Tell the truth.

Now in my second decade as a storyteller, I am convinced that the most essential and compelling thing I can do is tell the truth. At first glance this may seem simple, even obvious, but on the contrary, it requires diligent intention. Telling the truth is a good maxim for life in general, but in storytelling, it's the absolute essential ingredient that takes a performance from good to great. 

To me, telling the truth demands not shying away from the messy, complicated, dangerous, vulnerable things that make us human. A friend once told me, "Candace, your brand is danger." I couldn't ask for a better compliment.
 
I am deeply compelled by stories that evoke compassion, challenge engrained perspectives, and inspire hope and connection. I want my performance to meet an author's manuscript with the vulnerability, strength and raw truth of what it means to be human. I eagerly embrace exploring the beautiful and the ugly, the perfections and the flaws, the hero and the villain, and especially the more complicated gray areas that exist in between.

The stories I've encountered throughout my life have made me a better person.   I can think of nothing more worthwhile than a life spent telling them.