Art & Life with Christina King

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina King.

Christina, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up an athlete competing in various team and individual sports and performing stunts as a cheerleader. I believe that is where my true love of performing began. I regularly participated in the drama club and other acting classes depending on what my schedule allowed. As a teen, I regularly watched television shows or films with strong female characters. I developed an affinity for watching film and television shows with female action heroes but felt as though the women cast never really represented what a female athlete looked like. I often wondered if there was something wrong with me. Their bodies didn’t have the muscle tone mine did. There were periods throughout my life where I restricted eating or binge exercised in attempts to look like these other actresses. I eventually realized this was an aspect of film that needed to change, and I wanted to be part of that change.

I didn’t go into acting right away. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from UNL and got married (We recently celebrated our thirteen year anniversary). It was a while before my desire for acting was too much for me to ignore. I started with small roles in short films and every year, the amount of work and the roles I landed got bigger. I took acting classes to expand my craft and make my performances more and more believable. One day a friend of mine tagged me in an audition for an action short. For the audition, we had to learn a short fight sequence with one of the film’s performers. Learning the sequence was so easy and effortless that I was immediately hooked. After all, this was why I wanted to be in film in the first place. I wanted to show other girls, other athletes, that having an athletic body was nothing to be shameful of. We didn’t need to starve ourselves to feel beautiful or avoid lifting weights in fear of looking too manly.

I love challenging roles as an actress, both with character development and stunts. Every year I work hard to go deeper into new characters and expand my ability both as an actress and a stunt actress. Since I was a teenager, films have progressed to occasionally cast athletic actresses in athletic roles, but I have no intention of ending what I set out to do years ago.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I’m primarily an actress. I have written a little, but acting is where my passion truly lies. I love getting cast in challenging role, and entertaining audiences as these characters. I find so much joy in discovering what makes other people tick and how their experiences shape their lives. Acting is a wonderful way to experience that. Great performances draw people in, and that is what I find most fascinating. I want the audience to see the character, not me. I love watching people come away from a performance affected in some way by what they have seen. A couple of years ago I performed a play that contained very difficult subject matter. After the show, I had some audience members who would open up to me about some of the struggles in their lives. I had others who just felt like they needed to hold me or hug me because the impact was so great. That is why I find performing so rewarding.

What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I think entertainment and the role of artists are always changing as time progresses. When you look at the history of performing arts, actors have progressed from Greek choruses narrating, to stage plays where only men were allowed to perform the roles, to the invention of capturing film, on up to what we see today. Stories considered taboo can easily be told today through film and theater productions. I think film, television, and theater not only offer an escape to willing audiences but also allows for uncomfortable stories and history to be told. Depending on where we live and who we are, we are limited as to what we experience. Artists have the opportunity to broaden that limitation to those willing to understand it. I often find myself researching the true history behind the inspiration, and discussing what I found with friends. I think the ability as an artist to promote discussion can be very helpful when communication is respectful.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
A short I did with Arizona Studios titled “Experiment 23” can be found on Vimeo and Facebook. It was the first action role I was able to take on. Another action short film I had the joy of acting in is “Erebus,” written and directed by Sheila Patterson, and it was shown at Phoenix Film Festival, as well as other festivals in the valley and worldwide. I have a few other shorts still in post-production that should be finished soon and will hopefully make their rounds at festivals as well. I have one feature titled “Moving Ashley,” written by Stephen Kessen and directed by Melissa Ann Farley, which is currently in post-production, but you can follow along and see the progress on our Facebook Page before it is released. Another feature titled “Faces,” written and directed by Randy Huckabone is currently filming and will be released for public viewing once completed. You can also follow along with its progress on Facebook. I have also been blessed to work with numerous photographers around the valley, and much of their work can be found on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/cmdink
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christi.denkingerhutchinson
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7213751/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Image Credit:
Beautiful Lives Photography is the handstand,
Kacie Jean Photography is the blue dress,
Christopher Nez is the pink outfit,
Nero Manalo is the samurai shot, and Mike Miller Photography is the yoga pose.

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.