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Q&A with director Libby Appel (Five Chekhov Plays, former Artistic Director for Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Indiana Repertory Theatre, and former Dean of Cal Arts Theatre)

Published November 1, 2022 | Last Updated March 29, 2025 Leave your thoughts »

Director Libby Appel joined us in October 2021 for a lively Q&A, and now you can listen on the podcast and YouTube! It’s wonderful that we can follow up our Chekhov workshop from last episode with an even deeper discussion with the director! In this chat, you’ll hear Libby and I talk about: what she […]



Filed Under: Discussion, Podcast Tagged With: auditions, chekhov, director, discussion, facebook, q&a, uv-mar25, workshop

Text Work: Macbeth’s dagger speech with Elizabeth Dennehy

Published March 29, 2022 | Last Updated March 28, 2022 Leave your thoughts »

The following is the text work session taken from the full episode with Elizabeth. In today’s episode, Elizabeth shares her approach to working on Shakespeare, which includes: what the number of syllables can tell you the thought igniter exercise the first question to ask, and more Plus we chat about the difference in performing a monologue […]



Filed Under: Podcast, Text Work Tagged With: auditions, macbeth, shakespeare, text work

Behind the Podcast: Mike Moreno of Actor CEO (Run Your Career Like a Business)

explicit language So don't be surprised!

Published January 21, 2020 | Last Updated November 22, 2020 Leave your thoughts »

“Instead of thinking of yourself as a freelancer, think ‘I am a business that partners with other businesses to tell stories. That’s what I do.’ So when I go into an audition, I’m representing my business, and you think that my business might partner well with your business on this project.”  — Mike Moreno   […]



Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: actors, auditions, brand, business, challenge, explicit, goals, new york, podcast, self-tape, shakespeare, social media

Ep #24: Tony-Winner L. Scott Caldwell (Broadway, Regional Theatre, The Fugitive, Lost, A Million Little Things) on Self-Doubt, Pretending vs. Being, and Meeting Your Destiny

Published January 7, 2020 | Last Updated January 13, 2020 Leave your thoughts »

Scotty in Gem of the Ocean

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, but if you don’t even know the direction you’re going in, the step you’re taking may be away from your ultimate mission or destiny. — L. Scott Caldwell   If you’re looking for what it takes to be an actor long-term, over the course of […]



Filed Under: Episodes, Podcast Tagged With: auditions, august wilson, awards, broadway, california, chicago, film, los angeles, new york, rejection, theatre, tony award, tv, uta hagen

Ep #23: Simon Vance (1000+ Audiobooks: Millennium series, Sherlock Holmes, Jerusalem, The King’s Speech, The Tao of Pooh) on Feeding the Birds, Pushing Yourself, and Wanting More

Published December 10, 2019 | Last Updated November 22, 2020 Leave your thoughts »

I thought being an actor wasn’t for grown-up people, but it didn’t matter whether I considered it that—I discovered it was essential for my soul that I threw myself into this. — Simon Vance   If you’re looking for what it takes to be an actor long-term, over the course of your LIFE, then you’ve come […]



Filed Under: Episodes, Podcast Tagged With: audiobooks, auditions, awards, bay area, bbc, blind, brighton, california, film, london, los angeles, narrator, radio, san francisco, theatre, tv

Behind the Podcast: Audrey Moore of Audrey Helps Actors (Phase 3 Actor, the Top Acting Podcast, and Top 50 of ALL Performing Arts Podcasts)

explicit language So don't be surprised!

Published October 29, 2019 | Last Updated November 11, 2019 Leave your thoughts »

Audrey Moore

I wish I could ask actors that are starting out, ‘As hard as you feel like it is now, if I told you the more successful you become, the harder and more competitive it’s going to become—are you still in?’ — Audrey Moore   Today we have another Behind the Podcast episode, with the reigning […]



Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: actors, auditions, business, energy, explicit, grief, hustle, intention, podcast, self-tape, social media, theatre, time management, value, work

Ep #15: Dawn Didawick (Regional Theatre, Erin Brockovich, Pretty Little Liars) on Being a Sponge, No Credentials, and Daring to Fail

Published December 11, 2018 | Last Updated December 30, 2020 2 Comments - add more!

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 years later. — Dawn Didawick   On the show today is Dawn Didawick, an LA-based actor who has worked at numerous regional theatres, has lived and worked […]



Filed Under: Episodes, Podcast Tagged With: antaeus, auditions, broadway, fear, film, mentor, regional theatre, shame, television, theatre

Ep #14: Francis Guinan (30 years with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, Boss with Kelsey Grammar) on Being Blue Collar and Slightly Undisciplined

Published November 6, 2018 | Last Updated January 29, 2019 Leave your thoughts »

in THE BOOK THIEF at Steppenwolf

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 […]



Filed Under: Episodes, Podcast Tagged With: auditions, broadway, career, chicago, confidence, film, improv, rehearsal, theatre

Ep #13: Tony-Winner Reed Birney (The Humans, Casa Valentina, House of Cards, The Blacklist) on Actor Despair and Roles That Scare You

Published October 9, 2018 | Last Updated October 31, 2019 Leave your thoughts »

Reed Birney

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 […]



Filed Under: Episodes, Podcast Tagged With: auditions, awards, broadway, career, confidence, film, new york, persistence, struggle, television, theatre, travel

Ep #12: Dakin Matthews (Shakespeare scholar/actor/teacher, Broadway plays/musicals) on Acting the Classics and Your Artistic Family

Published March 13, 2018 | Last Updated July 31, 2019 Leave your thoughts »

Dakin Matthews - True Grit

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 […]



Filed Under: Episodes, Podcast Tagged With: antaeus, auditions, bay area, career, classics, confidence, conservatory, film, goals, hollywood, new york, persistence, preparation, priest, regional theatre, relationships, seminary, shakespeare, shaw, television, theatre

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George Bernard Shaw’s “Misalliance” in The Rehearsal Room for April 2025 with J. Paul Nicholas, Nathan Agin, Michele Shultz, Dylan La Rocque and director Erika Rolfsrud!

UNCLE VANYA Final Session: “Echoes of the Past” – Chekhov – Act 2 – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions]

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Ep #10: Gigi Bermingham on Being a Misfit and Living Your Dream

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Ep #4: 3x Tony-Nominee Harry Groener on Versatility and Learning Lines Quickly

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