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Actor Aesthetic, hosted by NYC-based actress Maggie Bera, is a podcast designed to educate artists pursuing a career in the theatre industry.
Episodes
Monday Jul 20, 2020
Monday Jul 20, 2020
Kaitlin Hopkins is an award-winning actress, director, and educator and has worked in theater, film and television for over 30 years. In 2009 she created the BFA Musical Theatre program at Texas State University, recently named one of the top 10 musical theatre programs in the nation. As an entrepreneur, she is the Co-Founder of Living Mental Wellness, which is a holistic evidence-based company that offers educational programs to enhance mental wellness for performing artists through an integrated scientific life skills model. In addition, Hopkins is the proud creator and president of Fontus Green Apple Dry Throat Lozenges, in partnership with Ocu-soft, a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical company. Fontus is the official lozenge of Hamilton the musical, and many other Broadway shows and national touring companies, and is the lozenge of choice for many performing artists including Kristin Chenoweth, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson and Julie Andrews.
As an educator, she received the 2016 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching from Texas State University and was recognized by Broadway Dreams Foundation as an innovative voice in education, and one of the 6 top women educators in the performing arts. In 2012, in collaboration with the ProJazz Institute Hopkins created and launched the first musical theater-training program in Chile. Her recent TEDx Talk on the importance of mental wellness education for students, along with her research and curriculum-based mental wellness training program for performing artists at Texas State has garnered international attention.
As an actress her Broadway credits include: Noises Off, Anything Goes with Patti LuPone and originating the role of “Mama Who” in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Hopkins has a half dozen cast album credits to her name and has originated multiple roles off-Broadway including: Bat Boy-the Musical for which she received a Drama Desk and Ovation award nominations, Bare: A Pop Opera, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, and Nicky Silver’s Beautiful Child. National tours include originating the roles of “Diane” in Disney’s On The Record, and “Margorie” in Dirty Dancing, and originating the role of “Tiffany” in the international tour of the John Adam opera I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky directed by Peter Sellars.
Hopkins has appeared in over 50 television shows including Star Trek- Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, JAG, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order CI, Rescue Me, Spin City and three years on Another World as Dr. Kelsey Harrison. She has appeared in 11 feature films including The Nanny Diaries, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles and How To Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog with Kenneth Branagh.
As a director, writer, producer her production of The World According to Snoopy, which made its world premiere at Texas State, and its regional premiers at Theatre Under The Stars, and Theatre Aspen, has been licensed by Tams Witmark . Other producing credits include producing radio plays and musicals for LA Theatre Works-The Plays the Thing Series and for The Pet Shop (Animal Planet Network) hosted by comedian Andy Kindler. As a director, favorite credits include: The Boch and Harnick Revue To Life!, which she co-conceived with Tony award winner Robert L. Freedman, The Two Orphans by Theresa Rebeck, and Collision Course by Jim Price (The Lark Play Development Center, NY). She is a member of the Playwright and Director's Workshop at The Actors Studio in New York. Kaitlin’s directing credits at Texas State University include: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, RENT, Anything Goes, Urinetown, Hair, All Shook Up, Oklahoma!, The Wild Party, A Little Princess (world premiere), and Bat Boy-The Musical. Her productions at Texas State have been recognized with numerous awards by the Austin Critics' Table Awards.
In this episode, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Kaitlin about how COVID-19 will impact the future of college auditions.
To join the Actor Aesthetic Alliance Facebook group, click here.
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Instagram: @actoraesthetic
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Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday Jul 13, 2020
Monday Jul 13, 2020
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, actors all around the United States are hurting mentally, emotionally and financially - with almost 100% of the industry out of work. In this episode, Maggie shares her favorite self-care strategies actors can use right now to boost mental health.
To join the Actor Aesthetic Alliance Facebook group, click here.
Spread love and don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more info.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday Jul 06, 2020
Monday Jul 06, 2020
Broadway is shut down until at least January 2021. By the time it *hopefully* reopens, an entire industry will have been out of work for a minimum of 9 months.
So what does this mean for actors?
In episode 92, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats about the Broadway shutdown and how it ultimately affects actors.
Why It's Ok For Actors To Slow Down
Send A Letter To Congress To Support The Worker Health Coverage Protection Act
To join the Actor Aesthetic Alliance Facebook group, click here.
Spread love and don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more info.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Cailen Fu is an actor, singer and voiceover artist based in New York City. She made her Broadway debut in MEAN GIRLS and is the current standby for Regina George and Gretchen Wieners! She trained classically at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and in London with RADA + Shakespeare’s Globe. She then graduated with her BFA in Musical Theater + Honors in Acting from University of California, Irvine. Post-grad, she signed across-the-board with A3 Artists Agency. Off-Broadway: Nickel Mines (Rosanna King). NYC: Austen's Pride (Associate Choreographer). Regional: Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Lyric Company, the Nashville Repertory Theater. When she’s not on stage or teaching, you can find her hiking a new trail, watering her plant babies or trying out a new pastry recipe!
In this episode, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Cailen about her training, how auditions for Hamilton lead to her Broadway debut in Mean Girls, the difference between Broadway standbys and understudies, survival jobs, how she's coping during quarantine, her secret "Chipotle" analogy, and more.
To join the Actor Aesthetic Alliance Facebook group, click here.
Spread love and don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more info.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday Jun 22, 2020
Monday Jun 22, 2020
Ellen Lettrich has been working with young musical theatre and acting performers for almost 29 years, first as a high school classroom teacher and theatre director and, after receiving her MS in Speech-Language Pathology, as a medical voice therapist.
Her diverse teaching experiences led her to found Musical Theatre College Auditions (MTCA), a college theatre audition preparation company. Ellen built MTCA’s team of actively working teaching artists who themselves are grads of rigorous theatre training programs such as Juilliard, Yale School of Drama, Carnegie Mellon, the University of Michigan, the Boston Conservatory, and NYU Tisch.
Over the past 20 years, MTCA has prepared hundreds of students for college theatre auditions and yielded exceptional success rates. Through her work with MTCA, Ellen saw how difficult it can be for low-income students and those from underrepresented communities to access the information and financial resources needed to be competitive in the audition process for college-level acting and musical theatre programs.
Ellen founded The Fund for College Auditions to bridge this information and financial gap: to support the expenses that are part of college auditions, to provide fair compensation to experienced, innovative, student-centered teaching artists who can help these students excel artistically, and to subsidize college audition information workshops for underserved high schools and theatre groups.
In episode 90, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Ellen about her inspiration behind The Fund For College Auditions, why representation in the arts is so important, and how low-income students can take advantage of free resources and scholarships.
The Fund For College Auditions - https://thefundforcollegeauditions.org
MTCA - http://mtcollegeauditions.com
To join the Actor Aesthetic Alliance Facebook group, click here.
Spread love and don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more info.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday Jun 15, 2020
Monday Jun 15, 2020
Marshall W. Mabry IV is an activist, playwright, and performer from Atlanta, Ga. He’s an incoming freshman majoring in Musical Theatre at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Marshall strives to leave every room brighter than he found it especially for the young artists of color coming after him.
In this episode, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Marshall about racial stereotypes in theatre, accessibility, "colorblind" vs. "color-conscious" casting, and leading with love in the face of racism.
Watch Marshall's TEDx Broadway talk on "The Intersectionality Of Black Boys and Shakespeare" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq4dXOW2cwU
MWMIV Speaks - https://www.mwmivspeaks.com
Follow Marshall on Instagram - @marshallwmabryiv
To join the Actor Aesthetic Alliance Facebook group, click here.
Spread love and don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more info.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday Jun 08, 2020
Monday Jun 08, 2020
Effective allyship is an active, conscious choice to advocate for a marginalized person or group of people. And right now, the BIPOC* community needs as many allies as possible.
Join NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera to learn how to be a better ally to People of Color in the theatre industry.
*BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
#BlackLivesMatter
Sign A Petition, Donate, Call, Email and more here.
Have a conversation with you family members about social injustice here.
Join the Artists for Anti-Racist Accountability (AFAR) Facebook group here.
To join the Actor Aesthetic Alliance Facebook group, click here.
Spread love and don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more info.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday Jun 01, 2020
Monday Jun 01, 2020
Jennifer Apple is a multi-hyphenated artist who hails from NYC and is a huge fan of new work & truthful storytelling. She currently plays the role of Anna in "The Band's Visit" tour and has performed at regional theaters like Chautauqua Theater Company, ACT, Goodspeed Musicals, and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. She has appeared on TV in "New Amsterdam" and holds an MFA in Acting from The American Conservatory Theater. Jennifer is also an acting coach specializing in: BFA/MFA auditions; finding new monologues specifically for you; acting the song/monologue coaching; Shakespeare & scene study. Feel free to check out more on her website at www.JenniferApple.net or follow along her personal journey on IG @JenniferApple_
In this episode, Jennifer chats with NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera about her inspiration behind going back to school for an MFA in Acting, how she earned her Equity card, how she landed an audition appointment for The Band's Visit (special shoutout to the folks at Tara Rubin Casting!), the importance of self-care for actors, her previous survival jobs, and her best advice for actors pursuing a career in the theatre industry.
To join the Actor Aesthetic Tribe on Facebook, click here.
Spread the love and don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more information.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday May 25, 2020
Monday May 25, 2020
Elise Melendez is a Chicago-based arts manager, dance educator and nonprofit marketer with a strong commitment to fostering community. Beyond her work with Motivated Movers, Elise continues her commitment to the dance community as managing director of Denman Theatre & Dance Co, a New York based company dedicated to developing hybrid theatrical works using movement/dance as a primary storytelling device.
With a bachelor’s in American Dance Pedagogy from Oklahoma City University and a master’s in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management from Columbia College Chicago, Elise has over a decade of experience in arts education and management.
Off the dance floor Elise also serves as marketing manager for the American Marketing Association, the world’s largest community-based marketing association. Her past roles include casting director and assistant to the artistic director at Hangar Theatre; client services account executive for Prevail Strategic Marketing & Communications; strategic planning consultant for NPH USA, Chicago Woman magazine and World Future Society; and development consultant for Chicago Youth Shakespeare. Elise has also been a guest teaching artist/choreographer for arts organizations and educational institutions such as Hangar Theatre, Palace Theatre New Hampshire, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Applause, St. Norbert College and Oklahoma City University.
In episode 86, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Elise about the inspiration behind Motivated Movers, how they are continuing to serve dancers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her best advice to performers looking to start their own business.
https://www.instagram.com/elise.melendez/?hl=en
https://www.motivatedmoversnyc.com/about
To join the Actor Aesthetic Tribe on Facebook, click here.
Spread the love and don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more information.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com
Monday May 18, 2020
Monday May 18, 2020
Tyler McKenzie (performer, director, choreographer, and educator) was last seen in Hamilton. He is a Long Island native with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Western Carolina University, where he studied with three-time Tony Award nominee Terrence Mann, former WCU Phillips Distinguished Professor of Musical Theatre, and Charlotte d’Amboise, Mann’s wife and a two-time Tony nominee.He has since performed regionally and in the Broadway & National Tour productions of Mamma Mia, Matilda, and Hamilton. In 2019, Tyler received the Western Carolina University Young Alumni Award celebrating his attaining a level of distinction in his chosen field of work, demonstrating a commitment to the service of others, and showing potential for future leadership/distinction. He also recently received honorary acknowledgement and membership from the National Society of Leadership and Success. Tyler has a major passion for education and has worked with young artists all over the country and online.
In episode 85, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Tyler about auditioning for college, training with Terrence Mann and Charlotte d’Amboise, touring the world with Mamma Mia, how he made his Broadway debut, his audition process for Hamilton, living in NYC, survival jobs, Equity contracts, saving money, working on cruise ships, and the importance of an actor's online presence.
Website: http://www.tylermckenzie.net
Studio: https://www.tmcreativestudio.com
Instagram: @tylrmckenzie
To join the Actor Aesthetic Tribe on Facebook, click here.
Spread the love and don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the Actor Aesthetic Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Visit actoraesthetic.com for more information.
Follow Maggie Bera on social media
Instagram: @actoraesthetic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActorAesthetic/
Email: maggie@actoraesthetic.com