Camera Ready & Abel

This episode is brought to you by the phrase, How to Manage Your Stress and Anxiety- a Camera Ready evergreen topic featuring actionable advice from Podcast guests Marta Ravin, Dr. Heather Hans, and Patricia Stark. The World Health Organization defines stress as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Anxiety is defined by Oxford Languages as a feeling of worry, nervous...

This encore episode of Camera Ready and Abel is brought to you by the phrase It Gets Greater Later, which is the signature mantra of the divine Bevy Smith who first came on the podcast in late 2021.  Quintessential Harlem girl, Gracie Award winner, and life-long New Yorker, Bevy is the host of Sirius XM’s “Bevelations” on Radio Andy and the author of “Bevelations: Lessons from a Mutha, Auntie, Bes...

This episode is a rebroadcast of my appearance on Life Coach Nicole Baker's Imperfect Success podcast, discussing one of my favorite topics, stop shoulding yourself. We all have an inner critic that likes to should on us. Your shoulds are a list of false rules you tell yourself that feed your narrative but ultimately hold you back, such as, I should be more productive, thinner, disciplined, etc. M...

This episode is brought to you by the phrase, how to read the room, an essential skill for everyone whether you're giving a presentation or a speech, going to a meeting or job interview or audition, leading your team or asking your boss for a raise... Here to discuss is returning champion Marta Ravin. Marta is an Emmy nominated executive producer and showrunner and sought after keynote speaker who...

The directive to just be yourself can be easier said than done when it comes to lights, camera, actions but in some arena’s it’s critical to your success and as Brooke and Mary have said in the past, “honesty is the most attractive thing people want to see on camera.” This episode is brought to you by the phrase, Why everyone should take a commercial acting class. Here to discuss are legendary com...

This episode of Camera Ready & Abel is brought to you by the phrase, How to Create Opportunity and Make Money.  My insightful - and delightful - guest is talent agent Blair Taylor, CEO of Taylor Talent Services, who has been innovating and creating opportunities for his clients for over 25 years. Blair has built a successful career by accessing opportunities untapped by traditional agents. He...

This mini episode is brought to you by the phrase, Measure Your Inchstones, which was a gem that Angela Marie Hutchinson shared with me on her episode of this podcast. We all know about milestones, even if we forget to mark them. A milestone is defined as an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development. Angela opened my eyes to the beauty and power of measuring your inchsto...

This is one of my favorite asking for a friend episodes. When Nicole Baker - host of the Imperfect Success podcast and a coach who helps high achievers ditch perfectionism, cut out hustle culture, and start achieving their goals with fun, fulfillment, and a whole lotta free time - connected with me, I immediately thought, this woman has wisdom I need to hear. So many highlights and takeaways to Un...

On this episode of Camera Ready & Abel the highly engaging Kim Rittberg teaches how to crack the code of creating social video that gets noticed. Because as Kim says, if you're hiding from the camera, you're hiding from clients. Kim's simple strategy is based on her Four Cs: Confidence Concise Consistency Creativity and she gives a big permission to let go of perfection, focus on value and don...

The topic of relationships come up often in my conversations on Camera Ready & Abel. This is no surprise since media and entertainment are relationship-driven industries. People like to work with people they know and trust to to get the work done on time, on budget and well executed. It's also a fact that media and entertainment are referral driven businesses, and people recommend people they...

My dear friend, Sean De Simone, is back on the podcast and we are discussing the phrase, Play to Your Strengths. This comes up in all areas of our business from coaching to casting to the courses we teach. My favorite definition of Play to Your Strengths is: Do what you are able to do well, instead of trying to do other things. Sounds simple but so often we waste energy on trying to conform to a n...

Camera Ready and Confident is a rebroadcast of my guest appearance on Vinnie Potestivo's I Have a Podcast two years ago, shortly after the launch of Camera Ready and Abel. Vinnie is my dear friend, co-conspirator and Emmy Award-winning media advisor who helps people and their business get seen and heard. Vinnie and I met years ago when we were talent executives at MTV Networks.  Listening back to...

This episode of Camera Ready & Abel is brought to you by the phrase Daily Disciplines. According to success.com being a high performer is the result of your daily disciplines. Here to discuss is my friend, journalist, J.D. Durkin, who opens up and shares the personal details of how developing his daily disciplines with intention helped him navigate his career, work through challenging times in...

I get asked all the time by clients and students Am I allowed to say that?? It used to be we were afraid of causing offense or being inappropriate, now add to that the very real fear of being canceled. I'm very happy to have this timely conversation with a bonafide expert on the subject, Karith Foster, who is a diversity engagement specialist and creator of the groundbreaking INVERSITY™ methodolog...

Humans are social creatures and yet it can be mighty hard to talk to people. It's a serious challenge - when you Google, how to talk to anyone, 455 million hits come up. Here to discuss is my dear friend Crystal Jones, who is the associate director of Major Gifts for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and who talks to people all day, every day for a living and talks them into making serious donations....

Everyone from Socrates to Euripedes to Virgil Abloh has commanded us to Question Everything. My guest for this episode, television host and professional interviewer Danielle Robay, figured out early on that questions are a superpower - and all of us can develop and tap into it.  At a critical time in Danielle's career, when she was rebounding from the dream job that turned out to be a soul crushin...

Mastery = deep, comprehensive knowledge or skill which is the difference between knowing how to do something and doing that something extremely well. Marketing = the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services. Mindset = the established set of attitudes held by someone Here to discuss the 3 M’s is Wendy Alane Wright - acting career coach, Hollywood talent manager and founder...

Several guests have said this to me: Working harder IS working smarter.  My guest for this episode of Camera Ready & Abel - multi Emmy nominated Television Host, Producer and journalist, Buki Elegbede - says his Work Ethic is his Superpower. Buki believes his work ethic is what has given him a competitive advantage in an industry that is saturated with talent. As he says, quoting Milton Berle,...

This episode of Camera Ready & Abel is brought to you by the phrase Write Your Dream Role, an action at the heart of creating opportunity. A core principle of being camera ready. My guest for this episode is Emily Grace - a career coach and Sundance award-winning actress - who lives the mantra: Why wait? Don't ask for permission. Go do. Because that's what Emily did. She learned hard lessons a...

Trends and market changes - like emerging technologies and shifts in consumer behavior impact every industry -  and are hitting entertainment and media particularly hard right now.    Here to discuss both the opportunities and challenges of current industry trends is legendary agent Mark Turner, who currently serves as a Partner and Vice President of programming, digital media licensing, branding...

I grew up with an imbalanced idea of what life balance is, thinking all the different parts had to be in equal amounts. What a huge relief and step forward when I met my guest for this episode, Erin Palinski-Wade, who helped me understand balance is about having the correct proportions. Erin is the ultimate multi-hyphenate:  a nationally recognized nutrition, diabetes, and fitness expert, author,...

Being on message means saying things that agree with the official position of a political party, organization, business, or brand…and most importantly, being true to your own message! My guest for this episode, Johanna Maska, is an expert bar none on the how and why of being On Message. Johanna shaped the message and image of Barack Obama, beginning with the Iowa caucuses in 2007, all the way thro...

This feel great episode is brought to you by the word industrious which means diligent and hardworking, and also implies a habitual devotion to the work, which in the Camera, Ready & Abel universe is one of the keys to success. This episode could also have been called Industrious: How to Get the Gig! because my guest, TV host, narrator, and media personality, Matthew Hoffman, generously - and hila...

Life is a series of choices. To choose means to select freely after consideration, to decide upon, to vote (important reminder!), to have a preference. This implies both freedom and responsibility. Joining me to discuss on Camera Ready & Abel to discuss the phrase You Choose! is legendary Talent Executive, Producer and Casting Director, Beth Schiff, who believes in the power of choosing so much sh...