Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me
Speaker 1: Tracy Moore. I was a casting director for film and
Speaker 1: TV and commercials for over thirty years. I transitioned to
Speaker 1: a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New
Speaker 1: Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Domez.
Speaker 1: I auditioned every rapper from Biggie Smalls to Tupac, and
Speaker 1: I realized that rappers and musical artists they needed help
Speaker 1: transitioning to acting. My clients consist of musical artists from
Speaker 1: Buster Rhymes to Eve, Missy Elliott, Angela Yee from The
Speaker 1: Breakfast Club, and Vanessa Simmons, to name a few. I
Speaker 1: also coach sports stars and host as well. I feel
Speaker 1: I have the best of both worlds. As a casting director,
Speaker 1: I know exactly what they're looking for, and as an
Speaker 1: acting coach, I can coach you to be remembered in
Speaker 1: that room.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 3: I know.
Speaker 1: I know actors want to get the job.
Speaker 3: I get that, but being.
Speaker 1: Remembered by casting director that is powerful meditation of the day.
Speaker 1: You're not famous until my mother has heard of you,
Speaker 1: Jay Leno. There are plenty of reasons why people choose
Speaker 1: this business. I feel that it is important that you
Speaker 1: understand all the reasons why you are pursuing a career
Speaker 1: as an actor. One of the most common reasons that
Speaker 1: I've heard is to be famous. Fame has a lot
Speaker 1: of consequences. The most obvious one is your lack of privacy.
Speaker 1: If that doesn't bother you, then great, but if it does,
Speaker 1: then you need to reevaluate this career choice. There are
Speaker 1: a lot of perks in this business, but it is
Speaker 1: important that you remain grounded and focused. One of the
Speaker 1: ways you can do that is by understanding what your
Speaker 1: true goals are. Today, I will respect my privacy. Welcome
Speaker 1: to the Spirited Active podcast. Asked with me Tracy Moore.
Speaker 1: And I can't even begin to tell you how much
Speaker 1: love I have in my heart for this guest. I
Speaker 1: met Christine Swanson, director Extraordinaire nineteen ninety eight. Christine looked
Speaker 1: up at the date nice, Oh my god, And I
Speaker 1: just remember you and Michael and such a beautiful couple
Speaker 1: and just really fun, creative.
Speaker 3: Filmmaking filmmaker's energy right, And.
Speaker 1: You said you had a film And I feel like
Speaker 1: you gave me a postcard because I feel like I
Speaker 1: had some sort of documentation of it, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm definitely going. But as soon as I saw it,
Speaker 1: I was like, she's gonna win, She's gonna win.
Speaker 3: I did, and you won, and I was like, oh
Speaker 3: my god, Like it was such a great film. It
Speaker 3: was really a great film.
Speaker 1: So to be able to fast forward twenty twenty and
Speaker 1: have you have a plethor of films and things we're
Speaker 1: going to talk about audience again. You guys need to
Speaker 1: get your pen and pencil computer however you document because
Speaker 1: the jewels, the diamonds that are going to be dropped
Speaker 1: in this interview. Nice, fine ladies and gentlemen, put your
Speaker 1: hands together for Christine Swanson.
Speaker 3: Oh cool, right, say it's true. Yep, I'm making it.
Speaker 2: I remember. The thing that I love about you is
Speaker 2: like and what has never changed is like and I
Speaker 2: love that you call yours the spirited actor. But there
Speaker 2: is a spirit that you embody that reeks of authentensity
Speaker 2: and integrity that fast forward from when we first met
Speaker 2: until now. I have a profound understanding of how that
Speaker 2: is lacking in our industry.
Speaker 4: Wow, and the fact that you know we are reconducting
Speaker 4: I just feel like that is that's god like putting
Speaker 4: me back together with people who are like minded, who
Speaker 4: are genuine in their pursuit of this craft for purposes
Speaker 4: outside of themselves.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, that's selerity.
Speaker 3: So that's you, Thank you, I received that that.
Speaker 5: Wow.
Speaker 1: I'm going to have to replay that all day today
Speaker 1: because you know, that is the truth, and that is
Speaker 1: something you know we're going to jump in because as
Speaker 1: a female director in this industry, how are you embraced
Speaker 1: because we do have a different energy, We have a nurturing,
Speaker 1: we have you know, a focus.
Speaker 3: How is that?
Speaker 1: How has been how has that been received for you
Speaker 1: as a director in television and.
Speaker 2: So well, I think you know, if you remember me
Speaker 2: starting out, I was kind of wide eyed, bushytail. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I had no preconceived notion about how anything worked. All
Speaker 2: I had was a passion and some modicum of talent
Speaker 2: that I wanted to offer the industry. So on some level,
Speaker 2: sometimes when when all everything is like in sync, that
Speaker 2: is enough talent and passion, okay, right strickly on the
Speaker 2: creative side of things, talent and passion, it is enough, okay, Okay.
Speaker 2: In the industry, however, that's not the focus. So that's
Speaker 2: two sides of a conversation. If if we're talking about
Speaker 2: an artist, I don't look at myself as a female,
Speaker 2: and I don't look at how I'm going to be embraced.
Speaker 2: I I just go for the jugular, right, That's all
Speaker 2: I know. Right right now, when you're you apply that
Speaker 2: to the business side of it, Now, we have to
Speaker 2: kind of look at a pre existing culture and hierarchy
Speaker 2: that has very systemic issues that.
Speaker 3: Have happened to do with you, with you really so
Speaker 3: I can I can.
Speaker 2: Tell you experiences and stories about that part of it,
Speaker 2: which which which in many ways can look like a struggle.
Speaker 2: But I just don't look at at struggles as obstacles.
Speaker 2: I look at struggles as opportunities, right, how I can
Speaker 2: mount myself in ways that I feel like God has
Speaker 2: called me to function absolutely. So It's like I think
Speaker 2: when people see the work and if they like it,
Speaker 2: maybe it parlays to other work. But I have never
Speaker 2: suffered for lack of imagination or or work because of
Speaker 2: systemic issues outside of myself.
Speaker 1: Well, and when you talk about being yourself, you were
Speaker 1: You've been consistent in that energy. That was the like
Speaker 1: energy that attracted both of us because we didn't know
Speaker 1: each other. But it was like, hey, hey, right, I
Speaker 1: think that was so that was a moment. But I
Speaker 1: the challenges I can say that actors have right working
Speaker 1: you know, how acts work with a male director versus
Speaker 1: a female director, And me as an acting coach, I've
Speaker 1: been on those sets and I'm you, yeah, director, director.
Speaker 3: That's what you know.
Speaker 1: But then you start to get specific. You're a female,
Speaker 1: then you're a director of color, and it's like, but
Speaker 1: I'm a creative being like and so to me, the
Speaker 1: blessing is you have created a path, your own path,
Speaker 1: and you continue to create that path where yes, how
Speaker 1: great would it be to just be recognized as a director?
Speaker 3: Period?
Speaker 2: That said no, well yeah, And then the thing is again, Tersey,
Speaker 2: I don't look at myself in that way, like I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't look at myself as a female director, black director,
Speaker 2: But I'm just looking at as I approach it as
Speaker 2: a creative entity. And then when I work with actors.
Speaker 2: To me, what I love to do is this, and
Speaker 2: maybe it has to do with me. I think has
Speaker 2: more to do with me being a mom than a fever.
Speaker 2: So I like to do like just say, like when
Speaker 2: I'm working on an episodic right, typically the usual cast.
Speaker 2: They're comfortable in their skin and what I try to do.
Speaker 2: So what I try to do is just ingratiate myselfs
Speaker 2: to them in ways that they know that I'm here
Speaker 2: for them if they need And then sometimes I have
Speaker 2: to push them to try some things that they're not
Speaker 2: being pushed about. Right. People that I pay a lot
Speaker 2: of attention to are the day players, because one if
Speaker 2: a day player is not on their toes, if they're
Speaker 2: not present, you will lose a lot of time and
Speaker 2: that's not something you can afford to do. So what
Speaker 2: I to do, though, is to make sure that I
Speaker 2: spend as much time as I can with the day players.
Speaker 2: I like with them in advance. I'll call them, I'll
Speaker 2: meet with them before their day to shoot, so they
Speaker 2: get comfortable with me. So that so the first time
Speaker 2: meeting me is not on set, right, because what happens
Speaker 2: is nerves kick in and then they start, you know,
Speaker 2: freak out because now they're they're just trying to please
Speaker 2: me because this is the first time they've met me.
Speaker 2: So what I do is put them at ease and
Speaker 2: like have conversations with them of their day. One of shooting.
Speaker 2: So then day one of shooting, we've broken the ice already,
Speaker 2: you know, we got the next level of our relationship
Speaker 2: and hopefully they're a little bit more at ease, so
Speaker 2: then we can tap in to really the creative parts
Speaker 2: that we want to explore. So I'll do that. But again,
Speaker 2: I think that's that could be a mommy thing. I
Speaker 2: don't know, you.
Speaker 1: Know, I think what actors need to know first of all,
Speaker 1: is how rare that is.
Speaker 2: I don't know that. I don't know that.
Speaker 3: It's happened most.
Speaker 1: You know, I've just been really blessed to be on
Speaker 1: the set for six years on all of Buster Rhymes
Speaker 1: and Eves projects.
Speaker 3: And when we have rehearsals, you know day.
Speaker 1: Players and for those of you who don't know what
Speaker 1: a day player is, that's an actor that works one
Speaker 1: day in it. And so for Christine to take time
Speaker 1: out of her day, which it just doesn't include actors.
Speaker 1: It includes maybe going over wardrobe, or maybe there's special
Speaker 1: effects or what there's a bunch of stuff going on
Speaker 1: in your world, but you to take that time, yeah,
Speaker 1: and recognize their value. They're that exactly. That's a blessing, Christine,
Speaker 1: because I'm I'm when they call first team to the set,
Speaker 1: I'm with first team and it's very rare, you know
Speaker 1: that a day player again, you know, we will have
Speaker 1: a rehearsal with the day player, but the director is
Speaker 1: not focusing on the day player. The director is focusing
Speaker 1: on my client or you know, the other celebrities.
Speaker 2: Well, if the day player is not on point, guess what, yep,
Speaker 2: I inherently so that I make sure like my day
Speaker 2: is not going to be held up because the day
Speaker 2: player is not showing up. And you my job is
Speaker 2: to make sure everyone shows up. And that's the camera
Speaker 2: and behind the camera. So that's my job as a director.
Speaker 2: And I don't there are no small players in so
Speaker 2: I don't you know, there's there's kind of like quality
Speaker 2: to the set that I bring because that's just how
Speaker 2: I like to work, right, And I love that.
Speaker 1: And even for me as an acting coach on the
Speaker 1: set and I'm watching the monitor, I have coached extras
Speaker 1: because I go to them and I ask permission for
Speaker 1: the from the director and I'm like, do you guys
Speaker 1: want to do what they're doing?
Speaker 3: It starts here, right, you know, why.
Speaker 1: Are you walking across the street you don't need words
Speaker 1: to tell us something, you know. So as as a director,
Speaker 1: that is you guys, I pray that you guys are
Speaker 1: really holding onto these gyms right here, because again it's
Speaker 1: very rare. I've seen a director take that time and
Speaker 1: you talk about rehearsal. Rehearsal is luxury. When they said
Speaker 1: we have rehearsal, I would be jumping up a day
Speaker 1: on the class.
Speaker 2: When I'm out of town on a job, you know,
Speaker 2: like especially do an episodic and few so far, but like,
Speaker 2: if I'm in New York City working, I'm not taking
Speaker 2: the weekends off. You know. I'm calling my day players
Speaker 2: and I'm like, hey, you want to meet up for coffee.
Speaker 2: I'm calling crew members and saying, hey, if you have time, let's,
Speaker 2: you know, let's talk and meet up. And I'm not
Speaker 2: trying to make people will more, but I'm I'm I'm
Speaker 2: here and willing and ready to work and if you're amenable,
Speaker 2: let's let's get a jump on this. You know. So
Speaker 2: there's an episode of Chicago PD. I did this episode
Speaker 2: six eight and it's the first time the black Mail
Speaker 2: lead I had a love interest.
Speaker 3: Oh wow, Okay, sakes.
Speaker 2: Were very high for him. So this season six right,
Speaker 2: and so six years the brother ain't had a love interest, right, Hey,
Speaker 2: that's the script that I get. They gave me a
Speaker 2: black love story, and so I went, I went up
Speaker 2: to that actor and I said, listen, are you ready
Speaker 2: to throw down? Like I'm ready, I'm ready. I said, Okay,
Speaker 2: if you're ready, let's go fly. Right. So that I
Speaker 2: did with him that he was never used to doing,
Speaker 2: and one of those and because he's the right regular,
Speaker 2: he's a series regular, right right, I was like, we're
Speaker 2: gonna rehearse on the weekends. Wow. So he and the
Speaker 2: lead actress that I cast for that episode, they had
Speaker 2: like this epic love scene. Right, it's his first love
Speaker 2: scene ever, like on this series, on a show where
Speaker 2: all the crew members know him, cast members know him,
Speaker 2: and they're clowning him like, oh yeah, this is your
Speaker 2: first love scene. So I knew he was gonna be moving. Okay.
Speaker 2: The actress, she was a guest star and she was
Speaker 2: kind of more seasoned in having done scenes before. So
Speaker 2: what I did was over the weekend, I'm like, we're
Speaker 2: gonna come together and we're just gonna rehearse some things. Okay.
Speaker 2: So I had them go over lines with each other.
Speaker 2: I mean so much so that they had a level
Speaker 2: of comfort that was kind of different than you would
Speaker 2: see on a regular show where people are meeting for
Speaker 2: the first time. And another thing that I did was
Speaker 2: I actually practiced the love scene. Wow, like almost like
Speaker 2: cut by cut, okay, as you know, love scenes are
Speaker 2: just it's a very technical thing. Well, right, so I
Speaker 2: threw a blanket on my bed in my apartment. I'm like,
Speaker 2: all right, guys hop on, okay, And we actually maneuvered
Speaker 2: the love scene bit by bit. And as actors, you know,
Speaker 2: they had to know like, okay, can I touch you
Speaker 2: here and I touch you there. It's like tongue or no,
Speaker 2: no tongue. So everybody familiar with what they were used,
Speaker 2: what they were okay with.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: We got all the kings out, we got all the
Speaker 2: nerves out right. When they showed up on set for
Speaker 2: that scene. I mean like it was like clockwork. It
Speaker 2: was like we were able to discover more, you know,
Speaker 2: because we weren't. There was no stagnation in the newness
Speaker 2: of having to do a love scene for the first
Speaker 2: time for him because he had already practiced. Right. So
Speaker 2: it's like I love working with actors in that way.
Speaker 2: If they're available, right, it all makes them magic. Okay,
Speaker 2: so you have available for that though, you are.
Speaker 3: A true blessing.
Speaker 1: I'm telling you I've been on sets not only as
Speaker 1: an acting coach, but my career started as a casting director,
Speaker 1: and so to watch great directors and the way in
Speaker 1: which you communicate you are an actor's dream because you're
Speaker 1: speaking their language. There's a comfort in coming onto a
Speaker 1: set as an actor and being able to communicate with
Speaker 1: the director. I know that that refrigerator is filled by
Speaker 1: a prop person, but I want to know what your
Speaker 1: idea of what I eat right and if it aligns
Speaker 1: and you are that director that I could have a
Speaker 1: conversation where I absolutely what and that just brings so
Speaker 1: much more depth and volume their performance. I think. So, No,
Speaker 1: I'm a confirm it. I'm gonna speak for the actors, Christine.
Speaker 1: I'll speaking for the actors, because.
Speaker 3: I was going to.
Speaker 1: Say day players turn into contract players, contract players turn
Speaker 1: into stars and listen. And I remember reading an article
Speaker 1: on Premiere magazine.
Speaker 3: Michael J.
Speaker 1: Fox worked with Ellen Chineworth and he said she was
Speaker 1: the only casting director that treated him like a human
Speaker 1: being because he was doing some extra work. She ended
Speaker 1: up casting all of the Back to the Future, you know,
Speaker 1: because there's you know, celebrities have and they have choices
Speaker 1: and when you do things like that for actors and
Speaker 1: what you've done, yes, they have a comfort and a
Speaker 1: dynamic before ormance. But as an actor, to be able
Speaker 1: to give them that comfort so that they can do
Speaker 1: the best that they can.
Speaker 2: Absolutely what I love.
Speaker 3: I love.
Speaker 2: I love actors because to me as a as a
Speaker 2: director and a filmmaker, they're like crayons to me, right,
Speaker 2: So I take that's what I color with, you know,
Speaker 2: And so I just want to have flexibility, and when
Speaker 2: they're more available, the more flex so you I just
Speaker 2: to me, it's a comfort thing. And I really try
Speaker 2: to create relationships with actors that put them at ease
Speaker 2: and put them control, like they have a lot of
Speaker 2: control in my world, you know, And I like to
Speaker 2: create the space for them to feel safe then to
Speaker 2: kind of be imagined in ways that I want them
Speaker 2: to surprise me, you know. So it's just that's what
Speaker 2: it's so fun for me, you know. So I don't
Speaker 2: I take the weight out of it, because part of
Speaker 2: it we all have to be connected and available. So
Speaker 2: whatever tensions are around, my job is to make it
Speaker 2: safe for actors. You know. I typically block for them
Speaker 2: in ways that that you know, sometimes on network stuff
Speaker 2: that I might get in trouble for. Like somebody said
Speaker 2: to me, like, I don't know why she spends so
Speaker 2: much time talking to day players, And I think it
Speaker 2: came from like let's just say an A D or whatever. Right,
Speaker 2: stay in your lane, yeah, and don't step in mind.
Speaker 2: You know, this is what a director does. And I
Speaker 2: don't care if it's episodic and nobody else cares about
Speaker 2: day players. You know, That's not my approach. So I
Speaker 2: I'm in with the filmmaking approach. And like sometimes they're
Speaker 2: just they're punching out product, right.
Speaker 1: And the structure there's there's a template that you know,
Speaker 1: they set the template for law and order.
Speaker 3: This is the way it's done, you know, color within
Speaker 3: the lines.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how to do that,
Speaker 2: I know, And that's what I know. It doesn't change
Speaker 2: the fact that I'm on time and I'm on schedule.
Speaker 2: I just I just elevate the product, you know. And
Speaker 2: what I've learned is this, like I have to do
Speaker 2: that because that's who I am. But that doesn't mean
Speaker 2: everybody appreciates that.
Speaker 1: I mean, we can't change other people, right, but then
Speaker 1: in who we are, people can conform in some way.
Speaker 3: So you just you be you. I agree with you.
Speaker 1: But I'm been an actress and I'm like, wow, I
Speaker 1: want to be an actress just to have a conversasue
Speaker 1: with Christine.
Speaker 3: But that's so cool, which brings me.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the movie that's coming out now on Lifetime,
Speaker 1: The Clark.
Speaker 3: My god, I grew up with the Clarxists, love with
Speaker 3: the Claque. How is that experience working?
Speaker 2: Well? You know, I came on board this project. You know,
Speaker 2: I'm from Detroit, right, Yeah, when I heard that this
Speaker 2: movie was being made and they approached me to direct it,
Speaker 2: and you know, as they were looking at several directors,
Speaker 2: I told them, listen, I'm from Detroit and I'm a
Speaker 2: good filmmaker. You want me on this project? Wow, That's
Speaker 2: how I pitched myself. I'm like, you want me on
Speaker 2: this project because the thing that Detroit teaches people is
Speaker 2: is like this kind of grit that is that like,
Speaker 2: in other words, don't don't get in a fight with me, because.
Speaker 3: You'll lose wow, wow.
Speaker 2: Or craziness. You know, depends on who you ask. Ask
Speaker 2: my husband, So say that to say like that, the
Speaker 2: Clark's sisters are who they are because of this internal
Speaker 2: grit of their mother, Mattie Moth Clark, who defied her circumstances,
Speaker 2: who defied like church politics, and created musical geniuses who
Speaker 2: pretty much are responsible for how gospel music sounds today. Amen, exactly.
Speaker 2: So when you're dealing with a woman who is of
Speaker 2: that stature and of that level of grit and determination,
Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, you want me to direct this? Yeah, seriously,
Speaker 2: I was walking in Maddie Moss clark anointing, so or
Speaker 2: at least I felt that I felt like I understood
Speaker 2: what she did, because if you talk about her, they're like, man,
Speaker 2: she was mean, she did not play, but the fire
Speaker 2: sounded good, right, right. She made history.
Speaker 1: And we're talking a different time, you know, we're not
Speaker 1: talking in nineteen nineties.
Speaker 3: It was such a backdrop.
Speaker 2: Of what she you know, history had to endure and
Speaker 2: overcame in spite of so to me like that kind
Speaker 2: of dedication and commitment to craft, right, despite the odds.
Speaker 2: I don't see that I don't see that today. So
Speaker 2: I was very much inspired by everything that Maddie Moss
Speaker 2: Clark stood for and if I could do justice in
Speaker 2: any to bringing their story to light and them that
Speaker 2: I want that shot. Wow, And I got it, you know.
Speaker 2: And you know, There's so much I could talk about
Speaker 2: in terms of the production part of it. But a
Speaker 2: lot of the reason why this this movie is going
Speaker 2: to pop two reasons. Two things. One is the incomparable
Speaker 2: congenue Ellis.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, Oh my god, such a fan.
Speaker 2: I mean yeah, And I just say this, Tracy, because
Speaker 2: I've yes, you can, I've come you know, I you know,
Speaker 2: I was, I was. I was away from the industry
Speaker 2: for about fifteen years raising my children. I've kind of
Speaker 2: eased back into this and I've been able to work
Speaker 2: with a lot of different people, and I've worked from
Speaker 2: everybody in the past. Nobody can hold a candle to Ellis.
Speaker 2: I'm not even exaggerating.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: I believe you though. And she she's a little bit
Speaker 2: more low key, right briging Mississippi, Like who lives in Mississippi? Right,
Speaker 2: Morgan Freeman does, Yes, comes from Mississippi. When I you'll
Speaker 2: see like when you see what what she does. It's like,
Speaker 2: see and look, this is me as a directory working
Speaker 2: with the Naja new ellis when you see what she's
Speaker 2: bringing this, I'm like, okay, all right, let me make
Speaker 2: space for this. Nice what she's doing and where she's
Speaker 2: going is somewhere of the worldly. And like my job
Speaker 2: as a director is to notice that. See, I don't
Speaker 2: there's what I can't teach her acting, that's not you
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying, Like right, so in a relationship
Speaker 2: with somebody of her training in caliber, Oh, it's like,
Speaker 2: let me let me clear space, right, Oh, you want
Speaker 2: to try this, Okay, let me make this happen. Okay,
Speaker 2: you want to go here. Let's see what that looks like.
Speaker 2: Oh that's great, that's great. Now what if we added
Speaker 2: this on top? Okay, try that? Okay, now we're playing right. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's when you're when you can hit that sweet spot
Speaker 2: right playing right? Gosh, that's heavy, I know, I know
Speaker 2: that really.
Speaker 1: And one of the things that in talking about character development, yes,
Speaker 1: talking to actors, now, how important are classes or coaching
Speaker 1: to build these tools? Because I think that there are
Speaker 1: classes and coaching and they're going to teach you acting
Speaker 1: in schools, they're going to teach you the fundamentals and act,
Speaker 1: but when you get on a set, it's a totally
Speaker 1: different dynamic. And I don't think acting classes teach you
Speaker 1: how to work on a set.
Speaker 3: And so.
Speaker 1: You know, there's already a level of nervousness when you
Speaker 1: go on because I'm working now, I'm a working actor.
Speaker 3: Then who's the director, who's the stars? You know, so.
Speaker 1: There's subease. Like you said, they're not preparing the day
Speaker 1: they meet you. They get prep time way before. So
Speaker 1: there's work to be done. What is that work that
Speaker 1: you suggest that actors do?
Speaker 2: So the second level of the second thing that makes
Speaker 2: this movie pop and like and something that I attempted
Speaker 2: was this. The original plan for Lifetime was to cast
Speaker 2: actors to dub the singing parts that the original Clark
Speaker 2: sisters were going to lay down the vocals for. When
Speaker 2: I came a job, I was like, hmm, I don't
Speaker 2: know about that, yeah, because you know, I'm I'm I
Speaker 2: have a gospel ear. You know, my gospel of music
Speaker 2: doesn't work like that. It doesn't work when people are
Speaker 2: dubbing it, right, So I'm I think we need to
Speaker 2: cast real singers and everybody was like, no, we don't
Speaker 2: want to do that, No, no, no. So long story short,
Speaker 2: So this is my job as a director when you're
Speaker 2: dealing with people who are when you're dealing with the network,
Speaker 2: you know, like, it's a different thing when it's in
Speaker 2: my own independent film. But I had show them better
Speaker 2: than tell them.
Speaker 3: Oh.
Speaker 2: What I did was so I had a friend that
Speaker 2: I was working with for years on my on my musical.
Speaker 2: I knew her to be like an extraordinary voice that
Speaker 2: nobody really knew about in the world, in the world
Speaker 2: of acting. Right. So, and she happened to look like Derinda. Right,
Speaker 2: So I flew her to Detroit. Well, I told her
Speaker 2: to meet me in Detroit now with Kiara Sheard, who
Speaker 2: is Karen Clark, Sheard's daughter. And I knew the two
Speaker 2: of them. I'm like, she's Karen, she's Derinda. And here
Speaker 2: go sit out a keyboard sing a song, and I
Speaker 2: videotape them singing. And then I had them both work
Speaker 2: with an acting coach. I don't know if you know,
Speaker 2: Josie Harris. So I brought Josie in, I flew her
Speaker 2: into Detroit and worked with them on seam work, you know, extensively, extensively,
Speaker 2: and then and and then so we put their acting
Speaker 2: their audition tape. We filmed that too, so we sent
Speaker 2: all of that to the producers. They sent it to
Speaker 2: the network. They saw them singing, and what they felt
Speaker 2: when they saw them singing on that tape, that's all
Speaker 2: they see and that is all I tried to convey.
Speaker 2: Singing live, it will make you feel something. And if
Speaker 2: you feel that, we have to apply it to the
Speaker 2: film because only in doing it that way do we
Speaker 2: properly honor the legacy of the Clark sisters. So that
Speaker 2: was my idea, was to bring in real singers. And
Speaker 2: Donald Lawrence and his genius he was the music p
Speaker 2: three told me he needed three voices, so we found
Speaker 2: the voices that he blended together to create the Clark
Speaker 2: Sister sound. And when the Clark sisters listened for the
Speaker 2: first time, they were like, they sound better than us.
Speaker 3: Oh my god.
Speaker 2: I'm not even joking. Like my job, it's my job,
Speaker 2: like as a director, to find the magic. So if
Speaker 2: people can trust that, and I'm gonna tell you, in
Speaker 2: this industry, it's predicated on fear. And the thing is, Tracy,
Speaker 2: I don't stay in that language. I don't the language
Speaker 2: of fear. So I'm like, I know, intuitively and instinctively,
Speaker 2: can we, you know, make this, make this work? You know?
Speaker 2: So they did and what you see is magic. Now.
Speaker 2: It took acting. It took an acting coach, and actually
Speaker 2: acting coaches, because I actually hired several to work with
Speaker 2: actresses because they are your singers, and you are new
Speaker 2: to this medium, and there's a lot that you don't understand.
Speaker 2: So I mean, you know, I'm not going to say
Speaker 2: that was easy. Right. Sometimes with singers, they take for
Speaker 2: granted how easy it is for them to sing. They're
Speaker 2: used to performance in that way. They think, however, erroneously,
Speaker 2: that they can apply their point of view about performance
Speaker 2: as a singer to performance as an actor. And they
Speaker 2: are really exclusive. They could not be no different, you know,
Speaker 2: or more different, and that's something that took a lot
Speaker 2: of time to ease them into. And I dare say, like,
Speaker 2: you know that more work can can be had post
Speaker 2: movie if you want an actress, So I cannot. I'm
Speaker 2: so excited to say enough important acting training and acting
Speaker 2: practice than here to work NonStop character work and rehearsals
Speaker 2: are important to crafting a performance. When this is not
Speaker 2: your medium, it's important when it is your medium. Absolutely,
Speaker 2: I cannot tell you how much Andrea new ellis stressed rehearsals.
Speaker 2: She would be the first one to arrive and the
Speaker 2: last one to leave, you hear me. So people watch
Speaker 2: and learn, watch the work ethics.
Speaker 1: That's so yes and respect that I want to go on. However,
Speaker 1: we're at the ends by I have to. I have
Speaker 1: to invite you back because there are some goods. I
Speaker 1: am so grateful for everything that you've given the audience
Speaker 1: and I actors, you are blessed because you know, just
Speaker 1: quickly just being in situations where directors their main concern.
Speaker 3: Is the shot, what is the shot like? Or you know,
Speaker 3: or a.
Speaker 1: Director or an actor is on set and they're preparing
Speaker 1: for an emotional scene and they they do it, and
Speaker 1: I see them struggling to find that space that you
Speaker 1: are laughing. Well, everybody's key keying and laughing and hanging out,
Speaker 1: and it's like, you know, and I'm protective like that.
Speaker 1: So I run over and I'm like, come on, you guys,
Speaker 1: give them that space, you know. So I just appreciate love,
Speaker 1: and I'm speaking for all actors like you are Rare.
Speaker 3: I am very grateful. You are a blessing for us.
Speaker 2: One thing, if it doesn't work for me emotionally, I
Speaker 2: don't care about the shot. Okay.
Speaker 1: I love that because that's why I'm I'm on the
Speaker 1: set because that's where I come from as an acting coach.
Speaker 1: I'm emotional. I want to, you know, connect and feel.
Speaker 1: But you don't care what the shot. I mean the shot.
Speaker 1: I trust the shot. But I'm telling you I've gone
Speaker 1: to directors and said, I don't really understand producers. I
Speaker 1: don't really understand what the director is saying to my client.
Speaker 1: And they're like, you know, Chasey, honestly, we don't either.
Speaker 2: That's not good.
Speaker 3: You've got to be able to communicate something, you know.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna we're gonna have more conversations about that.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna invite you back on that is a guarantee.
Speaker 3: I'm so pakful, okay.
Speaker 1: And I just want to thank our guests again, director,
Speaker 1: extraordinary filmmaker. You're just a beautiful spirit, Christine, And thank
Speaker 1: you again.
Speaker 3: So people talk to you soon.
Speaker 2: Thank you cool.
Speaker 1: And next we have class in session on the Spirited
Speaker 1: Actor Podcast with.
Speaker 3: Me Tracy Moore.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore,
Speaker 1: and now my favorite segment class in session.
Speaker 3: And today we're going to work on monologues, you guys.
Speaker 1: And this is the first time that we've really talked
Speaker 1: about monologues and seen a monologue. So we have Spirited
Speaker 1: Actor alumni Julisa Capri who's here with us. Julisa say, hey,
Speaker 1: good to see you.
Speaker 3: Good to see you too, healthy in the world.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's just it's good to see you look good. Okay,
Speaker 1: So tell us the title and the character of the monologue.
Speaker 3: Okay, the title of this is, uh, this play is Jitney.
Speaker 3: It's by August Wilson and the character name Okay, excellent,
Speaker 3: So whenever you're ready, Eric Gimmy was.
Speaker 1: Absolutely sorry.
Speaker 3: A house, no, Dnall.
Speaker 2: You ain't bought no house without me.
Speaker 5: I mean, how many times in your life do you
Speaker 5: get to pick out a house. You bought a den
Speaker 5: for Darnell, That's what you did so you can sit
Speaker 5: down there and watch your football games.
Speaker 3: What about the kitchen, I mean, the bathroom? How many
Speaker 3: windows does the bedroom have? I mean, is there a
Speaker 3: place for Jesse to play?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 3: You can't just go and surprise me without a house.
Speaker 5: And I was supposed to.
Speaker 3: Say, oh, Darnelle, that's nice.
Speaker 5: At what point I would have But I'm not seventeen
Speaker 5: no more have responsibilities.
Speaker 2: I want to know if.
Speaker 5: I got to hook up for the wash and the
Speaker 5: dry because I gotta watch Justice clothes.
Speaker 3: I want to know if I got a yard, and
Speaker 3: then do it have a fence? And how about Chester
Speaker 3: gotta go to school.
Speaker 5: I ain't worried about where to put the TV at.
Speaker 5: It's what's important to me. And you're supposed to know that.
Speaker 5: Dark Now you're supposed to know what's important to me.
Speaker 2: Like like I'm supposed.
Speaker 5: To know what's important to you.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 3: I am not asking you to do this by yourself.
Speaker 5: I mean I am here with you just together, see
Speaker 5: house and no house. We still ain't got no food money.
Speaker 3: But you would have come and told me. I mean,
Speaker 3: if you would have, if you would have shared this
Speaker 3: with me, we.
Speaker 5: Could have went to my mother, got eighty hours for
Speaker 5: the house and still have money for food.
Speaker 1: You just don't know.
Speaker 2: Wrong done now, I mean you you did the right thing.
Speaker 3: Just good at all?
Speaker 2: All?
Speaker 5: Wow.
Speaker 1: A lot of power in that monologue, A lot of
Speaker 1: power So this is the deal. A monologue is a
Speaker 1: piece for you as actors to choose, right, So you
Speaker 1: choose between comedy or dramatic. This was clearly dramatic and
Speaker 1: two minutes. It's nothing. You know, we don't go past
Speaker 1: two minutes.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 1: This piece is really good for you because I can
Speaker 1: see the versatility.
Speaker 3: And your talent.
Speaker 1: You want to use this two minutes to show all
Speaker 1: of the ebbs and flows and the valleys. Right, So
Speaker 1: I want to start out first of all with it's
Speaker 1: not about the house. Let's talk about the truth. It's
Speaker 1: not about the house. It's about the fact that what
Speaker 1: what is it really really about.
Speaker 6: The fact that he's not sharing things with me, like
Speaker 6: he's doing things and sneaking welcome do it by myself,
Speaker 6: and that doesn't.
Speaker 2: Feel like a relationship to me.
Speaker 6: And I feel like I'm the one taking the brunt
Speaker 6: of making sure that we're being responsible parents and he's
Speaker 6: still just being the way we were before.
Speaker 1: Because you guys met when you were seventeen, How old
Speaker 1: was he?
Speaker 3: He was eighteen?
Speaker 1: We were young with you didn't know anything, and the
Speaker 1: only reference that you guys have unless there's somebody in
Speaker 1: your life that's guiding you.
Speaker 3: And mentoring you is what you guys know when you were.
Speaker 1: Kids, So that he hasn't moved from that because he
Speaker 1: doesn't know anything else.
Speaker 3: You've moved from it. Why have you moved from it?
Speaker 3: What made you move from it?
Speaker 6: We have a child, like, you have no choice but
Speaker 6: to grow up when you have a child, like, especially
Speaker 6: if you wants to be a good parent.
Speaker 3: And I feel like in the.
Speaker 6: Midst of this, we're starting to grow apart because I'm
Speaker 6: parenting and he's still being the child. And I don't
Speaker 6: need to raise two children. I want to raise one
Speaker 6: collectively with myself.
Speaker 3: Of the other.
Speaker 1: So you see how you have in this conversation with me,
Speaker 1: That's how you need to have this conversation with him.
Speaker 1: But if you know in a conversation there's levels, especially
Speaker 1: when we're trying to convince someone, you know, we might
Speaker 1: go through guilty, We might go through you know, being manipulative.
Speaker 1: So in the beginning, what is the value of a house?
Speaker 1: He can surprise you at a bouquet of flowers, but
Speaker 1: to surprise you at a house.
Speaker 3: Listen, there was background.
Speaker 1: Check in, credit check in, like this was really really important,
Speaker 1: And there's a trust thing there. So there's a lot
Speaker 1: of things that you're like, it's a house, there's responsibilities.
Speaker 1: We as a couple should talk about these things. But
Speaker 1: he's only reacting and acting from what he knows, which
Speaker 1: is not So.
Speaker 3: You have to break this down to him, and that's
Speaker 3: what you should think about it in the beginning. You know, I.
Speaker 1: Instead of being angry, build your self to that anger
Speaker 1: because that's engaging to watch. And also I like how
Speaker 1: you build yourself to the point of like almost exhaustion
Speaker 1: and tears to get him to understand what you are
Speaker 1: trying to say. Okay, and we need to know at
Speaker 1: the end does he get it, because your reaction is
Speaker 1: going to let us know whether you know, you throw
Speaker 1: your hands and air like a you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: We know he didn't get it.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean. So you need to let
Speaker 1: us see through this character what the resolution was. Okay,
Speaker 1: digest some of that stuff. Also, it's really important that
Speaker 1: actors remember to keep your inner voice working. Your inner
Speaker 1: voice always has to work. For instance, you know when
Speaker 1: you said seventeen, it's like, yeah, I know, we were kids, like,
Speaker 1: but we brought up We're not seventeen anymore.
Speaker 3: If You're voice is working. There's things that.
Speaker 1: Go through women's minds when we think, like this should
Speaker 1: be so simple.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I gotcha, all right, Okay, let's do it again.
Speaker 7: A house, A house?
Speaker 3: Don't know. You ain't want no house without me? How
Speaker 3: many times in your life do you get to pick
Speaker 3: out a house?
Speaker 5: You want a den for Donnell, that's what you did
Speaker 5: so you can you can sit down there and watch
Speaker 5: your football games.
Speaker 2: What about the kitchen, the bathroom?
Speaker 3: I mean, how many windows does the bedroom?
Speaker 2: Hat is any place for Jesse to play. You can't
Speaker 2: just go.
Speaker 5: And surprise me with a house, and I'm supposed to say, oh, well,
Speaker 5: oh that's nice.
Speaker 3: At one point I would have, but I am not seventeen.
Speaker 3: No more responsibilities. I want to know if we got
Speaker 3: to hook up for the washing and the dryer, because
Speaker 3: I gotta wash Joseph me. I want to know if we.
Speaker 8: Got a yard and do have a fense? Yes, you
Speaker 8: gotta go to school. I worried about where to put
Speaker 8: the TV at. It's not a most important.
Speaker 5: To me, and you supposed to know that, Dunnell. You're
Speaker 5: supposed to know it's important to me. It's like I
Speaker 5: am supposed to know it's important to you.
Speaker 3: You know I am not asking me to do this
Speaker 3: by yourself.
Speaker 2: I am here with you. We are in this together.
Speaker 2: But see a house or no house.
Speaker 3: We still ain't got no food money.
Speaker 2: But if you to come it told.
Speaker 3: Me if you want to share this with me.
Speaker 2: Mother got eighty dollars for my house and still had
Speaker 2: money for food.
Speaker 5: You did it all know, you did the right thing,
Speaker 5: but you you just did.
Speaker 2: It all wrong.
Speaker 3: He doesn't get it. He doesn't get it. He's never
Speaker 3: gonna get it. And did it feel better? Did it
Speaker 3: feel different?
Speaker 2: It did feel different?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, like you got to talk to him.
Speaker 3: You gotta get him to understand.
Speaker 1: And at the end, raise the stakes when you say
Speaker 1: you did it all wrong, you did it right because
Speaker 1: he's standing there thinking, I did the best thing in.
Speaker 2: The whole wide world.
Speaker 1: I got a house for the woman I love in
Speaker 1: my child, you know what I mean. So connect with
Speaker 1: what he's feeling a little bit more and that because
Speaker 1: the tears are already there. But that's going to give
Speaker 1: you something else when you see his pain. Look at
Speaker 1: his pain.
Speaker 3: Okay, So you're saying that you said, raise the stakes.
Speaker 1: When you Yeah, because when you say, you did it
Speaker 1: all wrong, but you did it right.
Speaker 3: But you did it all wrong. You did the right thing.
Speaker 3: You just approached it wrong. You should have approached it.
Speaker 1: You should have approached it by sitting down and saying,
Speaker 1: let's together by house.
Speaker 3: What do you want?
Speaker 1: Three bedrooms, one bath. He should have done that, but
Speaker 1: he didn't. And the way he did it was wrong
Speaker 1: to you, but it's right. But in that exchange you
Speaker 1: should feel his emotion because when you say you did
Speaker 1: it all wrong, I mean naturally, he could be like wow, right,
Speaker 1: and then you're like, no, no, no, no, you did it right,
Speaker 1: which lifts him up a little bit. But you did
Speaker 1: it wrong the way you approached it.
Speaker 3: That's okay, okay, excellent. Thank you so much. Dialogue, Kay, okay,
Speaker 3: thank you for being in class and session.
Speaker 1: And next we have give love, and now it's time
Speaker 1: forgive love.
Speaker 3: Chance never helps.
Speaker 1: Those who do not help themselves. When you find yourself
Speaker 1: going through challenging times, you should know this too shall pass.
Speaker 1: And I know that it's easy to say, and I
Speaker 1: know that it sounds cliche, but there's a favor I
Speaker 1: have this favorite.
Speaker 3: Song by George Benson.
Speaker 1: Right, this is years ago. This is going to the
Speaker 1: archives people.
Speaker 3: But he has a.
Speaker 1: Song that says everything must change, Winter turns the spring,
Speaker 1: wounded hearts must heal. And when you're caught up in
Speaker 1: a challenging time, when you're caught up in a lot
Speaker 1: of emotional care, yes you can't really see clearly. But
Speaker 1: when you sit still and you envision that you take
Speaker 1: that breath. Yes it is challenging. Yes we all are
Speaker 1: going through this. But one day we're going to go outside.
Speaker 1: One day we're going to take a breath. One day
Speaker 1: we're going to let that sun. And I think one
Speaker 1: of the most beautiful exchanges that I've had with Soriah
Speaker 1: is just being so grateful for everything that you have.
Speaker 3: Everything. She said to me the other day, Grandma.
Speaker 1: We were going to the store really super quickly, and
Speaker 1: she said, Grandma, I don't need any toys.
Speaker 3: Because I'm good. I got toys.
Speaker 1: And I thought, wow, that's so cool, because she really
Speaker 1: is taking time and playing with her dolls and her
Speaker 1: paints and putting her crayons back in the right place,
Speaker 1: making sure she doesn't break them. There's so much grade
Speaker 1: during this time, and gratitude is magic. And if we
Speaker 1: all spend ten minutes a day, just sitting in a
Speaker 1: space and being grateful for what we have. We can
Speaker 1: produce and manifest more of that.
Speaker 3: That's going to happen, and that's going to come.
Speaker 1: But just as we are doing all the right things
Speaker 1: now and washing our hands and staying inside, we have
Speaker 1: to be conscious that when this changes, we're going to
Speaker 1: have a different outlook. We're going to have a different perspective,
Speaker 1: and that's okay. Don't fear the unknown, embrace it with
Speaker 1: love and gratitude. Thank you for joining us on the
Speaker 1: Spirited Actor podcast with me Tracy Moore. I look forward
Speaker 1: to our next Spirited podcast.
Speaker 2: Thank you,