Written By: Jayme Face
Isaiah Frizelle is a man who wears many hats from personal training, to acting to writing to hosting podcasts, he does it all! We caught up with him about all of it!
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about Boy-friends?
Isaiah Frizelle: Yes, I always say it’s a coming of age story. The main character, Nick, is gay. He is just living out his college experiences, extravagant college experiences and he has his buddies involved. The way I see Boy-friends is another medium to integrate, and it shouldn’t be an integration it should just be what it is, but you know the LGBTQ experience. This one just adds another layer of excitement and craziness to it. My character, Dom, is one of his close friends in college. He appears to be a jock, but there’s some layers to this guy and there’s more to him than people may anticipate.
upfrontNY: Since it shows dynamics we don’t often see on screen what do you hope the audience gets out of it and what kind of feedback have you gotten so far?
Isaiah Frizelle: So, for one I hope the audience sees someone on screen that they can identify with because I think a lot of times that’s what’s missing from media. As a whole you get this cookie cutter idea of what life is and you use that one person to represent a collective and that’s not always the case, actually that’s never the case. I hope when people do watch this they see themselves and they have a little bit more of that feeling that they have more of a place in society and in life. I hope they feel more sure of themselves and they feel they have more assurance in terms of their experiences. While the show may seem over the top for the sake of storytelling our experiences and our lives can be bigger in our worlds versus what others may perceive it to be sometimes. That is very much okay. I hope that’s what people take from this particular project. And as for feedback people love it overall. The general feedback is that people enjoy it and they want to see more. My friends and family were like “I wanted to see more of your character”. They’re just biased, but it’s cool to just have that. Anytime as an actor or artist it’s cool to be part of something, but also have something that you can be appreciated and be grateful to be a part of at all.
upfrontNY: What was it like working on screen with an all-star Broadway cast?
Isaiah Frizelle: It was pretty cool. That was one of those things that I appreciated and admired because there was so much talent on set. Whether it was behind camera or on camera, everyone was coming with something. To be in that mix where you feel grateful just to be at the table or to be invited to the party, but it’s a reminder that sometimes you have to take stock in it and know you’re here for a reason. You know these are all hard workers, but so are you and you have to remember that you are a reflection of the company that you’re in. It was cool to see them and be around them. They are very sweet people and again very hard working, very talented. So, it was fun!
upfrontNY: You majored in psychology and communications in college, what made you decide to take the acting route?
Isaiah Frizelle: It’s funny the way my sinister plan played out as far as college. As a whole, I went through a few different potentials in my head my freshmen year. I started acting I’d say officially when I was seventeen or eighteen. Acting seemed cool, but I was also looking into becoming a forensic psychologist, criminal profiler, or medical examiner. I asked my mom “What about if I majored in theatre?” and she was like “You better not”. “You better major in something you can use outside of school.” So, I was like okay psychology was always something I considered even back in high school, and becoming a therapist was always on the table. As far as communications I figured I could learn the behind the scenes, learn how to use a camera, write, edit, do all those things and still be able to act. I just did both and my mom was like “Okay, you are just going to graduate with two degrees.” It is cool because I’m using literally both my degrees constantly. It’s crazy because sometimes people think it’s an interesting combination, but it’s really not. You figure movies are a visceral experience. There’s so much psychology behind a movie, the story being told, the dialogue, all that is psychology. The music is psychology, the color scheme is psychology. It all has a place. So, I just decided to put the two together. Psychology is even in advertising. When you watch commercials and you look at what the commercials are, you see that there’s a certain time of day that they show certain commercials, the theme of the commercial, all of that is psychology. Marketing is big on psychology and again so is film. If you watch a film now or a TV show, there is a lot of psychology involved and that’s why people have these connections to characters or visceral responses to certain scenarios.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about your Podcast?
Isaiah Frizelle: Yes, so the podcast is where it all comes full circle. The Bird Brain Podcast name came about because one day I was thinking about how people downplay birds and they downplay the intelligence of birds. The thing about birds is when they are in an uncomfortable climate they migrate; they pick up and they go south to a better situation or a better environment where they can thrive. As humans, we don’t always do that. We stay grounded in certain situations. We endure a lot more than we should. Sometimes it’s just important to have a bird’s eye view on life. The Bird Brain Podcast is about staying a little bit elevated above your situation. Whatever may be weighing on you or even if it’s good like finding different ways to value yourself or see yourself from a more elevated perspective or a different avenue. You can feel a little bit better if it’s just for a moment or a different outlook that’s been weighing on you for quite some time. The other component The Night Owl are original short horror stories that I’ve written. I narrate them or I’ll have other voices involved to narrate these stories. It’s basically me bringing two of my favorite things to one kind of platform. Mental health, psychology, the importance of personal development, taking care of yourself the best you can and switching gears completely to horror.
upfrontNY: Do you think you would bring your stories to the screen as well?
Isaiah Frizelle: Yes, I’m planning on it. I really want to. Randomly, I shot a little Night Owl teaser. I had my buddies help me with some audio work and put it all together, but that’s been the goal to bring more visual stories to life so people can watch them on YouTube or whatever. That’s a big goal because I love the concept of storytelling radio style, but I think it will be cool to have some stories have a visual representation. I think that would be cool.
upfrontNY: Since you wear so many hats, do you ever find it hard to step back and relax? What do you like to do when you can do that?
Isaiah Frizelle: Yes, I find it very difficult to just not do anything. I always find myself doing something. The beauty in it’s not just busywork. It’s things to make yourself better or just share with the world. It is hard to not do anything; I have a hard time doing that. When I’m not working I’m usually just trying to rest or catch up with a friend or just spend time with people that feel good on my heart. I also love books. I am a big bookworm to the point that I finished writing my own book. I’ve been working on drawing the illustrations now, but yea that’s my downtime. I like checking out a movie, well movie theatres are closed now, but going to see a good movie. I’m always doing so much that I don’t know how to take a break and I need to learn. I’d be lying if I said some days it’s not stressful, but I will say if you can look past the task at hand and look at the reason behind it, look at what you’re doing, also if there are people that appreciate what you’re doing that’s a bonus. Working for yourself to be better should be the priority and if there are people out there that appreciate the work that you do that’s the bonus. That should not be the intention. The intention should be am I authentic in what I’m doing and does it serve a purpose?
upfrontNY: With Covid do you think any of your pursuits have had to take a backseat or have any thrived more than ever?
Isaiah Frizelle: You know what’s funny I think this year I thrived a lot. Sometimes I whisper that because it’s been a weird year for a lot of people. I will say that the years leading up to now have been pretty rough for me and I was very surprised that I got a lot done or things just came out of this experience. I mean acting itself that kind of took a hit with production and everything like that, but I did have time to finish this book that I’ve been hot and cold about for almost two years. I finished this book in quarantine. I wrote an entire book. Personal training, I’ve been able to train people virtually. Working on the podcast I just really like stepped into myself a little bit more. and Also I feel whatever I need to feel and am more cognizant of what affects me, what doesn’t, and how certain things influence who I am. It was definitely an opportunity for an introspection. I’ve probably gotten closer with relationships even though we’re distant. It was a cool opportunity to bond with a lot of people I either didn’t know or I know, but I know them better now and we’re like family. This year has been a blessing in a weird way for me. You can’t take away from this year on top of Covid and a lot of social issues; there’s been a lot to unpack and it’s all hitting at once. I get it, but when it’s all said and done if you can find something to be grateful for, I know it sounds cheesy, but if you can look at this as an opportunity to check yourself and get to know yourself a bit more than you already won. I write five gratitudes a night.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about your book?
Isaiah Frizelle: Sure, it’s called “The Coloring Book” and it’s basically understanding that life is not in black and white. Our experiences color who we are. It’s a literary form of some of the things I talk about in my podcast. Looking at my life and maybe I’ve had some experiences a little earlier than most people my age and there’s other things I’m learning still, but I think the audience would be from 21, 22 and up. We’re all walking stories of our past, things that we are trying to get through or have made us who we are, the things we think no one else experiences and unpacking it in a way that you look at yourself with a little more appreciation versus apprehension. Finding ways to take care of yourself because we’re all just little kids who got older and sometimes it’s important to parent that kid; like hey you’re doing your best and you’re going to be fine. The book is about certain experiences that I’ve thought about that I think are relatable. I think that at some point in time we’ve all probably experienced it. It’s like an adult coloring book so there are going to be pages that you get to read and other pages that you color. I’m excited. That’s why the illustrations are taking me so long. I want these to be things that people can enjoy whether it’s mindless coloring or something they want to get into.
upfrontNY: Being from the east coast, what is something you miss now that you are out in L.A.?
Isaiah Frizelle: I’d say a couple things I miss. The Fall, I miss the leaves changing. I don’t miss the Summers and I don’t miss the Winters, but I do miss a nice Fall. I spent a lot of time in New York and while I didn’t like living in New York there were a lot of cool things around there. I did like going to the bakeries or just exploring a little bit when I was in the city. Obviously, spending time with my mom and my sister. It’s crazy, but the funny thing about being out in L.A. is when I first came out here people would say it has to grow on you. It’s weird. It’s a weird mystique. The first day off the plane I was like “I love it here!” There’s been experiences and challenges none the less, but there was never a day where I didn’t feel at peace or that this was the wrong choice. For the past three years, it’s been a blessing. So, with Jersey it’s just little things, but overall I’m good here.
upfrontNY: Do you have any other new projects coming?
Isaiah Frizelle: There’s a movie that just came out called Blindfire that’s currently on demand. It came out in virtual theatres November 13th , but it released to prime, iTunes November 20th. It’s been getting a lot of attention because it’s very topical to the current events with police and the black community. It’s a very necessary movie. I think people will definitely get something from it. It was received well which I thought was sweet.
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