Creative Resilience and the Art of Costume Design Featuring Amanda Seymour

What does resilience look like in a creative career?

In this episode of Resiliency the Podcast, costume designer Amanda Seymour joins Jenn Quader and Dr. Kelly Culver for a powerful conversation about resilience, empathy in leadership, creativity, and the realities of working in film, television, theater, and opera. 

Part of the Emmy-nominated costume design team for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the Academy Award-nominated Costume Design team on A Complete Unknown, Amanda’s work has spanned many genres. Her other works include Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Mean Girls: The Musical, Respect, along with countless operas, musicals and plays. 

Amanda shares what it takes to build a resilient life in the arts. From visual storytelling and character development to collaboration, freelance uncertainty, and creative pressure, this episode offers an honest behind-the-scenes look at the entertainment industry and the leadership skills it demands. 

In this episode, we talk about:

-How resilience shows up in creative careers 

-Why empathy matters in leadership and collaboration 

-The role of costume design in visual storytelling 

-What it takes to work across film, TV, theater, and opera 

-How to navigate freelance uncertainty with confidence

This conversation is for anyone interested in costume design, creative leadership, women in entertainment, storytelling, and resilience in high-pressure environments. 

🎧 Resiliency The Podcast is a global conversation redefining resilience through real stories, hard-earned wisdom, and honest dialogue.

 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with leaders, changemakers, and everyday people building resilience in an ever-evolving world. 

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🔗 Connect with Amanda Seymour
 IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5136316/
 Website: https://www.amandaseymourdesign.com/

 

🔗 Connect with Jenn Quader: 

- Jenn Quader’s Website: http://jennquader.com

- Connect with Jenn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennquader/

- Jenn Quader’s Tedx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yKMeo3GW2k

- The Smart Agency Website: https://thesmartagency.com/

 

🔗 Connect with Dr. Kelly Culver: 

- Culver Group Website: https://new.culvergroup.ca/

- Dr. Kelly Culver’s Website: http://drkellyculver.com

 - Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-culver/

- Dr. Kelly Culver’s Tedx Talk: https://youtu.be/0FNU95LH-f8?si=8uamb7cs7RiUWxRV

 

Hosted by: Dr. Kelly Culver & Jenn Quader 📍

Executive Producer: Asef Quader 

🎧 Produced by: ALL Inc. & The Culver Group © All rights reserved 

 

DISCLAIMER: THE OPINIONS OR VIEWS EXPRESSED DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT OR REPRESENT THOSE OF THE HOSTS OR RESILIENCY THE PODCAST; SUCH VIEWS ARE MERELY OPINIONS EXPRESSED. THE INFORMATION IN THIS EPISODE IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY AND GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES. RESILIENCY THE PODCAST CANNOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF ANY STATEMENTS FROM GUESTS OR THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE INFORMATION. 

 

Hashtags
#AmandaSeymour #ResiliencyThePodcast #CostumeDesign #EmmyNominated #AcademyAwardNominated #EmpathyInLeadership #CreativeLeadership #WomenInEntertainment #BehindTheScenes #VisualStorytelling #FreelanceCreative #MarvelousMrsMaisel #ACompleteUnknown #Resilience

 

Chapter List

00:00 Amanda Seymour interview
 01:52 Resilience in creative careers
 04:11 Costume design and visual storytelling
 05:34 Creative collaboration in entertainment
 09:01 Working under pressure on set
 11:16 Behind the scenes of costume design
 12:23 Overcoming creative blocks
 15:07 Actor fittings and building trust
 19:14 Empathy in leadership
 23:28 Freelance uncertainty in film and theater
 26:31 Confidence, humility, and growth
 30:28 Hard lessons from high-pressure projects
 34:03 Leadership through listening
 36:46 Career advice for creatives
 41:06 Rapid fire with Amanda Seymour
 45:29 Amanda Seymour closing thoughts

Creators and Guests

Host

Dr. Kelly Culver

Dr. Kelly Culver holds the world’s first doctorate of resiliency, having received her PhD in strategic resilience from the Paris School of Business. She is a seasoned global leader with 34 years of experience as a founder, director, entrepreneur, strategist, and executive coach.

Host

Jenn Quader

Jenn Quader is an American CEO, TEDx speaker, vocalist, writer, poet, and musical theatre enthusiast. Her personal mission is to empower the next generation of confident communicators by sharing her voice in the global movement toward empathetic and human-first business leadership.

Producer

Asef Quader

Asef Quader is a writer, producer and director based in Orange County, California. A 20-year marketing and advertising expert, his passions surround bringing stories of resiliency to life… along with eating good food and drinking good wine.

Editor

Podcircle

Premium podcast services for busy people and organizations. Visit Podcircle.com to learn more.

What is Resiliency The Podcast?

A global conversation of leaders, investors, and everyday changemakers aimed at redefining resilience in today’s ever-evolving world.
Dr. Kelly Culver and Jenn Quader sit down with influential guests who inspire, educate, and motivate people to build resilience, overcome hardships, positively impact their communities, and ultimately, help the world at large.

Jenn Quader (00:06)
Welcome to Resiliency, the podcast. Today's guest is a powerhouse of visual storytelling. As a professional costume designer, she's part of an Emmy nominated costume design team for the wildly popular TV show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And that's not all. Her costume design credits include major hits like A Complete Unknown, Springsteen, Deliver Me From Nowhere, Mean Girls, the musical, and so much more.

Her job is to bring characters to life, and she works across opera, musical theater, television, and film. Now, for all of our listeners, we can imagine this is an industry that's built on uncertainty. And today's guest has carved out this very successful career defined by grit, adaptability, and a quiet confidence, which you will certainly see in the interview. Her creative process blends

deep research, instinct, and collaboration, shaping not just what each character wears, but how they move through the world as imagined by writers and directors. Whether it's a sweeping opera or a fast-paced film, she brings a signature mix of artistry and problem-solving to every set. And that is why she's such a perfect guest for us here at Resiliency, the podcast. We are thrilled to dive into a wonderful conversation about creativity, collaboration, and what it really takes to build a resilient life.

in the arts. Please, my friends, help me welcome the brilliant, the talented, the amazing Amanda Seymour. Welcome, Amanda.

Amanda Seymour (01:38)
Thank you so much for having me. That was incredible.

Jenn Quader (01:45)
As are you, as are you. An incredible intro for an incredible person.

Amanda Seymour (01:49)
Wow.

Kelly Culver (01:52)
Amanda, we are super thrilled to have you on the podcast today. And I know, so this is a test for you. So here's a disembodied voice asking you questions. But we've, you know, so, so you got to kind of roll with it, but you have done some really powerful things, some really cool things that just bring instant visuals into people's heads. know, Jenn, when you were rhyming off the different productions, Amanda, that you've been involved in, I think that's just so fabulous. My question is,

Amanda Seymour (02:01)
Love that, love that. ⁓

Kelly Culver (02:21)
What does resiliency mean to you, Amanda?

Amanda Seymour (02:26)
⁓ I mean, this, didn't even, I mean, I've been thinking about this since I met with Asef a little while ago, but resiliency, I just never imagined framing what I do with that word, but it's brilliant. And for me, it's, I guess, the ability to keep going, any fear or vulnerability or lack of confidence, but then you have to also stay true to yourself.

So it's quite a tricky thing, but I had no idea that that's basically what I was doing throughout the day and throughout all my projects. wild.

Kelly Culver (03:05)
my god, I'm so excited. You've had self revel self revel I can't even talk. You've self realization before you even showed up Jenn our job is done we can go home.

Amanda Seymour (03:09)
Hehehehehe

Jenn Quader (03:15)
Well, we did it! We have to-

Amanda Seymour (03:16)
No, it's true. It's true.

Jenn Quader (03:19)
And

I love that you spoke to vulnerability, Amanda, when you are designing, you are an artist. That's what you are. And you are an artist through and through, and I happen to know you personally, and so I get the joy of knowing that artist's personality lives within you. And being an artist always means being vulnerable. It always does. You have to really open up your insides. It's the only way that it works. And so I love that when you talked about

as Dr. Kelly said, this self-discovery that you're just now realizing, hey, what I've done is incredibly resilient, because it is. The ability to show who you really are through that art, ⁓ and then also work within an industry that, ⁓ and we'll get into this a little bit, but boy, there are short, contracts that you do. You fly in somewhere, you do something really important, and then it's over, and then it's on to the next. There's this constant movement.

Amanda Seymour (04:09)
Yeah. Yeah.

Jenn Quader (04:11)
So I want to start by kind of envisioning, and again, I'm kind of thinking of you walking into a set like the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or like, you know, a complete unknown. are these, you know, I see movie stars running around and all people everywhere. And I'm thinking, how do you as a designer, as a resilient designer, how do you find focus in the very beginning to start becoming inspired about building a new world and its characters? Where do you dig for that within yourself?

Amanda Seymour (04:38)
the lucky part of what I do is that I've usually presented with a script or a story of some sort. So that baseline is there. And so that gives me the freedom to take a deep dive into what, whatever the world's going to be or whatever the director ⁓ has told me during our first meetings or whatever time period it is. But that's what really grounds you and keeps the focus.

besides deadlines as well.

Jenn Quader (05:09)
Now, are you

a self-setter of deadlines or does someone set those for you and you adhere?

Amanda Seymour (05:15)
better if someone says something for me because I will get distracted and I will, you know, stay in the research phase for forever if I'm allowed to. And because you can, that's like an endless black hole of just like amazing facts and realizations and stuff like that.

Kelly Culver (05:34)
like to ask you a question staying on this design discovery. I was at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in December. I was working in London and so I went to the Mary Antoinette. ⁓ I went to the Chanel one as well, which and I love Chanel so that was super cool, right? yeah, that's why I'm a member. ⁓ But the

Jenn Quader (05:51)
Beautiful.

Amanda Seymour (05:55)
Ugh.

Kelly Culver (05:57)
Mary Antoinette, and I realized none of them were her actual gowns. They just had two of her slippers, but they had gowns from other people from that timeframe. And you look at the intricacy of the fabric and you think of the story of the silhouette. So my question to you is, because I've got this image in my head, you tell stories through fabric and silhouette. And so,

Amanda Seymour (06:02)
Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Kelly Culver (06:24)
How do you leave your personal stamp when you do that? And how do you balance what you want to see as opposed to the needs of the character in the story? Because you might want to go over the top and you can't.

Amanda Seymour (06:36)
Well, I mean, it's it is all a balance. It's all a delicate balance, right? ⁓ Well, there's the personal expression isn't necessarily a conscious effort, I guess, on my part, or I'm not I don't I'm not seeking out to tick any boxes as far as agenda coming from me. I mean, I react to a piece or I'm looking at these characters or relating to these characters. ⁓

and coming up with a color story or textures that I want to use or ⁓ anything of that sort or particular, I don't know, colors and fabrics and Like I'm not a Nortur. Like I'm not Tim Burton. I'm not like... I'm not quite there yet.

it's all about sort of collaboration and compromise and you, you know, I present things to the director of what I want or what I'm thinking based on our discussions. And a lot of times they'll come up with something that I didn't even think of. And I'm like, that is brilliant. Like we should definitely do that. Cause it's all like, what's amazing about this type of medium, it is collaboration. Cause it's not just me, it's also the performer.

and the director and the producers and the DP or the set designer or all of these people. But I guess it's staying true to your initial ideas and going from there and just putting pen to paper and drawing. mean, that is part of your idea. That is what you're gonna try to bring to life. So I think it's...

It's very lucky. Like, I don't feel like I've ever really lost too much direction. I mean, some ideas, of course, are shot down, and you're like, no, maybe not that. It's like, okay, you gotta pivot, and you gotta think on your feet, and you just keep talking, and you keep researching, and you keep discussing till you do it in 3D.

Hehehehehe ⁓

Jenn Quader (08:42)
I think that

think the pivot and think on your feet speaks to the beginning of our conversation where you said, you know, I hadn't looked at it through this lens of resiliency, but that is precisely what you're doing all day every day. And I want to, I mean, all day every day. I want to dive in on the topic of the team because

Amanda Seymour (08:55)
Hahaha

Jenn Quader (09:01)
you you're on a set, you've got directors and DPs and set designers, and you have all these voices, all these different voices, and you've spoken to the importance of collaboration. I'm wondering if you can speak to a time, if possible, have you run up on a creative compromise in any of your work that was really tough for you, where there was something that was needed and it was tough to make it happen?

Amanda Seymour (09:24)
I a lot of projects, while you're in it, often feel like that all the time. But then you happily forget as soon as it opens or you see the commercial for it on television. But no, I mean, honestly, I think patience and just having the ability to just keep pushing forward

Jenn Quader (09:32)
Hahaha!

Amanda Seymour (09:52)
It's hard to remember something specific. Like I've been on very tough projects that had a lot of pressure. Either it's the time deadlines or it's all the personalities that are there as well. Because if you have something that requires a big team, that's a lot of people who work 12 to 14 hours alongside. people get tired, people get cranky. But

You also remember how lucky it is to be there and to have that work. And for me, I mean, I love what I do. Obviously I wouldn't keep doing it if I didn't. And it's just true. And I, and sadly, it gets tough. It gets tiring, but.

my favorite moments are usually fittings and that one-on-one or you and your assistant or me as assistant and the designer and the actor. Like that is where it, you know, the magic sort of begins to take form and to become a real thing, which is incredible. And I'm so lucky to get to do that and to be a part of that.

Kelly Culver (11:03)
Amanda, I'd like to pick up on that just for a second you were talking about. You made us all smile when you said after it comes out, you forget all of the challenges, right? Yeah, you're right. So I just want to jump in and ask a question here, sort of divert us for a second. What does it feel like to see your work on the big screen for the first time? Take us through that emotion.

Amanda Seymour (11:14)
Hehehehehe. Mmhmm. Mmhmm.

Jenn Quader (11:16)
Hahaha

Amanda Seymour (11:31)
⁓ I mean, I it's it's unreal, especially ⁓ something like television or a film, because so many people see it. And it's like I had a hand, a tiny, you very small part. like I and making help make that happen. It's unbelievable. The first commercial that I saw for the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel of a season that I worked on, like you you you

like there are tears because you're like holy cow like what and I remember telling that like the another season that I come back and we had you know new people there I'm like just wait just wait till that commercial comes out like it's it's pretty it's an incredible feeling and yeah

Kelly Culver (12:23)
And I think that that speaks to, know, creativity, imagination, inspiration that you have to draw on to make these things happen. And you work in a creative field. And I can only imagine waking up in the morning and saying, Kelly, you have to be creative today, and just not feeling the vibes. That happens to me, I will tell you, because it doesn't flow on demand. And sometimes our imagination is blocked up, you know, you can stare at that wall.

Amanda Seymour (12:43)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Kelly Culver (12:51)
So can you tell us a time when you hit a creative block and what did you do to move through it to make, go with the flow, to make the flow happen?

Amanda Seymour (12:59)
Yeah, I mean usually if there's something that I'm stuck on or a project that I'm like, don't know, I'm not quite sure how to approach it. You you just have to find one tiny thing, and it could be a particular character, it could be the time period, it could be the location of the job you're going to.

Because which could be you know, I'll sure I'll go to Aspen like why not You know that that'll that will help but there is but there is such a thing also as decision fatigue and if you're making You know like three-quarters of the way through a season or something like that or You're almost done with the movie and you're like I can't possibly make one more decision like please

Jenn Quader (13:33)
Ha ha.

Amanda Seymour (13:54)
we're all kind of stubborn people, I think, and we're kind of like, just, you just gotta, you gotta keep going. And you gotta find the little joys here and there, whether it's going, you know, taking a tiny break, taking a deep breath even, you know, or going to get a coffee, I don't know, but you...

Yeah, you just have to find those little joys, I guess, that gets you excited about it again or inspire you. And it's like that grateful thing, too. It's just like, OK, what else am I going to be doing if I'm not doing this? And I would be so sad and I would be, you know, like, so you just kind of have to walk yourself through all of those things and remind yourself.

Jenn Quader (14:38)
think it's particularly interesting that you talk about decision fatigue because one of the first times I ever heard that phrase, and this was many years ago when Facebook was first becoming Facebook, which is now Meta and I read about it with Mark Zuckerberg and it's specifically with clothes. He had so much decision fatigue that he would only wear the same hoodie and the same jeans every day. And so it's so interesting to me that you as someone who your job is clothes, it's clothing and how people are going to be looking. ⁓

Amanda Seymour (15:05)
Mm-hmm.

Jenn Quader (15:07)
I'm trying to think of how to phrase this well because, when I think about that, clothes is something so personal. And so I can understand, we've already talked about you working through the designers and, or excuse me, the directors and all that, but like the actors themselves, like how does that go? Can you talk us through kind of...

Amanda Seymour (15:15)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Jenn Quader (15:27)
what resilience it takes to work with someone who's putting something on their physical body. They've got to be comfortable. And it's your decision fatigue, but there's also, can you talk a little bit about that?

Amanda Seymour (15:38)
100%. I mean, asking a human to come in and here, take your clothes off, here, put this other stuff on, and you know, that, is such a vulnerable place to be. It's also an amazing, you know, amazing things can happen and revelations can happen for the actors, for me, for anyone in the room.

takes a lot of energy, but it's also really exhilarating. And usually, you know, so you pull a bunch of things or you've designed something and someone's making it and you walk the actor through and tell them like, this is what I'm thinking. What are you thinking? It's always for me, very important to get their feedback. A lot of times.

⁓ I've had performers say, I've never been asked. I'm like, ⁓ whoa, whoa. This is the time to speak up. This is the time to say something. I'm not the one that's out there. You're the one that's out there. Like, you have to feel comfortable. And I haven't done my job if I haven't even also besides, you know, through 3D, three dimensions and color and texture and everything telling a story about this character. It's like, you also have to feel right in it.

And a lot of times we discover things together and sometimes it's like, try this on, it's kind of weird, but humor me, let's see what this does. you know, because something on the hanger looks totally different than on a human body. So, it can be hard, you know, because it is, you're also staring at yourself in a mirror and you're with this other person and you bring tailors in and you alter the clothes and pin them and.

make them it is quite, an energy playing field. Like it is, it's pretty wild, I guess.

Jenn Quader (17:28)
It is totally

wild, because if you told me like, hey Jenn, let's go like try on bathing suits together at Target, I'd be like, together? You know what I mean? like, okay, you know? So it is, and of course I want to ask, if you can, can you share like who is the most fun person you ever fit?

Amanda Seymour (17:33)
Yeah. So yeah, yeah, yeah, like, ⁓ yeah.

my god, so many. Andrew Scott was a phenomenal person to work with and I was an assistant on that project, but he brought so much and he was so much fun. I mean, so many, so Steven Graham.

He was phenomenal. We put this 1950s jacket on him and he just could, he's like, it's perfect. It says everything that it's supposed to. It was phenomenal. And when those fittings end, like, this is why we do what we do. And it's also nerve wracking. worked on, I did my own little indie recently.

Right before starting the first fitting, was like, boy, like you don't know how it's gonna go necessarily. And that's also vulnerable for me. And you know, wanna make the actor feel comfortable and feel good about what they're putting on their body. But you never know. But I guess, with the research and the discussions, and I usually talk to them beforehand and share research boards and things like that with them. Because it has to be.

collaborative effort. It's, it's can't be, I can't just be like, here put this on and that's that, like that would be terrible.

Jenn Quader (19:14)
maybe I'll have Dr. Kelly talk for a minute about that, because I like to remind everyone that Dr. Kelly has the first PhD in strategic resilience in the world. She's a doctor of strategic resilience. And I want to ask Dr. Kelly, can you comment a little on this thing that Amanda's talking about, is kind of all these different, really, it's all these different waves of emotion. Here's Amanda coming into her first fitting. Here's the star who's

Amanda Seymour (19:24)
ball.

Jenn Quader (19:38)
got to worry about how they're going to embody the character. Here's all these things. Is there anything we can learn from a strategic resilience standpoint? I'm throwing you on the spot, Dr. Kelly.

Amanda Seymour (19:47)
I'm so fascinated. Do you have, I want books. Now I'm like gonna research all like resiliency and try to find as much as I can.

Kelly Culver (19:56)
my gosh. Well, I think, I mean, what I was listening to in Jenn the situation that you described is you've got all of these things barraging you at the same time. So it's how do you navigate and pick which are the priorities that you work through? what are all the component parts you need to bring together so that you're going to leverage success as fast as you can?

And sometimes that means that you've got to drop stuff really quickly and just not look back. Don't look behind. Just keep going ahead. So you drop this really quickly because you've got to move over here and you've got to bring these people together here. it's how do you leverage growth and success as opposed to how do you build back and recover from a setback? In the instance you've just described to me, the situation you've described to me, it's not about looking

Amanda Seymour (20:18)
Mm-hmm.

Kelly Culver (20:43)
with a setback because somebody didn't like something, it's more, no, how do we innovate and grow in order to have the best success we can for this collaborative initiative with which we are all involved? That's using resilience strategically in this instance.

Amanda Seymour (20:59)
Yeah, yeah, that makes perfect sense. Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, that is, that makes perfect sense. And it's, you know, if something doesn't quite go your way or go the way that you thought it should, or like if you didn't get something that you wanted, like you do have to quickly mourn it and, you know, of course honor those feelings.

Jenn Quader (21:00)
love that and you just taught me something. Sorry Amanda.

Kelly Culver (21:05)
Haha!

Amanda Seymour (21:23)
and say goodbye and just move on and pivot to the next thing or it's like, all right, then we'll do this. It's constant ⁓ troubleshooting and solving problems. Be it clothing, shipping, UPS, FedEx, like all of those things, the budget. Like there's a lot of tedious, yeah, tedious things.

Kelly Culver (21:43)
Ha ha ha ha!

Okay, okay, okay.

Jenn Quader (21:51)
There's a lot of logistics.

Kelly Culver (21:52)
So you gotta let the Canadian throw in this word, tariffs.

Jenn Quader (21:57)
⁓ yes.

Amanda Seymour (21:57)
Yes, yes,

yes. yeah. 100%. ⁓ we've paid to get certain things here quite a bit.

Jenn Quader (21:59)
Few of those have probably impacted.

Kelly Culver (22:07)
I'm sure you have.

Jenn Quader (22:09)
and again, thank you for bringing that up, Amanda, because I'm seeing in my head, you know, in my head, I see like what I've seen on Project Runway. You're back there, you're drawing, you're don't really show on Project Runway them like pouring over the Excel sheets to try to make sure that the budget works, right? But that's a huge part of this production world that you're in. I also want to say, Dr. Kelly, I feel like I love,

Amanda Seymour (22:22)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Jenn Quader (22:32)
And I don't know that I've heard you phrase it like this before, and I really liked it. The phrasing of, got to drop it quickly and don't look back. first, that makes me think of Amanda, what you said earlier about, yeah, you forget it all when you see it up on the screen. You you've dropped it. But then you talked also about opportunities you don't get, about the jobs that you don't come and you mentioned having to quickly mourn those. You know, if I read the headlines, which I do,

Amanda Seymour (22:40)
Mm-hmm.

Jenn Quader (23:02)
I would think to myself, boy, it's a hard time to be in the world of Hollywood and musical theater and opera. All of those seem to be going through a difficulty as it relates to jobs and funding and all of those things. And even in a time that's not like right now, through the history of the arts, our jobs as artists are not guaranteed. They're sporadic. They move all over the place.

Amanda Seymour (23:10)
Mm-hmm.

Jenn Quader (23:28)
Can we look specifically now at your journey as someone who has been a working costumer on these huge different places moving all around and how have you built resilience in the face of rejection when people don't hire you or job uncertainty when you think you're hired but you don't know what's gonna happen because it's all moving around and what helps you bounce back from those moments where you do have to quietly mourn when you don't get something?

Amanda Seymour (23:55)
Whew, I mean, this is it. I have been doing this now since, wow, professionally since 2002, but then in New York since 2009. And so there's been different, I would say, like...

parts of my journey. But having the resiliency to deal with the, I gonna ever work again? Or that I interviewed for that and sadly I didn't get the job but my friend did. It's quite tricky and at the beginning when I first got to New York, ⁓

I was lucky and I was able to arrive having a job or a gig, let's say, because it's all freelance and it's all gig work. And once that was done and maybe I picked up work here and there and it was like, I don't know what's going to happen. ⁓ So I, you know, called a shop that I had worked with before and I was like, do you have anything I can do? Anything like I'll go get coffee. Like, it doesn't matter. He's like, yeah, yeah.

come in and I was sitting on the floor of the fitting room like filing old patterns, going through old fitting photos and he walked through and he's like, you went to grad school for this. I'm like, I know. ⁓ Like, yep, I know that, I know that. ⁓ But I was grateful for him to give me, at least, you know, I was earning money and I was still sitting in a costume shop staring at pictures of like.

a sparkle suit he built for Britney Spears. was like, that's also, you know, feeds my soul and my creativity too. you know, you gotta get creative and you just gotta keep figuring out ways to keep moving forward. And even now I finished a job and I'm very, very grateful for the time off because I've had a lot projects and I'm...

quite frankly, tired and decision fatigue, creative, all of that. But a little voice is like, when is the next job? What will the next job be? Will I have it? And I'm in talks about things, but nothing is guaranteed. So you have to, lack of a better word, manifest. You have to just keep going and ⁓ trust.

that you've built good community and are a decent human being that is respectful and hopefully that will come back to you in return.

Jenn Quader (26:31)
There's another word I want to introduce here that I'm kind of hearing as a through line as you talk, and that word I think is humility. You talked about that kind of in two places. The first was when Dr. Kelly asked about kind of getting blocked and like when you have a creative block. And what you said is, just go to the very smallest thing and I start looking at how lucky I am to be here. And then you talked about, you know, in a moment when you didn't have a job.

going and sitting on the floor and finally, and by the way, ⁓ I would like to see the sparkle suit that Brittany wore please, because I love Brittany. I mean, hello.

Amanda Seymour (26:59)
I mean, right? Right? Right? ⁓

Jenn Quader (27:06)
There's something, you know, and I'd love to maybe just bounce on this for a minute because we're always looking for these little threads we can pull. You know, the whole podcast is about resiliency, right? And we all know, everyone interprets that differently. But I think there's a thread to pull here as it comes to humility. And it's something that it's funny because I've known, I happen to have known Amanda for many, many years. And I would say that is a hallmark of who you are, is you've done so much and so many big things and you could walk around with a lot of bravado, but you come in with a lot of humility.

⁓ Maybe I'll ask both you and Dr. Kelly to comment a little bit on the role of humility within resilience.

Amanda Seymour (27:42)
Should the expert speak or should I speak?

Kelly Culver (27:44)
⁓

The expert. Yeah. I don't know whether I'd call myself the expert. However, since you asked, the role of humility with resilience, I think that

Amanda Seymour (27:49)
you

Kelly Culver (28:01)
The thing with resilience is we know that resilience, as you've just said, Jenn, means so many different things to different people, and none of those things are wrong, none of the things are right. They just are in that moment for that person. So the humility in us is listening, listening to what all of those different meanings of resilience are and not casting a judgment that one is right and one is wrong. You know, I think we hear that sometimes around

Resilience, I'm conditioned to see that word everywhere and I do see that word everywhere and sometimes I think here's a crude word it gets into a bit of a pissing match between people around who's had it worse and That's not what this is about. It's humility is the ability to listen and understand That what I think of resilience is different than what you think of resilience and aren't we both better for knowing each other's definition and experience? We're richer for it

Amanda Seymour (28:42)
Hmm.

true. ⁓ I mean, that kind of goes hand in hand with vulnerability as well. I think, understanding your team members or understanding the actors, understanding the directors and approaching.

You know, is a high-pressure situation, or it is not surgery or anything like that, but there is a lot of money that is being put up to do something. So there is pressure, but listening and appreciating and understanding where they're coming from and what they're trying to say that they need.

is very important, because I always feel super supported by other departments if they just listen and respond to me in a way that I feel like they understood. not say yes, they might not give me everything that I need, but at least they're saying, I hear you, yeah, that makes sense, let's figure out what we can do.

Jenn Quader (30:02)
It's something you said earlier too about kind of you just keep going. just keep, you know, the deadlines are there, the things are needed, but you just keep going Now, I want to ask real quick before we get into rapid fire questions, which is one of our most favorite part, but I do want to ask, you you started this in a way that made me and Dr. Kelly very happy, which is to say you're starting to see the resilience in what you do in a different way.

Amanda Seymour (30:06)
Hehehe.

Mm-hmm.

Jenn Quader (30:28)
I wonder if when you look back, is there a place, maybe a moment in your career where now you can see, boy, I had to be really resilient in order to handle that. And can you tell us about that moment and what you learned from it?

Amanda Seymour (30:43)
Ooh! There are two moments that are more of a long-term moment. Two projects that were tricky and one was working for someone who I really respect and look up to and is a mentor and I wouldn't be where I am without him. But he, you know, had his...

expectations were very high. So it was a lot. mean, to the point where, you know, there were some criticisms on even my handwriting, which I was like, okay, but that might be a little extreme. But I mean, you learn how to navigate these personalities and people that ⁓ come at you with an energy that you might.

Jenn Quader (31:24)
⁓

Amanda Seymour (31:39)
that is completely foreign to you and maybe not how you operate in the world So that was one, but I am eternally grateful to my time spent with him and learning from him. And then another was the show, Maisel, was

Stressful there was it was very big it moved very quickly it also had a very large team and The designer, know again very very talented but also had certain expectations and you had to do things a certain way which

Yes, that works for them. That might not be how I would do it if I was in their position, but I will adapt and I will figure out a way to do it in my way, but also in a way that they can also handle and it doesn't feel threatening to them in a way. I don't know if there's a technical term for any of that, but... ⁓

But it is it is so much ⁓ the balance of personalities, but also You know you you're there to get a job done and you need to get what you need to get done And you might need help doing it and then you have to help others and it's just this ⁓ Kind of push and pull

Jenn Quader (33:06)
waiting to see if Dr.

Kelly, if there is a technical term.

Amanda Seymour (33:09)
Hahaha!

Kelly Culver (33:10)
No.

Jenn Quader (33:11)
No, but what I hear is what you're talking about is navigating interpersonal relationships. And I think that is something that any person listening can certainly identify with because even if they didn't work on the set of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, if they run a household, they're navigating with their family. If they run an organization, we all run into those. So I think there's something to glean from that, Amanda, which is to say we're always going to run into people who have a different expectation.

Amanda Seymour (33:17)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kelly Culver (33:18)
Yeah.

Amanda Seymour (33:25)
Yeah.

100%.

Jenn Quader (33:40)
And I would like to comment that you answered with a lot of grace and humility. You know what I mean? That's really how you answered. So I think there's a good theme on that in your resiliency.

Amanda Seymour (33:44)
Hahaha

That's hysterical. Yeah.

in doing a lot of this work, I've also, you cause I went to school for theater and then focused on design, costume design, then went to grad school for costume design within the theater school. But you don't learn, you don't take business classes, you don't take interpersonal communication, you don't do any of that. And so finally,

like how many years into this, I started reading a couple of books on knowing that there's different ways to lead. And it's like, you know what, what is my

words that popped out a lot in this couple of books that I read is empathy. And that's something that I think I actually do for whatever reason, upbringing Catholic guilt, I don't know. but ⁓ I think it is really important have empathy and taking this back to and listening, like that is a big part of listening.

Jenn Quader (34:37)
Sure, sure.

Kelly Culver (34:50)
Empathy and listening, I'm glad that you've brought them up, but you know what? It also harkens back to what it is that you do for a living. Empathy, creative people, I think, find empathy easier because you have to look at 18 sides of a two-sided coin. You do that, that's just what you do. ⁓

Amanda Seymour (35:08)
Yeah, yeah, that's really, I'm writing that down.

Jenn Quader (35:08)
Well said. Well said.

So true. Brilliant,

Dr. Kelly.

Kelly Culver (35:21)
We should do all these podcasts with me not having any video. I'm feeling like I'm slightly smart today. I don't know what it is.

Amanda Seymour (35:29)
I'm sure you're smart all the time.

Kelly Culver (35:32)
No, no, no, no, no, no,

Jenn Quader (35:32)
She is, do not worry, she is. But I love this idea of 18 sides

Amanda Seymour (35:35)
Yeah, yeah.

Jenn Quader (35:37)
to a two-sided coin, because that is precise, it's precisely right. Yeah. There's so many energies.

Amanda Seymour (35:38)
18th, yeah, 18th size switches, yes. Yeah, yeah. Which I'm sure works,

yeah, also in your field and like in so many work scenarios or personal life, everything.

Kelly Culver (35:50)
Sure does.

you

Jenn Quader (35:54)
Well, and then underneath

all of that, and this is where we'll get as we move into rapid fire questions, but underneath all of that, there is the energy that moves you through it. said early on, we asked about your inspiration and you said, well, deadlines help as far as getting things forward because you said I could stay in the research all day. And I think any one of us could stay in those 18 perspectives of the two sided coin all day.

but there's something, there's an energy, there's a movement, there's a momentum, there's a drive, there's the gratitude for where we are, whatever that is, there's something that is driving us through to say, I'm considering all 18, but I'm gonna make the decision. I'm gonna move in here, I'm gonna put this on, I'm gonna put that jacket on that actor, like that's what I'm gonna do. And I think that's the way that you really shine, Amanda, is because you've worked in all of these different, again, big sets to...

Amanda Seymour (36:36)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Jenn Quader (36:46)
I'm sure it's very different working on a big high production movie to working on a ⁓ theater production back in the you know But either way to all of it you are bringing this undercurrent where it all not only gets done But it gets done really really well and so my last question would just be is there anything that you'd like to share with this audience knowing that they're they're looking for resilience anybody who's listening is looking for that anything you'd like to share as far as advice or just

just ways that you see resilience that might be helpful to others.

Amanda Seymour (37:17)
do sometimes get questions from, you know, PAs and people that are in the beginning stages of their career in this world of like, you know, what do I do in my downtime? Like, how do I, stay positive? And it's sort of the same thing. You just have to find other outlets for creativity, but you also have to

rely on your inner confidence that is so hard for some of us to admit to and and believe in. But it's so important because confidence is another part of resiliency. And you might not feel so great if you've just, you know, completed a job and there's nothing else.

on the horizon, but it's like, do you, keep going? How do you wake up in the morning? How do you just clean your room? You don't want to. it's interesting, like the different facets, like you said, like there's big productions and more money and in some TV's and some TV shows and some films and then theater. I mean, it's all it's all never enough. There's never enough money. And.

You can, yeah, there's always restrictions somewhere. There's something that's like, you know, whether you don't have enough time or you don't have enough money, there's always something that's not quite there. ⁓ And you have to just put one foot forward and believe in yourself and believe in the people around you. And because it truly does, it takes a village. It's not just you alone.

Jenn Quader (38:32)
Not on a t-shirt. ⁓

Amanda Seymour (39:01)
and you have the support team because getting jobs in this world, it's all who you know. So you be kind, be respectful and help when you can and people will in turn do the same for you.

Jenn Quader (39:19)
I love it. I'm gonna comment on one more thing before we roll to Dr. Kelly. you mentioned that you had PAs ask like what to do in between gigs. And you said, find something creative to do, like keep your creativity rolling. There's one thing and it relates to this resiliency and the energy moving through it. You also mentioned having some Catholic guilt. I myself was raised with Mormon guilt. It's a little different, but it's all of the same cloth, if you will. ⁓

Amanda Seymour (39:29)
Mm-hmm.

It's same. Yeah, exactly.

Jenn Quader (39:46)
It's a biblical story, but the story goes, and I'm not going to quote it, but don't hide your light under a bushel. That's the idea. And I think that what we're saying here is we have to be able to shine. And yes, you're going to shine through those 18 perspectives. You're going to shine with other people. But make sure that your light is shining. Even if you're between gigs, figure out a way to shine that light and do that. That's kind of what I take from what you said.

Amanda Seymour (39:54)
huh.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, exactly. Easier said than done. Easier said than done. You know, start small, start small. Hang a picture, you know, start small. Pick flowers, like, I don't know, there's a way.

Jenn Quader (40:14)
with minus the religion. Easier said than done is correct. Yes.

It's the best way to go.

And that actually is a really good point, I think, to end on, which is to say, when you go to shine your light, you don't have to shine super bright. You know, if you're in a very dark room, like envision like a whole warehouse and the whole warehouse is dark, it's middle of the night and it's completely dark. If you light the tiniest little candle, all the eyes go there.

You don't have to shine bright. You don't have to be loud. You just have to shine. And I think that's something you've done throughout your career.

Amanda Seymour (40:50)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

you.

Jenn Quader (40:59)
I think it's

time for rapid fire questions, Dr. Kelly, what do you?

Amanda Seymour (41:02)
dear God, can I have more than one answer? Okay.

Kelly Culver (41:06)
Well,

I know. I'm so glad you said, dear God, because I'm looking at this question. I'm laughing my head off thinking, yeah, right, I'm going to ask her that. So here we go. What is your favorite movie or TV show that makes you feel resilient? Like, how am I asking you this question? ⁓

Amanda Seymour (41:16)
dear.

Yeah, mean,

there's different, that's insane, but this is gonna, I'm just gonna give one sort of comfort film and that would be If Lucy Fell, which was from the early 90s, late 80s with Sarah Jessica Parker. But anything that's female driven that takes place in New York City is my go-to.

Kelly Culver (41:53)
It speaks

to you, right? Yeah, yeah. Okay, I get it. I totally get that. Now what about a song that makes you feel resilient?

Jenn Quader (41:56)
Love it.

Amanda Seymour (42:02)
Ooh, the yeah yeah yeah's, the song is called Wolf. Yeah, and I like anything that's like a battle cry or like a ballad. Anything that has a very big sound and guttural female screams is good for me.

Kelly Culver (42:23)
You're making me think of Pat Benatar. Yep, yep, yep, yep. That's what I'm thinking of. I'm hearing her in my voice, or Anne Wilson. All right, so what's the last thing that made you laugh? Like really laugh out loud.

Jenn Quader (42:24)
Gotta roll a

Amanda Seymour (42:26)
Her too. Yeah, sure. Yep, yep.

Oh. I, hmm, it's probably anything my partner said or a dog video that my partner said to me or I said to him.

That's my go-to, feel good quick. Dog. The answer is always dog.

Jenn Quader (43:03)
Same.

Kelly Culver (43:05)
Yeah, there's a deviation here. There's a farm in Canada, it's called Useless Farm, like useless, as in the word useless. it's, look it up on YouTube. It is hilarious. She saved all these different animals. There's this emu that keeps trying to bite her and say, my God, it's so funny. All right, so they're Useless Farm. So what's a question?

Amanda Seymour (43:29)
⁓ animals are the best.

Jenn Quader (43:33)
useless.

Kelly Culver (43:34)
that you would leave for a future guest.

Amanda Seymour (43:38)
That is, I was so afraid of this question when I saw it. And I was like, they won't ask. They won't ask it. So I didn't even like think of anything.

Jenn Quader (43:45)
It's pressure!

Kelly Culver (43:48)
course I'm gonna ask that question.

I'm paid to ask that question.

Amanda Seymour (43:53)
⁓ I know it what no, it's ⁓ I don't even

Jenn Quader (43:53)
Wait, you're getting paid?

Kelly Culver (43:55)
No, I'm not. No, I'm not. Trust me. No, we're in the same boat.

Jenn Quader (43:58)
Just kidding, just kidding.

Amanda Seymour (44:03)
Goodness.

I mean, could it be, what do you think is the most difficult part about being resilient?

Kelly Culver (44:14)
That's a great question. And nobody's asked that yet.

Jenn Quader (44:14)
That's a great question.

Kelly Culver (44:19)
So we'll take it.

Amanda Seymour (44:19)
I don't know if I could even

Jenn Quader (44:19)
Good job, Amanda,

Amanda Seymour (44:20)
answer

Jenn Quader (44:20)
A plus on your question. Well done.

Amanda Seymour (44:20)
that. I don't know if I could answer that. No.

Jenn Quader (44:26)
Well that's a future guest problem. Now I do

have one question for you from a past guest. So the past guest asked this, when you have an important decision to make and you are broken down, overworked, and don't have enough information, what is your process on how you make it?

Amanda Seymour (44:49)
It's, I have, I try to make a little list, because I love analog, I like pen and paper, I like to write things down. So sometimes I'd write it out, like why yes, why no. ⁓ And perhaps discuss it, and phone a friend, and discuss it with

friend or family member, partner.

Jenn Quader (45:19)
I love it. Write it down, phone

a friend, and watch a dog video.

Amanda Seymour (45:23)
and watch a dog video. Yes. Done.

Jenn Quader (45:26)
Ha ha.

Kelly Culver (45:27)
I love it.

Jenn Quader (45:29)
Amanda, you have given us so much beautiful information. You've painted a beautiful picture of a lot of a very cool career that I'm sure all of us will want to run out and see. ⁓ Look at lots of TV and film that you've worked on. Can you please let our listeners know where can they find you if they'd like to continue to follow your beautiful and successful work?

Amanda Seymour (45:41)
You

Well, I do have a website, so amandaseymordesign.com, which is a bit outdated. Now with my time off, I can update it. And Internet Movie Database is the easiest way to find, like, in that world, what I've done. And then there's also an Internet Broadway Database, but anyway. I know, I know.

Jenn Quader (46:08)
Hey! So for those of

us out of the industry, that's IMDB and IBDB. So check out Miss Amanda Seymour on those. Please follow her, find her. Amanda, we are so very grateful. Thank you for bringing an open, vulnerable, and graceful view resilience to us today. We are truly excited about it.

I want to say to all of our listeners, thank you so much for being here. Resiliency, the podcast is the place to find stories, strategies and inspiration on how to overcome challenges, embrace change and redefine resilience in today's ever evolving world. If you like what you hear or you're looking for resiliency in your life, please subscribe to us on YouTube, like the episode wherever you are and keep coming back. There's always more stories to hear and more people that we're sharing with. And in the meantime, ⁓

please you can find me online. am Jenn with two N's, J-E-N-N-Q-U-A-D-E-R on all the socials or my company, thesmartagency.com. My brilliant co-host, the most wonderful Dr. Kelly Culver. She is just amazing. Follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram at Dr. Kelly Culver or you can find her at theculvergroup.ca. That's dot C-A because she is the Queen of Canada, the most amazing person.

Guys, we wanna say thank enjoy and live your lovely resilient lives. We look forward to joining you again on the next episode of Resiliency to Podcast. Thank you guys.

Kelly Culver (47:23)
You