Leave Before You Break | Dashawna Wright on Burnout, Reinvention, and Starting Over in LA
Description
In this episode, Mishu sits down with filmmaker and producer Dashawna Wright, founder of Choppe Productions, to talk about the quiet heartbreaks and necessary resets that come with a creative life. From the burnout that pushed her to leave Chicago to the disorienting honesty of starting over in LA, Dashawna opens up about momentum crashes, the pressure to make film your everything, and the relief of finally giving herself permission to have a life outside the grind.
Dashawna is an award-winning filmmaker whose bold indie work includes producing Daughters and directing shorts like Store-Run. She’s currently producing the feature Art of Alchemy with Space Cave Productions as part of the Chicago International Film Festival’s Film Exchange Lab.
This conversation digs into the emotional mechanics of sustaining a career when the industry slows down, when a low-budget set breaks your heart, when the rejections pile up, and when the thing you love threatens to swallow your entire identity.
We talk about:
→ Why she moved to LA even as everyone else said, “I’m moving back to Chicago”
→ The emotional toll of low-budget productions and why questioning yourself is part of the job
→ The difference between wanting community and grinding yourself into social exhaustion
→ Figuring out who you are when film is no longer your only hobby
→ Starting over in an industry town without letting the industry devour you
More from Dashawna
Official website: choppeproductions.com
Instagram: @Producedbychoppe
Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod
Produced by @ohhmaybemedia
United States
