Meet Jessica Farr

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Farr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Hi there. I started my career as an actress. I branched out into playwriting after that. I found directing in NYC shortly after that. I was a child actor and a trained opera singer. I went to school at New World School of the Arts and continued my training at Fordham University and Moscow Art Theatre. My career began in the theater, working with local companies that were developing new work and attempting to reach a younger, more diverse audience. I worked as a teaching artist as well and in Development, helping companies to meet their full potential and thrive. My benchmarks were always creating new work, engaging with the community, and finding a new way to reach people who weren’t coming to the theater. After that, I moved to LA and branched into film. I have been working in both sectors ever since. My work has become more personal, more from the hip. I write about what I care about and I involve myself in projects that I am passionate about instead of dipping into all the wells at once. I have to maintain an interest in the material, it has to speak to me. More often than not, my work follows me like a spectre looming over my shoulder, waiting for me to recognize the call.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My main focus is telling stories about my city, Miami. It’s the perfect place to mine stories from, we’ve got it all. Whatever fantasy or nightmare you’re looking for, you’ll find it. Just be careful what you wish for. If something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. We are a breeding ground for scams. But we are also a city capable of amazing things. There’s nowhere like Miami. We could be the future this country is looking for, if only we’d stop trying to be other cities and just be ourselves. We also have a real problem with people coming here and hyper-gentrifying our city with wanton abandon. Let’s invest in our communities and our culture. Let these people ransack another city and take care of our own. This may seem more like a stump speech than an artistic statement, but these are all things I meditate on in my art currently and the art I support. It’s hard to not notice a rapidly changing city ignoring the tidal waves at their doorstep. Especially one I love so much. I want to hold onto it before it disappears.

I do love comedy. I used to do standup. I’ve written for comedy. I’d love to get back into that again. Nothing gives me more joy than making people see the absurdity in their every day. Have a laugh. Most likely, it’s just how I deal with my own grief. But I find it heals, and I like to make people feel good. My writing tends to center around women at a precipice, or women on the verge of a crisis, a rebirth. That doesn’t seem to be a coincidence. Repeated themes include narrow escapes, near misses, leaps into the void, the search for another world. I suppose my work can be dark but there is always humor in it. It’s hard not to make fun of it all.

I joke that I live in semi-retirement on hotel row on Miami Beach, but the city never ceases to inspire. I am currently in pre-production for a film, it’s an adaptation of a play I wrote called The Flock. I am also working on developing a pilot with my creative partner Caleb Scott for a new series, a dark comedy based on South Florida stories. The object is to film here and fully staff here. Lately, I’ve been focusing more on writing and directing than acting. I prefer to be the one making decisions rather than having decisions made for me. I like to see the thing through from start to finish. Needless to say, it’s hard for me to stay away from acting. I’m a storyteller.

I like to keep multiple fires going at once. It’s hard for me to step away from any one aspect of my craft. I feel like when I was younger, the focus was to specialize, that there was pressure to become an expert solely in one arena. Over time, that myth dissolved for me and I realized there were many pathways for me as an artist. I didn’t have to give up any one part of who I am and how I share my work with the world. I’m looking forward to doing just that. With boldness.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My friends like to call me the Mayor of Miami, because I seemingly know everyone and everywhere to go, when I go out. I’m honored, but that does seem above my pay grade. Here are some current spots I love:

Chef Creole would be my requested last meal on earth, thank you. As long as someone has a rum runner to pair it with, I’m set. Little Haiti is filled with gems that haven’t been ruined yet, this one I’m okay with sharing because the establishment loves the foot traffic (and deserves it).

Brother’s Keeper is a hot new spot on the beach with amazing drinks, food, and 80s dive bar ambience. The staff is great too.

Gramps Getaway is the perfect spot for early afternoon weekend vibes, good food, drinks, and music. Just make sure you find a spot in the shade.

SipSip Calypso Rum Bar at Mayfair Hotel (one of my favorite places in Miami) the food and drinks are great. The rooftop bar allows entry into their pool.

Klaw for a special occasion, you can’t beat the views and the menu is worth the price.

Krus Kitchen for an intimate spot with impeccable service, food, and wine in the Grove. Run by great people.

Monterrey Bar for a sexy drink at The Standard. It’s tucked away and intimate. The plush interiors are elegant and sensual. Bartenders know what they’re doing.

Mango’s for the most ridiculous amalgamation of Miami things all in one place. Go early so you don’t have to pay the cover. Watch the crowd come in. Stay for the Pitbull impersonators, the bar parrots, and the synchronized cheetah print wearing dancers.

The Deuce, because no bar has ever been more perfect.

Karaoke at Se7en Seas.

Over/Under for their burgers, drinks, and fun programming.

Brunch at Versace Mansion, because once in awhile an influencer falls in the pool.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shout out to Bianca Garcia, poet, storyteller and provocateur. We’ve known eachother forever. We have influenced each other’s work in so many ways. We both share stories about women’s trials, fears, whims, crimes, their deepest fantasies. I feel like eventually we will find time to collaborate together again. We’ve been working in separate avenues. Bianca has received highly competitive fellowships and her poetry is wondrous. Somebody get her a book deal. I imagine soon her and I will write a TV show together about women behaving very badly, seems like something we’d do. Trust me, you’d want to watch.

I’d also like to shout-out Krystal Millie Valdes. She’s truly a multi-hyphenate performer. She’s an actress and a musician, and she’s always grinding. I have so much respect for her work ethic. She’s in two films that are hopping around the festival circuits right now all the while promoting her music and working in theater. We worked together recently on a new play about the McDuffie riots. She also wrote the music for the lyrics in my musical King Tide. Well it’s more of a play with songs in it, but it was amazing to collaborate with a friend on that. She has new music out and music videos to support the album. Check it out!

Website: www.jessicafarr.com

Instagram: @jotalejos

Image Credits
Image credits: Stefan Rollins, Anabel Herrera, George Schiavone, Justin Swader