Acting Related - The MySite.Actor Podcast

If you’re wondering how the hell to get an acting agent right now, this episode with Claire J. Loy will be invaluable to you. A step-by-step guide to ensure you get an agent that is right for you, not just the first agent you manage to sign with. To be honest, even if you’re not looking for an agent, I think you’ll really enjoy hearing Claire’s super-purposeful process. It’s really impressive and shows just how much care and attention Claire puts into the business side of her career as well as her craft. We also chat more generally about the importance of knowing what you want as an actor so that you can create an environment for yourself that supports your goals. Any time I have a self tape of importance to do, I give Claire a shout for help, she has seriously mastered the art, so I also asked her about self taping, what equipment is critical, and when you should invest in a high end camera. Have a listen, and let me know what you think. And if you want to connect with Claire you can check out her MySite.Actor website at www.clairejloy.com, or connect with her on Facebook or Instagram. Claire J Loy is an Irish stage, film and television actress known for her portrayal of determined women, often with an edge of defiance . Claire plays Louise O’Neill in the indie feature Crosshair (dir. Tom McKenna) which is due for release in Summer 2020. Her award winning performance in the critically acclaimed short film In Orbit (dir.Katie McNeice) was described as ‘intense and intelligent’. Her television work includes Casualty (BBC), Trivia (RTE), and The Girl At The End Of The Garden (RTE). I’m also on Twitter (@frankiep) and would love to hear from you, and don’t forget, if you want a quick, easy and affordable actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor.

I’ve known Pauline O’Driscoll for years now, but it’s only more recently I discovered that she trained in New York with Uta Hagen. Working with Pauline on her website, I realised that a) I knew shockingly little about Uta Hagen and b) Pauline had a wealth of information, and stories, to share. I learned so much on this podcast about Uta Hagen and her technique—but also, I just loved hearing the story of how Pauline went from doing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, but craving a more creative career, to studying in the HB Studio in New York and becoming an actor. And make no mistake, Pauline is a powerful actor. She gives a wonderful performance in Gerard Barrett’s Smalltown, as Mary, you can also see her in Austin Smithard’s Busman’s Holiday, and she plays DI Liz Delahunt in Patrick McKnight’s forthcoming gritty crime drama Dredges. Pauline also co-wrote (with Mark Evans), produced, and starred in the one-woman show Seven Ages Of Mam, which will be touring again once we are allowed back into theatres. See Pauline’s website for more of her work, and if you’re interested in learning the Uta Hagen technique, Pauling is offering classes over Zoom. You can book a free call with Pauline to learn more. You can also connect with Pauline on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I’m also on Twitter (@frankiep) and would love to hear from you, and don’t forget, if you want a quick, easy and affordable actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor.

Almost exactly a year ago I headed to the stunningly gorgeous Riverstown House to shoot some reconstruction scenes for a docuseries about Ireland’s Greatest Loves. I depicted Yeats, opposite Ciara Fitzgerald as Maud Gonne. It was freezing, with snow and rain forcing us to grab the outdoor shots during brief gaps in the weather—not that you’d know it from the footage as those gaps then tended to be absolutely beautiful. Freezing, but beautiful. We were able to work relatively quickly indoors, with the decor at Riverstown House providing the perfect backdrop as we moved from room to room to represent different locations. It was a great, supportive crew, with Patrick O’Shea (or Paddy as I will refer to him from now on) directing and Rupert McCarthy Morogh as DOP. I knew I was in good hands, having worked with Paddy and Rupert previously, That series, Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, has been airing on TG4 over the last few weeks and the final episode airs on Wednesday the 17th of February 2021. Given that today is Valentine’s Day I thought Paddy would make the perfect guest this month to chat about the series. Paddy is an award winning director with two features under his belt, a drama and a documentary. He has also directed multiple short films, also in both drama and documentary form. We had a great chat about Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, and Paddy very generously shared some invaluable tips he has picked up while being involved in the marketing and PR of his work. We chatted about some of the things you have to be aware of to increase your chances of getting into the media. And the importance of raising awareness and contextualising your work for your audience—regardless of how uncomfortable it might feel blowing your own trumpet (that’s a real saying right? It’s not just something my dad says…?). I also asked Paddy about his choice to stay in Cork and make work from here, and he made some excellent points about how that choice enables him to make work he might not be able to otherwise. You can check out Paddy’s IMDb here, connect with him on Twitter or Instagram, and view some of his work on his website Southernman Films. Scéalta Grá na hÉireann was produced by Bo Media, and you can see it on the TG4 Player (at the time of posting at least). As always, let me know what you think of the episode on Twitter (@frankiep) and if you want a quick, easy and affordable actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor.

So this episode I don’t have a guest, it’s just me, and I’m going to share with you 6 simple tips for using Twitter effectively as an actor. This year, I am making some changes to how I interact with my smartphone. I want to make at least a small dent in the time I spend on it, and I want to use it more consciously. I’ve turned off notifications for everything except calls, texts, and one or two messaging apps. I want to choose when I log into social media, rather than being pulled in by the endless pinging sounds on my phone. And I want to reduce the time I spend mindlessly scrolling social media. So I thought I would share the tips I’ve picked up over the years to use Twitter more effectively, and more purposefully, as an actor. In my OTHER job I’m a digital marketer, so as well as my own personal experience of making Twitter a better environment for myself as an actor, these tips are also infused with some basic marketing know-how. Oh, hey, I almost forgot to wish you a Happy New Year. It’s not been the most optimistic of beginnings, in fact it feels a bit like the starter pistol sounded and we faceplanted. Which reminds me, the other reason there’s no guest this episode is that I just did not feel ready to engage with the outside world in time to organise a guest. Anyone else in that kind of mood? Despite that, I remain optimistic that we can make 2021 a good year. Tweet me and let me know how you’re doing.

One of the things that has really helped me feel connected to the creative world while in lockdown has been Andrew Macklin’s series of videos entitled “Creative Career Talk” where he talks to all kinds of creative people about what it means to live well as a creative in the world today. I knew Andrew was an actor, and that he has worked with companies like The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Abbey Theatre and The Old Vic, but I hadn’t realised until very recently that he is also a career coach. Because he has spent a lot of this year talking to people about living well as a creative, and since he also works with people to help them build the creative career they want, I knew Andrew would make an excellent end-of-year guest—a time when a lot of us reflect on the last 12 months and start to make plans for the months ahead. First I got my Doctor Who nerdism out of the way (Andrew was in an episode that aired earlier this year), and then I asked whether there were any common threads that ran through his Creative Career Talks. I also asked Andrew what he thought about the pervasive idea that actors have to sacrifice everything and “go all in” in order to succeed. And to finish up I asked Andrew what his thoughts were on New Year’s Resolutions. We chatted about: Andrew was as insightful as always, and if you want more of those insights, check out the journal on his website, or his series of videos Creative Career Talk on YouTube. You can see Andrew’s impressive acting resume on his website, where his coaching & training is also available. AND he mentioned he will be doing some free coaching in 2021, so follow him on Twitter on @actthemacklin to be sure to hear more about that. I can hardly believe this is my last podcast of 2020, I just want to say thank you for all the support since I started this back in May (which seems like about 3 years ago now). I would LOVE to hear from you on what you have enjoyed, what you would like more of, and less of, and who you’d be interested in hearing on the podcast. Email me on frank@mysite.actor or connect with me on on Twitter (@frankiep). Have a great Christmas and here’s to a less insane 2021 :D

Despite starting this podcast at the start of the pandemic during the first lockdown, I’ve kind of stayed away from too much Covid-19 discussion for two reasons, firstly I figured there would be plenty of podcasts revolving around that particular subject, and secondly I wanted to try and focus on more positive topics wherever possible. But in this episode we do chat a bit about Covid and lockdown—for very good reasons that still kept things positive. Film and documentary maker Ciara Hyland aired TWO powerful documentaries on television in the last couple of months, despite everything going on. Both were affected by Covid, but in very different ways. 74 Days: The Hunger Strike Of Terence MacSwiney was actually shot during the first Covid lockdown, and even though Cogadh Ar Mhná - A War on Women? was completed before lockdown, it still ended up impacted by Covid in quite an unexpected way. ​Cogadh Ar Mhná - A War on Women? is a new Irish language documentary that blows up the myth that sexual violence against women didn’t happen during the War of Independence and the Civil War and tells for the first time in their own words some of the stories of women who were victims of it. 74 Days: The Hunger Strike Of Terence MacSwiney uses contemporary science insights alongside the original medical notes recorded during MacSwiney’s hunger strike to recreate the story of the last 74 days of his life. We chat about both these projects, as well as: Be sure and check out Ciara’s website at www.ciarahyland.com, and if you would like to connect with her directly you can find or on Twitter at @CiHyland. Do let me know what you thought of the episode by connecting with me on Twitter (frankiep). Also, I would love it if you thought of just one person that you think might enjoy this episode and pass it on to them. And finally, if you’re looking for a quick, easy and affordable actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor.

Tom Kibbe is an incredible acting coach, and I can’t tell you how much of an impact he has had on how I approach and prepare for a role. If you know me, you will have heard me rave about him on more than one occasion. Tom has worked as an Actor, Director, Producer, Casting Director and was also Artistic Director of the Court Theatre in L.A for over 20 years. He is now based in Cork and working as an acting coach. When he was training as an actor he worked with three of the all-time great acting teachers: Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, and Lee Strasberg. In the podcast Tom shares the story of how he came to work with all three, which one was his favourite, and his main takeaways from each. We also chat about Tom’s own teaching. How he has built upon what he learned from the greats by developing his own techniques and processes to help the actor tap into the creative subconscious to create more expressive performances. I’m really excited to share this podcast with you. Tom has an incredible wealth of experience, and all of the stories that go along with that, such as how he ended up sharing his equestrian knowledge with Peter Shaffer who was at the time, writing “a play about a boy who blinds a horse”, which in turn led to working with Meisner. Not to mention casting for Michael Douglas, George A. Romero, and Curtis Hanson. I will have to have him back again, there’s so much information and so many stories in this podcast and yet I feel we have only scratched the surface here. If you’d like to know more about Tom you can check out his website at www.tomkibbe.com or his Facebook page facebook.com/TomKibbeActingCoach. Let me know what you thought of the podcast by connecting with me on Twitter (frankiep), and if you’re looking for a quick, easy and affordable actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor. Do please subscribe to the podcast, and I would really appreciate it if you would pass it on to someone you think might enjoy it.

When I saw that John McCarthy had produced an audio drama podcast I thought: genius. Why was this a format that had never occurred to me when thinking about creating work? And how had John’s podcast slipped under my radar? I was even more impressed when I discovered that the series had amassed almost 100,000 listens. John is an actor, writer, and director, and he has always impressed me with how prolific he is in his creativity. He was nominated last year for best supporting actor in the Irish Theatre awards for his role of Valene in The Everyman’s production of Martin McDonagh’s The Lonesome West. His theatre company, Hammergrin, used to produce original site-specific genre productions, including Hollander which was nominated Best Production at Irish Theatre Awards 2010. Currently Hammergrin is not producing theatre work, but is the home for John’s science fiction audio drama In Darkness Vast. Myself and John have a history of meeting up for in-depth chats about acting, theatre, and creativity, so I knew that he would make a great guest, and I hope you will enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed chatting. We chat about the impressive range of projects John currently has on the go, and we get into the nitty gritty detail about what inspired John to make an audio drama, and how precisely he went about creating it and building it to 100k listens. You can learn more about John on his website www.mccarthyjohn.com and you can find details about his audio drama podcast In Darkness Vast on hammergrin.com. And if you’d like to connect with me I’m on Twitter as Frankiep, and if you’re looking for a quick, easy and affordable actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor. If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you normally listen. And if you enjoyed this episode please share it. Thank you for listening!

Natasha Waugh’s latest short We Don’t Choose How recently premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh. It tells the story of young homeless couple Jenny and James, it seems as though everything has been taken from them, and yet James is forced to deal with further loss. It’s a beautifully directed, sensitive piece that manages to find some light while exploring difficult themes that could easily have weighed the film down. Natasha Waugh co-founded Fight Back Films in 2013, and has directed eight short films, and is represented by Pull The Trigger Ireland for commercial directing. One of Natasha’s previous shorts Terminal, inspired by the women affected by the 8th amendment, won several awards on the festival circuit and also received prestigious nominations for Best Short film at the 37th London Film Critics’ Circle Awards, and at the 2017 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards (IFTAs). She has worked on projects where she was mentored by Emmy winning director, Dearbhla Walsh and Oscar nominated director, Lenny Abrahamson and has been shadow director on Can’t Cope Won’t Cope, Sky’s Britannia, and the Netflix series Fate: The Winx Club Saga. I chat to Natasha about: We also had a great chat about some of the challenges that face creatives in Ireland, and specifically about money. I’m so grateful to Natasha for being open to talking about this, because it sometimes still feels like a taboo subject. We need to open up this conversation and to really examine how we can build resilient creative careers for ourselves. My digital marketing work is how I pay bills, and how I am able to work as an actor—without balancing my acting work with that work I believe I would have been forced to give up acting altogether a long time ago. I am always interested to hear how others are generating an income and how we can keep making the creative work we love. When Natasha said “this career is like a constant negotiation” it really resonated with me, how we have to keep evaluating where we are, what we want, and how we can make it happen. If it resonates with you too, please do get in touch, you can email me at frank@mysite.actor or leave a comment on the blog post for this podcast. Or find me on Twitter. You can watch several of Natasha Waugh’s shorts on her website at www.natashawaugh.ie, and you can connect with her on Twitter @cinemaster17 and on Instagram at natasha.waugh. And of course, if you’re looking for a quick, easy and affordable professional actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor. If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you normally listen. And if you enjoyed this episode please share it. Thank you for listening!

I am drawing a lot of inspiration lately from creative people who are forging their own path and making things happen for themselves, and comedian Laura O’ Mahony is a shining example of such a person. When we first met, Laura was an actor—she has since made the transition to comedian but there is a huge amount any creative person can learn from Laura about building a career for yourself. Laura is a children’s television presenter on Body Brothers for RTE Junior, she was a member of sketch comedy troupe Cccahoots and made the comedy TV series The School with them, and before lockdown hit she was due to perform her new show “the people’s princess” to a full house at the Everyman theatre in Cork. During the covid-19 lockdown, Laura made it her mission to entertain her followers and grow her audience on Instagram. She has some wonderful insights on making yourself unignorable and indispensable instead of being bitter about the gatekeepers not inviting you in. “You have to build it yourself. You have to make it so that people can’t actually overlook you. Because if they overlook you, they look demented.” Laura also shares what it’s like to be a woman on the comedy scene in Ireland and the work we all still clearly have to do. Laura tweeted recently: “To all who have suffered abuse and all those that are speaking out about the Irish comedy circuit. I see you. I hear you. I believe you. I am an ally and a friend here to help get those powerful voices heard. Silence no more. Enough is enough” Laura points to the systemic sexism that manifests in everything from casual “banter” and assumptions, to well intentioned but misguided efforts at ticking the gender parity box. She acknowledges where she herself has to do better, and calls on everyone to join her in doing their part in being more vocal in calling out sexism. I hope you will enjoy listening to our chat as much as I enjoyed recording it. I don’t think it would be possible to listen to Laura without coming away feeling inspired and ready to build yourself the creative career you have always wanted. Be sure and follow Laura on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauralolslots/ Laura is also on Twitter and you can check out comedy troupe Cccahoots via their website or Facebook page. And if you’d like to connect with me I’m on Twitter as Frankiep, and if you’re looking for a quick, easy and affordable professional actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor. If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you normally listen. And if you enjoyed this episode please share it. Thank you for listening!

Sometimes as an actor it can feel as though our fate lies in the hands of others, with a lot of us still buying into this notion that we have to wait for the phone to ring in order to work. One way to take back control of your career is to make your own work. Actor, writer, and voiceover artist Jody O’Neill has done an amazing job of making her own work right from the very beginning of her acting career. And in February 2020 Jody had a play co-produced by The Abbey which she wrote and performed in. There’s no doubt that making your own work can be an incredibly rewarding process, but it is also a huge amount of...well, work. It often requires that you take on a multitude of roles such as writer, producer and marketing person as well as actor. “When I think about making my own work, on all of them I have this memory of getting to a point where I don’t have time to walk anymore, so I just run everywhere because that’s how you can maximise your time” If you decide to make your own work you will probably want to avoid maxing out your mother’s credit card or having your apartment burgled like Jody did, but there are also loads of positive insights here to be gleaned from Jody’s experiences. Earlier this year Jody wrote and performed in ‘What I (Don’t) Know About Autism’ which was co-produced with the Abbey Theatre in association with The Everyman and Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Centre and you can learn more about the play on www.aboutautism.ie. Jody has also written a web series, called ‘Cocooned’ which is being produced by Graffiti Theatre Company and performed by Amaya Gillespie, you can check out episode 1 on their YouTube channel. Please remember to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you normally listen, and if you enjoyed this episode please share it. And if you’d like to connect with me I’m on Twitter as Frankiep. Thanks for listening!

Continuing the chat with director Shaun O’ Connor, in part one we chatted about making his first feature on a budget of about €300 and how taking an acting class changed his approach to directing, and now we move on to:

Shaun O' Connor’s latest short "A White Horse" has won several awards including Best Irish Short at Foyle Film Festival which means it's now longlisted for the Oscars & Baftas. He was recently nominated for a discovery award at the Dublin International Film Festival and he has directed numerous shorts, a feature, and recently directed a stage play. Some of the things I’ll be chatting about with Shaun include:

We all love the creative side of our acting careers, but the business side often gets neglected. On this podcast I hope to chat about creativity, but also to uncover little insights that can help us make simple changes to advance our careers. Join me for relaxed chats with industry professionals from the film and theatre world.