This is our 60th episode of The Acting Podcast 🙌 which is a big deal for us here at The BGB Studio. So welcome to #60, and How to be Awesome. You ARE awesome. Say that to yourself, maybe even in the mirror; try it! I AM AWESOME. Now let it land. Right in your solar plexus. It’s TRUE. And while this Industry may not see you in your awesomeness- now or yet or since whenever- it’s your job… your responsibility… your privilege… to step into the light. To let your awesomeness be seen. To keep coming...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 5Ep. 60
At our most recent BGB Actors Summit, Risa and Steve gathered with actors from all over the world- from Rio de Janeiro to Mumbai, from Glasgow to San Antonio, from Buffalo to all over Los Angeles. They offered the fundamental and practical steps necessary to nurture and rebuild your career, your collaboration with other creative professionals, and your art. These are essential practices that take you on the journey to success- from care for yourself and who you are as an artist through to expres...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Season 5Ep. 59
Hunting Season “ A story, in three parts, about Catfish Queens, Virgin Marys, and Losing your Damn Mind in the Mississippi Delta”
Feb 20, 2025•30 min
Saturday Boy “A tale driving you into the heart of car bonnets, old ladies and existential dread”
Feb 20, 2025•20 min
Losing My Religion “ It’s 1992… painting houses, a break up, a presidential election, and poetry”
Feb 17, 2025•15 min
Murder at Heaven Avenue “A mountaintop revelation changed everything”
Feb 17, 2025•22 min
Muqtada’s Room “An invitation to stay in bed gets him out of bed and into the dream”
Feb 13, 2025•18 min
The Creek “Things left said”
Feb 13, 2025•12 min
Incomplete Knowledge “Desire spirals into obsession amidst the labyrinthine canals of Venice.”
Feb 10, 2025•26 min
Cynthia Continued “A bitter green salad and the awful reality of transactional relationships”
Feb 10, 2025•25 min
Trastevere “Impossible moments and a Maestro’s long game”
Feb 09, 2025•17 min
Found Words “A trip to Wales to find connection led to more than she could have ever imagined”
Feb 06, 2025•15 min
Hand Tools “ Hand tools and family trees”
Feb 06, 2025•15 min
You’ve Been Lurking Here “A hazy memory of treasure and ruin in New Mexico”
Feb 03, 2025•12 min
Sidenotes “Hope = the fire in the rear view is smaller, the further we get”
Feb 03, 2025•19 min
It’s Horror month. Halloween… and all. 🎃 In the spirit of spooky movies, I talk with 2 of our amazing BGB Master Teachers, Sydney Walsh & Corey Parker , on Zoom (so you can watch!) about what it was like to act in the HORROR genre- they each have starred in a few iconic Horror Movies. We talk Horror movie acting, and acting in any Genre, plus what it was like to audition in the 80s and 90s when big filmmakers were in the room, along with Casting Directors (like me!) who collaborated with ac...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 5Ep. 58
An actor's mindset can make or break a career. Your job is to open your heart, remain sensitive and open. And you’re asked to do that job in an Industry that doesn't have the capacity to care for your needs and in which scarcity is the norm. You will lose faith. It’s inevitable. But how gracefully you can find it again is the difference between auditioning with the full power of your talent, and allowing fear and self-consciousness to drain you of your power when you’re trying to book work. Risa...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 5Ep. 57
Risa talked on Zoom with with Anthony Meindl of fellow acting studio, AMAW (which is Anthony Meindl's Acting Workshop) about EVERYTHING… about art, big tech, climate change, self-tapes, casting, how Tik Tok is killing our attention span, and how things are really really hard right now. They talked about both getting started in the NY theatre and the power of community, and, something that resonates for us at BGB a well... being in process always, and being an artist first. It was a great convers...
Aug 28, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 56
Risa sat down with some of our amazing BGB teachers ( Cate Cohen , Sydney Walsh , Corey Parker , and David DeSantos ) for an inspiring conversation about redefining your relationship with the Industry. About how to successfully step into your power in your work, your art, and your career. What leadership looks like so that you're in the driver’s seat, not waiting for the Industry to invite you in. Why we all need a community in which to be creative, to grow, to thrive- we were never meant to do ...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 5Ep. 55
Change is the only constant and the changes have come fast and hard. So what is the Industry now? What does it mean to be an Actor right now? What does it take to make it today? Risa and Steve discuss the current state of Industry, what actors can expect from the Industry and the essential shifts actors need to make right now to position themselves for success. Listen in and let us know how this resonates with you. MORE ON RISA MORE ON STEVE Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a r...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 5Ep. 54
“Script Analysis” is an often misunderstood term that can result in an actor robbing a scene of its art by reducing it to mathematical calculations. Some actors love the idea of script analysis so they can “solve” the scene and control it. Other actors abandon the idea of script analysis altogether because they are afraid of adding any structure to their art. The truth of Script Analysis is more interesting and dynamic. BGB Master Teachers, Cate Cohen, Sydney Walsh, and Corey Parker, sit down wi...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 4Ep. 53
An actor who books work consistently is an actor who has the capacity to remain vulnerable in the face of intense rejection, to stay focused in a world full of distractions, and to stay sharp in one of the most competitive Industries around. The actor who books work consistently has found a way to stand out from hundreds of others. They have expressed themself in a way that makes them a singularity. In a hard industry and a hard world, that kind of singular expression must be supported by a life...
Jan 30, 2024•59 min•Season 4Ep. 52
2023 was a really intense year. Two strikes, wars, a contracting Industry, inflation, lingering effects of the pandemic, etc. And that intensity revealed some powerful lessons that every actor must hear and understand in order to be a working actor in 2024. Risa and Steve delve into the lessons of 2023 that point to the new reality for actors and light the path to success in the New Year! Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a review and rating! Your words will help connect us all ...
Dec 12, 2023•58 min•Season 4Ep. 51
Ok, so the Industry is back. But it won't be business as usual. It can't be. Too much has changed. And if you want to book work in this new reality, you're going to have to change too. So listen in and let us know what speaks to you! You can meet this moment, but it won't be easy. Risa and Steve discuss where the Industry is at right now and the important first steps that every actor must take now that the strike is over. Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a review and rating! Yo...
Nov 10, 2023•58 min•Season 4Ep. 50
This is a new world for actors. And the Industry that emerges on the other side of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes will be different than anything we've ever seen. The ways in which Actors have thought about their careers for over a century are, in many ways, no longer relevant. So, what's an Actor to do? Risa and Steve shed light on this strange new world, offer insight into what it might look like, and discuss the action that Actors can (and must) take right now if they want to have a career on ...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 49
John Levey loves his job. He loves actors. He loves storytelling. He loves diving into the worlds each character inhabits. He’s been loving it for 40 years and is one of the masters of this passion profession, having won multiple Emmys and Artios awards, putting actors into groundbreaking roles on some of the most popular television shows of all time- E.R., The West Wing, China Beach, and Shameless, to name just a few. Listen in as Risa & Steve have an honest conversation with the legendary ...
Jul 07, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 48
Generative A.I. is not the future. It is here. Now. And as the technology gets better and better, and audiences become less able to discern whether or not the actor on their favorite TV show or movie is human or A.I., the Industry will choose A.I. generated actors over human actors. A.I. actors are cheaper, less demanding, don’t have a union, and don’t require inconveniences like air, water, food, physical space, etc. But as Generative A.I. comes for your jobs, it forces all of us to ponder impo...
Jun 24, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 47
We wholeheartedly support the writers as they fight for what they rightly deserve. And also, a strike means that the Industry is slowing/shutting down. For actors, that can mean fewer auditions and less hope of booking jobs. It can bring up fear and disappointment, especially after three years of pandemic-related uncertainty. In this episode, Risa and Steve offer tools to navigate it all, and reveal some of the incredible opportunities that present themselves when the Industry stops. Subscribe! ...
May 05, 2023•35 min•Season 4Ep. 46
As an actor, your vulnerability and emotional sensitivity are not only tools of your art. They are your products. But being a sensitive person in an often cold, emotionally violent industry can be a train wreck waiting to happen. Risa and Steve explore the kind of consistent healing necessary to stay open enough to bring the fullness of your talent to your auditions, and not compromise your mental health while doing it. Your nervous system is your tool and your product. It’s also a sacred elemen...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 45
Actors can often see CDs as faceless, soulless gate-keepers with the potential to grant wishes or kill dreams. This perception is not only wrong, but it’s bad for an actor’s business. Casting directors are human beings who, like you, often struggle to do good work in an emotionally violent industry. In fact, the humanity of casting directors- their ability to be emotionally affected, to be moved- is often the reason an actor gets a callback and gets cast. Actors must believe then and constantly ...
Feb 14, 2023•56 min•Season 4Ep. 44
