Venkatesh Potula
Hello to all theater lovers, and welcome to my first blog post!
My name is Venkatesh Potula, which originates from India, so thus, I am 100% Indian. I was born in Huntsville, Alabama, but raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I have been asked if I was, “black” from African-Americans, who seem disappointed when I tell them that I’m just a very dark Indian.
Being born Indian and raised American has always been a battle for me. Going to school, I was expected to ace my math and science tests. I never did well on my SAT’s, and was even considered a failure to certain people. But the biggest surprise to many was that I, an Indian, wanted to act.
To an Indian family, where the mother is a doctor and the father an engineer, it sounds ridiculous. Their expectations and hopes would be that I attend Georgia Tech, make a six-figure salary by the time I’m 40 and marry the wife of their choosing. But that is not my path.
Luckily, I am blessed to have a family that understands my artistic need to act and I thank them every day that they are paying and supporting my education at the UCLA Theater, Film and Television department.
That being said, I am an extremely focused and dedicated individual. My mother always tells me, “99% perspiration, 1% inspiration.” You have to work, and be willing to work. Although my passion is acting, I understand that a cultured artist must be well rounded in all aspects of world culture: literature, history, and language.
In my blog column for 2012, I will be discussing several things including my audition process as an Indian in the entertainment field, my volunteer experience around UCLA and Los Angeles, and my work with the Rapid-Fire Improv Troupe!
I am an analytical idealist and a romantic realist, so I can guarantee that reading my blogs will be exciting and enlightening! Stay tuned for what is to come next, for we never know what the future holds!
