselves reconnecting, um, 18 years later, a powerful story about being an immigrant, what it means to call home relationships, uh, motherhood. 

Mm-hmm. So it's, it's a beautiful play that I was, I was fortunate to be a part of, and I was playing the younger version of one of the women. Oh, wow. Talk about South Asian representation. I mean, we had actors from different parts of India speaking different languages, but like we spoke Gujarati, uh, which is an Indian language, um, on stage. 

Mm-hmm. There was garba. Which is a dance as well. Um, so Oh wow. Just getting to see like culture represented on stage was amazing. Uh, and on an Atlanta theater stage where, funny enough, the, one of the first ever plays, actually when I was at Princeton, I went to New York. I was doing like a sovereign program at, and I saw a show at the Atlantic called Guards at the Taj with, uh, Omar Mcw, who was an A C T alum and Arian Maud. 

I, it blew my socks off. I was like, oh my God, this is what I wanna do. Like this is like, holy crap. Amazing. I had full circle eight years later. I'm on the same stage too. You are. That's so exciting. Do you have another job? I do. Um, yeah, so I am an executive coach, so. What that means is I work with corporate folks on, you know, on, on leadership, uh, skills. 

So how might you convey your ideas in a coherent manner? How do you, uh, lead your teams more efficiently? So it's, it's using a lot of my skills as an actor, um, in this other sort of like other side of my brain kind of, and. Yeah. That's very cool. That's what I do on my, you know, when I'm not acting on stage. 

Right. That's what's paying my New York apartment rent. And then you also are a vocalist. Oh my God. Oh, I might have done a little bit of research. Okay. I was prepared. Um, yes, you're, I actually, so that plays a very, very important part in my journey as an actor because I. It runs in my blood and the fact that like I grew up with Indian classical music, singing Indian classical music. 

I started when I was three years old, and so I've been performing all my life. I was just very comfortable being on stage. So that journey has been very interesting. Try to navigate what that music means in my life and where it fits and yeah. Okay, so let's go back to like when you graduated a c t and you, yeah. 

We're like, I'm going to do this as a profession, right? Yeah. Is like where, how did you envision that? How is your life now different from what you thought it might be then? Like my life right now? Is it exactly what I envisioned it to be? No. But in some ways it's better. Like I wouldn't change a thing. 

Yeah. And something I would say is very surprising that I did not foresee, um, as I was graduating, was this idea of building community in New York. Mm-hmm. Oh man. So important. So important and so important for mental health. And it's like, where are the people who are gonna support you and lift you up and, and be there for you, and how can you show up for other people as well? 

So yeah. What are some ways that you do that? Uh, yeah, I think it, I mean, I'm thinking of it as cultivating friendships, right? So, right. So I found community and the a c t [00:10:00] network in my college network. Being an actor, one of the great things is you're not stuck with the same people every day. Right. We're not in a nine to five. 

Yeah. It's great and hard because you don't have those everyday people necessarily, so. Exactly. And it changes. Yeah. A hundred percent. Mm-hmm. And the nice thing though is you get to build your like roster of people that you know. Yeah. But again, that really requires one to front footed and like taking initiative. 

Yeah. And vulnerable. It's hard. It's hard. Like there are days. There's, so I think mental health is huge and yeah. And I think there are definitely days where I wake up and I'm like, what am I doing with my career? Like, why don't I have a job? Like what is happening? Right? Like what's the long-term plan? I. 

The way I try to get out of it is feeling like I am doing something for my career. So whether that's, I am currently enrolled in an on-camera class that's a weekly class, um, great. Or I try to go see plays pretty often or I might go to a film festival to network with people. But overall just kind of like feeling like I'm being proactive with my career. 

So you both. When you're having kind of a down day, you take a step towards your career, you're like, okay, what more can I do? Because I'm feeling a little bit stuck. I'm not sure of my purpose, so I'm gonna keep at my purpose. Like I know that it's there and I just need to keep working towards it. It's like you're fighting how you're feeling. 

A hundred percent. Yes. Yeah. And it's not easy. Like it's easier said than done. And you know what? Sometimes that's okay. Like sometimes I'm in bed washing real housewives all day, and that's, that's how I like wallow in myself. Yeah. Like, uh, these are just some things like sporadically I'll do, but a lot of the times I'm in my apartment just being like, you know what, dude, I'm done. 

I'm just like, absolutely. I'm over this whole thing, you know? Right. I think a lot of artists that find success are the ones who are super driven and motivated and just every day they're searching for the next thing or they're putting in some effort towards the next thing. But then when do you slow down and when you. 

You know, relax for a day. It's so hard to just even take one day to chill and not be constantly feeling that, that drive. So that balance is tricky. Yeah, it is very tricky. And it's okay not to be moving so fast at all times. That's, that's, yeah. To take a day, watch your TV shows a day, do nothing, take like, it's fine. 

You know? Yeah. And people are not going anywhere and everyone's got their own shit to deal with. It's totally fine. And you'll probably be better off if you're a little more relaxed sometimes and not just yes. You know, reaching confidence. Yeah. Yeah. It's really impossible to be working at a hundred percent all the time and mm-hmm. 

That's not gonna go any good if you're burnt out. When I'm not working, I'm not measuring my success based on whether or not I'm employed or not, and i's need to find other things that. Make me happy as well. Like for example, um, I'm an avid pickleball player, so I Oh, oh my gosh. And so like, being active, working out, um, or this coaching job, like there are other things that bring me joy and leaning into that is really. 

Important for me. That's huge. That's really, yeah. I think you're, yeah, you're really a model for how to do this, um, in a healthy, balanced way. And I hope that, you know, that all easier said than done. Like, these are goals that I have for myself and some days I succeed and some days I'm like, I. Down in the ditches, you know, like, I'm just not, not So what's next for you? 

Like what else are you looking for next? Nothing. Theater or tv, film-wise, that's like lined up. Um, yeah, I mean a couple of like readings here and there, which is always fun. Um, yeah. Is there a future for Elyria, the show you did at Atlanta? I hope so. I really, really hope so. Um, I would love to see it. Being done at, um, yeah. 

Another theater. So I, I also wanna see test match being done somewhere again. Yeah. Um, you know that it's like a relationship. You don't really have closure over, you know, it's like, yes. What? You're not done with it. I'm not done with it. I'm not, yeah. And I wanna do that show again, and it'll, that's the goal. 

We can, we can put that out into the universe. That we want a production of test match. Let's manifest it in your season. I swear to God, I'll, I'll be there. I say yes. Oh, speaking of manifesting of future production of test match, is there anything that like our community, your community, can do to [00:15:00] support you better right now? 

I honestly would just say reach out to me and say hi. Like that's all. I just want, I just wanna like build a community that's supportive, rich environment and, and vibrant and, um, meet people whose energies line up with mine, you know? Yeah. And, and so anyone listening to this, literally find me on Instagram. 

My Instagram handle is banika rinni. I'll write it in the show notes. Okay, cool. And tag you. Okay. Awesome. Just literally send me a dmm. And, and say, Hey, just, you know, and, and let's connect honestly, like I just wanna meet people. Yeah. In New York. And Yeah. And it's slowly, truly like, feeling like home. I remember last, mm-hmm. 

Sunday or two Sundays ago. Um, what was I doing? I was, I. I was doing a new play workshop with Deepa, um, the, the player out of Lyria, she's working on a new piece. Great. So I was doing that for a couple hours and then a friend of mine was like, Hey, do you wanna come over to my apartment? I'm doing a little like game night, game afternoon type of situation. 

Ah. Um, so funny by and say hi. So I stopped by there and then I went to another friend's place and we took an Uber to go see a show in Brooklyn and then we came back. Mm-hmm. And I, on my way home, I was like, This was like a true New York Day. Like I felt like, yes. Like walking everywhere and like meeting people. 

So that's, that's, that's the life that I'm trying to manifest. Talking about manifestation. Absolutely. Um, so yeah, just say hi and I would love to connect with you. Do you have anyone else in mind that I should interview? Um, yeah, so many, a hundred percent I have a friend. Cool. Um, a couple friends actually, um, k Brewster and Marin Lee who are like really established actors and have found their ways in navigating life and work and stuff like that. 

Yeah. And Marin just got married so she can talk to you about like life and That's great. Yeah. I think both of them would be great. Great resources. Amazing for you. Thank you. Cool. I love what you had to say about mental health and work-life balance and I mean, I feel those things so hard myself, so it's really just nice to hear someone else Good thinking the same way. 

Yeah, I will. I will say this at the end of the day, recently actually, so you know, Melissa Smith, a conservatory director, she passed away. Right. And um, and I actually had grown to be very close to her after graduation. Mm-hmm. And was, um, take, helping take care of her when she died. So I was actually with her Oh, wow. 

As she passed, that actually was the start of putting things into perspective, uh, for me as I witnessed death and grief and realizing like there is so much more that's important than just like the minutiae. Sure. Career is important. Like our lives are all very much filled with meaning, but there are bigger things that are so much more significant, and that includes the people around you, like surround yourself. 

It's all about the people. It's all about community, all, all about that. It's absolutely all about that. And so if you have good people around you, you, you are lucky and you should mm-hmm. Give thanks for that. I do. I give thanks for that every day. And nurture it. And nurture it. Don't let it go. Yeah. Career, your work will come and go. 

But the people, like as I stood there in by her deathbed, and I'm looking at this woman who was a powerhouse lady who made a c t, what it was for 25 years and she's. An actor and one of the first women to go to Yale undergrad. Like just all of those things. Wow. But I look at her and I, I said myself, none of that. 

Persists in the moments that you're dying. It's the people that, you're right, it was her family and her friends that were around her. You know, it's not the Yeah. And she had you because of that. It's all connected, but that, in the end, that's all connected. Yeah. Yeah. But at the end of the day, it's your loved ones that will show up for you. 

So hold them close. Yeah. Uh, yeah. What a great, what a great way to, to sum all this up. Thank you. Thank you so much for doing this. Yes, ladies, so much for having me. So much. I feel so honored to be one of the first people that you're answer. I know. I'm so grateful. Alright, have a great rest of your day. 

Thank you. Thank.