Acting: Conversations on Craft

What a privilege it was to be able to sit down and have thisconversation with director Gil Junger. Gil is best known for his directorial debut film, 10 Things I hate about you with Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, and Joseph Gordon Levitt. He also has directed over 200 episodes of network TV, including the iconic episode of the show Ellen when Ellen Degeneres’ characterreveals that she is gay. Our conv...

Working in the entertainment industry is brutal. Success isn’t linear and you hear no more than yes. As Leanna Adams says in this episode, we as actors “eat rejection for breakfast…sometimes lunch, and dinner too.” Leanna Adams and Kristinia Arjona sat down and spoke to me about the process of making their independent film:  Christmas With Jerks  released on Prime in December 2023.  Throughout our...

Before I talk about the amazing conversation that Heidi Dean was gracious enough to have with me, I need to add a quick note that this conversation was recorded before Twitter changed its name to X. Now most of you probably know that Heidi Dean is known in the industry as the top social media strategist for actors. She has also recently published a book, Social Media for Actors, 100 essential...

When I think of curators of film festivals, I often think of them the same way I used to think of casting directors: as the gatekeepers to our success. But during my conversation with Angie Reza Tures from the Femme Frontera Showcase and Mary Dossinger from the RiverRun International Film Festival it became very apparent that the curators, just like casting directors, are rooting for us and our fi...

I recently attended a film appreciation class with Dale Pollock, called Senior Moments. And yes, as the name suggests, it was a look into how the film industry, Hollywood in particular, has treated aging. Not surprisingly it has not done a stellar job. When I asked Dale to tell me more about how the industry has changed, he said we’ve come a long way from depicting older characters as simply...

Anthony Meindl is an acting coach and has published several books about acting, such as Book The F*cking Job and his latest, Unstuck. Anthony is also the host of a podcast for actors, “In The Moment”, and there is a reason he calls it that. Throughout our conversation that was a phrase that came up again and again: actors have to be in the moment, they have to live in the moment. And as actors, we...

If you have ever seen any of Erica S. Bream’s posts on Instagram or Twitter, you know that she is an actor’s casting director. She says herself she uses social media as a way to, “dispel myths and provide some transparency” for actors. She also says that we, as actors, often feel casting directors are the gatekeepers of our careers. Erica goes on to say we would be shocked by how much work casting...

Towards the end of my conversation with Kristina Arjona, she said, “Nothing has hit me on the spiritual level that intimacy coordinating has.” And I believed her because I had just spent the last hour and 45 minutes talking to her about her role in the industry. It quickly became clear that she is so very passionate about what she does.  She is on a mission to empower actors and to incre...

When I was talking to headshot photographer and actor, Tara Gulledge, the word “essence” came up a lot. The whole point of a headshot is to capture our essence in the shot. Tara and I talked about how that can be difficult because headshot sessions are stressful. She is the one who took my first official headshots, so she knows how I get. We, as actors, know that our headshots are supposed to look...

 Please note there is some language in this episode. The one good thing that has come out of the pandemic (for me) is that I have been given the opportunity to expand my acting community outside of my physical location.  I have taken classes at the BGB Studios in LA and have joined the Arvold Warner Studios membership in Atlanta.  This means I get to talk to even more people about c...

Every time I interview somebody in the industry, I learn something new.  My conversation with Heidi Rew and Mike Stoudt was no exception.  Heidi and Mike are the co-founders/co-owners of Atlanta Voiceover Studio, which they opened in 2016. Not only do they run the studio, they are themselves full-time voiceover actors, podcast hosts, and on-camera actors. They have a YouTube channel with...

One of the things I love about doing this podcast is the opportunity it gives me to talk to experts in the field. This episode, again, did not disappoint. It was such a pleasure to talk to four-time Emmy nominated writer, Vera Herbert, who is best known for her work on THIS IS US. Vera had advice for both writers who want to break into the field and for actors. She said that it’s always a good ide...

To say that Erica Arvold is passionate about what she does is an understatement.  Most actors know her as a casting director but, as she likes to point out, she is so much more than that.  She is a producer, a director, and a committed educator.  But one of the things that I most appreciate about Erica is how she loves learning about other people.  If you’ve auditioned for Eric...

I was so excited to have the opportunity to talk to Risa Bramon Garcia, co-founder and master teacher of The BGB Studio in LA. I wanted to know why it was so important to her to empower the actors in her studio and around the world. "There is a big difference between the actor who takes ownership of their talent and the actor who does not," she says. Risa goes on to explain that when actors do the...

Not letting the script push you around is something that Burgess Jenkins says in class a lot. But, as actors, we are also told to honor the writing. So, what exactly does Burgess mean? Do we not stick to the writing and the stage directions? For him it’s more about opening up the possibilities that are inherently in the script. He says, too often, beginners typically box themselves in with one sin...

When I asked the founders of the Atlanta Actors Collective what they hoped the future of their organization would be, Kevon Pryce didn’t hesitate, “I want to take over the world. I want us to be THE Actors Collective.” It is clear throughout our conversation that it isn’t for any kind of self-aggrandizement purposes that he says this. He, along with Sarah Toran and Rashal James, started the AAC to...

Passionate is one of the first descriptors that comes to mind when talking about casting director, Rhavynn Drummer. She is passionate about her job and about working with actors. Our conversation covered topics ranging from auditioning, taking risks, to advice she has for actors of color. To actors and creatives of color she says, “Don’t wait for me.” She wants all actors to trust their gift becau...

In this episode I talk to Burgess Jenkins about the importance of investing in the other person in your scene. Even if you have good ideas that you want to put on "display", you can never leave the other person out because that is when “the ride begins.” Actors have to overcome the fear or anxiety of not knowing what is coming next. Burgess says that you can book and be a good actor “executin...

For Burgess Jenkins, the work of an actor is mostly in the preparation. Your prep is what launches you into any scene and enables you to live the experience. He says once you’ve done the work in your preparation and created your “bridge” to the character fully, then it’s time to play.” All too often Burgess says he sees actors try to control the scene while they are in it. If you do that, then it’...

In the final installment of my conversations on how people stayed creative during the time of COVID, I spoke to Dr. Joseph Mills, Charis Jeffers, and Noelle Mills-Tarmey. Joe Mills stated creativity looks a lot like wandering, but what he’s really doing is collecting material. He says the creative person has to, “be willing to let yourself have leisure to collect the material to be able to work wi...

These are interesting times we are living. In March all of our lives were disrupted. As states open up and the film/tv industry tries to find a new normal, I wanted to know what fellow creatives had been doing to stay creative during quarantine. In the next several episodes you will hear from actors, a school receptionist, a poet, and a teen. Each of them giving some insight into how they dealt wi...

These are interesting times we are living. In March all of our lives were disrupted. Now as states open up and the film/tv industry tries to find a new normal, I wanted to know what fellow creatives had been doing to stay creative during quarantine. In the next several episodes you will hear from actors, a school receptionist, a poet, and a teen. Each of them giving some insight into how they deal...

For this episode I ask Jeryl Prescott to talk to me about the state of race relations in the film/tv industry. We talked about what she has experienced in Hollywood over the last 15-20 years. We talked about the roles Jordan Peele, Ava DuVernay, and Tyler Perry have played in breaking down stereotypes about what black and brown audiences want to watch. When I asked her what she hopes will come of...

Actors often have preconceived notions of what the bad guy “acts” like and Burgess Jenkins says it is always a trap. Our character becomes two dimensional. As an actor who has played several bad guy roles, he says actors should say to themselves: “I’m the bad guy and there are no limits. It is candy land. I can do whatever I want.” The key, of course, is to figure out why the character is doing it...

“Quit trying to hit someone else’s target.” This is something that we hear again and again in class. Burgess Jenkins, actor and founder of Actors Group studio, explains how actors must start doing the work for themselves. When we constantly try to please the teacher, or get applause from the audience, or do exactly what we think the casting director wants, then our work becomes forgettable. He say...