Empowering Artists: The Journey of Creating a Thriving CommunityIn this podcast episode, hosts Elizabeth and Brianna discuss the inception and growth of their support community for actors. They share insights into the challenges and successes faced by artists, particularly women, in the entertainment industry. The hosts recall how their informal conversation in 2022 led to the creation of workshops and eventually a thriving community that began in early 2023. They emphasize holistic growth, encompassing not just professional achievements but also personal well-being. They highlight the importance of mindset, self-awareness, community support, and practical advice on career and life management. The episode concludes with details on the upcoming Thriving Workshop in March 2025, aimed at further extending their support and guidance to new members.00:00 Introduction and Welcome00:05 The Birth of the Thriving Community02:07 Empowerment and Mindset05:00 Holistic Approach to Artist Development06:43 Practical Advice for Actors14:11 Community Support and Activities27:28 Upcoming Workshop Announcement

Have you ever wished for a big sister, a den mother, or an acting biz guru who's been in the rooms and truly walked the walk?

Join actress Brianna Brown and Elizabeth Boykewich (CSA, MA) for a two-hour virtual workshop on Sunday, March 16th, from 10am-12pm! With over 50 years of combined experience in the entertainment industry - both in front of an behind the camera - we've seen and been through it all. From audition rooms and screen tests to executive meetings and on-set collaborations, we know what it takes to build a lasting career.

This workshop offers a taste of our Thriving in-person and online community - designed to keep you accountable, inspired, and on track toward achieving your personal best. We will lead you through a powerful, actionable process to implement effective shifts - helping you move past limiting patterns and step into your fullest potential.

What You’ll Gain:

• Clarity & Confidence: Get real about building a long, lucrative career.
• Mindset Mastery: Step into your power and cultivate supportive self-talk.
• Audition Myths Debunked: Learn what really matters (and what doesn’t). 
• Longevity Strategies: Focus on what will sustain your career over time.
• Break Through Blocks: Identify and interrupt patterns that are holding you back.
• Real Talk & Action Steps: Receive direct, honest answers to your burning questions.

Ready to sign up? Click  to learn more and reserve your spot! https://mym.briannabrownkeen.com/product/virtual-workshop-thriving-not-surviving/

How Are You Relating To Your Acting Career? Self Inquiry and Self Support. A short episode.

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Today we have a question from a listener!

"Hey Elizabeth! I took your and Brianna’s workshop back in February, and really appreciated getting your perspective. If you have a moment, I’m in need of some casting director advice!

Before the strikes hit, I was in callbacks for a lead role in a TV series. When everything shut down, they let me know me their casting would be on pause until the strikes end. The dilemma is this: I’m not happy with my current representation, and really want to make a change, but I’m worried that it could muddle things with that team since we were communicating through my agent. Of course there’s no guarantee I’d even find better rep at this crazy time, but I’ve been nervous to even try. Of course there’s also no guarantee they’d want to move forward with me, but if I changed rep would it be difficult for them to get a hold of me? Am I way overthinking?"

JOIN THE THRIVING COMMUNITY: https://theeb.co/thriving

THRIVING WORKSHOP WAITLIST: https://mym.briannabrownkeen.com/product/virtual-workshop-thriving-not-surviving/

ELIZABETH BOYKEWICH: https://theeb.co/about

JOIN THE THRIVING COMMUNITY: https://theeb.co/thriving

THRIVING WORKSHOP WAITLIST: https://mym.briannabrownkeen.com/product/virtual-workshop-thriving-not-surviving/

BRIANNA BROWN KEEN: https://www.briannabrownkeen.com/about/

BRIANNA'S IG: https://www.instagram.com/briannabrownkeen/

ELIZABETH BOYKEWICH: https://theeb.co/about

As a professional actress, author and the founder and CEO of The New Hollywood, Brianna Brown Keen has  mastered how to inspire, empower and enable people of all walks of life to step into leadership roles. 

Brianna speaks to organizations, artists and entrepreneurs about how to get clear on what they really want and more importantly how to get out of their own way. Her unique perspective and expertise  blends creativity with out-of-the-box problem solving by reducing them into tangible action items. We share the common hurdles we see entrepreneurs and artists, sharing tips and tools to help the audience MANIFEST ‍the life they truly desire.

"If you're on this path, this personal journey, you might as well experience some stuff and learn some stuff and grow and expand.  There's no point in sitting in your comfort spot by yourself and just staying the same. That's not an adventure. This career promises an adventure and a community, and if you are a full participant, it's a hell of a good time." - John Frank Levey

JOHN'S INSTAGRAM

JOHN'S IMDB

PURCHASE JOHN'S BOOK RIGHT FOR THE ROLE  

John Frank Levey is a four-time Emmy Award-winning casting director. He has cast such iconic television shows as China Beach, ER, The West Wing and Shameless, as well as dozens of other television series, miniseries, TV movies, digital series, video games and feature films. Levey is also a five-time winner of the Casting Society of America’s Artios Award and the recipient of its prestigious Hoyt Bowers Award, given for excellence in casting and outstanding contributions to the casting profession. After decades at Warner Bros., Levey became Vice President of Casting for John Wells Productions before launching his own casting company. Right for the Role is his first book.  

Elizabeth Boykewich is a Coach & Facilitator specializing in Transformation, Mindfulness & Leadership.  She is a casting maven and served as the Head of Casting for ABC Family & Freeform at The Walt Disney Company for 17 years and now works as an independent casting director.

Giant THANK YOU to all of the actors who submitted questions.  If you'd like to submit a Q to be answered on the podcast or tik tok please visit the "for actors" page on my website.  Link below.

SUBMIT A QUESTION HERE

Elizabeth Boykewich IMDB

Get in touch with Elizabeth

WE DISCUSS:

+The journey of self discovery

+Why he wrote the book Right for the Role

+ What surprised him about looking back on his career

+ What he thinks helps him as a casting director

+ Where he found himself and his direction

+ How he started his casting career

+ The different languages one needs to speak as a casting director

+ Role of empathy in the process

+ What every actor needs to know

+ His proudest achievements

+ How John Wells changed his life.

+ Putting the cast or ER together

+ "Trampoline" roles

+ The delicacy and tenderness of the casting process

+ "The opportunity is the audition"

+ Where John learns a lot about the actor.

+ "The actor is a player and the instrument"

+ Why he misses being in the room for auditions

+ Being a "vibe-ist"

+ The gift & burden of being an empath

+ Looking at the "The thing under the thing"

+ Defining charisma

+ The gift & burden of being an empath

+ Looking at the "The thing under the thing"

+ Defining charisma

+ Take yourself not too seriously, but take your work seriously

+ What advice John has for actors

+ Advice for new showrunners

+ Casting against type

+ FR. GREG BOYLE https://homeboyindustries.org/our-story/father-greg/

Date & Time: Saturday February 11th at 10:00am PST

Cost: $50

INFO & REGISTRATION:  https://theeb.co/workshops

For those who’ve been hungry to do some intentional processing around your acting career and how to bring more clarity into your life as a creative person, now is the time to get specific and create new ways of being and showing up for yourself and your craft.

If you wish you had a big sister, den mother, acting biz guru who has actually walked the walk, been in the rooms and can advise you on your acting journey this workshop is for you. With our combined experience, we have been through and seen it all, in front of and behind the camera. We have been in the audition rooms, screen test sessions, executive suites, with representatives, business managers, acting teachers, directors and producers on set and off.

In this workshop, we will…

Flow of the Workshop:

10:00-11:00am Goal Setting Tools to help build your career with Brianna

About the Speakers:

Elizabeth Boykewich, CSA, MA

Brianna Brown, award winning actress who has graced the silver and small screen more than 300 times with 20 plus years of being in La La Land. Founder & CEO of nonprofit The New Hollywood that supports socially conscious storytellers & changemakers through grants, goals and mentorship. As well as author and accountability coach using Manifesting Your Mission method.

After a decade of working in various independent casting offices and TV/film studios, Leigh Ann Smith and Conrad Woolfe founded Indigo Casting in 2021 with the mission to empower creatives to produce dynamic, compelling stories through collaboration and curiosity. Most recently, they cast GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES, a musical TV series coming to Paramount+ on April 6th.

Between them, additional credits include:

LOVE, VICTOR (Hulu), THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB (Netflix), IN THE HEIGHTS (WB Pictures), THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND (AMC), THIS IS US (NBC), MARY POPPINS RETURNS (Disney).

https://www.instagram.com/indigo_casting

www.indigocasting.co

Elizabeth Boykewich is a Coach & Facilitator specializing in Transformation, Mindfulness & Leadership.  She is a casting maven and served as the Head of Casting for ABC Family & Freeform at The Walt Disney Company for 17 years and now works as an independent casting director.

Giant THANK YOU to all of the actors who submitted questions.  If you'd like to submit a Q to be answered on the podcast or tik tok please visit the "for actors" page on my website.  Link below.

SUBMIT A QUESTION HERE: https://theeb.co/for-actors

EB Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0102130/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

THRIVING (not Surviving) in 2023 Workshop with EB February 11!

We Discuss:

+Importance of good headshots

+Over personalizing in casting

+Casting By documentary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting_By

+Importance of defining your why

+Most powerful tool in casting director arsenal

+What made Conrad leave the business and why he came back

+Power of no (and yes)

+A yes to something is a no to something else.

+Finding ways to connect to your integrity

+Journey of performer to casting career

+Why they are called Indigo Casting

+How their job has changed in this new auditioning world

+Tiffany Mac episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/64nQBb5Pbyw3nWuy7lqF2z?si=NoUoD4-1TAqpTAp7FdvPsA

+Process of casting a musical virtually

+Andrew Fem @castingbythem

+Importance of intentionality in casting

+"Historically what we've been taught is sit down and shut up until you've reached a certain level or you've gotta earn your place"

+The dynamic of castings relationship with the creative team

+After you pass along your picks of the actor to the director, do you have any swing power on behalf of the actor or is that solely the director's pick from that point?

+Their "No a$$hole policy"

+Different type of approval processes depending on the director

+Fitting the puzzle that is that process.

+What they love about casting.

+Why having a community is so important.

+The process and struggles of introducing, suggesting, pushing for actors of color slash diversity for roles that are not initially written as, or looking to be cast as diverse

Seth Yanklewitz has one of the most complete and comprehensive casting resumes.  He has worked as a high level studio movie casting executive, a high level studio & network television casting executive and now as an independent casting director.  Seth works in and on every genre and type of show and film.

Some credits include:The Hangover, New Girl, HIMYF and Blades of Glory

Seth IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946134/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Elizabeth Boykewich is a Coach & Facilitator specializing in Transformation, Mindfulness & Leadership.  She is a casting maven and served as the Head of Casting for ABC Family & Freeform at The Walt Disney Company for 17 years.

Giant THANK YOU to all of the actors who submitted questions.  If you'd like to submit a Q to be answered on the podcast or tik tok please visit the "for actors" page on my website.  Link below.

SUBMIT A QUESTION HERE: https://theeb.co/for-actors

EB Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0102130/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

We Discuss:

+ How he got started

+ NYU acting background

+ How ET gave him his love for movies

+ Commercial casting start

+ All of the skills that casting needs

+ What he learned from Bonnie Timmerman

+ First one to get blamed in the last one to get credit

+ Learning moments when working for maniacs

+ Live screen test during pandemic

+ How he feels about new self tape casting process

+ His specific casting process

+ Do's and Don't of auditioning

+ Backdrop specifics

+ Advice for green actors

+ What drives him crazy in auditions

+ When he pulled a diva moment in an actor general meeting and why

+ It's your job to yes, of course, educate yourself on the greats, the classics, but also see what's out in the world now

+ Purview because you've been an executive on film and on tv.

+ What's going to disturb your peace and your process as an actor

+ What he's watching now

+ Go see comedy

+ Casting scripted from commercials

+ General meetings

+ We really are all the same in this business trying to get it done

+ You just, you gotta keep the hustle honey

+ Leaning into your heat

+ What is your superpower

+ The balancing that the casting director has to do

+ What he's working on now

THIS IS A GREAT ONE FOLKS!  "As long as it doesn't hurt you, it can really only, at the very least, it will be a teaching lesson.   Even if it does hurt you. I've had a lot of those teaching lessons too" - Tiffany Mak

I’m thrilled to introduce you to my friend Tiffany Mak.  Tiffany is one of the most sought after and successful Vancouver based Casting Directors.  She has cast (too many) TV Pilots to name, television movies & Independent film.  Some credits include: “The Baby-Sitters Club”, “Alaska Daily”, “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”, “Fresh” and “The Adam Project” With “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” coming out in 2023!

Here we go!. Enjoy!

Tiffany Mak IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2821273/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Elizabeth Boykewich is a Coach & Facilitator specializing in Transformation, Mindfulness & Leadership.  She is a casting maven and served as the Head of Casting for ABC Family & Freeform at The Walt Disney Company for 17 years.

Giant THANK YOU to all of the actors who submitted questions.  If you'd like to submit a Q to be answered on the podcast or tik tok please visit the "for actors" page on my website.  Link below.

SUBMIT A QUESTION HERE: https://theeb.co/for-actors

EB Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0102130/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

WE DISCUSS:

+How hard cancellations are

+Communication flow when shows are cancelled

+Tiffany's first job

+Kyle XY casting stories

+What started the casting muscle going for Tiffany

+"I'm number one on the call sheet!" / Call sheet numbers

+Lauren Shuler Donner's advice to young Tiffany

+How to start doing homework if you want to get into casting

+Getting clear on your values to optimize for synchronicity

+The most pleasurable and rewarding creative project TM has ever worked

+The unpredictability of the business

+Relationship importance

+Optimizing for synchronicity

+Tiffany's pillars before taking a project

+Don't let pride get in your way

+Important parts of growth

+Getting outside of your ego and focus on values

+Defining your values

+Survival modes

+Zoom callbacks

+Most pleasurable and rewarding creative project

+Tiffanys experience doing animated casting

+How EB cast Lindsay Lohan in the Parent Trap

+Why TM keeps and up to date non-film resume on her computer

+What Tiffany is watching now

+Why some CDs love reality shows

+What advice do you give actors who want to get into this and build a career.

+Self tape pet peeves

+Best demo reels

+Different types of headshots

+What makes casting special

As we end a year and enter a new one: What's your why? What's underneath your goal?  What is REALLY driving you?

Elizabeth Boykewich is a Coach & Facilitator specializing in Transformation, Mindfulness & Leadership.  She is a casting maven and served as the Head of Casting for ABC Family & Freeform at The Walt Disney Company for 17 years.

https://theeb.co