The Artist Matters

"Acting is like a disease, I don't know when or if it can be cured, all I know is that if I give up, It will surely kill me."
This describes today's guest, actor Lou Lentino-Rodgriguez to a tee. As early as he can remember, he was entertaining the family doing character impressions and dancing and singing. It came natural to him. Maybe not by accident either. Turns out his family has connection to none other than Jimmy Durante.
And when he did his first role as a dancing snowflake in a school play, he knew this was his calling.
As he got older, Lou began pursuing acting and landed his first extra role in the TV show, Central Park West.
From there, he landed other roles in plays, such as Stalag 17, Romeo & Juliet, The Passion of Dracula, Extremities and Wait Until Dark.
Lou has been at this for 20 plus years and finally hitting some strides, with roles in TV series, such as Blue Bloods, Gotham, The Blacklist and High Maintenance. And just last week, he finally got his SAG/AFTRA card.
A friend of his described him as the 49-year-old minor league ball player who never made it to the pros, BUT never gave up. And that's Lou. If his opening quote gives you any indication, he can't not act. Despite the struggles and competition, acting brings him joy and he has to do it. This man defines perseverance and I truly applaud him for that.
And I think you will too. Enjoy my chat with Lou Lentino-Rodriguez.

"Happiness Made Solid". This is what you get when a family therapist turns to pottery.
As a child, Dean McRaine always enjoyed building things with his hands. When he got older, he found pottery as a creative and relaxing way to take his mind off the often times stressful and intense world of family therapy.
He taught himself through magazines, books and lots of trial and error. He considers himself to be a great problem solver. And you really have to be with clay. The intricacies of types of clay, molding it into the shapes you want, how long you fire them up in a kiln.
And Dean had to one up himself and experiment with colored clay. This is what made me want to connect with him. I still can't grasp how he can create all these designs and patterns onto a sheet of clay. You have to check out the video.
He's set up in Kauai with his shop, Lightwave Pottery. The name is not an accident. He wants his work to bring light to people. He hopes that someone can feel the emotional connection when they hold a mug or a plate he's sculpted.
Dean prompts artists to ask themselves: what is your mission as an artist? What is the feeling you get out of your art? Do you have the desire?
Well, Dean certainly has stuck to his mission for 30 plus years and still going strong at age 68. As one client complimented his work, "It's colored therapy."
Let the session begin!

Did you ever fell like you just didn't fit in with any group? That there was something about you that was different?
That's how today's guest, Laurie Ann Davis felt when she was a kid. But once she found acting, she knew where she belonged.
Playing Anne Frank was the catalyst to push her to pursue this as a career. Taking classes. Auditioning. Getting roles on stage and screen.
Someone felt she could be a teacher, so she decided to start teaching acting in the basement of her house in Hicksville, NY. I joined her class, The Acting Experience in 1999 and Laurie had us dig deep and pull out performances from places we didn't know existed.
She eventually moved her class out of the basement and to a studio, renamed Star Map Acting.
But she still went for roles in film and stage. However, Laurie found that getting the right monologues for auditions was tedious and frustrating, so she wrote her own. And then, published them in her book, "Finally...Monologues That Work".
She even found time to raise her son.
Now, she is releasing another book, "Finally..Scenes That Work", plus just last year, Laurie found a new location to teach which is 3 Stage Studios in Bethpage, NY.
One of Laurie's greatest superpowers is being relentless. Her drive and determination is what keeps her in the game. She says, "All we have is this moment. Just be human."
Enjoy this moment with Laurie Ann Davis.

Welcome to The Artist Matters premiere episode. It's a little get to know me and my artistic journey. And what the show will be about.