Actress realizes filmmaking dreams in District
Actress Tiffany Yancey has found success by never letting go of her dreams.
When Tiffany Yancey moved to the District in 1999, little did she know that it would lead to her realizing her passion – acting and filmmaking. She had earned a degree in mass communication from Philadelphia’s Temple University just two years before and was working in advertising sales at the Washington Times newspaper.
“I started taking acting classes, going on auditions, and performing in local theatre productions. I was able to tap back into that feeling that I had as a little girl. I felt alive again,” Yancey said.
The city has been good to Yancey. Courtesy photo.
Those early acting classes were at the Woolly Mammoth Theater with Vera Katz, an instructor at Howard University. Katz had trained many prominent black actors such as Tarajii P. Henson and Anthony Anderson.
Yancey’s love for the craft came as no surprise to those who knew her. She had grown up in Yeadon, a small town outside of Philadelphia, performing comedy skits and rock concerts with her sister in the backyard of their suburban home, while daddy was rolling the camera.
Soon ready to take on the entertainment world, Yancey started working as a feature extra in the popular show The Wire, a TV series filmed in Baltimore, Md.
“This was the beginning stages of my career, I was learning a lot being in that environment”, said Yancey, who today is best known for her role as Laura Cowan in the Investigation Discovery’s show House of Horrors.
Yancey 44, landed her first recurring role in 2003 as Lucinda King on Snowden Crossing, a TV series based in the affluent suburbs of Columbia, Md., about two powerful black families who compete to gain control of the multimedia industry.
“I had so much fun filming this project because it was my first experience working on a TV series and learning the process to make it happen,” Yancey said.
After taking a break from acting in 2007 to care for her new baby girl, Yancey booked a supporting role in the Indie Film Split Second in 2010. Her peformance led to a best supporting actress award in 2013 at the Entrepreneurs On The Move Awards.
Yancey plays Laura Cowan House of Horrors. Courtesy photo.
That year, Yancey transitioned to behind the camera, writing her first film Love him or Leave him, a romantic comedy about a young single interior decorator who must decide whether or not she can love a handsome executive in spite of his shortcomings in the bedroom.
Other awards soon followed, this time for Best Comedy Award at the Urban Media Film Festival in Atlanta in 2015, and the Best Score award in 2016 at the Philadelphia Independent Film Awards.
“I love comedies because I believe laughter is the best medicine,”said Yancey.
Yancey attends premiere of Love him or Leave him. Courtesy photo.
Yancey’s next project hits close to home, reflecting her own creative process. The Introvert Life, is a comedy series about a reclusive screenwriter with a vivid imagination, dreaming of making it big in the entertainment business and constantly pushed to step out of her comfort zone into crazy unforeseen circumstances by her extroverted friend.
“Over the years, I didn’t realize I was an introvert until I started to do research on my certain behaviors. I created the series because I realized that there were other introverts that could relate to this feeling,” said Yancey. Her message to those who see it? “Don’t use introversion as an excuse not to pursue your goals.”
The pilot for the show is set for release in summer 2020.
For more information about Tiffany Yancey please visit:
IG: @iam_tiffany_yancey
IG: @the_introvertlife
