The Spirited Actor - Yolanda Hunt (02/08/2020)

Hello, and welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. I was a casting director for film and TV and commercials for over thirty years. I transitioned to a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Domez. I auditioned every rapper from biggiees Balls to Tupac, and I realized that rappers and musical artists they needed help

Thank you.

I am beyond thrilled. Oh yeah, yeah. Are we going to schedule something because we're going to eat and we gonna chat. Yes, they're not ready. No, they're not ready for you, Yolanda. I'm going to start out by asking you to, you know, tell us a little bit about how you started as a casting director, your journey as a casting director, and then I need actors to whatever you use to document, whether you're physically writing on pen and paper or in your phone. There's going to be

Well, just to give you a little bit of a brief, you know, my journey.

I started off on this little project called Poetic Justice as an intern, really little yes, And for one week I interned and Robbie came to me and said, we want to hire you as my sister.

Okay, and that's Robbie reed, ladies, and I'm sorry.

Robbie read, by the way, one of my mentors and along with my journey of my career has been fundamental to my career and especially my growth and to this day. And that started my journey. I got bit by the bug and it was.

You know, no holds back.

And then I you know, went on to did another project called Minister Society with Tony.

Lee, another little project.

Well, she was Robbie Read's associate, and then he became casting director for that. He brought me on that project and just kept going. And then Ralph Farquhar came into my life. Oh, and he gave me the opportunity to learn the back into production.

Okay, so he brought me in a Moesha. So I learned. I was his assistant and I learned to do all of that.

And he asked me when I wanted to you know, when the show got picked up, what did I want to do?

I want to do casting.

I mean, that's what I do, right, And so he got me and Kim Harden together.

Wow.

I love Kim Harden. Shout out to Kim Harden.

Loved Kim Harden.

That's another one of my mentors that definitely you know, is influential in my life today as well. She hired me and it's a funny story. She hired me to do Moesha, and at that time she didn't feel I was.

Ready to be an assistant and she fired me.

But you know what, that was an experien for me to know that I had to do better. So right after that, I got hired as an associate on with recub Bradmon Garcia, another.

Vent Billy Hopkins, Yes, Billy Hopkins.

And Garcia, they were partners. And then she branched off and did her own thing. She was doing Speed Speed Too. Oh okay, So I got put on and I wasn't the associate for Speed Too, and I was an associate for The Flood, starring a minie driver and Rickay Harris ress in Peace, one of my favorites all time. And it was just kind of like I just kind of took off from there. And did you know, I planted seeds to myself that I wanted to do, said I want to do a movie in New York. Two years

I was a true associate on that project.

I was like hands on from day one and just seeing how the handpick and bringing that great talent to Malcolm and Sam.

It was just Malcolm brilliant.

Yeah.

Sam, by the way, and.

I worked with Monica Calhoun. I coached you.

Yes, Monica Calhoun is is. She's an extraordinary actress and writer. Yes, it's one of also one of my close friends.

Wow.

And she's still writing right now to this day, so she's got a lot of things going on with her as well. And that cast it just brought people to pay attention to what I was doing and what I, like I knew I had is that I had a mine for talent right and it was like, Okay, we can take a chance.

And that's all. That's how she wrote.

I moved to New York sixteen years ago and I was working at BET and I've been there in house freelance casting director ever since.

That's a brilliant, brilliant journey and actors, I need you. I always stress for actors to IMDb dot com so that they can see the credit, to know the credits. But Yolanda, you have been a part of UH cinema, Black cinema history, like, these are classics that you're talking about.

I feel so, you know, there's a lot that I've left out. Black Panther.

Yeah, I was gonna say those are all like I felt like when I was coming up into this, I was I was in the gut of great African American art being actually being on TV.

Absolutely.

So I was given that opportunity to work with the Keenan Irvy Wayians right and working on his variety show, and then I had that gave me a little real fast track of how I had to you know, got to call at ten o'clock in the morning and I had to have a cast by four.

Wow.

So that really gave me my my like chops. Yeah, and then you know, working on those kind of shows. And then I mean, my journey has been so long. Kingdom come getting to work, you know, with everyone.

And she still looks the same. Ladies and gentlemen, you don't see her, but she doesn't. She look to say, yes, well, I think Paul and Will and may Hunt I attribute that to my care when we thank them too. Yes, but this journey has been so great. But I'm not done having that's my journey. I'm just getting right there.

And now that I'm really starting to teach my acting classes here in the Tri State and we need coaching, and it's just been a whole other platform when I'm like so happy that I'm being able to share to people what I'm looking for in the room when they're coming to audition for me, as opposed to what you think, because you got those three minutes to shine, and if you don't give me those three minutes of what I remember you, then.

You're going to need the fundamentals and I'm gonna try to give you to that.

So one of the things that you said, and I can honestly say I went to one of your classes and you were a totally different you are as a caustie director, which I love. Yes, I mean, this is what we're talking about. We're talking about the truth.

So absolutely, I feel like I'm unorthodox.

You're not gonna go get oh, this super training and I'm going to get this kind of the Meisner technique, right, No, you're gonna get the technique of Yolanda that's telling you this is what you need to do when you get into a room to get a call back, which you know that's.

What I know.

This is what I'm I'm I'm actively working. This is I'm still casting. I'm still looking for talent, right, so, and I'm I'm looked to as the person that brings new talent. So I'm always looking for the underdog or somebody that hasn't had that exposure, or doesn't have an agent, or doesn't have a manager, doesn't have headshots. Those are the ones that really are the underdogs, right, And I'm

Thank you.

And the thing about that casting room that you know we live in it, right And so I transition direct ninety seven ninety eight when I just came on board and really live with Buster runs and Eve as their coach. But the generation shift and they change.

I want to.

I want to you guys don't see the soul, but I want you to talk about because Yolanda, I feel like because I started my career in eighty seven at MTV and it was just myself and Kevin Powell. So in terms of people of color, Okay, I'm exaggerating, but anyway, there weren't a lot of people of color at that time.

When I started out, you know, you had to do the work. You had to put the work in. You looked at you know, TV shows, you looked at movies, you you studied actors. You had to know actors' names. You had to know who people were. You had to know their resume. You had to know producers, and you had to know dire directors. You had to do your research.

Of what they things.

Facts exactly exactly.

The computers were, you know, we were just tapping into those. We were still using typewriters when I started work process, so exactly. You know, so I see that this generation, this wave of actors that I have seen lately, I feel like they're old. It's I'm not supposed to wanting to do the work. They don't want to do the research. And I really when doing this last project that I worked on one night in Miami, Gina King's directorial debut.

Associated on that along with.

Kim harden Is, the casting director, and I noticed that it took me about four months just to you know, get people to really audition correctly for Muhammad Ali and actually he was Cash's Clay at that time, so it was like people wanted to come in and they wanted to come in as Muhammad Ali, but it was like, did you do your research? Did you know who Cash

Work, absolutely, you do yours, That's right.

So I try to push my students to do the research and to make sure that they know what they're doing when they step into the room, because I know what I'm doing and so they need to learn how to, you know, to do the research an actors period, and if you're doing a biopic, and.

If you're creating a character, do the research stuff with your friends.

I have done so much to try to help actors, and little do you know, people that my friends that are actors, they take my personality and it will create a character that has happened.

I believe that it truly happens.

That's great though, that.

It truly happened. So I know that.

I know that that's what you people you draw from. So that's why I try to act. You know, I try to teach my my my, my students. You know, the first choice is the best choice. Don't overthink it as an actor, right and just do your research. You know, you can never be too perfect at acting. We have the Denzel Washington still get coached. There's you know, there's actors Nicole Kidman's they still get coached.

Jennifer Lopez introduced me to her acting coach on The Hustler. She was like, Tracy, I've been with him twenty years. Why would I leave him?

That's the point.

If you really are truly dedicated to this, then that's that's what you do. You do the work. And I also have come across and this is going to be a very touchy subject. Oh yay, that actors domestically are not so great with international actors. You know, our British actors. They feel like the British Is are coming over here

There should be no and you should want to as an actor to work outside. I worked in Amsterdam recently. I taught a workshop, and why not go to Amsterdam? Why not explore outside of America to do work. But one of the things that I wanted to touch base when you were talking about the audition and people not doing their work, do you find that actors don't read action insides?

No, they don't read the stage direction at all.

Oh okay, they.

No, it's not you. Oh it's not.

And that's another thing that I teach my read the stage direction. It's telling you what to do in the scene. I mean, it's the most self explanatory thing ever.

So I was coaching this actress and Gossip Girls coming back and I said, yes, but but they were cussing in the sides, and I said, ce w, it's on HBO Max.

Oh yeah, they did. They picked it up and so it's like a reboot. There was some cuss it.

So I said to the actress, you know Gossip Girls, you know it was out before and she was like, yeah, I know. And I said, well, have you seen any episodes of the and she was like no. And I was like, so what I'm gonna need you to do? And I'm gonna need you to see the episodes so that you understand they're bringing it back. So just so you can get an understanding, right, there was a line the character is an African American girl, and what the information that we did not have is who she was.

So I said, you have to do.

Your research to understand. And then it says the Earl of Kensington, this is not a sat earl and the information.

I guess.

My challenge is how do we help actors today because in this climate, I know what it's like to stand up for like twelve hours exterior Chicago coaching eve On barbershop sixteen hours a day six days a week, and I wrote this book on my day off for three months. So what do we do about the work ethic of these actors?

I mean, we have platforms like this right here to be able to promote what they need to know.

It's just it's on the receiver.

And I could beat you in the head all day long and tell you know it's green, but you're gonna say it's blue no matter what.

Right I can't.

I can only give you all of the fundamentals that you need, okay, And I'm giving you all of those things.

It's not in the orthodox way.

It's the way that I know, as a working casting director expert in what you do, that this is.

What I need to see. I need to see this.

I'm telling you that this is whatever casting directors need to see as well. When you were walking into a room, right, I try to teach you the etiquette. You know, It's like I make you feel like when you walk into my room, like you've known me for years, but you don't know me. So there's a there's there is a boundary, there's a personal way of you coming in, be it feeling comfortable because I would be doing a disservice if I made you uncomfortable to myself and you because I

You know, it's not you.

Know, hey, home girl, no you know. And I've come across that because you too. Some people feel like they do know me in it. And that goes back to social media now allowing people to get closer to you casting director. You know, in the eighties and the nineties, we didn't have that connection.

You didn't even know what I looked like.

So, you know, social media came out to play the facebooks, and then you know people wanting to, you know, know more, and then you know, the avenues of technologies is getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and just trying to stay in the know of that, and you can't be archaic in our game.

We have to be in the know.

Even though I might not, you know, be on social media as much as I should be. I am active, right, I still try to stay active. I try to let people know what's going on with me because you want to know why I'm working. I want to keep you guys employed. So if I'm not on social media as much, it's just because I'm working to try to keep you guys working.

And if not, I'm teaching classes to keep you guys working exactly.

So it's a process and I'm constantly trying to stay busy. I have another sex seven week course coming, so let's talk about your classes. Where do you teach? Where can we get the information because actors need to be there. Well, I teach at Express New Work. In my new seven weeks course is going to be every Wednesday, sorry, January twenty. I give seven weeks, and I give you the fundamentals

I give you.

I do those things because you need to be able to be just as creative in the room as you are is doing an audition, because that's how you bring a character to life. So I try to give them all those fundamentals. And this is my next one is kids yay. This is my first challenge with that. I'm doing it with two other cast and directors who actually a casting director and.

A talent agent.

Charlie is out of Los Angeles and here he does his workshop here and Sandy Mendelha Mendenhall. She's like, you know, yeah, Sammy is more of a reality commercial talented cast in Virgil like she did kids say the dardest things, so she does like those kind of cat talents.

And then it's me coming in showing the theatrical. Nice.

So you got your talent agent, you've got your commercial and commercial modeling, and then you have your theatrical. So because those are all kids, that's great. And that's my one day seminar coming up on February first, February first at expresswork as well.

So where can we actors?

Event right? Event right?

Got all of those guys my upcoming events, and then I promote everything on my social media. You're Line behind Entertainment on Facebook okay, and also my ig okay Casting Diva, all.

Right, Casting Diva. Yes, we have a cast DIVA recognized. So in your classes, I want to ask you because I used to sort of gauge, right, like, let's say you have twenty students in your class. Out of those twenty students, how many are going to take your jewels and parlayed to the next level in their acting class? I mean, in their acting career.

It's so funny you said that because the last class I just had, I gauged. I started off with twenty five students, wonderful, amazing. First class was like, oh my god too. They had to know what the work was going to be. Oh by the time I was done, I had six. So that's a third of my class. That's a third of the people that want to do the work, that actually want to learn, actually want to feel like they're doing something and not being given something.

Wow. Let me just say this. I love my casting director friends, and I celebrate them. So, if you thought this was the last time you were going to hear from Yolanda Hunt, you are sadly mistaken. Landa. You are coming back. There's too much to oh, thank you. I didn't even ask her. I apologize. I just assumed, sorry, will you come back?

I just feel like there's things that still need to be covered. Yeah, I guess definitely. The Cassy Divas coming back.

Yay, Okay, So in these moments that I have with you, I want you two things. One, I want you to share your pet peeves. Give us a couple of your pet peeves. Okay, my biggest pet.

Peeve is, like I said, when you come into the room, you should never want to shake my hand. That is one of my biggest pet pees. I see fifty plus people a day. I don't want to give you anything, and I don't want you to give me anything that is really truly.

That is one thing.

I'm not a germophobe, but I just am conscious of the fact that I am dealing with a lot of people on a regular basis.

Okay, I love it. My other pet pee don't call me maum, do not call me.

Mout I dropped the mic. I agree, I'm not your mouth. I'm just a casting director. Yes, Miss Hunt, Miss Landa, I have no problem with that.

But ma'am, I.

Don't jenya flect exactly saying I just I'm saying I, like you said, nobody can see me what I look like right now, but I know I don't look like a mound. Okay, No, she does not, thank you very much.

Okay, Yes, and.

I'm sorry, do not say I'm sorry. When you're auditioning and you fumble, that should have actually been my number one because we go switch it. Honestly, when you're auditioning and that's that you're three minutes, I'm okay with you missing a couple of lines or you having to stop and start, because that's gonna make you better. But as soon as you say i'm sorry, you broke character, you

I'm not.

I'm not a lifeline. Now, I'm just I'm watching you just do what you do, so don't say you're sorry. Give yourself three seconds, count to three, breathe, pick up from that last line and keep going. We're not gonna stop you. We're gonna let you go ahead and go because we want to see you shine. You want to see you deliver. We want to see you be able to win. So when you start saying I'm sorry, you're you're shooting your own.

Self and the actors, I listen, I'm so excited because whenever I have a casting director, I feel like we speak the same language and I'm like, thank you, thank you, like.

We do, we have our code of we do.

But it's I just there's just such a comfort in knowing that there's someone like you that I am not consistently casting anymore, but to know in terms of casting and teaching that you are out there that honing these actors empowering because that's what you're doing when when you are talking about the etiquettes and when you're talking about research and all of this stuff is empowering. And so we need you guys to receive it. No, it is.

Okay, I look forward to it.

I do too. Oh my god, my heart is filled. I could just levitate for the rest of the day. Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you for, like you know, allowing my voice to be heard to the actors that I would love to reach and meet.

So absolutely well.

We're also going to reinforce all of this information about your workshops and your classes for the adults and children as well. Thank you, You're welcome, oh man, okay, thank you. And next we'll have class and session with Spirited Actor alumni Leanne Amado. Welcome back to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me, Tracy Moore and Yolanda our casting director of Stoord and they are casting. Diva is still with us and I'm so excited. Thank you, Landa, thank you for

Do you want to talk?

Rebecca glances sharply at Eric.

You know what's funny to me? Now?

You have lots of.

Conversation, Rebecca, I don't know what to say.

Well, I cannot take another apology from you.

Eric.

Rebecca, I am sorry.

I'm not accepting your apology.

What do you want to do?

Rebecca laughs and cries at the same time.

You want me to make this easy for you. You want me to end this. God, you're so pathetic.

I'll accept my responsibility, but approaches him.

But what.

I have some responsibility in this?

Eric walks away. She stands in his way.

No, no, no, don't walk away from me.

What do you mean?

Eric tries to get away without touching her.

All right, Becca, all right?

Rebecca slowly backs off.

She sits, I never meant to hurt you. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I had too much to drink.

Rebecca laughs.

I got a lift share I was on my way home to you.

Rebecca tears up.

What are the chances that my ex girlfriend would get in the car. It didn't mean anything, I never does.

Do you want this to work?

Eric?

Of course I wanted to work.

Even after you had sex with your ex Yeah, ex girlfriend on your way home engagement party. Yes, you don't think that might be a problem.

Eric paces thatca.

It meant nothing and it will never happen again. I promise you that.

Yeah. I really want to believe every word coming out of your mouth.

But I can't.

Rebecca removes the ring from her finger and places it in Eric's hand.

Keep it, you deserve it.

Scene. Eric walks out the door. Okay, thank you, thank you. Wow, Okay, it's on you.

First off, you guys have a good chemistry together, but I am going to have you do it again and leanne the key thing is is that when she's doing those stage directions, when she's making those those points that you laugh, and then you need to add those in that incorporate that because it makes us seem a little bit more real, and just watch out for the beats that you guys are allowing the space and didn't have

Okay, Okay, so Emani and Leanne, I'm not reading the stage direction, but you know where those moments are. Okay, so let's incorporate what Eolanda has given you. Take a breath and you guys ready, okay, yes, and action?

Do you want to talk?

You know what's funny to me now you have lots of conversation.

Well, Becca, I don't know what to say.

I cannot take another apology from you, Eric.

Beka, I am sorry.

No, I'm not accepting your apology.

Yeah, what.

What do you want to do?

Oh?

You want me to make this easy for you?

Right?

You want me to end this?

You're pathetic.

I'll accept my responsibility, but what.

I have some responsibility in this? No? No, no, no, don't walk away from me.

What do you mean?

Hmm, I'll write that guy? All right? I never I never meant to hurt you, all right? Was it supposed to happen this way? I had so much to drink, I got a lift share, I was on my way home to you. What are the chances that my ex girlfriend would get in the car? Didn't mean anything?

Yeah?

It never does. Do you want this? Do you want this to work?

Eric?

Of course, someone at the work.

Even after you had sex with your ex girlfriend on your way home from our engagement party. Yes, and you don't think that might be a problem.

That's as it meant. It meant absolutely nothing will never happen again. I could promise you that.

Yeah, I really really want to believe every word that's coming out of your mouth, but I can't.

You keep it you deserve it.

And see much.

They listened to you.

Besides, I don't know, I'm glad. Yeah, that's what I consider myself. Workable actors that take direction and apply it and use it and go ahead and redo the scene and actually make me feel I felt like that second time around, you guys were more into it and felt it and it might be channeled to somebody else's relationship or your own or a present or current, you know, a previous situation, but it actually was in corporate.

I believed it. I didn't want to pay attends to the paper. I wanted to pay at terms to the actor me too.

Wow, great direction, miss Yolanda Hunts, and thank you, Amani Patterson. We appreciate love you.

Yeah, yeah, I'm a menum you and Moni. I'm looking forward to seeing and meeting you.

Okay, Somni, this is this is how it's going down. This how's going down because your lot is coming back. So when Yolanda comes back, I'm going to have the date and then you come in live and you and Leanne will have another scene.

To work with the hands on.

Yes, okay, so that's that's a date that's done. Okay, thank you, so much Leanne, and I was getting ready to cry.

Leanne always you know, she's a tears man, She's passionate about her craft.

She is I'm going to levitate today because of the love that I have received on this show. I can't even tell you Landa like how you've touched my spirit and it is just it's beautiful to know that after all these years, we still know each other.

I know we still are in touch.

With each other.

That's wonderful thing.

And we love each other. So this has been a really really powerful, powerful show and you guys have to tune in again because part two is going to be even more explosive. I'm going to ask you to put on seatbelts for part two because I know, listen, she what and I know you all just go go home and she gonna be like, yeah, I guys, bring it. You allowed to bring it for part two. Thank you so much, thank you, Thank you guys out there as well. Yay, and thank you again Amani for jumping on board.

Okay, thank you so much.

Yay, thank you, thank you for class in session. And now it's time forgive love. So I went to Amsterdam in October and incurred a large amount of expenses on my cell phone. And I'm not going to say who the carrier is, but I called my carrier to see if I could negotiate some of these additional fees, which kind of exceeded into like six hundred dollars, right, So I called the carrier and the guy picks up the phone and he says, hello, miss Moore, how can I