Everything's Coming Up Cara Rose DiPietro! Social Media, Mental Health, and Forging Your Own Career

Written By: Chelsea and Cynthia
Featuring: Cara Rose DiPietro

A career in musical theater is full of twists, turns, and unexpected detours. It requires resilience, adaptability, and a willingness to embrace both success and uncertainty. Few artists share that reality as candidly as Cara Rose DiPietro.

As a New York-based actor and social media creator, Cara has built a community of over 300,000 followers by sharing the highs and lows of pursuing a career in the performing arts. Since graduating from Elon University in 2021, she has worked in theater and television, appearing on CBS’s Elspeth and performing at regional theaters across the country. She is also a mental health advocate in the arts, delivering a TEDx talk titled Confessions of a Recovering Theater Kid, which was selected as a 2024 Editor’s Pick.

We spoke with Cara about her upcoming solo show at 54 Below, the power of honesty on social media, and how she’s learning to balance ambition with self-care and sustainability in her career.

Q: Cara, congratulations on your upcoming show at 54 Below! Can you tell us about it?

A: Thank you! Yes, my show is called My Mother’s Daughter, and it’s happening March 17th at 9:30 p.m. It’s been a long time in the making—I’ve had the idea for years, but once we set a date, things started moving so fast.

It’s a deeply personal show, touching on themes of family, identity, and growing up in the theater. I’ve been shaping it with my music director, making sure it reflects where I am in my life right now. I’m so excited (and a little nervous!) to share it with an audience.

Q: Will there be a livestream for those who can’t be in New York?

A: Yes! 54 Below has an amazing livestream setup, so even if you’re not in NYC, you can watch from anywhere. Tickets are available on their website and through my Linktree in my bio on social media. I wanted to make sure my community outside of New York could still be part of this experience.

Q: Let’s go back to the beginning—how did you get into musical theater?

A: Theater was always part of my life. My parents were theater majors, so I was raised on cast albums—we were constantly listening to Godspell, Big River, Joseph, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

I started dance classes when I was three years old—I actually begged my mom to let me go. My first performances were in community theater productions in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I didn’t have a serious theater program at my high school, so most of my training happened outside of school. I remember being obsessed with learning every detail about musicals.

Q: You went to Elon University for musical theater. What was the biggest reality check when you got there?

A: I had never studied theater at a serious level before, so stepping into Elon was both inspiring and overwhelming. I suddenly found myself surrounded by so many talented people—all of whom had the same passion and drive as I did.

I loved that the program wasn’t hyper-competitive in a toxic way—we weren’t fighting against each other. But there was still an unspoken pressure to constantly prove yourself. You’d see classmates booking summer stock or posting about their latest project, and you’d start wondering, Am I doing enough?

But the biggest reality check was how much I didn’t know about the industry. When I got my first professional callback email, I literally went to my professor and asked, What do I do with this? I had no clue about how to format an audition email, what kind of questions to ask, or how to negotiate a contract. College teaches you the craft, but a lot of industry knowledge comes from experience and asking questions.

Q: You’ve built a large social media following. How did that start?

A: I’ve always loved making content! In high school, I used to create YouTube mashups and covers, just for fun. But back then, social media for actors wasn’t really a thing—especially short-form content.

When I graduated from Elon and moved to New York in 2021, I was working as a barista while auditioning. One day, during a break, I posted a video saying, "I'm 20 years old in New York. These should be the best years of my life. I don’t know what changes, but today something changes."

That night, I booked my first post-grad theater job—a production of Little Women—and that video went viral. From there, I started posting regularly, and my audience just kept growing.

Q: What made you shift from theater-related content to something more personal?

A: It happened while I was doing Catch Me If You Can at Arena Stage. That’s when I realized I had a platform to talk about things that mattered—mental health, grief, the realities of this industry.

I started sharing my own struggles, not just my wins. I talked about the uncertainty of freelance life, the pressure of comparison, and how hard it can be to maintain your sense of self-worth in an industry full of rejection.

The response was overwhelming. People told me, "This is exactly what I needed to hear." That’s when I knew—this was bigger than just posting about theater.

Q: You’ve talked about the pressure culture in BFA programs. When did you start believing the idea that if you’re not working yourself into the ground, you’re not working hard enough?

A: Almost immediately. That mindset is so sneaky.

You see someone post an Instagram Story from a practice room at 10:30 p.m., and suddenly you think, Oh my God, I need to be doing that too. It becomes this endless cycle—everyone feels like they have to prove they’re working the hardest.

But the industry doesn’t reward burnout—it rewards longevity. I had to learn that working myself to exhaustion wasn’t a badge of honor. It was unsustainable.

Q: You get recognized at auditions. How do you handle that?

A: It’s weird! I love meeting people, but in audition spaces, I try to protect my energy. I’ll put in AirPods, find a quiet spot, and focus on staying present.

But some moments really stick with me. One person told me, "Your videos got me out of bed and into this audition today." That floored me. It reminded me why I share what I do.

Q: What’s your biggest goal for this year?

A: I spent last year letting other people’s opinions shape how I saw myself. I don’t want to do that anymore.

I want to focus on what makes me happy, regardless of whether it “looks good” on paper. No expectations—just showing up for myself and taking things as they come.