The Actors Lounge

Graham Shiels Studios 

A graduate of the Yale School of Drama and currently a Recurring top-of-show Guest Star on AppleTV+'s TRUTH BE TOLD with Oscar award-winner Octavia Spencer and Ryan Murphy's "9-1-1: Lone Star" on FOX. Graham is a working actor with experience and knowledge spanning over 20 years. A celebrity acting coach in Los Angeles, Graham coaches Series Regulars and up-and-coming actors alike. Graham himself was a Series Regular on Syfy's fantasy psychological thriller OLYMPUS, a Recurring top-of-show Guest Star on HBO's TRUE BLOOD, The CW's ARROW, and Disney XD's comedy LAB RATS, and has booked over 30 network Guest Stars including most recently CBS All Access' STAR TREK: PICARD opposite Sir Patrick Stewart. Graham has also appeared in major Hollywood blockbusters: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, THOR: THE DARK WORLD, and YES MAN opposite Jim Carrey. His theatre roots are reflected in his regional theatre credits: The Mark Taper Forum (directed by Tony award-winner Brian Bedford), South Coast Repertory (world premiere by Howard Korder, creator of HBO's BOARDWALK EMPIRE), California Shakespeare Theatre, and the Yale Repertory Theatre. Graham has shared the screen and stage with Oscar award winners Holly Hunter, Marrcia Gay Harden, and Anna Paquin, and numerable Tony and Emmy award-winners.

Experience the journey to an Oscar with celebrity acting coach Carnetta Jones. Her unique approach is borne out of 20 years in the entertainment industry. Carnetta was bitten by the acting bug at the age of 12 after sneaking into her father's rehearsal of the musical, Bye Bye Birdie. Recognizing her excitement, he arranged for the director to give her a part. This started a journey that took her from the stage to the big screen. Along the way she worked with great directors like Oliver Stone and Tyler Perry, and with great actors like Meagan Good, Taryn Manning, Kim Whitley, Guy Torry, Bill Bellamy, Faune Chambers, Tasha Smith, Malika & Khadijah, Kirk Franklin, and Macy Gray (pictured below). She also transitions comedians, singers, and musicians into professional actors.

Carnetta succeeds with her own “natural” technique: a powerful blend of Susan Batson, Meisner and Stanislavski. She tailors an individual plan that strengthens weaknesses and builds ones strengths. In addition to private and set coaching, she conducts seminars, workshops and webinars.

Carnetta's success didn’t happen over night!  She received her baccalaureate from the Claremont Colleges and her Master's from UCLA. In college she honed her craft through performance and education which led her to writing, directing and acting in plays and film. This led to teaching acting to everyone who asked for her expertise- college students, children, adults and seniors. These experiences prepared her to coach celebrities on studio lots and many unique locations! Carnetta's evolution of impartation continues to expand as she prepares to use her unique approach to introduce Hollywood-style acting to Japan.

Carnetta resides with her husband and three daughters in Southern California.

Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Barry Brewer began his career as a stand-up comedian in 2002 when he was just a teenager. Originally getting his start performing at local churches, Brewer perfected his craft performing in comedy clubs throughout Chicago before moving to Los Angeles in 2004. Brewer's early success came from televised comedy competitions such as Bill Bellamy's Who's Got Jokes on TV One alongside his peers, Tiffany Haddish and Lil Rel Howery and Comedy Dynamics' comedian showcase, Coming to the Stage.

Liz LaFontant is a Haitian-American Actress native to Orlando, FL. She attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL to receive her Bachelors in Public Health in the midst of pursuing a career as a Model and soon after an Actress. Liz has worked on projects such as Killroy Was Here, Tyler Perry’s The Oval, and Tyler Perry’s Bruh as a recurring Guest Star which will be premiering on May 27th.   She studied at Performer’s Studio Workshop, Andi Matheny Acting Studio, Russ Blackwell, and The American Stage. She recently relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time but continues to work in other markets.

Abercrumbie, a stalwart of the Chicago stage, is known more widely for her television roles on “The Chi” created by awarding wining, Chicago native,  Lena Waithe. The Chi entering it’s forth season. Set to begin May 23, 2021. Abercrumbie plays Nina Williams, mother of two teenagers played by Birgundi Baker (Kiesha) and Alex Hibert (Kevin), together they face more than their fair share of challenges as residents of Chicago’s south side. Abercrumbie has regularly appeared in programs over the past several years including, Proven Innocent, Easy, ChicagoPD, ChicagoMed, Girlfriend Experience, Shrink, Unexpected, The Animator - to name a few.She has acted at Court, Goodman, Northlight, Victory Gardens and Chicago Shakespeare, among other regional theaters.  A talented writer, Director,  she is the inaugural  recipient  of The North Side’s Raven Theater $25,000 new-play initiative. Her  play “Relentless” formally scheduled to open at Timeline Theatre last May before the pandemic shutdown is currently in negotiations for a winter date this season. She is also slated to direct a postponed world premiere “The Last Pair of Earlies” at Raven, this fall. Her favorite quote to live by -

“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” -  Frederick  Douglass

NIRINE S. BROWN is a native New Yorker born and raised in Queens, New York. She first explored the world of dance at the age of 5 under the direction of Bernice Johnson at the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center. Nirine continued to train at local dance studios & joined companies such as KECEDE Company, Devore Dance Studio, The Alvin Alley School, Ballet Hispanico School, Balance Dance Company, and Broadway Theater Project in which she received full scholarships. Nirine attended the Performing Arts Talent Unlimited High School as a Dance/ Musical Theater Major. She began her first professional dance career with The Radio City Christmas Spectacular as a Rockette upon graduating High School. Inorder to take part of the opportunity she deferred her full dance scholarship offered by SUNY Purchase Conservatory College to spring semester. Her dancing talents allowed her to go on tour and/or perform notable Artists such as Beyonce, Janelle Monae, Lauryn Hill, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Jidenna, and Black Eye Pea.

Nirine’s training maturity in Musical Theater was honed through the program Broadway Theater Project in Tampa, Fl where she received a full Scholarship. Some of her credits exist in performing with the First National tour of Wicked the Musical, Fringe NYC Festival musical production of "Scandalous People" at the Minetta Lane Theater, "Dinner at Grandma’s" at The Black Spectrum Theatre, and the production of "Hattie... What I Need You to Know" playing as the young Hattie McDaniel staring actress Vickilyn Reynolds at The National Black Theatre located in Harlem, NY. Vocal Training: LaVoix Studio

Nirine has vigorously pursued an acting career as well. Her most recent television appearance is with Tyler Perry new hit Drama series RUTHLESS for her role as Lynn Rollins (Series Regular).

She has also appeared in media ranging from commercial, print work, special events to independent films. As Nirine continues to pursue her career & dreams in the Arts she will continue to be humble & generous to her family, friends & community.

DaJuan Johnson is a consistently working actor, certified life coach and the founder of Think Bigger Coaching. Currently you can catch him recurring as Detective Rondell Pierce on Amazon’s hit show BOSCH - the seventh season premieres June 25th. DaJuan’s credits include his ABC backed Emmy campaigned performance on Grey’s Anatomy and his lead role in the Emmy nominated YouTube series The New 30. Credits also include NCIS, Narcos, Suits, Agent Carter, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Private Practice, 24, and Bones, and now he is also on a mission to help actors #uplevel their careers with confidence.

His mindset strategies are grounded in real-life experience as a veteran working actor. He has helped hundreds of others break through personal blocks and integrate best audition practices so they can book more work and quickly move to the next level.

To learn more about DaJuan, head on over to: https://thinkbiggercoaching.com.

From the artist...

Because 2020 is the best show ever written, I’ll use it to highlight my experiences and multi-cultural sensibilities.

I spent the last weeks of 2019 writing a comedy feature. Having spent most of that year battling depression, I was trying to write my way out of it. I entered the new year working on a rewrite, as well as a new comedy pilot. I was optimistic, determined and prepared for some wins.

Then Covid-19 hit.

I didn’t fear the illness as I successfully battled the flu. And quite frankly, the only thing that scared me more than finding a lump in my breast was the surgery to have it removed. It’s felt much easier to keep something from getting into my body than to having to get something out. Certainly, I could wear a mask and wash my hands.

Then outside closed.

I was relieved at first. I was scheduled for three weddings and a baby shower that I didn’t want to attend, all before June. Now I had time to write with no interruptions. But the walls started closing in. It was a familiar feeling. Around 2010, during my first stint in Los Angeles, I had a bachelor apartment in Hollywood. I only left home for necessities. I had no car and no money, and it was too hot to run through tourists on Hollywood Blvd chasing the metro. LA residents spend roughly $75 every time they leave the house. I made up that statistic but you get it. My studio apartment went from being a refuge to feeling like a prison.

Then the economy crashed.

I’ve been through that as well. I graduated from college into a recession. As an actor, I’ve learned to live below my means. Freelancing is a skillset I mastered in Atlanta, when I pursued  survival jobs that were reliable and flexible. In 2014 it was substitute teaching. By 2015, I was working as a stand-in. In 2016, I founded a social media management company. I could make money as long as I had wifi. In 2017, I returned to Los Angeles with a roster of clients. For the brands I represent, the nationwide lockdown turned me into an essential worker. I don’t make as much as the folks on Only Fans but I get to keep my clothes on.

Then both the George Floyd and Amy Cooper videos surfaced on the same day.

Overnight the world was forced to deal with something that has suffocated black people for more than 400 years: racism. I’ve endured microaggressions like having women clutch their purses when I walk by, not having the door held for me in my apartment building by whites and Asians, granting requests to be more urban during auditions, and my favorite, taking the notes that my writing sounds too much like Insecure or Atlanta because that’s the only experience the reader has with black shows. So now I get to protest for equal rights. Again.

And I get to do it all in a mask, which makes me look like a threat.

Meanwhile,  corporations offer apologies, cities are painting streets yellow, and all I’d really like to know is when did black pain become the new currency? Where was this ‘support’ when countless black people were murdered on and off camera? What will Hollywood do to tell more authentic stories that not only shape the perception of blacks in the public, but also employ us in rooms where 67% of shows have no black writers at all? I did not make up that statistic.

The sudden interest in my work may be fueled by this moment in time. But my perspective and sensibility have always been needed. Black women are simultaneously the most lucrative and underserved demographics in entertainment. My entire existence has prepared me for this. So I’m here, ready, vulnerable, and generous. Because in reality, 2020 has taught me nothing at all.

Everybody else is just late to the party.

Host Melanie Victor reflects on 200 episodes of the podcast. Her husband BJ interviews her and they talk about the growth of the podcast, the future of it and she gives more information about The Actors Lounge Membership Club, launching on June 1, 2021. Stay tuned!! 

Katt Arcos is an Ecuadorian & Peruvian Talent Manager/Casting Director/Executive Producer born and raised in Jersey City, NJ. She has worked as a business analyst for Showtime and that's when she realized her love for the entertainment industry. In 2015 she opened Arcos Management, a full service talent management company started in Jersey City and has been a passionate Latina talent manager ever since then.

Her mission has and will always be to represent the most diverse actors and provide them with the support, development and guidance they need in each step of their acting career. She pushes her clients to reach their goals and is dedicated to helping them push their career forward. Katt has helped her clients land huge bookings that they never believed they could.

She also works as a Executive Producer and/or Casting Director for independent short films with production company, Witness Entertainment, and has been able to secure roles for her clients on films that are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. She's all for actors creating their own content and building their own opportunities as well!