Actor Laura Siner of Sweet Muse

Grown-Up Gigs Baker/Actor Laura Siner of Sweet Muse Lauras brownies. Drool I hafta admit, I love being part of the CRAVEnyc community. Being featured in the book and attending the launch party led me to meet such fierce Women of the World, and I roped a bunch of ‘em   into answering my Grown-Up Gig questions (Jessi Walter was one and another one will come to ya later this month!). Their stories are so inspiring, as is the work they’re doing, and Laura Siner of  Sweet Muse is no exception, especially with our shared acting passions (although she took a different path than I did but the lessons are the same).   Enjoy! 1. What did you wanna be when you grew up? Lets seein chronological order starting when I was about 5 years old  to when I left college dancer, fireman, farmer, actress, set designer, employed. 2. On your twitter bio, you say that youre a baker, actor, entrepreneur. How the heck did  that happen? ?? Well, it didnt happen overnight.   Its been a process.   It started when I stopped saying no to my interests  and looked for ways to have the things I like to do be what I do. 3. I talk ad nauseum about being a Renaissance Soul, and love coming across others who dont pick a singular career path. Did you ever have trouble embracing that part of yourself, and if so, how did you overcome it? Not really.   I didnt set out to have multiple careers, but it seems natural to me to have multiple interests.   What I resisted most was pursuing my passion for acting.   I started working to shut that down when I was in college, in favor of pursuing a more stable career.   However, I was unable to squelch  my desire to act  for long and started taking acting classes in the evenings after work.   Eventually, I wanted more than just a class, and  I got headshots and started auditioning while working my full-time job as a management consultant.   From there, I went on to work independently so I would have more flexibility for acting.   And the baking originated as the transition between the consulting during the day and the acting at night.   It  has been  a gradual proces s, but at each  significant new  step I considered how I might feel in the future if I didnt take that next step, and it has always seemed to me that Id be more likely to  have regrets if I didnt give myself  the opportunity. 4. Another thing Im required by law to ask Renaissance Souls is about balance (I put it parenthesis because I dont necessarily believe in it). How do you manage those facets of your career without your head exploding? Truthfully, some days my head explodes.   (I just use some crazy glue and get on with it.)   Seriously, what I do is  set longer-term goals across all areas, then  plan each week with an eye toward those goals.   Some weeks are very balanced, with activities and tasks for each area, but during  certain times of the year  I will be more active  in one area over another.   For instance, toward the end of the year, I focus  almost  exclusively on baking to fulfill all the holiday orders.   When I am doing a show, I switch focus to make the show the priority.   When those periods are over, Ill take care of whatever was getting put on the back burner.   So, it is balance over time, not always on a daily, or even weekly basis.   Or, perhaps you could look at it as an ongoing process of  rebalancing. 5. If you can have your present self give your pre-Sweet  Muse  self one piece of advice, what would it be? Just do it already!   I  spent several years  playing with the idea, doing research,  and baking for friends and family before I decided to treat the baking as a business.