If you do your work, people will want to work with you again, if they can, if they have the power to do it—and they’ll want to work with you all those years later. — Dawn Didawick We continue with season two and today on the show is Dawn Didawick, an LA-based actor who has worked at […]
Ep #14: Francis Guinan (30 years with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, Boss with Kelsey Grammar) on Being Blue Collar, Slightly Undisciplined, and Soldiering On
You don’t have to act so much. Over the course of [August: Osage County], I ended up doing less and less and less, and ended up revealing more and more and more about the character. — Francis Guinan We continue with season two and today on the show is Francis Guinan, a Chicago-based actor who has […]
Ep #13: Tony-Winner Reed Birney (The Humans, Casa Valentina, House of Cards, The Blacklist) on Actor Despair and Roles That Scare You
Always tell the truth, but in the most interesting way possible. The range of human experience and expression is vast. There are many ways to react to a situation and still have it be utterly and deeply truthful. — Reed Birney Welcome back to season 2 and I’m excited to have actor and teacher Reed Birney […]
Ep #12: Dakin Matthews (Shakespeare scholar/actor/teacher, Broadway plays/musicals) on Acting the Classics and Your Artistic Family
Actors are challenged to bring their instrument to the highest level of availability—their voice, their movement, their psyche, their understanding, their emotional life—so that if they are doing a great play that deals with great issues and great emotions, they can fill that greatness with their instrument. — Dakin Matthews I’m thrilled to welcome Dakin […]
Ep #11: Ben Whitehair on Building Relationships and Intelligent Rule-Breaking
When I stopped measuring my progress and success by what I booked, and measured it by the quantity and quality of relationships I was making, everything changed. — Ben Whitehair I’m thrilled to welcome Ben to the show! As you’ve already guessed, he is a younger actor and has been pursuing acting professionally for about 10 […]
Ep #10: Gigi Bermingham on Being a Misfit and Living Her Dream
Maintain and foster your relationships: make an effort to stay in touch with people who might connect you with work. — Gigi Bermingham I’m thrilled to welcome Gigi to the show! She’s an actress and singer whom I first saw onstage in a LA production of Tartuffe and I’ve since been fortunate to work with […]
Ep #9: Clyde Kusatsu [Part 2] on Recovery, Preparation, and Serving the Project
Be willing to do the work, be willing to get the work, be willing to adapt to the new-new that’s coming along, and stay out of “don’t you know who I am and what I’ve done?”—be in that state of humility yet preparedness. — Clyde Kusatsu I’m thrilled to welcome Clyde (back) to the show […]
Ep #8: Clyde Kusatsu [Part 1] on Discipline and Being 10x Better
Find your own story, find what works for you, and be comfortable and accepting of what you bring to the table. — Clyde Kusatsu I’m thrilled to welcome Clyde to the show: an actor who is currently celebrating 45 years in front of the camera, and he’s still booking roles! I first connected with Clyde back […]
Ep #7: Peter Van Norden on Finding Vulnerability and Work Making Work
Be supportive, be kind, be the person who is there for people, who is there to help, who is there to make it a pleasurable and joyful experience. — Peter Van Norden I’m thrilled to welcome Peter to the show: an actor with over 45 years in the business, on both stage and screen. One of […]
Ep #6: Nike Doukas on Determination and the Bigness of Emotion
“This is a business and it’s a huge part of being an actor. We go around thinking we’re artists—and we are—but we have to know how to make a career out of it, too.”
Nike Doukas is an actress, director, teacher, and accent coach. She studied at University of Wisconsin, Madison and has an MFA from the American Conservatory Theatre. She works regularly in regional theatre and has nearly 40 credits on IMDb, including work on Modern Family and a recurring role on Desperate Housewives.