Equity Foundation Podcast

Deanna Cooney is a Perth-based actor and presenter represented by MCA. She teaches Presenting to Camera at WAAPA. In this podcast you’ll learn foundational techniques designed to develop a sense of ease and confidence in front of camera while delivering down the lens with a presentation style performance. This sense of ease is increasingly relevant as many directors and casting agents are calling on zoom and live conferencing as a means of 'on-camera' communication. You’ll also find this skill set useful for many tv commercials where the talent is required to speak directly to camera presenter-style, and it’s a fantastic adjacent skill set that can help you develop another income stream as a TV presenter or program host.

An opportunity to hear from to producer Joanna Werner, (The Newsreader, Clickbait, Secret City) and director Emma Freeman (The Newsreader, Glitch, Stateless) when they join Equity member Nicole Nabout (The Clearing, Return to Paradise) to discuss what goes on behind the scenes of a screen production before actors are cast, what is involved in the producing and directing side of things on a day to day basis, how they work with actors, the best ways to navigate the actor/producer and actor/director relationships, self taping, zoom auditions, rehearsing, protocols on set and much more.

Join award winning Australian actor and voiceover artist Melanie Zanetti, or as she is better known as "Chilli" in the internationally successful, Emmy, BAFTA and five time AACTA award winning animated series, Bluey. Melanie talks to Veronica Neave about her creative journey moving between voiceover, feature film and television in Australia and the US, shares what it is like to work on one of Australia's most successful shows as a voiceover artist and her advice or diversifying your skills so you can work in many different areas locally and internationally.

Syrus Lowe is a leader in corporate role play, having worked in the industry for over twenty years for some of the top companies. He has delivered hundreds of hours of role play in the UK and worldwide. This session will introduce you to the world of corporate role play. You will learn what corporate role play is and how it is used in the business world, how the industry works, how to do corporate role play, and how to give evidence-based feedback. You will be provided with the building blocks and many tips and tricks to enable you to enter this potentially lucrative side hustle.

There are so many hugely important roles in the world of musical theatre that help bring top productions to life and provide wonderful and rewarding careers for performers. If you are pursuing a career in musical theatre, do you know what it takes to be a swing or cover? What are the rewards and challenges? Hear from some of Australia's most successful musical theatre performers about what’s involved and what their work looks like day to day. This livestream will be chaired by Stephen Mahy (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) with panellists Julian Kuo (Hamilton), Shewit Belay (Wicked) and Ashton Lash (Hamilton).

This is a rare chance to hear from leading theatrical producer Michael Cassel, who has brought many of Australia's most successful theatre productions to life including Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, as well as the West End premiere of Sydney Theatre Company’s The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Sarah Snook. With Erin James interviewing, this is a chance to get a behind the scenes look at how top stage productions are cast, how to have the best chance of successful stage career locally and internationally, what you need to know about the industry and how it works to get ahead, the steps that theatre producers take to get a production up and running and Michael's plans for the future.

Actor and Equity member Clare Chihambakwe chats to Vancouver-based Australian actor and writer Ildiko Susany. Ildiko is currently a staff writer on Netflix's hit Virgin River and has written episodes in seasons 5 & 6. As an actor, Ildiko has appeared in Alaska Daily (ABC) opposite Hilary Swank, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (NBC), as well as Lost in Space (Netflix) and many more. Ildiko has navigated a successful Australian career into a flourishing North American career as both an actor and a writer. Ildiko will share how she did this, what she has learnt along the way, her experience as an Australian actor working overseas and how she successfully moved into screenwriting, what it takes and what is is like to work as a Netflix staff writer on an international hit show.

A basic intro for the experienced actor who needs to know what you need to do to move into the broad world of voiceover. Abbe Holmes is one of Australia's most recognized mainstream voice actors and will give you the essential steps to to get you started. This includes, understanding the skills unique to voiceover; how the industry works, tips for creating your voiceover reel and who you approach once you have it, setting up a home studio, whether you need an agent to get work and much more.

As the first point of contact with a potential employer, your marketing materials are an extension of yourself and an indication of your level of professionalism. Kym Jackson (This Is Us, S.W.A.T., N.C.I.S., The Secrets She Keeps) will give you a clear knowledge of how to make your entire acting toolkit (headshots, resume, demo reel, website, business cards) match those of any top working actor in the industry.

An opportunity for casting director Daisy Hicks to talk candidly with Equity member Monica Sayers about the actor and casting director relationship, offer advice about the audition process and answer any queries you may have.