star power [NYOTA Magazine ]
starring
Raegan Revord Volume 15
from the editor
HELLO THERE, READER! In this Star Power issue, Raegan Revord graces the cover. Raegan can be seen on the hit show 'Young Sheldon' playing Sheldon's sister Missy Cooper. I got to chat with Raegan about what it's like working on the show, what advice she has for aspiring actors and much more. I also was lucky enough to have two quick chats this issue. One with Liddy Clark, a country singer everyone should have on their radar; and another with actress Sarah Withers who is sure to become your new favorite Scream Queen. As always I hope you enjoy reading the issue and are inspired to go after your dreams!
YOURS TRULY, Carol Wright EDITOR IN CHIEF, NYOTA MAGAZINE @_CAROL_WRIGHT
1
contents
3
Get To Know Raegan
4
Raegan's Playlist
5
Star Power: Raegan Revord
9
Raegan's Top Picks
11
Quick Chat: Liddy Clark
13
Quick Chat: Sarah Withers
#StarPower
GET TO KNOW RAEGAN When I was 4, I fell and had to get stitches in my chin.
I like to watch the time change from one hour to the next. Haha!
I like to walk in sync with other people.
Bomber Jacket: Tommy Hilfiger Kids, T-Shirts, Jeans and Belt: Zara Kids, Boots: Dr. Marten
My friends and family call me Rae or Rae Rae.
3
I’ve never eaten fast food!
#NyotaMusic
Raegan's Playlist Queen// Another One Bites the Dust The Cranberries// Zombie Lady Gaga// Shallow John Mayer// Free Fallin’ The Head and the Heart// Honeybee Fleetwood Mac// Rhiannon Bohemian Rhapsody/ Queen Hometown Glory/ Adele The Beatles// Hey Jude Taylor Swift// London Boy
4
Top: Zara Kids, Trousers: Burberry Children, Shoes: Vans
#StarPower
#StarPower
Raegan Revord Interview by Carol Wright | Photos by Dylan Kraemer | Hair & Makeup by Tonya Brewer | Styling by Alexa R Green
What do you love most about acting? What I love most about acting is getting to be other people and going through their experiences. So for Missy, I get to see what it’s like to grow up in the south during the ’80s. And what’s it’s like to have siblings because I’m an only child. Also, crafty! Haha
What drew you to the show “Young Sheldon”? I got the audition during pilot season which is a really chaotic time. I was auditioning a lot and I just remember this certain project grabbing my attention. I really loved the character she was so fun and sassy. She made me laugh. After I auditioned for Missy I remember asking my mom over and over if she’d heard anything back about the audition.
What do you and your cast mates do offset to form genuine relationships? From the beginning, I think we all knew how special this show was and started doing things right away to get to know each other. Mr. Lance would have us all over for lunch and we’d play with his kids, Ms. Laurie Metcalf has pool parties at her house, Mrs. Annie has us over all the time too. Which reminds me, I’m having a sleepover at her house next weekend. Sometimes on our lunch break, we go to her house together and hang out. She’s like a real Meemaw. Just this past weekend Montana’s niece had a birthday party and a lot of the cast and crew were there to celebrate. We’ve been able to travel the world together I think we are all bonded for life because of this show and I’m so grateful for that.
Can you relate to your character Missy?
What advice do you have for aspiring young actors?
I think I do relate to Missy in some ways. We are both very strong-willed and independent. We speak our minds, but I’m a little more respectful than she is. My mom would not allow me to talk to her like Missy talks to her mom. I’d be grounded for sure. I’m also social like she is. We both have a lot of friends and we both make friends easily. Even though she doesn’t get recognized for it, I think Missy is pretty smart!
The advice I have is to always be prepared, professional, and true to yourself. Don’t change who you really are to try and make it as an actor. Also, be persistent! I heard so many no’s over the years but I kept going because I knew this is what I wanted to do. When I first started acting I set three goals for myself and I’m proud to say that I’ve already accomplished all of them.
What has been your favorite episode to shoot so far? My favorite episode to shoot is one we just finished shooting. The Coopers go to a church carnival and when we got to set it was amazing!! It was like being at a real carnival. In between takes me and Iain would go to the different booths and play the games. We did balloon pop, soda bottle ring toss, and another one (I don’t know the name) but you throw balls into a milk jug. We both “won” a stuffed monkey! I named mine Julia.
6
Sweater: Crewcuts by J. Crew, Overall Dress: Zara Kids
#StarPower
Based on your Instagram you’re a big Harry Potter fan (me too). If you had the chance to go back in time and act in one of the seven movies, which one would it be and why? Ooooooh. That would be a dream come true!!! And a hard question to answer because I’d want to be in all of them. If I had to choose just one it would be Deathly Hallows part 1- part 2 because it’s where a lot of the action happens. I bet there’s a ton of stunts which would be fun to do!
Outside of acting what are your other creative outlets? My other creative outlet is writing! Writing allows me to really be able to use my imagination and helps me to express my feelings. When I’m writing I’m in a completely different world. I also play the piano and guitar.
On your Instagram, you always share a book of the month. How do you go about choosing your book of the month? There’s really no rhyme or reason to how I choose. If I read a really good book then I want to share it and talk about it with people. Which is how I got the idea for the book club.
You also like to write. Would you hope to become a screenwriter one day? I would LOVE to be a screenwriter. Maybe one day the books I’m writing can be made into a show or a movie!!
Raegan's Top Picks Book : The Book Thief
Movie : Any of the marvel movies
Fashion Trend: whatever makes you feel comfortable and beautiful. For me, that’s jeans a T-shirt and my converse or doc martens.
TV Show : Young Sheldon, duh. ;) an animal documentary called Serengeti 9
#StarPower
#QuickChat
Liddy Clark Photo courtesy of Liddy Clark
#QuickChat
When did you become passionate about making music? What drew you to country music? I really became passionate about writing songs when I was 13 and learning how to play the guitar. I was drawn to country music because of the realness in the lyrics in some of my favorite songs in the genre. Writing music was a way for me to express the emotions I felt throughout my life and connect with other people through it.
You’re a singer and a songwriter. What is your favorite part of the songwriting process and what’s the most difficult part of it? My favorite part is finishing a song and knowing I did the best I could with it. The most difficult part is actually finishing the song; sometimes, the reason for that is because I'm so worried about other people's opinions of it, so I try and limit that as much as possible.
Your song “Shot Down (Stand Up)” was written after the Parkland school shootings. What’s the message you hope listeners take away from that song? I hope that people take away that there is nothing to lose by starting the conversation. The world is so divided politically now that it's hard for any change to get passed, but I'm hoping that this song can inspire people to bring down their walls a bit and focus on solutions that work for everyone.
What advice do you have for aspiring singers? Make friends with the people who work in your industry, it's crucial to have a support system when the music industry can be one of the most tumultuous places to work. It can also be useful when people offer each other opportunities to grow and you can only find that through a support system.
Who are some of your greatest musical inspirations? John Mayer is my greatest songwriting inspiration, I'm also a huge fan of the musical sounds of Eric Church, Jon Bellion, and Julia Michaels
You recently released “Hit & Run” what inspired the lyrics to that song? I was inspired by a recent revelation that a friend had lied to me, and I felt really betrayed because of that fact. I knew that I felt like a fool for believing this person, and I wanted to write something that would allow me to heal from that experience.
12
#QuickChat
Sarah Withers Photos by Ruben Glimpse
#QuickChat
When did you realize you wanted to be an actress?
Does working on a horror film allow you to be more creative?
When I was eight years old, I was watching Lizzie McGuire. I was so captivated by Hilary Duff, and I think I wanted to be just like her at the time. I got inspired to take acting classes and fell in love with it from there. I think what made acting such an important part of my life was the ability to learn about new perspectives and circumstances of someone’s life that you never even imagined. I feel very connected to myself and the world around me through the craft.
I definitely think it gives you the freedom to push yourself into territory you don’t always go as an actor. For example, the stakes are literally life and death. To play that out was nerve-wracking but also liberating.
What about Nightmare Cinema interested you? Nightmare Cinema, and particularly my film within it, called The Thing In the Woods is an action-packed, gory, fun, self-aware film that plays upon the tropes of 1980’s slasher films. What’s not to love? Haha. It’s genuinely such an enjoyable, playful concept that I was immediately intrigued by it because it’s a chance to stretch yourself as an actor in wild circumstances.
Tell us a bit about the story you were apart of The Thing in the Woods. How did you prep for the role of Samantha? The Thing in the Woods follows my character Samantha and her group of friends on a doomed camping trip. I am being hunted by The Welder, who goes around burning people! The amazing director Alejandro was used to writing feature-length films, and since this is a short, he thought why not start ⅔ of the way through, where I’m drenched in blood running from the villain. It’s a super energized way to start the film, and people had a very positive response to his directorial choices. I worked a lot on the script before shooting and had a dialogue with Alejandro about the short and the character beforehand as well.
What types of projects do you hope to get involved in next? Right now, I am shooting another horror film called Capps Crossing: Wrong Side of Dead with Beverly D’Angelo and Sabina Gadecki. We are having a blast, and it’s been amazing to be shooting out in the forest. Next, I particularly want to get involved with fantasyLord of the Rings type of worlds, as well as comedy along the lines of Silicon Valley. Lastly, working on an absurd thriller like Killing of the Sacred Deer is definitely on my wishlist! I am also working on my modeling career as well.
What advice do you have for aspiring actors? The biggest, most important advice I could ever give to anyone, is to work on yourself as you work on your craft. Whatever nurtures your soul- if it’s meditation or therapy or your faith- learning about yourself and taking solace in this present moment is key. Trust that things are working out for you! Stay the course, ask for advice from mentors, and believe in yourself always.
What did you learn from working with Mickey Rourke? I was actually on set the day before Mickey Rourke. I heard he was super interesting to work with and that he brought his own costume for the role of the wicked projectionist.
14
A quarterly series discussing serious topics over brunch In August, NYOTA Magazine partnered with The House of Flair to launch a brunch series that bridged the gap between generations with topics such as business, mental health, networking and so much more. If you would like to be a part of our series, follow @nyotamagazine on all platforms to stay up to date.
19
NYOTA Magazine STAR POWER TEAM EDITOR IN CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER
CAROL WRIGHT
PUBLISHING WWW.ISSUU.COM/NYOTAMAGAZINE
ISSUU
CAROL WRIGHT
PRINT COVER ACTRESS
Raegan Revord
CONTRIBUTORS PHOTOGRAPHER
Dylan Kraemer
PHOTOGRAPHER
Ruben Glimpse
STYLIST
Alexa R. Green
HAIR & MAKEUP
Tonya Brewer
WWW.BLURB.COM/NYOTAMAGAZINE
BLURB
Subscribe Nyota Magazine Music | Fashion | Culture
www.issuu.com/nyotamagazine
NYOTA Magazine