Speaker 1: You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Girl. Hi, everyone,
Speaker 1: welcome back to I Choose Me. Garrie Preston's career has
Speaker 1: ebbed and flowed on her own terms, including how she
Speaker 1: has chosen to age in front of the world. So
Speaker 1: let's jump back into our conversation. So, working in this industry,
Speaker 1: as we both have for decades, means evolving aka aging
Speaker 1: in front of all the cameras. Yes, how do you
Speaker 1: protect your sense of self as those expectations that we
Speaker 1: talked about were earlier in your career are still there.
Speaker 1: They seem to continually hover and shift.
Speaker 2: They do, they do, And you know, social media is
Speaker 2: not helping anybody.
Speaker 3: But I am, you know, in the same way that
Speaker 3: I spoke about that.
Speaker 2: Time when I got that note. I do try to
Speaker 2: keep it in perspective. I try to, you know, for me,
Speaker 2: I try to take care of my body and the
Speaker 2: best way I know how.
Speaker 3: I try to eat well. I try to, you know,
Speaker 3: get my sleep. I do. I try to exercise, meditate.
Speaker 1: We're doing all the things.
Speaker 3: I try to do all the things.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, I'm I'm lucky enough right now
Speaker 2: to be playing a character that doesn't need to or
Speaker 2: doesn't feel the need to, you know, present herself in
Speaker 2: a certain way, and so I feel lucky, you know.
Speaker 3: I try to look.
Speaker 2: Good and then I just play the character and hope
Speaker 2: that that's going to be enough and that you know,
Speaker 2: that will lead to other things. And I look at
Speaker 2: people who I admire, you know, like Meryl Street, Frances McDorman,
Speaker 2: Alison Janney, and I see, you know, those careers and
Speaker 2: what they've done and how they've grown, and that's what
Speaker 2: I endeavor to do in the way I, you know,
Speaker 2: choose to age and also the way I choose to
Speaker 2: be creative, and so I draw inspiration from them.
Speaker 1: Yes, that's good having those I always was so in
Speaker 1: love with Jessica Lang.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Jessica Lang, same yeah.
Speaker 1: And just watching how she aged so beautifully and gracefully
Speaker 1: and same yeah.
Speaker 3: And I just love that.
Speaker 2: I want that for myself, and I want that for
Speaker 2: the characters that I play.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I haven't done botox, haven't done anything. I want to
Speaker 2: be able to, you know, express myself with my face.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's sort of a part of your job. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's sort of gotten me where I am. As far
Speaker 3: as the types of characters that I play, you know,
Speaker 3: and so.
Speaker 2: I like doing that, but I also feel like, oh, well,
Speaker 2: I'm going to age pastor than some of the people
Speaker 2: that are, you know, preserving their faces in a different way.
Speaker 2: And okay, that's okay with me. I think I'm going
Speaker 2: to be able to you know, somebody is going to
Speaker 2: need to play the grandmother, you know, so.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. Yes, we're not going to have any
Speaker 1: fluffy or plus size actresses anymore. And we're not gonna
Speaker 1: have anybody with wrinkles. I know.
Speaker 3: It's interesting, right, There's gonna.
Speaker 1: Be a lot of work for certain types. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I think you're doing You're on the right track and
Speaker 1: also very just admirable to you know, want to age
Speaker 1: gracefully and naturally, and yeah, be true to you.
Speaker 2: And I want people who watch my show to go,
Speaker 2: oh yeah, that's that's This is a mature woman, you know,
Speaker 2: who's having a who's reinventing herself and you know, she's
Speaker 2: she's found this new job and that's the love of
Speaker 2: her life is this work, and you know, and she
Speaker 2: continues to find delight and joy and everything that she
Speaker 2: comes across. That's you know, at this point in her life.
Speaker 1: Yes, that fire inside of her is so inspiring, and
Speaker 1: that doesn't that fire doesn't really depend on what she
Speaker 1: looks like or how she's aging, which is so cool.
Speaker 3: Right. I don't think she thinks of her age much
Speaker 3: at all.
Speaker 1: Right, you know, I guess maybe we shouldn't.
Speaker 3: We shouldn't, I go, we shouldn't.
Speaker 2: I know, but we're you know, we're in such an
Speaker 2: age obsessed world in our country.
Speaker 1: For sure, you advocate for causes that are close to
Speaker 1: your heart. I know you work with lgbt Q I
Speaker 1: A plus.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Do you think that choosing to help others is also
Speaker 1: a form of self care or choosing yourself ultimately?
Speaker 3: Oh? Yeah, I think so for sure.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, when I was contemplating what I
Speaker 2: would say to the question that, you know what, what's
Speaker 2: the last thing that you use yourself?
Speaker 3: And I was like, gosh, I.
Speaker 2: Feel like I feel like I choose myself just by
Speaker 2: being generous, Like how isn't that the same?
Speaker 3: Is that the same? I think it is.
Speaker 2: You know, I try to be generous of part of spirit,
Speaker 2: of money, of love, of creativity, you know, and all
Speaker 2: of that, and that just feeds you know me. I mean,
Speaker 2: I love that I want to create an environment on
Speaker 2: at work that people are happy to come to, that
Speaker 2: people feel joy about.
Speaker 3: You know. I try to.
Speaker 2: Approach this job as the lead of a show, as
Speaker 2: an ensemble player.
Speaker 3: I don't set myself apart.
Speaker 2: I don't want anyone to think of me as anything
Speaker 2: different than anyone else.
Speaker 3: Who's part of this crew.
Speaker 2: There are three hundred people who make this show that
Speaker 2: happens to be named after one character. There are three
Speaker 2: hundred people and more that make it. I want everybody
Speaker 2: to feel ownership of that and part of that, you know.
Speaker 2: I want that LGBT community to see stories that represent
Speaker 2: them and their lives, and I want to support any
Speaker 2: stories that do that.
Speaker 3: And you know, especially now, there's just a lot of bad.
Speaker 2: Othering that's going on in the world, and I, you know,
Speaker 2: I just don't think that's the way to make the
Speaker 2: world a better place, you know, So I like supporting
Speaker 2: those those causes and those types of artists.
Speaker 3: It's so important, Yeah, who are telling those stories, right.
Speaker 2: I mean?
Speaker 1: And also being the star of the show. I mean,
Speaker 1: even though you like to think of it as an ensemble,
Speaker 1: which it definitely is, because without everybody else, there would
Speaker 1: be no show. There would be no Elsbeth. So, but
Speaker 1: you do have that sort of like in the back
Speaker 1: of your mind, that responsibility to this whole group of people,
Speaker 1: these crew members who are working to pay their bills,
Speaker 1: and these actors that are getting their first break or
Speaker 1: maybe background actors that are so excited to be on
Speaker 1: the set. You know, you're really setting the tone for
Speaker 1: that environment, and it sounds like you really hold space
Speaker 1: to make that pleasant for everyone.
Speaker 2: I do endeavor to do that. Yes, that's one of
Speaker 2: my main goals. And you know, I'm proud to say
Speaker 2: that we're we have a reputation of it being a
Speaker 2: wonderful place to come and work.
Speaker 3: And our crew, you know, they keep coming back.
Speaker 2: Our crew comes back every year, and you know, actors
Speaker 2: want to be on the show. People are asking can
Speaker 2: I be on the show, And that's just that. I
Speaker 2: feel very proud of all of us that we've come
Speaker 2: up with that together and that you know, people want
Speaker 2: to come and play with us.
Speaker 1: Yes, creating that culture so.
Speaker 3: Feel safe there and feel welcomed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so important. My husband's in the hospitality business,
Speaker 1: so he like that, right, So it's so important that
Speaker 1: people come to your place, Yeah, and feel comfortable and
Speaker 1: seeing and represented and.
Speaker 3: Yeah all that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that you take that seriously.
Speaker 2: I think it's like almost my number one thing. I mean,
Speaker 2: my number one thing I guess is you know, learn
Speaker 2: the lines and standard your mark.
Speaker 3: But you know, alongside.
Speaker 2: That's it's that, it's it's working to make so that
Speaker 2: we have a cohesive so that everybody is there with
Speaker 2: one common goal, which is to tell this particular story
Speaker 2: and to do it on time and on budget and
Speaker 2: to delight people.
Speaker 3: And you know, yeah, what's better than that, what's.
Speaker 1: Better than that? You said it? You're living the dream.
Speaker 3: I do feel very you know, blessed.
Speaker 2: You're blessed, but you've also worked really hard, right, Yeah,
Speaker 2: and so I want to make sure that I, you know,
Speaker 2: I don't take.
Speaker 3: It for granted and that it's not so it really is.
Speaker 2: Not lost on me, you know this this moment, because
Speaker 2: it's it can go away tomorrow. We have a crazy business.
Speaker 2: You know, the industry is really volatile really, so you know.
Speaker 3: I really want to enjoy it now.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm enjoying it for you, Like this is so
Speaker 1: good for you. I love it. You've had such a
Speaker 1: long and steady career without disappearing or imploding, which happens
Speaker 1: a lot, but this is very rare to have someone
Speaker 1: like you. What what do you What do you think
Speaker 1: is the one choice that you make quietly that keeps
Speaker 1: you sane and working all these years.
Speaker 2: I think as far as work goes, I guess it's
Speaker 2: about uh, releasing.
Speaker 3: There's a lot of releasing, the need.
Speaker 2: To get the job, to be told you're the best
Speaker 2: to to you know, all of that has you have
Speaker 2: to come to a kind of place, a zen place
Speaker 2: about it. You know, a good friend of mine who's
Speaker 2: an acting coach, he's also an actor, Jack Plotnik. He
Speaker 2: gave me this mantra once that I hold on to
Speaker 2: and it goes, this or something greater for my highest
Speaker 2: good and the highest good of all concerned, Meaning you
Speaker 2: go in, you do your best if you're auditioning for something,
Speaker 2: or even if you're doing a job, and if it's
Speaker 2: not for you, it's meant for someone else and that's
Speaker 2: for the highest good. And so it kind of releases
Speaker 2: the pressure that you put on yourself.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, perfect too.
Speaker 2: You know, you can only do what you can do
Speaker 2: with what you have at that moment, with that material,
Speaker 2: with those people, in that room, and then it's up
Speaker 2: to you know, something higher, right.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's a lot of surrender to it.
Speaker 1: Right for sure. And that's applies to not just you know, auditioning,
Speaker 1: and it's just being human, having a human experience day
Speaker 1: to day, moment to moment. It sort of feels like
Speaker 1: releasing something I loved to think about as releasing the
Speaker 1: attachments that I put on the importance I put onto
Speaker 1: things like being the best or getting the thing or
Speaker 1: you know, making everybody happy.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, the Buddhists say that the two
Speaker 2: two things that make up human condition condition or attachment
Speaker 2: and aversion.
Speaker 3: So you're attached to.
Speaker 2: Something or you're pushing something away and that you know,
Speaker 2: that's suffering being in the moment, and that makes you suffer.
Speaker 2: And so you know, it's it's a lesson that you
Speaker 2: spend a lifetime trying to learn.
Speaker 3: You know, every day you go back to that, Oh boy.
Speaker 2: I'm you know, I'm attached to this, or I you know, boy,
Speaker 2: I really got hijacked by that, or wow, you know,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of observing about what is going on
Speaker 2: with you?
Speaker 3: Why am I reacting this way? Oh boy? There was
Speaker 3: no space.
Speaker 2: Between that stimulus and that response. Wow, gotta work on that,
Speaker 2: you know. So you know, I'm constantly trying to you know,
Speaker 2: I try to assess, like.
Speaker 3: What do I need to work on? What?
Speaker 1: What?
Speaker 2: How can I improve myself without being too hard on myself?
Speaker 2: So that's that's the balance, Yeah, because that can be
Speaker 2: hard on myself too.
Speaker 1: It's really hard. I say, stop pointing the finger and
Speaker 1: start pulling the thumb so that you are in a
Speaker 1: space where you can be you know, self aware and
Speaker 1: sort of conscious of what you're creating around you.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 1: And but yeah, I think it's so so good, such
Speaker 1: good advice for everybody listening. This has been such an
Speaker 1: incredible conversation. Thank you for coming on the show.
Speaker 3: It was so nice to talk to you, and thanks
Speaker 3: for having me of course. Bye.