Breaking Into Hollywood Without Gatekeepers | Jessica Richmond on Acting, Filmmaking & Creative Rhythm
Plot Twist RadioApril 06, 2026x
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00:27:1025.14 MB

Breaking Into Hollywood Without Gatekeepers | Jessica Richmond on Acting, Filmmaking & Creative Rhythm

What does it really take to break into Hollywood today—and do you actually need permission to do it?

In this episode of Plot Twist Radio, I sit down with Jessica Richmond (aka J. Rich)—a Los Angeles-based writer, actor, producer, and founder of Genius Pills Media. With over 15 years in independent production, Jessica has built a career by creating her own opportunities and refusing to wait for traditional gatekeepers.

We dive into her journey from theater to Hollywood, how she balances multiple creative roles, and why she believes storytelling isn’t just inspiration—it’s rhythm.

We also talk about:

  • How to get started in acting (and why theater still matters)
  • The realities of independent filmmaking vs. Hollywood myths
  • What it means to “create your own lane” in a competitive industry
  • The connection between creativity, confidence, and showing up anyway
  • Why storytelling has a rhythm—and how to find yours
  • Using comedy, performance, and even discomfort as creative tools

Jessica also shares insights from her work in stand-up comedy, production, and her company Genius Pills Media, which develops original content and supports creative projects in Los Angeles.

If you’re a writer, actor, filmmaker—or anyone chasing a creative dream—this episode is a reminder that you don’t have to wait for permission to start.


Connect with Jessica Richmond:Genius Pills Media: geniuspills.com
jrich.online
Instagram: @geniuspills and @jessicalaurenrichmond


00:00:00
Welcome to Plot Twist Radio, the show where creativity,

00:00:03
storytelling, and the unpredictable path of the

00:00:05
creative life all collide. I'm your host, Aaron Egnatz.

00:00:14
Hey everyone and welcome back to Plot Twist Radio, the podcast

00:00:17
where every story takes an unexpected turn.

00:00:20
Today's guest is someone who truly embodies what it means to

00:00:23
live as a creative on every level.

00:00:25
I'm joined by Jessica Richman, a Los Angeles based writer, actor

00:00:29
and producer, and the founder of Genius Pills Media.

00:00:32
With over 15 years in independent production, Jessica

00:00:34
has built a career that blends storytelling, collaboration, and

00:00:38
a deep understanding of the creative process, not just as an

00:00:41
art, but as a rhythm. In this episode, we dive into

00:00:44
what it really means to create in today's world, from breaking

00:00:47
into acting and filmmaking, to navigating the realities of

00:00:50
Hollywood, to building your own opportunities.

00:00:52
When the gatekeepers say no, we also talk about something.

00:00:56
I loved her concept that storytelling has a rhythm and

00:00:59
how learning to tap into that rhythm can completely change the

00:01:02
way you create. This is a conversation about

00:01:04
creativity, resilience, and finding your voice even when the

00:01:08
path isn't clear. So whether you're a writer, a

00:01:10
filmmaker, or just someone chasing a dream, this episode is

00:01:14
for you. Hi Jessica.

00:01:18
Can you introduce yourself to the audience for us?

00:01:21
Absolutely. I my name is Jessica Richmond.

00:01:24
People do call me Jay Rich because I asked them to.

00:01:28
I am from and based in the City of Angels, Los Angeles.

00:01:32
But what I do depends on the day.

00:01:35
I am a whop. Out here in Hollywood, that

00:01:37
means a writer, actor, producer. But Genius Pills Media is my

00:01:40
company, which I founded four years ago, based on years of

00:01:42
independent producing work. And so that's what I mostly do.

00:01:45
Genius Pills. I take them, I'm on them, I make

00:01:48
them. Love it, I love it.

00:01:51
So you, like you said, you wear lots of hats.

00:01:53
The writer, director, actor, producer.

00:01:55
What originally pulled you into storytelling?

00:01:59
The theater. The theater.

00:02:01
I was going to a small space called Stage Door Theater in

00:02:03
Agoura Hills as a child, and I very much ascribe to Grotowski's

00:02:09
quote that the theater is for those from the church is not

00:02:11
enough. I found the theater to be the

00:02:13
place where things made sense the most.

00:02:15
Understanding the community work of getting a story to be told

00:02:18
was exciting to me. Performing was exciting, but my

00:02:22
passion for production did come from being in and around

00:02:24
Hollywood, where it is the status quo to have a day on set.

00:02:29
So your background includes, like you said, theater training.

00:02:32
How did theater ship your storytelling?

00:02:35
Heard yeah, Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

00:02:37
I was very lucky to go with my Agoura High School troupe and I

00:02:40
got to experience John Oliver doing like a one man show before

00:02:44
his show happened. It was great.

00:02:46
Any place that has a prescribed way of creating story I find

00:02:49
very valuable. I sort of collect codes if you

00:02:52
will, but how does it influence storytelling now?

00:02:55
Well, today after this, I'm going to set for a short I'm

00:02:58
directing I'm very excited about and it's going to be a very

00:03:01
theatrical day. Five women in glam costumes on a

00:03:04
standing set. I've had great meetings with the

00:03:06
DP, but truly I'm producing theater.

00:03:08
We're just recording. It's how I feel.

00:03:11
Beautiful. I love that.

00:03:13
My daughter, She wants to be an actress, that's her thing and I

00:03:19
am not an actress. Could not do it to save my life.

00:03:21
Always enjoyed it, could not do it.

00:03:23
She was wondering and she actually asked me to ask this

00:03:26
question. How do you go about getting into

00:03:29
acting? How do you get into acting?

00:03:33
You know. Interesting.

00:03:35
There's a quote from a play I love that you can't just walk up

00:03:38
and down your room. Being an actor, someone has to

00:03:40
sort of invite you into the space.

00:03:42
But that means as an actor you're constantly tap dancing,

00:03:46
kind of saying, hey, look at me, look at me, I can do the thing.

00:03:49
I think that there's many journeys into the business of

00:03:52
it. Obviously we're hopeful for a

00:03:54
new Hollywood out here where there's ways for those who are

00:03:58
just stepping in to get non union work that might lead to a

00:04:03
larger career. I would say the theater.

00:04:05
The theater is the way in find yourself as an actor.

00:04:08
Being able to dominate a stage first and then the rest is a

00:04:11
business to learn, you know? Yes, yes, I have.

00:04:15
I've heard that, you know, I have friends that are actors and

00:04:18
they all prefer the stage. They really do.

00:04:21
They always go back to it. It doesn't matter how much

00:04:23
success they have on TV or movies or whatever, they always

00:04:26
want to go back to the stage. So that's what I tell her too,

00:04:28
but she doesn't take my word for it.

00:04:30
But she'll take yours. Oh that's very kind.

00:04:33
Generous I would say. Also immersive work is still an

00:04:36
interesting Ave. for actors. I got paid well before I got

00:04:40
paid well in production. I got paid well to design

00:04:42
immersive experiences for places like Soho House or HBO, to do

00:04:46
promos for the shows they have, and getting people to gather the

00:04:50
art of that is a whole other thing to remember.

00:04:53
When you're an actor, you're reminding people that it's

00:04:55
important to gather, you know? Oh, yeah, absolutely.

00:05:00
So one thing that really fascinated me about your process

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is your idea that stories have rhythm.

00:05:06
Can you explain kind of what that means a little bit?

00:05:10
I mean, the creation process certainly has a rhythm.

00:05:12
The creation of story. I have three shorts with Genius

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Pills Media. They're all genre bent, if you

00:05:17
will. We have a sci-fi that's more

00:05:18
like reality now. We have a horror that's not

00:05:21
really scary and we're doing a comedy, a ROM com that's not

00:05:25
really romantic. This process to get there has

00:05:29
been about being a collage artist.

00:05:31
I sort of collect the things I see and put in new combos to

00:05:35
create something new. What was your question?

00:05:38
Sorry I got lost. No, you're fine.

00:05:40
There we go. I had to remember it too.

00:05:43
Well, so the rhythm of collaging before a project gets into

00:05:47
production stage is figuring out how to switch quickly from from

00:05:52
life and the demands of you know, I work as an accountant to

00:05:54
make money. Sometimes I do a bunch of other

00:05:56
things. And in order to switch from that

00:05:58
brain into the creative flow, there's a rhythm to getting into

00:06:02
it. But once tapping in and out

00:06:04
becomes easy, it's like tap dancing.

00:06:06
You know, you can move. The actual storytelling for the

00:06:09
audience is a whole other rhythm post production because you get

00:06:13
then you gather all the ingredients in production that

00:06:14
has its own rhythm. And the rhythm of post is a lot

00:06:18
about surrender, trust and trying to clean your brain out

00:06:22
to see the story for the first time.

00:06:24
So all those rhythms to me depend on, like, concrete

00:06:28
physical practices that I do with my body, somatic things, if

00:06:31
you will, in order to switch, in order to come back to hearing

00:06:36
the story, seeing the story that started as a seed and then

00:06:40
seeing it grow to bloom. It's like constantly, it's like

00:06:43
getting on a train. I guess that's already moving is

00:06:45
what it feels like, the train sort of moving.

00:06:48
I'm just getting on to help direct it, yeah.

00:06:51
I like that. And it relates to me too,

00:06:53
because as an author, you know, I, I also go through the post

00:06:57
production phase where, you know, the editing, where what my

00:07:02
story started off with is quite different from what it ends up

00:07:06
being. But it's like where the magic

00:07:08
happens because that's when you narrow it down and evolve and

00:07:11
the rhythm like you were talking about that, that's something I

00:07:14
haven't caught yet. I need to work on that.

00:07:16
Have you ever had a story come out, you've seen the final

00:07:19
product and go, wait, that's not what I thought I was writing?

00:07:21
Does that ever happen to you? Almost every time, especially

00:07:24
with my fantasy series The Day Tonight, because I I was kind of

00:07:28
going in as like a comedy and then it turned completely into a

00:07:31
fantasy and the rest is history. Yeah, interesting.

00:07:36
The contrasts we find when we're looking for one kind of contrast

00:07:40
we find in another. Isn't that funny?

00:07:41
So you've talked about building a Sonic map for your stories.

00:07:46
Is there a song that completely changed the direction of a

00:07:49
project while you're writing it? Oh, fascinating.

00:07:53
Well, I don't know if I can say this yet because the deal is not

00:07:56
done. This current project has an

00:07:57
amazing credit song. I know, I know.

00:07:59
Rewind that for Hystericus. We found an incredible song on

00:08:04
Epidemic Sound that we use in one portion of the film.

00:08:07
We were hell bent on making a cover of it with an artist and

00:08:11
thanks to Peyton, my collaborator on that, we found

00:08:13
one. And now this horror film ends

00:08:16
with this really like upbeat, feel good, odd cover of a song

00:08:20
that doesn't have clear lyrics. And that whole process of

00:08:23
getting that song to be the landing, if you will, helped us

00:08:28
clarify what we're saying with Hystericus, which is about

00:08:31
perception and the unknown, and spoilers about menstruation,

00:08:35
which is not really that scary, true.

00:08:37
Yeah, so true. So where did the name come for

00:08:40
that hystericus? Yes.

00:08:42
Interesting. It started as pistolate, which

00:08:46
is what the phase of a flower in bloom is, the pistolate phase.

00:08:50
But in the process of development, like we have old

00:08:52
decks that say pistolate. We looked up more about hysteria

00:08:56
and what we're talking about hystericus came to be.

00:08:59
We sort of have a cottage core production design.

00:09:02
So something about the old timey word of a cuss sounded correct.

00:09:07
Hystericus, yeah. I like that.

00:09:11
I was, I was curious about that when I was reading about the

00:09:13
phone. I was like, where did that come

00:09:15
from? That sounds really creative.

00:09:16
So definitely a surrender on the rhythm of pre production.

00:09:20
So what is the writing process like for you when you start a?

00:09:23
Project think I start visually primarily, so I work with images

00:09:27
on like a slides deck and I create the world's I'm looking

00:09:31
to build. Sometimes I start writing

00:09:33
certain lines of dialogue. I'm not an outliner and I will

00:09:37
admit, unlike you, I have not written books, I have not

00:09:40
written blogs. It so the degree at which

00:09:42
writing plays into my life is usually for the stage or screen

00:09:47
or for to support copywriting for podcast news or things are

00:09:51
marketing. So my writing process for film

00:09:53
and and television scripts has to do with a very clear concept,

00:09:58
usually some very clear characters and very clear

00:10:00
visuals of what the world is going to look like.

00:10:03
By the time I get to like Final Draft, which is the software

00:10:05
program that helps you write scripts in proper formatting, I

00:10:09
usually have a version or two in some other document forms and

00:10:13
I'm copy and pasting. Only once or twice have I ever

00:10:16
approached a blank page and fully written something, and at

00:10:19
that point I don't know. I'm fully channeling the

00:10:22
creative flow at that point. I don't feel like I chose to do

00:10:24
it. God says so.

00:10:27
Is there a particular genre you like to write more than others?

00:10:30
Like I prefer comedy or fantasy. I do not like to write like

00:10:34
biographical or I'm also a professor.

00:10:36
I hate writing academic writing. Oh my gosh.

00:10:39
OK, well, so this makes me think of two things.

00:10:42
I I work somewhat in the medical field.

00:10:44
I'm not a medical professional, but I support those with

00:10:47
menstrual conditions. I've done that in menstrual

00:10:49
advocacy for the past five years with a podcast called Flow

00:10:52
Straight talk about extreme periods.

00:10:53
That writing process certainly different than stand up.

00:10:57
I also do stand up comedy. That's definitely personal

00:11:00
material. I take out, try to rhythmically

00:11:02
make a little thing with and then share with the world.

00:11:06
But I mean, in all of those, it all feels personal.

00:11:08
I don't know how you feel about that academically.

00:11:10
Even when going to the medical space, it feels personal to take

00:11:14
time to put ink on page or digital ink on blank white

00:11:18
screen. It feels like I'm giving my life

00:11:20
up a little bit to the process. So it's incredibly personal to

00:11:25
me. I don't know.

00:11:27
Yeah, I, I agree. I, I know what you're talking

00:11:29
about, especially with the academic writing, because I feel

00:11:31
like it's taking part of my soul because, you know, I, it may be

00:11:36
a topic that I may not be actually interested in where,

00:11:39
you know, my creative writing. I can channel myself through

00:11:43
these characters and it's kind of therapeutic in a way.

00:11:45
But, you know, academic writing, you have to stay with, yeah,

00:11:49
academics, you know, so you don't get bullied by your

00:11:52
professionals. And and.

00:11:54
Honestly, kind of like. Agreeing with the institutions

00:11:57
that they personally don't agree with, but I'm trying to write in

00:12:00
tune with them and so something feels a little bit like code

00:12:03
switching sometimes. Yes, absolutely.

00:12:06
So tell me about your stand up comedy.

00:12:07
There is nothing I get more nervous about.

00:12:10
I sort of forced myself to do it as a, you know, it's like if you

00:12:14
lift really heavy weights, then later when you have to just lift

00:12:17
a bag, it's easier. So I've, I did it about 10 years

00:12:20
ago without knowing what I was doing.

00:12:21
And then I went to some classes and workshops to sort of

00:12:24
understand a process that I could relate to.

00:12:27
But what is stand up if not us learning to be comfortable with

00:12:30
what we're uncomfortable with? Giving a permission slip to

00:12:33
others to laugh at things that we might feel too shameful.

00:12:35
About. And so the work of writing in

00:12:37
that is not just like, look a joke, but how can I alleviate

00:12:43
the tension in the room, bringing up the tension I might

00:12:45
have in my own life. And it's a, it's therapeutic.

00:12:49
That's therapeutic in its own. Way yeah, that I would say that

00:12:54
would scare me to death. Goodbye.

00:12:56
It would scare me to death as an introvert.

00:12:58
I would just hide, you know, like, that's another thing.

00:13:01
I like to be funny. I I think I'm funny.

00:13:04
I'm probably not, but I think I am.

00:13:06
But I don't know how. I don't know if I could do that.

00:13:08
But I could tell just by talking to you that you have like a good

00:13:11
stage presence and you're very funny.

00:13:13
So I'm sure you're a hit. But can you tell I'm very

00:13:17
nervous? That's the.

00:13:18
Question no. And that is why you're good at

00:13:21
what you do. You're.

00:13:22
Too kind. Too kind.

00:13:24
So you're also the founder of Genius Tells As We Were Talking

00:13:27
About, which develops original narrative content and supports

00:13:31
productions in Los Angeles. What inspired you to create the

00:13:34
company? And the fact that we live in

00:13:36
capitalism, unfortunately, which I don't agree with, but to

00:13:40
survive in it, having a company was really about creating a

00:13:44
sustainable model by which I could create my own creative

00:13:47
work. And not just my own, but the

00:13:49
collective of creatives around me, right, to give fuel to the

00:13:52
fire and space to create that. So the client work I do as a

00:13:56
company is what fuels all of the creative work we do.

00:14:00
Things like help with physical production for video game

00:14:02
trailers. You've seen a lot of our work

00:14:04
for Pokémon Go. You've seen some of our work for

00:14:08
e-commerce, some kind of e-commerce work we've done.

00:14:11
We're actually at a new phase I'd love to share.

00:14:12
We just got a fiscal sponsorship with New Hollywood, an

00:14:15
incredible organization also dedicated to the new version of

00:14:18
things where there are certain standard working conditions even

00:14:21
on non union sets. As a non union indie production

00:14:24
company with their fiscal sponsor, we're now going to

00:14:26
pursue some other ways to fundraise for our projects.

00:14:30
And our projects aren't just narrative.

00:14:31
Now we have 2 documentaries, 1 is really sweet.

00:14:34
It's about first timers, an elder senior community home that

00:14:38
does an annual fashion show. So some folks are at 80 getting

00:14:42
their makeup done for the first time or walking that catwalk at

00:14:45
100. And then we have a project

00:14:47
called the P Back, which is to support menstrual education

00:14:51
through a diagnostic tool that hematologists developed in the

00:14:54
90s called the Pictorial Blood Assessment Chart.

00:14:58
So we're very excited. Yeah.

00:14:59
To like move into client work, sustaining creative and then

00:15:03
fundraising through New Hollywood, sustaining some

00:15:05
educational entertainment that we're working to create.

00:15:08
That is wonderful. Congratulations.

00:15:11
Thank you, thank you, thank you to New Hollywood for founding

00:15:13
what they do. That is incredible.

00:15:15
So you've worked in production for about 15 years.

00:15:18
What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned about

00:15:21
independent fund making? How much time do we have?

00:15:26
Oh. Much as you need, let's hear it.

00:15:30
I will just say I started as a script supervisor when I took

00:15:34
that job from a friend who was making his first indie feature.

00:15:37
He told me what roles he was looking to fill and I was like,

00:15:39
yeah, script suby, no problem. And then I went and watched a

00:15:42
bunch of YouTube videos about what that is.

00:15:45
Good news is it was sort of my film school.

00:15:47
A script supervisor is responsible for observing every

00:15:49
element of action on set, noting everything that's going on on

00:15:53
screen for the audience, and is a department of 1.

00:15:57
So what I learned also is how to somatically care for myself on

00:16:02
in long hours, sometimes overnight sets, but how to

00:16:05
really notice how the flow of set has a rhythm.

00:16:09
So then when I've stepped into more leadership roles, unit

00:16:12
production manager, line producer, director, I've been

00:16:16
able to understand way more of the collective teamwork than if

00:16:21
I had just been a creative entering storytelling.

00:16:25
As a director, I think I'm really grateful for the lessons

00:16:27
that are available in indie and sometimes not available in

00:16:31
union. Listen, bless the unions.

00:16:33
I'm for the unions, I'm for the strikes.

00:16:35
But I also know the value of independent work going on.

00:16:39
So for creators trying to break into film or digital media

00:16:42
today, what advice would you? Give the same thing I've been

00:16:45
told, which is to just do it to just figure out a way to do it,

00:16:48
to remember that. The.

00:16:51
Gatekeepers are not the only way into action.

00:16:54
And to find your people, of course, to find the people who

00:16:57
can help you do it, to not try to do everything on your own.

00:17:00
I think the pitfalls I've had in my career was I started off

00:17:04
doing a lot more and slowly realized how valuable it is to

00:17:08
trust the other departments to fully have creative split space

00:17:12
and to be there as sort of like the center of a wheel to

00:17:15
connect, turn to each department and just stand there to

00:17:18
dispatch. So as a full creative, you have

00:17:21
your own vision, your own story to make sure that you are a

00:17:24
clear communicator to every person who is going to join you

00:17:29
so that you can clarify that vision so they are empowered to

00:17:31
hold it without you. That's that's the biggest tool I

00:17:35
have. Are there certain myths or about

00:17:39
the filming industry that you can say, no, they're not,

00:17:43
they're not real? Or are there some that people

00:17:46
are like, oh, this is actually real, you know?

00:17:48
Trying to think of archetypes like like the hair and makeup

00:17:51
team is always there to help support talent too.

00:17:53
Like that's the, they're, oh, they're chatting with talent.

00:17:55
They know the most of what's going on in that way.

00:17:57
Really. Sometimes it's been perceived

00:18:00
that the executive producer is the one in charge.

00:18:02
Very rarely have I been on a set where the executive producer is

00:18:05
running things. There are so many other people

00:18:08
who are actually leading the charge, and sometimes it's one

00:18:12
of the actors who's truly making the decisions of how the

00:18:15
tonality is going to be. You can see how their

00:18:17
performance goes. It's changing things.

00:18:19
Sometimes it's the production design that's going to design

00:18:22
the film that's going to end up making it what it is.

00:18:26
So who's really when I say in charge, like in the lead of the

00:18:29
creative vision, it's not just if you have the title, it's what

00:18:33
you contribute to the piece. I could see that that's that's

00:18:37
very interesting. You don't really think about a

00:18:39
lot of those when you're thinking about who's running the

00:18:42
show. But makes sense.

00:18:44
I mean, they're the ones behind the scenes that do all the work.

00:18:48
Right. And then for television, you do

00:18:49
have the showrunners who are logistically handling bringing

00:18:53
the idea into time and space and all the dates.

00:18:57
And the creative is actually going to appear to me of the

00:18:59
line producer who's stereotypically making sure

00:19:01
everything's on budget and fits that.

00:19:03
And again, the communication between us, between everyone, I

00:19:06
think the stereotype is that the communication can be really

00:19:08
poor, unfortunately. And what we try to do with our

00:19:13
sets at Genius Pills is make sure that we're as non

00:19:17
hierarchical as possible and that communication is clean.

00:19:21
And then the rest is magic. That's important.

00:19:24
That's important. As they always say,

00:19:26
communication is key. So I mean, I've seen great

00:19:30
companies work like crap, honestly, because no one can

00:19:34
communicate with each other and it ends up failing.

00:19:37
And I've seen small little independent places thrive

00:19:41
because they can communicate, so that makes sense.

00:19:43
How much ego work goes into being done before communication

00:19:47
can be clear? We're all growing all the time.

00:19:50
Couple more questions. So if your life had a

00:19:52
soundtrack, what song would represent this chapter of your

00:19:56
career? Sophie Hunter's fight Yeah,

00:20:00
Sophie Hunter is a great artist working right now.

00:20:03
Big fan. Fight song, man, It's a fight

00:20:06
song of sorts. And.

00:20:09
It's bombastic. I always felt like going into

00:20:12
comedy is always a little bombastic, the same way rapping

00:20:14
is quiet secret. I have a rap song that came out

00:20:18
like 12 years ago that was a wild sidetrack plot twist of my

00:20:22
life, too. And I felt the same way.

00:20:25
Or just getting there and being like, yeah, me.

00:20:27
And again, to be egoless and yet that confident, egoless in the

00:20:30
art and yet confident enough to take up space.

00:20:32
Sophie Hunter knows where it's at.

00:20:35
Would love that to play. Yeah.

00:20:37
Of. Course, What's your song?

00:20:38
It depends on the day, but I would say right now, probably

00:20:42
Real by Duran Duran, just because I just, and not in the

00:20:47
same way that they mean it. More like the music video.

00:20:50
I'm getting on the ship and I'm going somewhere and everybody

00:20:52
could just leave me alone. That's where I'm at.

00:20:54
God, I want, I wish this for you.

00:20:56
I wish this great I got to make it happen.

00:20:58
But you're coming to LA soon. We're going to make it happen.

00:21:00
I'm coming. I am coming.

00:21:02
As soon as baseball season starts, I'll be out there.

00:21:04
That's great. OK.

00:21:06
Do you bring the whole family or do you just come if you come see

00:21:08
the Dodgers? It'll probably just be me, Dick,

00:21:11
OK, Maybe my daughter. She likes that kind of stuff.

00:21:14
They the guys, you know, I have two sons and a husband.

00:21:18
They don't like to travel at all.

00:21:19
But my daughter's like, let's go, let's do it.

00:21:21
Come on, let's go. You.

00:21:22
Have three kids? I have 3.

00:21:24
Rock'n'roll, Rock'n'roll. Yeah, that's why I'm always

00:21:27
tired. But they're getting older now,

00:21:29
so it's easier. Sure.

00:21:31
Well, well, well done, well done.

00:21:33
A lot of the work done with my theater company, the Hall

00:21:36
Theater, supports birth stories. I have not given birth, but I

00:21:39
have heard the horror stories as well as joyful home birth

00:21:43
stories through working on the Womb series that we have as the

00:21:46
Hall Theater. And yeah, bravo, the epic

00:21:50
warrior journey that any birthing person goes through,

00:21:53
even when it goes to the best circumstances, is is

00:21:57
otherworldly. It's mystical.

00:21:59
It's wild. Yeah.

00:21:59
It is, it is. It's a wild ride and I wouldn't

00:22:03
change it, but I don't think I could ever do it again.

00:22:06
They say you had place, so you did it, but like you did it

00:22:08
once. You're like, that's crazy.

00:22:09
I'll do it again. Yeah, yeah.

00:22:12
But now that 10 years have passed, I look back.

00:22:14
How did I do that? So what projects or ideas are

00:22:17
you most excited about right now for yourself?

00:22:19
Well, I am very excited with new Hollywood support that we have

00:22:22
the P back project going on, which we did not have met the P

00:22:25
Back chart, but we're going to help propagate it.

00:22:28
We do have a feature version of a story that's based on

00:22:32
Hystericus, which I would be excited about getting to me.

00:22:36
And what? Listening to your podcasts the

00:22:38
last couple weeks, I've been inspired to get back to the form

00:22:43
of writing on a page. I have one sci-fi novel that has

00:22:46
to get out of me before I die, so I'm excited to dive into that

00:22:50
process. I love it.

00:22:53
I, you know, I love writing stories, even if people don't

00:22:57
end up seeing half the stories that I write, it's just fun to

00:23:00
get it out. It's like once it once you feel

00:23:02
it, you need to get it out. So I know what you're talking

00:23:04
about with the sci-fi, and I hope that you do get it out and

00:23:07
come to Phantom Publishing. Love to hear more.

00:23:10
I listened to your episode that talked about querying and I mean

00:23:12
that that post and marketing process of book writing.

00:23:15
I don't even I'm a newbie, I'm a child.

00:23:18
It's an amazing that you've done it, that you've explored it and

00:23:21
that you're now I mean rocking. Hey, that's that level of

00:23:24
producing we so need while books are being banned.

00:23:26
Please keep the written word happening without experience,

00:23:29
yeah. Absolutely, absolutely.

00:23:31
But you'll do great. You'll do great aquarium

00:23:34
process. It sucks, but.

00:23:36
No, no stranger to rejection, it's certainly part of the

00:23:39
statistical game of any win, Yeah.

00:23:42
Sure thing. And I mean, you're in Hollywood,

00:23:44
so. Oh, yeah, yeah.

00:23:46
I will say when I was acting, you know, I was, I was, I got

00:23:49
one guest star role right before the writers strike in 2008.

00:23:52
And I was like, yeah, I'm acting.

00:23:54
Then that happened. I ended up going on the road

00:23:55
with a band, but I just never, I never looked like CW and L, do

00:24:01
you know what I mean? I was always a little and like

00:24:02
being odd. Now is a little bit more in, but

00:24:04
I was at the time Hollywood definitely told me I wasn't

00:24:07
going to be acting in my 20s. Good old Hollywood.

00:24:11
That's awesome things to do. I had other things to do.

00:24:13
I'm acting in my 40s. What do you want so?

00:24:15
Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to anyone that's

00:24:18
chasing a creative dream, no matter what it is, what would be

00:24:22
your advice to them? Fight fascism.

00:24:25
Like, protect your mental autonomy.

00:24:28
Remember that the world will give you plenty of reasons to

00:24:32
stop pressing forward. But the world was developed by

00:24:36
the world as it is. Society as it was not developed

00:24:38
with the greatest intentions. So we have to create something

00:24:41
new. And that means there's a lot of

00:24:43
fighting on the foregrounds of creative work.

00:24:46
Just fight. Just keep it going.

00:24:47
Just do it. Just do it.

00:24:49
I agree. So where can the audience find

00:24:52
you? Www.geniuspills.com has all the

00:24:57
info you need at Genius Pills on Instagram or J rich dot online

00:25:02
if you want to hear more about. Me.

00:25:04
Awesome. Thank you.

00:25:05
And I'll make sure that's in the show notes.

00:25:08
Thank you so much. Aaron, thank you.

00:25:10
This is truly a joy. Thank you for holding space and

00:25:14
yeah, getting getting to time to chat with you as another

00:25:16
creative who's doing incredible things beyond what I can even

00:25:19
fathom. Oh, God, Feeling.

00:25:22
I appreciate feeling like I'm in a place where I'm in this

00:25:24
community with you. Again, it's taken at least 15

00:25:27
years to get here. So yeah, thanks for having me

00:25:29
on. Absolutely.

00:25:30
I'm right behind you. You know, I'm, I'm just, I'm

00:25:33
about to turn 40 this year and I'm like, OK, I finally found

00:25:36
what I'm supposed to do in life better like that.

00:25:39
That's Rockin. That's, that's, that's the time.

00:25:42
I always figure, you know, 20s you're like a freshman, 30s

00:25:45
you're like a sophomore, 40s you're like a junior, 50s you're

00:25:48
a senior. You have to think about what

00:25:49
happens next. But 40s, man, I think that's the

00:25:51
key. I think the 40s key.

00:25:53
I'm going to rock it, I or at least I'm going to drink a lot

00:25:57
and get through it, one of the two.

00:26:01
But I'm excited, you know, it's a new lease on life.

00:26:03
That's what I, that's what I'm telling myself anyway.

00:26:05
Well, Jessica, thank you so much for such an honest, inspiring

00:26:11
and real conversation. I think one of the biggest

00:26:14
takeaways from this episode is the idea that creativity isn't

00:26:17
just inspiration. It's practice, rhythm, and

00:26:20
showing up again and again, even when it's hard or uncertain or

00:26:25
messy. I love what she said about just

00:26:27
doing the thing because at the end of the day, that's what

00:26:30
separates people who dream from people who create.

00:26:33
If you want to learn more about Jessica and her work, you can

00:26:35
check out Genius Pills Media at geniuspills.com or find her on

00:26:39
and Instagram a Genius Pills. And of course, I'll have all

00:26:42
that LinkedIn the show notes. And if you enjoyed this episode,

00:26:44
don't forget to follow Plot Twist Radio, leave a review and

00:26:47
share it with someone who needs a little push to keep going.

00:26:50
Because every creative journey has its ups and downs, and

00:26:54
sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come right after

00:26:56
the hardest moments hit. Until next time, keep creating,

00:26:59
keep pushing forward, and keep embracing your own plot twist.