Hometown To Hollywood w/ Bonnie J Wallace

My guest on this very special Hometown to Hollywood podcast episode is director, producer, and choreographer Kenny Ortega.

Kenny has directed many iconic film, TV and theatre projects, but he is best known for his work directing Newsies, Hocus Pocus, This is It, High School Musical 1,2, and 3, and Descendants 1, 2, and 3, as well as creating choreography for Michael Jackson, Cher, Madonna, Gloria Estefan, and Elton John. He has won three Emmy awards and two Directors Guild of America awards, among many others, and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He recently produced and directed Julie and The Phantoms for Netflix.

In this very inspiring conversation, Kenny Ortega shares how he began in the industry, how he made the jump from choreography to directing, his approach to directing, what he looks for in an actor, audition advice, casting, advice for both parents of young actors as well as for actors, and so much more.

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

• “I couldn’t be one of those people that sit on the sidelines and go, ‘I wonder what it would have been like had I pursued what I love in this world.’”

Follow Kenny Ortega HERE:

Instagram: @kennyortegablog

Twitter: @kennyortegablog

Today my guest on this episode of the Hometown to Hollywood podcast is Jillian Clare.

Jillian has been in the entertainment industry since the young age of 7.

Having grown up on the soap opera Days Of Our Lives, Jillian went on to star in the Victorious special Freak the Freak Out, as well as roles in several other indie films and TV series. 

Besides acting, Jillian has taken her turn behind the camera as well. She recently produced and starred in the indie film Pretty Broken which premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival. In the last four years, she has directed two hit teen feature films To The Beat! and To The Beat! Back 2 School making her one of the only female directors to direct both the original and sequel in a films' series. 

We discuss her experience as a young child actor, her school experience, transitioning from a child actor to a teen actor to an adult actor, the CHSPE, why she got into directing and producing, auditioning advice, her podcast Thanks for Coming In, and much more. Join us!

Follow Jillian HERE:

Twitter:          https://twitter.com/jillianclare

Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/jillianclare/

Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/officialjillianclare

Podcast:          https://thanksforcominginpodcast.com/

Hi, thanks for joining us! This is Bonnie Wallace, author of The Hollywood Parents Guide, Young Hollywood Actors, and Top Hollywood Acting Teachers, and today my guest on this podcast is television director Jody Margolin Hahn.

Jody started her career working with sitcom writers. She has directed over 150 episodes of television, including The Conners for ABC, Call Me Kat and The Cool Kids for FOX, One Day at a Time, Fuller House, Mr. Iglesias, Alexa & Katie, and others for Netflix, Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel. She recently completed her first short film, "Yes/No" and directed the pilot and multiple episodes of the Netflix series, The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia. She’s a member of the Director’s Guild of America.

We discuss how she started directing, what it really takes to direct TV, differences between multi-cam and single cam shows, what she looks for in an actor, advice for auditions and self-tapes, advice for parents of young actors as well as for young actors themselves, and MUCH more. Join us!

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

• “I was that kid who put on plays in the backyard. I was the star, and the director, and made my sister play the boy and my neighbor the tree.”

Follow Jody Margolin Hahn HERE:

Instagram:                  @jodyfm       

Website:                     https://jodyhahn.com/

My guest on this episode of the Hometown to Hollywood podcast is Mike Manning. Mike is an award-winning actor and Emmy-winning producer.

As an actor, Manning is most known for his roles in Disney's snowboarding movie Cloud 9, and MTV's Teen Wolf. Other TV credits include Hawaii Five-0, Major Crimes, The Bay, Crash & Bernstein, Operation Cupcake, and Days of Our Lives.

When not performing, Manning works as a producer, co-founding Chhibber Mann Productions in 2015. He's been involved behind the camera on dozens of films including the Showtime documentary Kidnapped for Christ, Jinn, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, Folk Hero and Funny Guy, M.F.A., and Lost in America, featuring Halle Berry, Rosario Dawson, Jewel, and Tiffany Haddish.

We discuss how he started acting professionally, his training, how he broke into producing, the power of storytelling to change the world, the importance of nonprofit work, advice for young actors, and much more.

Listen all the way to the end for a brilliant piñata metaphor about acting-!

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

• “At one time I was taking Meisner, Groundlings, scene study, comedy, and another class.”

Look for Mike in Days of Our Lives, and Spike Lee’s most recent film, Son of the South, out now.

Follow Mike Manning HERE:

Instagram:                             @MikeCManning

FaceBook:                              @MikeCManning

Personal website:                  https://www.mikemanning.info/

Chhibber Mann website:      http://www.chmannproductions.com/

Today my guest on the Hometown to Hollywood podcast is talent manager Sherry Kayne, co-founder of Moxie Artists.

Sherry's clients are working in TV, Film, commercials and print, Broadway and professional stage productions and National Tours. They include Haley Reinhart, Catherine Mary Stewart, Akira Akbar, Quvenzhané Wallis, JD McCrary, Young Dylan, Mackenzie Hancsicsak, and more.

We discuss social media, star quality, what makes for good acting and a good relationship with your agent or manager, the importance of letting young actors have a life, thoughts around education, and MUCH more. Join us!

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

• “You need to bring yourself to the role in order for it to feel authentic.”

Follow Sherry Kayne here:

Website:                     https://moxieartists.com/

Instagram:                 @sherrykayne

Today my guest on this episode of the Hometown to Hollywood podcast is actor Patrick Fabian. Patrick is truly a career actor, working steadily for almost 30 years, primarily in television. He is best known for his roles in Better Call Saul, Big Love, Veronica Mars, The Last Exorcism, Must Love Dogs, and Star Trek: Voyager. Recent guest stars include Lucifer, Code Black, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grimm, Scorpion, The Newsroom, Longmire, Castle and Scandal. Patrick also played my daughter Dove’s father in the Disney Channel original movie Cloud Nine.

We discuss his training, how he broke into the LA market after college, lessons he’s learned over his 27-year career, advice for young artists, and much more.

Listen to the first 10 minutes here for free, or become a Friend of the Podcast for just $5 a month — and get access to the full interview, as well as access to the entire collection of over 100 other inspiring and educational episodes designed to help you succeed in the entertainment industry.

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

• “I arrive in California, I see palm trees for the first time, & I thought, ‘I am never going back.’”

Steven Vincent, VP Music & Soundtracks at Disney Branded TV

Today my guest on the Hometown to Hollywood podcast is Steven Vincent, Vice President of Music & Soundtracks at Disney Branded Television. He is the man behind the music you love from not only the Disney Plus and The Disney Channel, but also Disney XD, ABC Family, and more, since 2007.

Steven Vincent advises and collaborates with TV series and TV movie producers on script development and creating original music, as well as licensed songs. He works with recording artists, songwriters and composers in conjunction with Disney Publishing, Disney Music Group and Radio Disney as well as external labels, publishers and management.

On the talent side, he has supervised the TV music careers of Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Jonas Bros, Zendaya, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Bridgit Mendler, Bella Thorne, Ross Lynch, Laura Marano, Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens.

Vincent has a degree in Music Composition from UCLA, and studied film scoring with Walter Scharf, David Raskin & Fred Karlin while winning scholarships from BMI and ASCAP. He has also worked as a film composer, arranger, producer, conductor and musician.

We discuss what he does in his work, what it’s like to work with young talent, how he creates the sound of the Disney shows and movies you love, advice for young talent (both songwriters and actor/singers) and much more. This is a fascinating dive into the world behind the music from so many of your favorite soundtracks— including The Cheetah Girls, Camp Rock, High School Musical, Disney Descendants, and much more. Join us!

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

• “Leave your ego at home. You’re there to serve not just your vision, but the vision of the director, producers, writers, and the studio.”

Feeling inspired? Take Steve Vincent’s advice to heart and try writing a song this week! Or singing in front of an audience, even if it’s just your family in the living room. Or writing a poem or learning an instrument. As he says, you can learn a lot of this online, even from YouTube. If you are serious about a career as a singer, take voice lessons so you learn how to safely use your instrument. If you want to be a triple threat, learn some basic dance.

And if you need a little help navigating the industry, invest in an online consultation with me. A single session can set you up for success and help you avoid the painful pitfalls that can cost you precious time as well as money.

My guests today on the Hometown to Hollywood podcast are Dave Thomas Brown and Amelia Bay.

Dave is a triple threat whose roles on Broadway have included Elder Price in The Book of Mormon, Josh in Clueless the Musical, David Van Patten in American Psycho, JD in Heathers the Musical, and many more roles in touring and regional theatre. He played Elder Price on the West End in London as well as on Broadway.

Amelia is a professional hairdresser and wig maker for both Broadway and TV. Her credits include Law & Order SVU, Monsterland, Marvelous Miss Maisel, Be More Chill, She Loves Me, The Book of Mormon, and Aladdin.

Dave and Amelia are business partners and are also engaged.

We do a deep dive on the importance of training, audition advice, how to get started on Broadway (whether you are an actor or an artist backstage), surprises, challenges, and advice for people who want this life. It was especially fun to chat with both Dave and Amelia, who bring such complementary insight into how the industry works.

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation (see if you can guess which quote is from which one of them!):

• "I fell in love with theatre because of CATS the Musical.”

Follow Dave and Amelia HERE:

Dave Thomas Brown

Website          www.davethomasbrown.com

Instagram       @davethomasbrown

Amelia Bay

Instagram:     @ameliabay

Their shared socials

Instagram:      @BBandtheRV

YouTube:        @BBandtheRV

The Line Learner App that Dave referenced can be found HERE

Dave Thomas Brown fell in love with theatre, singing, and performing because he was exposed to it as a child. Amelia Bay hung out with the theatre kids in high school in her small town and began doing the hair and makeup backstage, eventually running the department before she left high school. So often it's a lucky accident that introduces us to something that can shape our lives: the chance attendance of a live theatre performance, a trip to New York or Los Angeles. In my own life, it was seeing a community theatre production of Mame with a family friend that left me mesmerized and in love with acting... which eventually led to my own children falling in love with singing and acting because they grew up heavily exposed to it. Which led to a lot of amazing things that continue today.

If you or your child have a dream of performing professionally, schedule a consultation with me, and start the new year off with some positive action toward that dream. In just 60 or 90 minutes, we can answer questions you didn't even know you should ask, and create an action plan.

My guest on this Hometown to Hollywood podcast episode is actor, podcast creator and author Matthew Del Negro.

Mathew’s success has been well-earned and slow-burning. He began doing small theatre productions in New York before landing a pivotal role in Season 4 of The Sopranos. Since then his career has spanned theatre, film, and TV, and he is best known for his roles in Goliath, Huge in France, Wind River, Scandal, The West Wing, When We Rise, Hot Pursuit, Teen Wolf, and many more.

In 2017, after describing his career as "being told 'No' for a living" when speaking to near-graduates of MFA Theater Programs in Los Angeles, Matthew created and launched his podcast, 10,000 Nos, which can be listened to on the Apple Podcasts App, Spotify and at 10000nos.com. On it, Matthew gets up close and personal with successful people from all walks of life about the 10,000 "No"s they've had to endure and the struggles they've had to overcome on their journey to where they are today.

We cover some inspiring territory, including how heartbreak led to an epiphany that started his journey as an actor, what he did to break into the business, advice for auditions and perseverance, and some very powerful mindset advice for success in life as well as in acting.

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

·      “It started with a bold proclamation, and commitment.”

·      “Take action now, course correct later.”

·      “If you go in trying to figure out what they want & doing that—even if you get the job—that whole job ends up being miserable, because you never own the character.”

·      “Whenever I’ve been at my best, it’s when I’ve felt, ‘this is my take on the role, & you may like it or not like it, but this is what I’m going to do.’”

·      “It’s not so easy when you have nerves, & you’re in the waiting room & others are sitting there and posturing and getting in your head.”

·      “You need to love the actual work.”

·      “Nobody from my world became an actor.”

·      “My dad would always say, ‘failure is opportunity in disguise.’”

·      “We have to be careful of who we choose to be around, so what we’re getting is lifting us & not crushing us.”

·      “Find your people. Find the people whose values align with you. The people that GET you.”

·      “Find the people who are going to empower you, & challenge you, & inspire you, & introduce you to things you might not have seen before.”

·      “If you are listening to this podcast, you’re doing something right. Bonnie is like a guardian angel.”

Follow Matthew Del Negro HERE:

Podcast:          https://www.10000nos.com

Website:         https://www.matthewdelnegro.com

Instagram:     @mattydel

Twitter:          @matthewdelnegro

Get his book, 10,000 NOs HERE

Matthew Del Negro spent years in the trenches like so many actors do, learning lessons about how to succeed the hard way. And while none of us escape some time in the trenches-- and there are no shortcuts-- there ARE some ways to soften the learning curve and save some time and money figuring everything out on your own.

If you would like some help finding your way through the maze of the entertainment industry, book an online consultation with me. In just one session we can create an action plan for you.

My guest on this episode of the Hometown to Hollywood Podcast is top dialect coach Jerome Butler.

As a dialect coach for actors performing in movies, television, or theater, Jerome’s job is to give actors enough understanding of the accent for their imagination to take over and bring the character to life. 

And as a Juilliard School graduate with more than 25 years of experience in theater, television, and film, Jerome Butler understands the challenges facing actors. 

Performers he’s worked with range from Naomi Watts, Thandie Newton, Melanie Liburd, Noomi Rapace, Stephanie Szostak, and Ellen Burstyn to Tom Hardy, Gerard Butler, Robert Downey Jr., Jonathan Pryce, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Jerome Butler’s credits include For Life, When They See Us, This is Us, Blade Runner 2049 and many more. He has also worked as  a Dialect, Speech and Vocal coach at Juilliard, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYU and numerous other actor training programs.

He is also the founder of dialectcoahcescorner.com, an innovative resource for accent modification and dialect work. 

Jerome shared some fantastic direction for actors regarding how to approach speaking with different dialects convincingly, as well as non-actors who want to be able to speak in a different dialect for their own personal or professional reasons. Throughout the episode, she shares some fantastic life wisdom and advice for actors.

Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation:

• “Whatever it is that you say ‘yes’ to on a continuing basis… 5 years later, that is where you’ll be. Positive or negative.”

Follow Jerome Butler HERE:

https://www.jeromebutler.com/

https://www.dialectcoachescorner.com/

Instagram:         @dialectcoachescorner

Facebook:  @dialectcoachescorner

Dialects are an entire world of their own, just like the world of professional acting is. And the more you explore these worlds, the more you realize that there is a lot more to understand and master than meets the eye! If you are discovering that you could use some help navigating your own path in the entertainment industry, sign up for an online consultation with me! Just one session can answer questions you didn’t even know to ask, and set you up with a detailed action plan.