Author: The Acting Center

Student Spotlight – Georgina Reilly

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GEORGINA REILLY

After moving from Surrey, England to Toronto, Georgina Reilly was discovered by celebrated independent filmmaker Bruce McDonald, who cast her in the critically acclaimed PONTYPOOL which then lead to her role in the Indie rock romance, THIS MOVIE IS BROKEN. She has played major recurring roles on Showtime’s CITY ON A HILL and ABC’s THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY and was the lead on USA Network’s pilot PARADISE PICTURES from the creators of SUITS. 

Series regular roles include CBC/UKTVs acclaimed Victorian series MURDOCH MYSTERIES and The CWs THE L.A. COMPLEX. She also starred in the biopic GOALIE opposite Kevin Pollack.

She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, actor/filmmaker Mark O’Brien and their daughter, Penelope.

“I love the focus The Acting Center puts on creating characters and really finding this new person within yourself.“

When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?
I always knew I wanted to do something creative as a kid. Musicals were my favorite. But the realization of being an actor is one that has reoccurred in different ways throughout my career. My purpose to be an artist changes or is reignited as my career goes along, which is really wonderful.
How did you get started?
My parents definitely cultivated art within our lives. My dad was in the music business, so we were exposed to all the great musicians/artists of our time at home.
I started singing at every opportunity in school from the age of 8. Professionally I didn’t start acting until I was about 21, after we moved to Toronto from England.
I called up an agency and asked for an agent, took scene study classes at night, and just hit the pavement going to audition after audition.
When did you start studying at The Acting Center?
I started class back in 2014, I think, after we moved to LA.

Your upcoming TV show, Beauty and the 
Baker, was shot on location in Puerto Rico. What was that experience like? 
Amazing! To travel anywhere for work is always exciting because you are entering a whole new place, which is a nice blank slate to be creating a character and a show from.
On location, a cast tends to get together more and have a bonding experience, which you may not get when working at home. Also, Puerto Rico is a beautiful island full of lovely people and great food.
As a Canadian actress now living in the US, you do a lot of self-tapes. How has the Acting Center technique helped you on these versus “in the room” auditions? 
I love the focus The Acting Center puts on creating characters and really finding this new person within yourself. It works well for self-tapes because you get a little more time to flesh out a character, and feel free to play more.
I use a lot of the drills from The Acting Center during a self-tape, whereas in the room I may not feel that same freedom.
You recently participated in our Breakthrough Intensive. Can you share with us what you got out of it and how you applied it to your auditions and on set? 
Those two weeks just rehabilitated my acting. It was one of those times that I realized, again, why I’m an actor.
You start off as such a pure artist, focusing on the right things, your skill, the ACTING, creating something special from your instincts, and then slowly the industry can add in other ideas, that lessen the purity of your work.
For example, you think you need to be more like someone else, or you need more instagram followers! Some of those things can be helpful and other times they chip away at your ability to make art.
The Breakthrough Intensive brought me back to where I started as an actor: confident and full of hope. I had my own ideas again about MY acting.

How does The Acting Center technique differ from other techniques you’ve studied? 
It builds your instincts to the point where you don’t worry about what other people think of your art. You know that it will communicate, and you actually enjoy doing it.
I have been in other classes where it all became too serious. It became about doing the technique right, not doing the technique with the purpose to then act better.
What is your favorite part about what you do?
That no moment in any acting will ever be the same again; it’s made and then it’s gone. It’s exhilarating to see what will happen next.
How has the Acting Center helped you prepare for your career? 
Being around kind people, who truly care about your art and what you would like to do with it. That is the type of people who teach at TAC, and it draws those types of people as students also.
I feel good when I leave a class, whether from a drill or a needed conversation with a teacher about my career. It all adds up to feeling like I can keep going!
What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center?
That all the drills we do remove the ”thinking about” part of acting and just get you to DO the acting. So you get over the idea of thinking about doing acting and just get better at doing it! We actors can get pretty complicated! Ha ha!
What at The Acting Center has most helped you?
I can’t isolate just one thing. Everything there, from the little drills, to the big drills, to performance time, to the intensives… it all adds up to making you feel like you CAN do it and you can do it well.
This is a tough business, there is a lot of rejection. Without a safe space to create art, whether good or bad, it can be tough to persist. TAC is that space for me.

Anything else you want to say that you think might be helpful?
Please invite them to check out THE BAKER and THE BEAUTY on ABC, MONDAYS at 10pm!

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Student Spotlight – Ryan Taerk

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RYAN TAERK

Ryan Taerk is a Canadian film and television actor best known for his roles in the feature film, Wish Upon, and television series Frankie Drake Mysteries, Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy and CBC Gem’s The Communist’s Daughter. 
Not only has Ryan found success as an actor, but also as a published songwriter. He closely works with his brothers and writing partners Josh and Matt Taerk to create new music. The team reached a milestone in early 2019 as their co-written song, Beautiful Tragedy for Josh Taerk’s solo music project broke the Billboard Top 40 Pop Indicator Chart at #38. 

“After receiving the calls from my agent that I had booked these roles, I would first tell my family and then text Eric and Amanda at TAC! “

When did you first realize that you wanted to be an actor?
I feel like I’ve always wanted to be an actor.
Since I was a young kid I’ve loved entertaining people and creating art for others to enjoy. It was through the magic of plays and movies that I had the thought, “Hmmmm, I want to do that for a living!”
How did you get started?
When I was in elementary school I was bullied because I was shorter and overweight. At that time I didn’t like being myself, so pretending to be someone else was a saving grace for me.
That quickly lead into realizing that I could make people laugh, and as soon as I learned that I had that skill, I was hell-bent on making the world laugh and be happy.
After school, I would direct my siblings in plays and skits that I had written for the enjoyment of my parents and their friends. That was when I knew I had caught the “acting/entertaining bug”.
When did you start studying at The Acting Center?
I started studying at The Acting Center in May of 2019. My good friend Georgina Reilly kept telling me about this incredible acting school where she had found a community of actors and friends who were so kind, giving and willing to learn as they grew.
At the time I needed a reboot in my training, as I had spent years going to so many on-camera “critique” classes that I had taken on many insecurities.

Tell us about your recent success in booking guest stars and the lead in a web series. 
Honestly, the last couple of months have been a whirlwind of excitement; I am very grateful for the jobs that I have booked. I literally took all of the information that I received in the Audition Intensive and private Skype coaching from The Acting Center and used those drills and tools to get me to focus on “being” the character and creating a compelling person to be.
After receiving the calls from my agent that I had booked these roles, I would first tell my family and then text Eric and Amanda at TAC!
Also I heard you signed with a new L.A. manager. Tell us about that.
I did! I had been wanting to sign with an L.A. manager for a long time.
After I wrapped Season One of the web series, I set up meetings with managers that were interested in meeting me. I met a lot of wonderful people, and at the end of the trip– it was literally my last meeting– I met the person that is my manager today. He’s amazing and I am so grateful to have him as a business partner.
What is your favorite part about what you do?
To be able to showcase a different perspective or illuminate an aspect of society that we are either proud of or unaware of is such a gift.
I truly believe that in art we have an incredible opportunity to showcase the beauty and horror of society. As actors, we have the task of taking a story and information and creating a compelling person to be the vessel for those stories and lessons, so that they can received by society.
How has the Acting Center helped you prepare for your career? 
I feel like I have become a smarter actor from studying at the Acting Center.
I truly feel that the community of actors and resources that I can reach out to from this place has given me back confidence in my ability to not only create a character, but to be a contributing collaborator within an audition room, a writing room, and on set.
What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center?
I would have to say how the community of actors are so excited to see each other at the beginning of class. That energy is palpable and creates this camaraderie in class that I love being a part of.
What at The Acting Center has helped you most?
The Audition Intensive completely changed my view of the audition experience. I have tools now that I would NEVER have done before, and they are very helpful, especially in a pinch.
Anything else you want to say that you think might be helpful?
Continue being brave and a force to be reckoned with!
If you love what you are doing, and you are committed to becoming a better actor and collaborator, then the success of booking will come.
As actors, our main job is to focus on being the character, and working with others to shape the characters viewpoint.

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Student Spotlight – Ingrid Rogers

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INGRID ROGERS

Born in Toronto, Canada, Ingrid Rogers began her career on the daytime drama,
All My Children.  From there she went on to work with acclaimed directors Woody Allen, Joel Schumacher, and Brian DePalma who directed her in her starring role opposite Al Pacino and Sean Penn in Carlito’s Way.

Ingrid’s many TV credits include Murder In The First, Two and 1/2 Men, and The Cleaner, as well as numerous national commercials. Most recently she can be seen on the hit Amazon series Bosch acting opposite Jamie Hector and Titus Welliver.

Ingrid lives in Los Angeles, where she continues to write and act, with her husband, two sons, and fluffy ball dog, Pia.

“TAC encourages it’s students to create their own opportunities rather than waiting.”

When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?
It was in my senior year of high school. My theater arts class wrote and performed a play about South Africa and Apartheid. I fell in love with story telling and the impact a story and performance could have on an audience.
How did you get started?
I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC. After graduation I started working with an agent and two months later I booked a contract role on the soap opera All My Children. A year later I got the opportunity to audition for and booked the role of Steffie in Carlito’s Way and got to work with the incomparable Brian De Palma, Al Pacino and Sean Penn.
When did you start studying at The Acting Center? 
I’ve been studying on and off at TAC for about a decade.

Tell us about your success in booking Bosch and your wonderful performance art piece you made. 
As soon as I read the audition sides for Bosch, I knew that woman. A character who’s dimensional and in a conflicted relationship. That’s my sweet spot as an actress. I shine in complicated, conflicted relationships, and that’s my character, Latonya Edgar, on Bosch. I’ve had the pleasure of playing her for the past four seasons.
I’m also really excited about the performance art piece I recently wrote and shot with my friends, Karen and Gary Ravenscroft.
Karen directed and Gary was the DP and we brought a beautiful poetic piece I wrote to life. It’s called “Liberate” and it’s a expression of the desire to been seen as a whole, dimensional human being. A desire that I believe resonates with so many women, particularly women of color. We’re submitting it to festivals now.
What is your favorite part about what you do?
My absolute favorite part of what I do is creating that magical connection between me and my fellow actors. Those moments of communication are so exquisite and satisfying and beyond words.
How has the Acting Center helped you prepare for your career?
It helped me clear up a lot of misunderstandings I had about acting. I learned to be a character and really live their life from a strong point of view. I learned to drill down to what is that driving force for the character. Above all, I learned to trust my instincts and imagination.
The TAC approach validated that I can create deeply personal work without “substituting” my personal and private experiences. That approach never worked for me, and TAC helped me trust the process of creating deeply personal and believable work through research and imagination.
What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center? 
They encourage and empower artists to discover and own their unique creativity, and to express it, unapologetically.
What at The Acing Center has helped you most? 
Understanding that acting, first and foremost, is about being, understanding what the author has written and then doing my job to fully bring that character to life, with a strong point of view, by using research and my imagination to whatever degree I choose.
And anything else you want to say that you think might be helpful!
TAC encourages it’s students to create their own opportunities rather than waiting. While studying at TAC I’ve written and produced two shorts that have been some of the most satisfying artistic experiences I’ve had.

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Student Spotlight – Amanda Reed

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AMANDA REED

Amanda Reed got bit by the acting bug at age 14 when she started doing musical theater. After performing in over 450 stage performances she went on to do over 18 hit TV shows and a dozen films. She has had the pleasure to work alongside actors Reese Witherspoon, Emmy Rossum, Neil Patrick Harris, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Christina Hendricks and Greg Kinnear.

“I have the tools to bring that “it factor” to my work and create compelling performances that engages my audience because I am strongly interested in being this person.”

When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?
I think I was around 13. I first wanted to be in the Secret Service, (I had just seen The Bodyguard) but that was short lived. And then I wanted to be a writer, so I took the summer and wrote a 30 page story (I still write.)  And then I wanted to be a chef. And one day I realized that if I was an actor I could be all of them!
I also loved how film and TV shows were adventures and you could escape into them. Much of my childhood was playing outside, and making forts and creating scenarios with my sisters and cousins. So I was playing make-believe long before I even knew it was a job.
How did you get started?
My mom put my sisters and I into a musical theater group called Steppin’ Out when I was 14. I was thrown into the mix; I had to learn on the job cause I had never taken a singing, dancing or an acting class. I found I took really fast to things. I could carry a tune and somehow had some rhythm. I found that acting came naturally to me. I was never told not to do something but always encouraged to try.
When did you start studying at The Acting Center?
In 2007, I believe. Wow, how time flies! I had been in acting classes since I was 15 years old. I had tried a lot of techniques and studied with a lot of teachers, and honestly I had lost my love of acting. Because after all of the studying I had done I still felt like I was “hit or miss” with my auditions. If I had a lot of time I could do a good job but when I had an audition I found myself just repeating my lines over and over, making some choices of character background and emotions but the first time I ever really was the character was in the room. I didn’t really have a sense of what my job as an actor really was, even after 450 live performances and a handful of films. I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t making much progress in my acting career other than some indie non-union projects, and I was thinking that maybe I couldn’t do it. And then a friend of mine in another class told me about The Acting Center. It sounded completely different than what I had done in the past, and refreshing. But also it made me nervous as it sounded like exactly what I wanted but also I was gonna have to roll up my sleeves and really take care of myself as an artist. I felt up to the challenge of trying a new technique and one that was going to benefit me in the long run.
What at The Acting Center has helped you most?
It has definitely helped with my confidence, even in life. I really own that I am an actor now, whereas before it was hard for me to tell people I was an actor;I felt like a fraud, because I didn’t really believe it. The Acting Center helped me get that confidence back that I actually had back when I was doing theater. Then I just jumped in and I didn’t know if it was right or not but just did what I thought was my idea.
It also gave me actual tools, not just the opinion of a teacher. And these skills I could drill over and over until I owned them and could use them at a drop of a hat. I also had a lot of techniques floating in my head so it helped me find the truth as all the other techniques had put me very much into my head and made things highly significant.
I really started to see that acting starts from your idea and interpretation of the script, and that my ideas were unique, and so I just put my head down and did a ton of acting in class, not for praise or approval or applause but for my own self-enjoyment. I wanted to feel proud of myself and love my creativity again.
You have been on quite a few TV shows and have worked with some amazing actors. What has been your favorite experience and did you learn anything form it?
I learned a lot on my first multi-cam TV show, Instant Mom. I actually was having a hard time and I was messing up. I got really nervous. But I asked for a couple of minutes and I went a little bit away from the others. I went back to my training at The Acting Center; went back to just being my character and I quickly did another drill used for rehearsal that put me back on the right path. Another actress talked to me as well and that helped. She was a veteran actress and all the support she gave me aligned right with The Acting Center technique. This confirmed for me I was studying at the right place.
Last year I had the privilege of working on Big Little Lies as well as reading numerous characters at their table read. All the heavy hitters of Season 2 were there: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and others. It was a master class just to watch them and act along side them. I learned so much about acting and myself that day.

What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center?
My favorite thing about the Acting Center is that it made me proud to be an actor. I know my job and all my skills as an actor because I’ve learned them and drilled them hundreds of times in class and then a hundred more times in auditions and on set. I’m interested all the time about characters and people and what makes them tick. I have the tools to bring that “it” factor to my work and create compelling performances that engage my audience because I am so strongly interested in being this person. And that comes from the fact that over the last 13 years at The Acting Center, every class was like a master class for me. I dedicate my time there to be the best actor I can be and absorb every piece of knowledge and tool I can. It is my home and gym and experimental lab all rolled into one.

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Student Spotlight – Jessica Drolet

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JESSICA DROLET

Jessica Drolet is an actor, writer, comedian from Quebec City, Canada. She is part of the new cast of Studio C, a clean comedy sketch show on BYUtv, which is currently filming in Provo, Utah. Season 10 starts airing September 30th 2019. When in LA you can see her perform standup regularly at the Comedy Store and Flappers, and sketch comedy with her team, Tantrum at The Pack Theater. She has a rabbit, Bubba, and a dog, Molly.
Follow her on Insta and FB @therealjessicadrolet
www.youtube.com/jessicadrolet

“The Acting Center is where I built my confidence as a performer.”

When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?
My mother tells me that when I was quite young I said to her something like: “Okay mom, I’m ready to get an agent.” I don’t remember asking her that but I do remember this deep feeling inside me of wanting to be an actor.
Did you know right away that you wanted to work in comedy or improv?
I did not. In fact, when I first moved to LA I worked as a VIP manager at The Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. And one day I escorted Eddie Gorodetsky, the producer of Two and a Half Men, to his room. I knew who he was. We chatted a bit and somehow got on the topic of acting. He asked me whether I wanted to do comedy or drama, to which I responded: drama. If only he knew I’d kill to be on one of his shows now, ha!
How did you get started?
I didn’t do much acting when I was young, apart from a play I starred in in elementary school and one at summer camp. It wasn’t until I graduated from College with a business degree that I decided to pursue acting as a career. The idea of applying for a job in “business” sounded dreadful, so I moved to NY to finally pursue my dream of becoming an actor – a dream I had suppressed all those years.
When did you start studying at The Acting Center?
I started studying at The Acting Center in the Fall of 2007. I had moved to LA a few months prior and finally bought my first car. Now I had the means to get to and from class. Someone I worked with at the hotel spoke very highly of The Acting Center so I decided to check it out and immediately felt like I belonged.
Tell us about your recent success in booking your new show Studio C.
Last summer, I was sought out by the casting director of SNL, Lindsay Shookus, to submit a tape, but nothing came of it. And then I got cut from the Groundlings program. So, I was feeling a little down (a lot actually). At this point I had spent several years doing sketch comedy and trying to catch a break, but I now felt defeated and burnt out. A couple of months later, I saw a posting in a comedy group on Facebook about a show looking for sketch comedy actor/writers so I submitted my character reel. I got a meeting with the show runner, Jim O’Doherty, creator of the Disney show Kickin It. He invited me to audition and I was called back to audition for the producers. I finally got the call I got the job in December. So I moved my life to Provo, Utah in January 2019. It was exciting. And the timing couldn’t have been better.

What is your favorite part about what you do?
It’s been a great experience overall. I finally get to write and perform sketch comedy but in a professional environment alongside an amazing cast, and I’m being paid to do it! I don’t have to buy my own wigs anymore, so what else could a gal ask for, ha! My favorite part however is performing in front of a live studio audience. It’s exhilarating. Studio C fans are the absolute best.
How has the Acting Center helped you prepare for your comedy career?
The Acting Center is where I built my confidence as a performer. It was a sanctuary for me. I never felt judged. I never felt like someone was trying to change me or my choices. And in my opinion, that is crucial to an artist’s development. How else are you going to figure out what you’re capable of? I always felt encouraged and loved and that I was good enough. And because of that I was able to concentrate on committing to characters fully, without doubting myself. So I owe my confidence and ability to commit to The Acting Center – and for that I will be forever grateful.

What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center?
My favorite thing about The Acting Center has always been how much the staff truly cares about their students, and also the comaraderie between the students. It’s a rare thing.
What at The Acing Center has helped you most?
My favorite drill was the character interview exercise. The first time I did one my mind was blown. It was a game changer for me. It helped me realize that I like creating characters. And it has since helped me create more. But apart from that the “no criticism policy” I think was key for my growth as an actor. It let me evolve at my own pace without having to be self-conscious. And that certitude of knowing what I’m doing and trusting my comedic instincts has stayed with me throughout my career.
Anything else you want to say that you think might be helpful to other actor/ comedians out there?
Work on your unique creative voice, make your own stuff, and don’t give up!
Season 10 of Studio C airs on BYUTv.org on September 30th 2019. You can also watch the sketches on YouTube!

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Student Spotlight – Nicolai Dorian

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Nicolai Dorian

Nicolai Dorian is an actor and out of necessity, a writer and producer from Los Angeles, California.

Growing up around artists of various disciplines, he watched as many were able to feed their families with mere paintings or TV/Film work! This made a huge impact on his aspirations to be an actor.

Nicolai acquired his SAG Card at age twelve with one line on How I Met Your Mother, that coveted piece of plastic that shows, “I’ve made it!”.

Well, not exactly. His parents paid for his membership for many years as he was growing up. Something he says he will never pay them back for. He paid his dues with one-liners in TV and various commercials and short films. 

In the past few years, making short films with his cohorts proved fruitful and landed him the opportunity to star in two independent feature films, writing and producing one of them. Gary Town and In A Silent Way will be released next year. 

Nicolai has a bright future as an independent filmmaker with what some call the wit of a stray cat and the brawn of a table saw.

 

 

“Because that’s how you get better. Just by doing and doing and doing. Not by making something and tearing it down by examination and critique (sometimes by a whole group of people who have no more expertise than you!).“

 

 

When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?

The story goes that, at the age of three I would stand on the dinner table and bow for no apparent reason. So, for as long as I can remember basically. 

 

How did you get started?

I acted in plays all throughout grade school from the time I was a tot, and won many awards at Halloween Costume contests as well, not necessarily for the quality of my costume but because I would go into character and convince people I really WAS a space alien with the Grim Reaper’s scythe. That was one costume I remember putting together. 

I eventually convinced my parents to help me find representation around ten years old. I was driving with my mom one day and I said, “Mom, how do I be an actor for real?” She told me “I guess you need an agent.” So I said, “Ok can we actually do that and not just talk about it?” The rest was history. Many audition nightmares and callback wins which was quite a comical hell for me as I remember it. I find auditioning to be the most tragic part of acting.

 

When did you start studying at The Acting Center?

I started studying at The Acting Center when I was twelve, I believe. It’s been just over ten years. Tait Ruppert was a teacher of mine in the KidProv, later TeenProv (improv for kids and teens) and Amanda Reed has also been my teacher since then in scene study.

 

What at The Acing Center has helped you most?

Where to start… I think I probably would have quit acting if it wasn’t for The Acting Center.  I remember very early on Eric Matheny, one of my teachers and one of the founders of the school, told me this: If you were teaching a child how to draw a circle and you gave him an example, then had him give it a shot and right off the bat began to tell him what was wrong with his circle and told him where to improve and what to change so he could draw it right, the kid would try and try and focus on all these wrong things he was doing to a point of madness. Whereas if the same kid was allowed to continue to draw circle after circle with no criticism from the teacher, he would eventually draw a proper a circle and, in addition, he would have made a bunch of other really strange and beautiful attempts at the “right” circle. 

Even when I’m alone with myself rehearsing dialogue or creating characters or writing, this has been a guiding principle for me. We may have critical thoughts from a former teacher or the teacher in ourselves, but the key is to just let that pass and continue to create. Attempting the right circle over and over with no attention paid as to whether it’s right or not. Because that’s how you get better. Just by doing and doing and doing. Not by making something and tearing it down by examination and critique (sometimes by a whole group of people who have no more expertise than you!). 

And after all, what is expertise? There are always a number of skills in any art which you can improve on, but at the same time, “everyone is Picasso” as Matheny states. There is no artistic standard. Spongebob Squarepants exists in the same universe as There Will Be Blood and that’s how it always will be. If you told a child that he didn’t understand art because he thought Spongebob was a masterpiece and There Will Be Blood was a slog, he would discount you right away if he had any sense. There is no right or wrong. Only to you. So, these are a couple of the principles that The Acting Center has showed me. I honestly don’t know of any other school for artists that actually wants you to come up with the conclusions surrounding your art and goals and artistic endeavors. It’s pretty magical. I could go on and on.

 

Tell us a little bit about your recent movie project.

In A Silent Way is a feature film about Jazzen Goodman, a young guitar player who thinks he is God’s gift to the jazz world. Upon receiving a premonition that he will be dead in thirty days, he hires his best friend Dylan to make a documentary about his attempt at “postmortem solidification in the annals of jazz history”. Everything that can go wrong happens, and after alienating his friends and torturing the LA jazz community, he eventually learns a thing or two about the importance of collaboration and teamwork in creating art and legacy.

What inspired you to create it?

I have been making short films for years with my two creative partners, Nick Tuttle and Collin Levin. We knew that we needed to make a feature to really enter the next level of our careers but we had no understanding of how one actually makes a real feature film. We thought we needed millions of dollars and that someone would just give it to us after we showed them a funny short or a good screenplay. 

So for years we twiddled our thumbs with feature ideas. But we never got one off the ground. I’m sure Nick and Collin would tell a slightly different origin story of how we actually bit the bullet and began to make this movie, but I know for myself, when I saw Good Time, the Safdie Brothers film, I saw that this movie was so contained and simple yet gripping and unique. I said, if they can do it, we can. We have bizarre small stories to tell and why couldn’t we scrape together a few bucks and some sandwiches and make it happen. 

So I sent an email to 10 close friends who were all filmmakers in different capacities on August 14th, 2017. The end of the email read, “Let’s make a movie.” After a short version of the film was produced and shot and many drafts of the screenplay, along with many a lame duck meeting and phone call, Collin found a workshop called the Short to Feature Lab, ran by filmmakers Jim Cummings and Benjamin Wiessner that was accepting applications. We applied and got in. 10 short films were chosen out of over 300 submissions. Collin spent a week at the lab and I was lucky enough to be invited for a couple days as well, Jim and Benjamin proclaimed that they wanted to Executive Produce, mentor and collaborate on each of the short filmmaker’s feature film projects. This was a godsend. 

Jim and Benjamin have been the greatest of mentors and you can read all about the curriculum and process of turning your short into a feature, at  Short to Feature Lab. We learned how to raise money, produce and shoot our film and here we are in the post production stage, editing cuts and mixing final sound. It’s quite a dream come true. Expect a 2020 release for In A Silent Way.

I know you used other TAC students in your film, can you tell me why?

First of all, studying at TAC has created some of my longest lasting friendships. Collin Levin and Nick Tuttle were both scene partners of mine at TAC and Nick still studies with me on Monday and Wednesday nights. We all share a common language on acting and how to go about running scenes and dialogue. I used other TAC actors in the film for that reason too. I knew they could deliver and not need much from us as filmmakers to affirm their ideas. They could create any number of ways to say a line on demand, and not be wondering if we hated them. They just did the job an actor is asked to do–be convincing to an audience and bring their own ideas.

Do you have any successful things to pass on to others that might want to do the same thing?

I will give you the wise words of Jim Cummings from an interview I found online which is something he reiterates in person all the time:

“What’s the most important thing to remember as filmmaker? I always go back to Mark Duplass’s keynote speech from South by Southwest in 2015. He said, ‘Make the movies you can make right now. The cavalry isn’t coming.’ I think that’s the most important thing you can tell a filmmaker. The cavalry isn’t coming. You’ve got to do this yourself. If you’re going to make a movie, imagine that nobody is going to help you. As soon as you start thinking like that — as soon as you tell yourself, ‘Okay, cool. I’m going to have to do everything’, that’s the moment you’re ready to make something.”

What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center?

 

The fact that I can create 100 new characters in class every night with the flip of a card. Character Cards are the greatest acting exercise ever created. Learn about them if you don’t know already.

 

And anything else you want to say!

I always say that if I ever win any kind of award for my acting I’ll thank The Acting Center.

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Student Spotlight – Barrett Epstein

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Barrett Epstein

At 10 years old and already with a career on the rise, Barrett Epstein started performing in school variety shows as a solo performer.  His first professional part was on the reality re-creation show, I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.

 

An adventurous kid with lots of energy, he expanded his skills by singing, dancing, acting in musical summer repertory and has also earned his red double stripe belt in Taekwondo!

 

Barrett completed his first film role in 2017, Night Rain (a psychological thriller), has also appeared on national commercials and is now starting to model. He will be releasing his first music video later this year.

 

Q) You have been studying at The Acting Center for a while now. What do you enjoy the most about the class?

 

A) Yes, I have been there for two sessions now and I always leave happy and joyful because I got to be an actor for two hours. The class has also helped me focus my energy to who I am in the character. A bonus is, I can now really memorize lines fast and I know that I am a professional. Before it was hard to memorize 3 pages and now I memorize 10 pages , easy peasy. There is no script or character I can not tackle. It is sooo much fun to study with Taylor too.

 

Q) What have you learned from The Acting Center that you use in auditions and on set?

 

A) Sooo much! How to look at a character and what they do, how to understand the lines I am saying and how to make this true to me. I know what is real now and before I think I was just doing line readings. No more. I get how to be the person!

 

Q) What is the most valuable thing you have discovered at The Acting Center?

 

A)How to play. I am kid and play is important but I didn’t realize that play is what acting is about. Now I have fun. I know my character, I know my lines and I am not nervous. Before I got a bit nervous, not now. I also walk in and I CAN TELL if I did good in an audition. I don’t have to wait for them to tell me. I know. You know?

 

Q) What would you say to other young actors looking for a great class?

 

A) This class really helped me. They are VERY nice and you play as an actor but you learn too. You learn to get better and know what a character is. The first session I started with Taylor, I started booking. The second session, I booked three jobs. The third session, I don’t know what will happen but it will be great!  Also we do these fun showcases so people can see us act. This is a REAL acting class! I AM AN ACTOR!

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Student Spotlight – Taylor Meskimen

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Taylor Meskimen

Taylor Meskimen is a multifaceted artist not only well-versed across a variety of creative fields, but with professional accomplishments in comedy, dance, song, and film. She has been performing improv for over a decade, is an award winning narrator having narrated over 20 audio books, (including Riverdale: The Day Before, Ender’s Game Alive, and Midnight Sun) and has been featured in commercials for Nike, Panera Bread, Enterprise, and Staples. She has also voiced characters for the Emmy award winning show Ask The Storybots.
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When did you realize you wanted to be an actor?

I truly wanted to be so many things when I was a kid. I remember first thinking of it as a problem. I thought there would come a time where I would have to choose only one. I ended up experimenting with many different art forms growing up: I was part of a dance company for years, I painted, I did plays and some music projects. But gradually I realized that, as an actor, I wouldn’t ever have to choose just one thing. I could be anything.

How did you get started?

I grew up in a family of actors and artists, so its hard to pinpoint exactly how or when everything started… it was just a part of my life from the beginning.

I got started in the voiceover world when I was about 16 or 17. My dad had been directing an audio project and brought me in to voice some characters. I really enjoyed it, and from there I just started doing anything I could to get in front of a microphone. With the help of my dad, and a lot of practice, things started to open up for me. I began to make my own connections with people in the industry and would reach out to them and send them samples of my work. I was very interested in it and I think that helped me a lot.

When did you start studying at The Acting Center?

I’ve been at The Acting Center for about 10 years now. I feel so lucky, I’ve heard many stories from other actor friends about other acting classes they have taken, and I think I wouldn’t be here now doing what I do if I had gone somewhere else. It can be a hard game sometimes, and they really create a safe space here which is really important as an artist. I strongly believe the confidence this school has given me is what has allowed me to grow and become a better actor.

Tell us about your most recent success in booking voiceover work.

I have been working quite a bit more recently in voiceover on various audio books, animated shows and commercials.  I realized that all of the drills we use here at The Acting Center can be used for VO work as well. Just because there’s no camera there doesn’t mean that it’s any different. We are “being” other people, and The Acting Center gives you the tools to do that, fully and believably. I know for myself when I am confident in my abilities I am much more likely to book a job. I think being in class and constantly improving and trying new things gives me that boost where I am ready for whatever comes my way, and I think that comes through in auditions.

What is your favorite part about what you do?

I love that in being an artist anything is possible. I can create effects and communicate things that are important to me and help people feel things. I get to learn about people and be them. Its pretty amazing.

What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center?

Another great thing about The Acting Center is the group dynamic. Working a lot in the voiceover industry can be very lonely! I spend a lot of time in sound booths and it’s so incredibly nice to get to class and create with other amazing artists.

What at The Acting Center has helped you most?

The drills that you learn studying at The Acting Center are just insanely good. It still amazes me even after years of studying there how well they work. Learning lines has never been a problem for me because of the drills here. Also the understanding I have gained on being a character has made a massive difference in my performances and bookings.
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Student Spotlight – Paul Connor

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Paul Connor
Paul Connor

Growing up in New York, Paul Connor, a student and director at The Acting Center, was no stranger to the acting business. As evidenced by him moving to LA and doing spots on such shows as, That 70’s Show and The Middle. Paul has recently gotten a terrific web series into production and is winning awards in festivals across the country. In this short interview, he talks about how training at The Acting Center has helped him with his passion.
.When did you start studying at The Acting Center?

In 2013. My mom heard that Christopher and Tamra and the others had started The Acting Center out here in LA, so I went and checked it out. I was at another studio at the time, and so I wrapped up my studies there, and began studying at The Acting Center.

 

When did you decide that you wanted to get into producing your own projects and directing?

While working as an actor I always thought it was interesting what the crew was doing, how a show all comes together. There are so many jobs on a set! When it came time for college, I decided to go to USC film school to learn about the other side of the camera, and had an amazing time, all the while continuing to act. Acting has always been first for me. But there is so much to do in show business, and I found I enjoy doing just about all of it! When I would talk to friends, and ideas for projects would come up, I always wanted to do them, so that’s what I did.

 

Did The Acting Center play any part in that decision?

The Acting Center is such a supportive and creative environment, it breeds productivity. The drills, both for acting and directing, keep you sharp, playful and confident, which leads to creativity and getting a lot done.

 

What at The Acting Center has helped you most?

The gain is cumulative. The drills, the people, the artistic environment… it all adds up to a great experience where you just grow as an artist. The more you put in, the more you get back, and nothing gets in the way of you expanding into whatever area you want to explore.

 

Tell us about your recent success with the series you co-wrote and directed.

It’s called The Applicant. It’s a six episode action-thriller series that follows a guy named Adam Parker who is involved in some shady business. It’s a story of justice and redemption colliding in a high-tech world of questionable actions and immense power. It’s part Bourne Identity, part The Americans. It’s a thrilling, twisting ride!

The idea came out of exploring how in high tech startups and in advertising, there can be a sort of double speak, a twisting of reality to cover what’s really going on… We wanted to play with that, and it got crazy!

We’ve gotten great responses. We were invited to a number of great festivals including Dances With Films, Hollyshorts, the New York Television Festival (NYTVF), and the Independent Television Festival (ITVF). We’re releasing online at the end of February, and we’re so excited to have the world see it! (FB and Insta: TheApplicantSeries)

 

What is your favorite thing about The Acting Center?

The people! And the environment created by those people. It’s just such a supportive space, full of artists, doing what we do!

 

Anything else you’d like to say?

I’d like to say thank you to Tamra, Eric, April, and Christopher, and all the teachers and students I’ve met and worked with, and will definitely be working with in the future!

 
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