The following is the text work session taken from the full episode with Francis. In this excerpt we discuss performing a speech from Jessica Dickey’s The Rembrandt, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2017 with Francis in the cast, alongside John Mahoney (known by many as the dad on Frasier), and who is also another longtime […]
Ep #14: Francis Guinan (30 years with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, Boss with Kelsey Grammar) on Being Blue Collar and Slightly Undisciplined
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 […]
Coming up on Season 2!
New episodes are just around the corner! We’re back for season 2 and we’ve got another round of great interviews with working actors, including Tony winners, award-winning audiobook narrators, actors that are also playwrights, and a number of other wonderful guests and surprises. Any guesses on which actors you hear? Total Running Time: 2:38 […]
Text Work: Harold Pinter’s The Hothouse with Peter Van Norden
The following is a re-airing of Peter’s text work session taken from the full episode with him. In this excerpt we discuss performing a speech from Harold Pinter’s The Hothouse. About the guest Peter Van Norden graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University, and studied with Sanford Meisner and many others at the Neighborhood […]
Text Work: Mike Bartlett’s King Charles III with Nike Doukas
The following is a re-airing of Nike’s text work session taken from the full episode with her. In this excerpt we discuss performing a speech from Mike Bartlett’s King Charles III. Nike Doukas is a fantastic actress, director, teacher, and accent coach. Originally from Massachusetts (same as me!), Nike studied at the University of […]
Text Work: Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead with Geoffrey Wade
The following is a re-airing of Geoffrey’s text work session taken from the full episode with him. In this excerpt we discuss performing THE PLAYER from Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Geoffrey Wade (@geoffreywade) is an actor, director, teacher, photographer, and acting coach, and he was recently in the national tour of The Curious […]
Text Work: Noel Coward’s Mrs. Worthington and Shakespeare’s King Lear with Harry Groener
The following is a re-airing of Harry’s text work session taken from the full episode with him. In this excerpt we discuss singing a Noel Coward song and performing Shakespeare’s King Lear. Harry Groener is probably most familiar to audiences for his musical theatre work in New York, as well as being a series […]
Text Work: Shakespeare’s Henry VI with Armin Shimerman
The following is a re-airing of Armin’s text work session taken from the full episode with him. You wanted these text work sessions as separate episodes and I’m happy to accommodate! First up, Armin talks about his general approach to Shakespeare and some of the overall principles he teaches in classes. In this excerpt we […]
Text Work: Mini-Shakespeare Master Class with Dakin Matthews
A great speech is like an aria: it has a musical structure, and it is normally clearly marked where the emotional climaxes are, if you know how to read the rhetoric. — Dakin Matthews We have a BONUS episode today with a mini-Shakespeare master class with Dakin! This “class” is taken from the full conversation with […]