The Spirited Actor - Cassidy Arkin

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me
Tracy Moore. I was a casting director for film and
TV and commercials for over thirty years. I transition to
a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New
Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Thomaz.
I audition every rapper from Biggie's Balls to Tupac, and

(00:24):
I realized that rappers and musical artists they needed help
transitioning to acting. My clients consist of musical artists from
Buster Rhymes to Eve, Missy Elliott, Angela Ye from The
Breakfast Club, and Vanessa Simmons, to name a few. I
also coach sports stars and host as well. I feel

(00:45):
I have the best of both worlds. As a casting director,
I know exactly what they're looking for, and as an
acting coach, I can coach you to be remembered in
that room. Now I know, I know actors want to
get the job. I get that, but being remembered by
a casting director that is powerful. And now it's time
for meditation of the day. The gratification comes in the doing,

(01:09):
not in the results. James Deen, it is so true
that gratification gratitude, giving thanks, being grateful, All of those
things are magical. When you are grateful for what is
before you, you're only asking the universe to provide you

(01:30):
with more because you do really appreciate, love what you
have and in order for you to get more of that.
Just like I had a conversation with my daughter this
morning about being that of which you want right. So
if my daughter wants clients to be timely in their payment,

(01:51):
then in her process of her bills or in her commitments,
she too has to be timely as well for her
to generate that energy. So gratitude is magic. Every single day,
you should be grateful for what you have. You should
be grateful for where you are, and you should be

(02:12):
grateful to know that there is a safety net. When
you are grateful, there is a safety net that is
there to protect and to provide for you. Always, today
and every day, I will live in gratitude. Before we

(02:33):
get started, I'd like to remind everyone to look out
for my new show, Inside the Black Box. I'll be
co hosting with the Great Joe Morton. Will be on
Crackle Network real soon. I'll keep you posted. Welcome to
the Spirited Actor Podcast with me, Tracy Moore and you
guys know, I'm always excited. I'm always excited on this

(02:54):
show because I get a chance I feel like to
share some really incredible, talented, brilliant, spirited. These are my people,
and this is by people. Cassidy Arkins, who is multi
hyphenated like we all are, producer, writer, author, director, we

(03:21):
can throw in a little bit of her own creativity
and actress side as well. They create to received dreamer, doer, daughter,
all those things and a huge fan of yours. I'm
a reflection of her, and I feel like we just
reflect on each other. I want you guys to put

(03:41):
your hands together because this is going to be such
a great uplifting ride for you the next twenty eight minutes.
With this spirit. This is a woman who understands that
we are not human beings having a spiritual journey. We
are spiritual beings having a human germans and the power

(04:02):
in which that means and how you move in your life.
So ladies and gentlemen, please, I've been dying for her
to be here so much to talk about plays and gentlemen, Cassie,
our kids I love so much. Thank you, thank you,
and you are right, we are absolute reflections of each other.

(04:24):
I don't say that lightly. I think, you know, if
we really are on our path in life as people,
as human beings, that we reflect the energy that we
put out. And one of the greatest, you know, gifts
that came to me, I won't tell you the year,
but I will say it was over twenty years ago.
Was saying. Yeah, on that day when I was put

(04:44):
out into the field, went to the airport on last,
you know, final notice to go to Jamaica, and I
meet this amazing, beautiful soul. Her name was Tracy or
is Tracy, and um, I knew the minute I met
you that we too, You were my sister. Can I
just say how crazy audience it was? Because I was
going to Jamaica with someone and it was like a

(05:07):
business situation. And at the last minute, I mean like,
I got to the airport and they said they weren't coming.
So I was sitting in the airport like, what what
am I gonna do? I don't know anybody there whatever.
Cassidy was sitting off in the distance and I just
looked at her and when she turned around, she was

(05:27):
getting up, and I just felt like I knew her.
I was drawn to this woman and we started talking.
Now I forgot I was supposed to be going to
do business in Jamaica. I was taking out was gas
and let me just say that day was so I
was literally there was working for a weekend for at
that time, I was working for Source All Access for

(05:49):
the TV show and I was so hungry to be
to be looked at as a producer. Everyone wanted me
either in front of the camera or you know, as
an admin. And I was like, no, I can you.
I can produce that can package. So something had happened
in one of the producers that was on the ground
in Jamaica had to be was not able to produce
the packages. So literally that day I was asked, you

(06:11):
have a passport, can you go out and shoot produce package?
And I was like, yeah, I can do it. You
know this little girl, you know, this young little brown
girl from like East Oakland, san Lander, California, who had
the big dreams, was in New York City and I said, yeah,
I can do it. So I went to the airport

(06:32):
and of course I meet my reflection, which is you,
and we both were like completely open and ready to
go into your work. But when you're doing the thing
you love most, it isn't work right. And I want
you to tell our audience Cassidy, because I remember cut
me down to Wall Street. African was African American Network,

(06:56):
African Heritage Network Network. Okay, I remember coming in there
and that office and going to see Cassidy. But tell
them because because Cassidy, you have to be brave to
do that. Not everybody can say yes, believe it, and
then you know, just be accountable for whatever it is,

(07:17):
the work that you had to do and you did
it successfully. How did you do that? You know? I
don't think there's ever any roadmap or blueprint to do
the thing that you want in your heart. And I
think as brown and Black women, there aren't too many
people who reflect who are successful and or that we're
allowed to see. You know, our our jew Crosses are

(07:40):
Maya Angelus, our leaders are geniuses. Me we've been searching
and pulling for them. So when I was when I
was fourteen, I was asked, you know, by an executive producer, Hey,
we'd love for you to be on air for this
show in California. And my response was, in my mind,
I'm a stronger person if I'm directing and I'm leading
that I don't want to just be a face that's

(08:01):
put up on walls. From a very young age, I
was already challenging and negotiating the terms of my assistance
as a brown and black woman. So I had already
given up any opportunity for me to do it the
normal way because I was like dogs, I don't want
to do this for us. I want to change the
way that we've been seeing. I want to change the narrative.
I want to be able to create opportunities and you know,

(08:25):
lay a path for others like myself, our future generations
to go out there and be proud of who they
are and tell their stories without being challenged because of
their greatness. So when I came to New York City
and I was twenty three years old, I was in
a losing battle. There weren't any brown and black women
who were working in the industry. I was taking on
two or three jobs as I was doing, you know,

(08:47):
working as a p A. But I got very smart
about the gift of being a brown and black woman.
I have legacy, and I'm a strong woman, I'm educated,
I'm a bulldog, and you know what I can get
as I'm as strong as the rest out there. So
I literally learned taught myself how to shoot camera, I
taught myself how to produce, and every know I ended

(09:10):
up tiptoeing over to the other Yes, I'd opened the
other door and say okay, I'm gonna walk in. And
in my time, I started to assemble my warriors, my mentors,
my family within the production industry, at the networks, at MTV,
at ABC, at NBC, all of those people, especially my people,
we started to talk amongst each other, and those opportunities build,

(09:32):
and we started to share our stories in such a
way that any time I needed to I wanted to,
like get a job over at NBC, I could show
them and I would be brought in through the source
of my community, which is a very small community. So
while there were a lot of challenges, I stayed within
my lane. I prayed a lot. I definitely believe in
the universe. I don't believe that there's any mistakes, and

(09:54):
I trusted what my dream was. I knew that in
my heart, whatever story I was gonna tell, it was
going to be the story truth. It was not going
to be just for myself or for the networks. It
was going to be from my people, and it was
going to allow us to be able to come through
and tell more stories that are authentic and real and beautiful,
the dope, the hidden figures that you know, all these

(10:17):
different films that have not been seen and were known
to allow us to have a platform to have a voice,
groundbreaking and riveting all at the same time. What inspires
you to tell these stories? Because the difference between your
storytelling and maybe someone else out there, I know is

(10:38):
the authenticity and the grit and the truth. And that's
what I love about your storytelling as a producer. But
what inspires you to tell these stories? And I love
the fact that there are so many stories that have
not been told. I would say first and foremost, uh,
you know, you, my mother, my the women who held

(10:59):
me up, who are just absolutely some of the most beautiful, powerful,
dynamic women whose hearts and and um you know and
faces have not been seen by so many in an
authentic way. I mean, as you know, Uh, my first
opening into America was I came from a community. I
was born in Utopia. I was cut off from the

(11:22):
outside world. So my first language wasn't so much in
my way English. It was music, it was colors, it
was kindness, responsibility, love. Those were things that I was
only able to speak with when I was actually telling stories.
And as you know, you are most successful when you're
being honest, when you're telling the truth within the God within,

(11:44):
when you speak from your heart and you can actually
back up what you're saying with experience, then you're the
most important and probably successful person in your lane. So
for me, every project I've ever taken on the last
three projects, you know, UM Unsung, producing the Adocy Theories,
um working as an executive producer for the Black Getty Archives,

(12:07):
working on Pride, all of those things, all those stories
are stories of truth. They're they're changing the way things were,
and they're actually revolutionary without having to pick up your
you know what it's it's something that I can stand
strong for it and I believe my family, my my
god kids, my nieces, my nephews, my legacy can be

(12:28):
proud of who I am. And maybe what I'll do
in my period in my lifetime will just be the
person who opens the door. But look what I can do,
and you know, in the in the lifetimes that come
there after me where we can stand strong and as
we say, the leaders and geniuses in our own path
without being shut down. So, in terms of the stories

(12:50):
that are being told right now, how do you feel
about you know, because there I feel like, you know,
there's two worlds and the entertainment business. We have the
studio and we have sort of these um cut out
films and television shows where you have maybe a different storyline,

(13:10):
but basically you know, um the same characters. Then you
have independent world where I came from, where you came from.
And it's like I love the fact that yes motive.
Of course, money is a motivating factor because we all
have to pay bills. However, that was a common denominator
that I felt about both of us, that we were
about the art, We're about the craft, We're about the truth. So,

(13:32):
you know, in this world of entertainment, how do you
feel that these stories like, how are we going to
be able to tell the stories? Are we going to
have workable budgets? You know? Are we going to be
able to come to the table and get distribution bills?
How how is that changing? I think the most important
thing our relationships. You know, understand, having positive relationships with

(13:55):
the people that you work with and letting them know
who you are, but also the valuing your your worth
and your dream knowing your truth. If you know in
your heart what your truth is, you will you will succeed.
And I think a lot of that has to do
with faith, having a beat, faith in in the universe
and God and and valuing that and knowing and trusting

(14:17):
no matter what's going to happen around you, you will
venture to the place that you need to be. I
think that what's happening right now in terms of the
evolution of film and documentary, I think a lot of
that has to do with people like you, I mean,
like spirited actor being able to plant the seed within
the community that you have already and saying you're you're

(14:39):
doing the right thing and giving us more of a voice.
Is the only way that things are changing, because they
are changing is having these conversations and these communications and
being more of a visual person and not giving up.
Do not give up however you're however you choose to
move forward, that struggle is ingredients to your success. You

(14:59):
just be dropped. I I have a bag of runned
after you drop it. All these mantras that I have.
I'm gonna have to listen to the show myself. And
that's just right down everything you say, because wow, that's true.
That is for actors, which is a great transition. What
advice would you give them to stay motivated, to never
give up because you know, there was a different time

(15:22):
and and now I'm gonna sound like my grandparents and
my older aunts and uncles right where you know, Um,
when we grew up, it was guerilla filmmaking. It was
literally by any means necessary. I remember shooting and going
to another friend was in the neighborhood, Benny Bloom. I
think um was in the neighborhood. Somebody had gaels like

(15:43):
like when you talk about community, I remember community. Now
you have in two you have all these advantages iPhone,
you can shoot a featured film. But I feel that
there is a different work ethic then when you and
I came up, because I was just talking to um,
Sharon Cannon, we were just talking about you. Yeah, we

(16:04):
were talking about you the other day because we were like,
remember when we used to do twenty four hour videos
and protection, Yeah, twenty four hours now a little older
than Cassidy howsoever, Cassidy was just you. You just did
what you had to do. It wasn't this thought thing
where it's like, oh wait, sixteen eighteen hours maybe. So

(16:26):
how can actors stay motivated? And and also you come
from a place of empowerment and and still feel empowered
with their work. I think the most important thing is
the destination. You have to see your destination in your life.
And I think also I always tell myself, and I
always tell anyone I always speak with, imagine yourself on

(16:47):
that stage. When you get to that destination, it's not
just you, it's your whole family. You're imparadising everyone. So
I call it narcissism because at some point it's okay
to be like, yeah, I'm a foe up in this house.
Yes I am, because you've earned it. So I think
for actors, you're gonna have a million nose and nose

(17:07):
and nose and or people. You can you can sense
when people are bs. You know they're full of it
and they're not really feeling you. You gotta feel yourself.
You gotta love yourself, you gotta master your craft, you
gotta believe in yourself. You've got to envision the point
persons that are gonna take you to the next level.
If you don't master your craft, if you don't look
at your blueprint, your blueprint and say, yes, this is

(17:27):
exactly where I'm going, you will never make it there.
You are the strongest force on your in your life,
on your path, no one can shut you down. That
is the gift and of understanding what the power of
your dream and who you are in this world is about.
If you second guess it, it's not your way, it's
not your path. So for anyone who's acting out there,
I always say, where do you want to be? And

(17:49):
then backward, what's your destination? Who's your point person? When
we look at all these reasons why we aren't, I
had every reason not to be any I was fourteen
years old and I was asked, you know, I always
was like, okay, I want to be a producer. That
was the lore of my my truth. I'm going to
be a producer. Somehow someone came to me and said,
why don't you do on air? I was like, mofo,

(18:09):
I will produce and package and do on air. That's
the only way I'm going to go. I knew that power.
I wanted to go to the Soviet unions. Somehow it
came to me. I challenged that whole idea. I got
picked up to go. I went there. Never Ever, I
was told I couldn't go to college. I didn't have
the money to go to college. I showed up about
the doorstep of the university that I got accepted to.

(18:32):
I had two weeks to find tuition. Maxim Waters Uh,
Debbie Allen, so many people came around because I went
to them, said I want to go to school. You
have to fight for it. And part of it is
when you challenge someone and we all love a good
fight and you win. When you start winning, there's no
looking back. And when you start understanding that it's not

(18:55):
just your life, that you can do something for your mother,
for your father, for your community, for your people, that's
when the urn narcissism comes because you're like Mofo, I
put twenty years into this dream and look what I've made.
And guess what, My people will have something bigger than
what they haven't had for God knows how many underds
of you. You can start feeling good in yourself, like

(19:16):
walking like Mofo. This is good. That's when you're acting
starts even getting better, and you might be the worst
actor in the world. So what you better feel it
in your heart and then you start mastering your craft.
You see where you're gonna be. You're gonna be on
a stage, You're gonna be in a movie, You're gonna
eventually direct, You're gonna marry the manner fiting woman of
your life. You've got to imagine your future because your

(19:36):
destination is what's going to drive you. Okay, so I
need a minute. This is I'm listening to you, and
I'm thinking to myself, ladies and gentlemen, that the last
time I saw Cassidy was in well this wasn't the
last time I saw it, but before the pandemic, because

(19:58):
this is a segue. In San we were in one
of my favorite restaurants, Um, the Pain, the French restaurant
with the big table because you can share, and um,
I love this egg omelet thing that they had, and
I was telling Cassidy about at that time, the black
Box and you you you you're listening to Cassidy now,

(20:18):
so you can only imagine the conversation. She was like, Oh,
just do it. Let's what do we eat? How do
we shoot it? Let's wait let me take you to
my friend at I Heart Radio, Spruce Henry, because we
were like, it's a podcast. I had just finished doing
conversations with actors on blog talk radio and so we
literally went from like a hundred and fifty on listeners

(20:39):
to like seventy thousand within a year and a half.
And so I was like, okay, let's get some sponsors.
So Cassidy takes me to Spruce and Spruce is you
all know, hilarious and you know we love crazy as
the new normal. And we had it was like when
I met you, we clicked immediately and we were having

(21:00):
too much fun in my opinion, at his job. So
the door he closed the door that we continue to have,
the foot put out, the luggage whispers. You don't even
need to worry about it. You're just somewhere other but
you're in your happy place, just to have all the time,
all the time. And he he was listening and he

(21:20):
was like, this isn't a podcast, and I was like,
well that's you know, I visited as a podcast because
when I was as serious, you know, my friends will
come in. He was like, no, this is a TV show.
He was like, you know what, let me talk to
my boss. And then he called me like a week
and a half later and he was like, you know,
I want you to come in and talk to Dr Dave.
Talked to Dr Dave. Dr David was like, um, how
do you know Cassidy. That's the first thing he said

(21:41):
to me. I was like, I love Kathleen, and I
told the whole story, told him and he was like,
this is the show. We're gonna do the show. This
is a show. And I remember, this is how this
is how messed up I was after I left my heart.
I left, I heard on sixth Avenue and like Canal

(22:02):
Hustin area for you people with New Yorkers here, And
I walked all the way to thirty four and sixth
Avenue because I I was just in this cloud. Like,
first of all, let me just say, without Cassidy inside,
the black Box would not be on Praculty V. And no,
I'm not learning her say anything. And the thing is
is that Cassidy's heart is so generous. It's so generous.

(22:26):
And someone reminded me the other day then not everybody
in this industry is right, because I surround myself around
us and spruces right in Elsa's. So it's like it's
very challenging to think outside this world really there are
rainbows and butterflies, but there aren't. And so when you
have someone who genuinely believes in you and then they

(22:49):
just so casually and not chalant, like talked about friend
Spruce and then the next thing you know, it's a
journey of six years is and we're here. We're actually here.
And the day that, um, we were on set and

(23:09):
Joe was kind of interviewing me on the show and
I was telling everybody how the process went down. It
was like it was so funny because I got a
little choked when I said your name, and I was like, wait,
where'd that cover? Because it just but you guys, it's
just I can't explain unconditional love unless you have a
pet or a very young child or just a childish right,

(23:34):
But it's like the love that I felt for you
to just oh, you know, like it was nothing. When
I had gone to my friends and I had been
turned down from a lot of my friends, it just
felt like this is how it's supposed to be, and
we're supposed to look out for each other, and that's
what the community is but you come from that idea

(23:56):
of communal. You come from that idea you said in
the beginning named kindness. You know, you're so genuine in that.
So I wanted to have you on the show to
just thank you. I every day, whether I talked to
you or not, I think about you like you're just
you are you, you being so much to my soul.

(24:18):
And I'm just grateful to know you. And I'm I'm
even more grateful that you just believed and said, all right,
come on, no, I mean, I mean I am who
I am today because of you. I think that seeds
are planted. It takes a village, right, But you're you're
absolutely right. The industry, film, television, theater, for all those

(24:39):
actors out there, is filled with paran us. They will
suck you dry. So you know, we were in a
losing battle coming into this industry in terms of being seen,
in terms of seeing these really beautiful, smart, intelligent, bright,
dynamic you know, we women. Um, it has always been

(25:02):
that way. So the challenge has been who is a
part of mine, Who's a part of my relationship, Who's
a part of my village as we go forward? Because
you know I started in MTV was that ABC then
got pulled on Source All Access TV that I was doing,
you know, vibe the whole idea. Somehow God gifted me
to work within my community because, as you know, when

(25:24):
you work within a village that really sees you and
knows you, and then you're working on a platform of
the big league, you're going to be the most powerful.
But to your point, it only makes sense to be
one of those people who can invest in your people. However,
it works so for me, I'm the vehicle. But this
is something. This is that you are the perfect example

(25:46):
of a sister who mastered her craft and believed every
single day, not just in her dream but in the
dreams that she had put out there in me and
your daughter, in your community, and all the people that
you have actually helped and their craft. That is just
a reflection of what you put in out there in
the world. And I think it's important as we forget

(26:08):
that part of what makes as successful as a community
is that we really do open our doors and we
really do support. In New York, my mom always jokes
like people will invite you in l A maybe say
hell a bad, bad joke, but come over for dinner.
You come to down, you come to dinner, you think
that they're going to have a full plate. They got
crackers and cheese. We write you to our house. We

(26:31):
spent two days putting together a menu. Were food, We've
got dreams. We we will not let you leave hungary. Yes,
your community, we will not let you be hungry. We're
gonna fuel you, We're gonna invest in you, and then
we're gonna have your spirited, beautiful self go out into
the world and know that your greatness is going to

(26:51):
bring your dream to life. You gotta have a place
to retreat of peace, scarcity. You gotta, I mean, and
the spirited actor just it came through me, and I
know the source in which it came. But this is
something that grounds because you sound grounded, if you sound balance,

(27:13):
you know what I mean. And so what are some
of the ways, Because I also know if you look
at Cassidy's um I g there are the most magnificent
pictures of her posing in front of the sunset or
you know, on top of a building with relevate, like
it's just great, Like it's art. She's art man. So

(27:34):
I know you yoga, and like, what are some of
the grounding things that you can suggest to actors to
just chill out, because the challenge right is to hold
the vision and hold the faith. But then when you
sit in it, that's where the pieces though get near
pek place of power. I will tell you every and

(27:57):
that this is not a sad story. Every single day
of my life is a work day. It's it's a
shoot day. It's traveling some day. Some weeks, I'm from
London to Atlanta to North Carolina, back to Atlanta to
l A back. It's never easy, but when you are
doing the thing you love, everything is good. So what

(28:18):
I do is I wake up every day grateful because
how many brown and black women get to do the
thing they love, and not only do the thing they love,
but create opportunities for others like myself. It's a gift,
it's a it's a responsibility. So you know, I wake
up every morning, I say thank you God. I meditate, um,

(28:39):
I have always I have my little you know, moonboard,
what have you? That I reflect upon every morning and
I keep it to myself, but I know what my
destination is. I do not play because I'm not going
to put in twenty years and just swim around hoping
and wishing this. Uh, this is fubou, this is for us.

(29:01):
So my thing is I wake up happy. I know
my takeaway is always going to be something of great
that I can stand by with integrity, and I always
have the vision of how can I bring this back
to us, How can I open yet another door? How
can I inspire another person? Because if I'm not doing that,
what am I doing? I'm buying a pair of shoes,

(29:22):
a great pair of kicks for myself, and it's just
for me. I want to change the world. I want
to do things great, and that's what motivates me. So
while every single day and not, you know, not every
day is easy. Yeah, I'm at four am and I'm
to bet at two in the morning, and I'm dealing
with things like when I worked at CBS, I would
come on the floor and a lot of times the

(29:43):
talent or whoever I was working to be like, oh
you the actor. I'm like, no, mofo, I am the producer.
I will not change myself. I will not change because
I'm smart, I do a good job. I show it
all time. So why should I change the integrity of
who I look like? So that I look like a
regular positioned corporate person. Now I'm doing that for over

(30:04):
three hundred years, and I'm going to let my wings
out and I'm gonna show you what's up and I'm
gonna do a good job. And you too, You too,
continue to tap into I want to say that I
met it just Elba through you. It just was DJ
when I'm at we take a lot of my parties.

(30:24):
That's where i'm and I just remember when I met
him and he was like, Cassidy tells me, I'm supposed
to know you, and I was like, I think you're
gonna be all right. Brothers, you will be all right.
We were all kind of in you know, it was
a small community of us. Williams, it was all God

(30:45):
rest his soul, like it was all of us. I
just remember I got so many different introductions from you,
from other people that car laid into something. Because the
next time I saw him it was the wire at
HBO and I was working at h at that time.
So like, you know, you two are in terms of
talent and um, that's what I'm excited about class and

(31:06):
session too, because you're going to see some great actors.
Can you always encourage my audience to I m dB
dot com everybody, can you just tell them some upcoming
projects that you're working on or things that you are envisioning.
Oh yeah, well my um my major two major projects

(31:27):
right now is one is going to be Pride, which
is a short um image spot on getty and it's
celebrated Pride Month and it should be launched probably May sixteen,
if not nineteen. I'm executive producing that and I also
spearhead um the Black Archives on Getty Images. So it's
an abitious project that basically is creating a library that

(31:49):
literally it indexes and analogs all of the filmmakers and
photographers Black filmmakers photographers and makes the photos available for
for you too, every one if it is a non
for profit. So that's one of the things done behind.
And then obviously my Little Brown Girl project, which is yeah,
so it's the please tell about the Little Black Girl project. Well,

(32:11):
Little Brown Girl is uh, it's a six part series docuseriies.
It's also a book that we there's three books um
that goes with it. But we're in the process of
crossing the line right now to UH for six part
series occuse series. And then the larger project will be
a narrative feature film. But it's the story of a
black and brown daughter, my mother and myself and you know,

(32:34):
to better understand who I am after I lived in
this social experiment, you know, ex do fiends, drug addicts,
people who just felt like America was no longer the
place that they wanted to be, and they came into
this society. And my mom was one of the um
you know, first people there in terms of building out
the school, and I was born there, and so I
really wanted to celebrate all of the women who raised me,

(32:58):
my father in the community. But I some wanted to
create a platform for others like myself to see my story,
to see my mother's story, and to identify and give
them a platform to share their story as well. And
where is the book available? Because, you guys, the book
is unbelievable, so beautiful. It's also an Amazon right now,

(33:18):
but very they put it on pause for legal because
it's in the process of actually being sold. Yeah, but
there's three books, and one is Wildflowers that's so on Amazon,
and then my mother's which is Salmagundi, which is a
precursor the Little Brown Girl, And then Little Brown Girl.
Little Brown Girl will probably be made public again in
July once we sell the actual series. So it's it's

(33:42):
pretty it's pretty awesome. And then obviously I just finished
doing a MacArthur funded It was a MacArthur grant funded project.
It was the first brown and black gallery like the
Van Go Museum that launched and it's virtual and um,
you know, a consulting producer on that with art from
around the world that created this really amazing, beautiful online gallery.

(34:04):
That's a MacArthur funded project. So that's one of the
other projects I'm doing. And then I'll probably end up
going back to UNSUND and start producing a series of
music documentaries. But my old destination is obviously to create,
you know, to bring Little Brown Girl to Truth with
my mother as executive producer, and then to start my

(34:25):
own company as an example producer so I can tell
more stories of truth in documentary as well as a narrative.
That's the all end. And of course, you know love
maybe being Nina Simone like my own children and ship
like that. Sorry swore, but you know, I gotta let
God speak to you too, So um, you guys, please,

(34:49):
I want you to go to all of her social media, UM,
so that you know who she is and IMDb dot com.
The other thing, too, is your spirit is so free
and it's authentic, Like it's tangible. I'm telling you guys,
when you're around Cassidy, you feel it. You don't know
what it is, but it's the energy and you just
want to be a part of it. Um. Can you, like,

(35:12):
sometimes we get so focused on America and the works
of America. Can you talk about to the actors about
working outside of America as well and how that could
be beneficial to them. Oh? Yeah, I mean, I think.
I mean it just is the perfect example of someone
who went from the UK to New York City, you know,

(35:34):
mastered his craft, went back home and killed it, like
to open his own company. I think any opportunity to
live outside of your country. You know, I've worked in London,
I've produced there. I've worked in Russia, I've produced there.
I think for you to really cut your teeth in
another world and learn about their culture and the rivers

(35:55):
and and the states of their different you know, country
and understand about the politicians only makes you stronger and
you come back more attractive in many ways because you
actually did it. So you have to. I mean, especially
when it comes to you know, I think right now, China,
I think um and and in Brittany in the UK,

(36:17):
I think, uh, you know, Holland. To work in another
country as an actor is a very powerful thing. If
you look at successful singers like a Gene Karn, if
you look at the Last Soul, if you look at
West as a DJ, just like all of these people, Yeah,
went abroad and they found themselves. The more that you

(36:38):
travel and learn about other cultures and people, the more
you understand about who you are. That's so beautiful and
one of the things I um before the pandemic November
two thousand nineteen, I have the pleasure of going to
Amsterdam and doing this workshop over there, and I was

(36:59):
walking down the street and there was a poster with
Octavia Spencer and Tim Roth and there was another care actor.
But I had never seen the film in America, and
I was like, there's so much work outside of America
as well that people don't actors don't explore culturally. It

(37:20):
just feeds you. It feeds your soul too. When I
went to Africa and really in the bush because we
went to elmina slave castle, where there's no WiFi, there's
no there's just kids, you know, playing rock games and
creating their own visuals and things like that. Where I

(37:40):
was inspired and I said, I want to bring you know,
these huge buses and and wrap these buses and have
a library inside, you know, and and you know, films
inside for them to be able to do things. But
when you go outside of America, you really the gratitude
starts to really really settle. And I'm talking about the

(38:00):
bare basics you guys. I'm talking about like toilet paper
being a commodity in Africa. You know. You know, I
feel like when you just said you foiling yourself? You do? You?
You you can't help but find yourself because you also
start to see things about yourself when you travel outside
the country that that have attached to you and this

(38:22):
idea of America and privileged in this and that. So
it's very humbling. And I actors when you feel in
your heart you're inspired, like you, it's like being hard headed.
You you want to continue to continue, continue to go
to these auditions. You want to be in these Something
is driving you? What is that? Yeah, you ask yourself
that and if you're driven to do something, then be it.

(38:46):
So when you're going abroad, you have to look at
the post signs. What are you reading, What is it
that the universe is giving you in terms of little
gems to walk through that door, really listen in your
heart because you have to remember that from the time
that you've been you come into this world up until
about six or seven, your impressionable mind starts to journey

(39:06):
in someone else's truth. You've got to get within yourself.
And when you are cool, plucked out of your element
and you go into these different countries, you start to
learn about you again and mind you as black and
brown people, we live within two different minds in America,
we live within two different minds, one to maintain and mainstream,

(39:29):
the other to just be us. So when you end
up stepping out of that box and saying, I am
a world citizen, I'm a global citizen. I am going
to go and learn from other folks. I am going
to be a human being with the rest of the world.
You serve yourself justice because somehow that closed window that

(39:52):
you can't in your third eye, your subconscious part of
yourself will open up and your truth will start to
come in more and more and more, Whereas when you're
in the States, it just happens. It's familiar ground. You're
battling to survive every single day. When you sit back
and you allow time to slow down and you allow
yourself to be embraced among other cultures, somehow your truth

(40:14):
comes to light. And that's the most important thing, because
without being on that LSD trip, you will find yourself
and then you will know which way to go. Cool. Okay,
ladies and gentlemen, stand up and put your hands together.
Put your hands together. Spirit. Your sister multime, multi hyphenated producer,

(40:34):
extraordinary storyteller, author, writer, and she's gonna stick with us.
You guys, we are really blessed to have Cassidy. Just
hang out for a minute when we come back. You
know the deal, when we come back class in session.
And let me just say something really quickly, Tracy, all
of this is a reflection of you and your power

(40:57):
and your spirit. So what you're doing is such a
great example example for others and what they can do
in their lifetime. I mean, when I first met you,
you were at the height of your career in many ways,
so many actors, so many influential people in that day
happened because of you and humble as you are. There

(41:18):
were highs and lows, hills and valleys in your career,
which is very important for people to understand. But you
stayed true to your path and that resonated with all
the people who are in your life, including myself. So
when I came in to see you, I didn't just
meet tracing more in this beautiful, brilliant, dynamic spirit. I

(41:39):
felt true spirit. I felt your energy, your power holding
me up in the same space. So I think a
lot of this conversation and who I am in the
evolution of myself happened through you and because of you, Cassidy.
You know, I have lovely with love for Cassidy, I
have loving, but loss with you either. You have my

(42:01):
You're my soul sister. You know it, you know it
for you know. I'm happy that you know you know,
like that's so important in this world and times and
waking up and not waking up just to know it.
So that gives me a lot to go on. You
are in my heart. Well, we'll be back you guys,

(42:22):
just hold tight because we are coming back with the
Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore and my soul sister.
And I'm and I'm talking to me one more time.
Cassie Arkin, she is producer extraordinary. Welcome back to the
Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. We are still blessed.
We have Cassidy arkid we she is multi multi hyphenated,

(42:45):
multi multitalented producer, extraordinaire, writer, author, She does it all
and she is authentically a creative being and a spiritual being,
my soul sistem. We're going in the classes session. So, Cassidy,
I'm gona have Elsa Lathan, who we referred to as

(43:05):
Wonder Woman. Elsa who casts for Classes session, is going
to introduce our spirit Actor alumni and then we're gonna
go right into the scene where she's going to read
the narrative. After that, whatever feedback you want to give them, Cassidy,
it's all on you, okay. So Elsa, Hello, Hello, Hello, everyone,

(43:25):
Welcome to class in session today we have our Experience
Actor alumni, Georgina Mortio and Mitchell Grazing. Hey, excellent, my people,
Hey Georgina Mitchell. So we're gonna start the scene. Els
Is gonna do a narrative and Elsa action on you

(43:48):
Quarantine Dreams, written by Dana Keel. Interior living room. Early morning, Roxy,
her late twenties, unpacks a tripod, lighting and backdrop from
Amazon boxes and sets them up. He puts her phone
in its grips and goes live on Instagram. Monologue challenge

(44:09):
Boxy Washington, m let me tell you the story of
righting left hand. It's a tale of good and evil. Jacob,
are you doing them? Where are you? A monologue from
Do the Right Thing? I Am live right now Monologue Challenge.

(44:30):
Roxy smiles are forced smiling to the camera and motions
for Jacob to move. This is a monologue challenge with
in just Elba and Scarlett Johansson. Jacob looks into the camera.
She's trade starts for a living. She's not an oscar winner.

(44:51):
Quarantine Dreams Man Quarantine Dreams, interior living room. The next day,
Roxy unpacks a yoga mat, yoga strap, and yoga blocks
from Amazon boxes. Roxy soon sits dressed in all white
on her new yoga met with blocks and strap next

(45:14):
to her. She goes live on instrument Good evening, everyone,
thank you for joining me for breath work and meditation
this evening. Roxy looks at the screen The camera reveals
that there's one person following watching her live. Hello boy, mom,
I'm so glad you can join us. We'll wait for

(45:34):
a few others. Now the view account is too Hey, Roxy,
it's Tiffany Gainer. Tiffany from work. Roxy, you hate meditation.
You won't join our meditation lunch break. Jacob enters and
scrutinizes her. Tiffany hates is a strong word. I'm rising

(45:58):
like a phoenix from the ashes of my own thinking.
Jacob motions one finger in his mouth as if barfing.
Roxy peers into the phone to read a few more comments. Allowed,
how long have you been a meditation teacher? I see
you are wearing all white? Are you coop the we

(46:19):
wear all I can't even say that word, and white
is just my favorite color. Roxy peers once more into
her phone. She has zero viewers. Fake and fraud rocks.
You don't meditate? How wire your meditation teacher? You need
to train to core Renting dreams man Quarantine dreams. Next day,

(46:45):
Roxy unpacks more Amazon boxes that are bigger than before.
She is soon standing behind a Mac computer with two
turntables and a DJ board. She wears huge headphones, stack
speakers on each side of her imbalanced players dance music.
She touches her phone to go live on Instagram. Ten

(47:06):
followers coming quickly. Yeah, everybody, and welcome to the grown
up brunch. Enjoy nineties, two thousand tons, E M D
R and hip hop. And here is a faith from
LAM boot Up, boot Up, boot Up, boot Up, Boat Up.

(47:27):
We are straight vibes and here y'all. Jacob walks in
and stretches and stops standing his tracks. His eyes moved
from piece of equipment to the piece of equipment. And
here's a new one from Ussher featuring LAM. Now let
it breathe boot Up, boot Up. See good, Okay, Cassidy,

(47:53):
I'm gonna throw it to you. Whatever you feel they
need to hear, give it to him. I mean, I literally,
with both of you, was trans what I saw on screen.
The minute you started to role play. Took me into
the world that I was listening to, so I was
imagining exactly where you are. You both embraced it. You

(48:15):
both transformed into the character immediately, absolutely brilliantly done. Um.
I think Georgina at one point where you were getting
thrown different lines or different scenarios, and you just went
back boom boom. You were like a chameleon. It was
just absolutely brilliant in seeing your transforming and Mitchell, you

(48:37):
are amazing. Like I'm looking at two guitars and this
great wallpaper, and all I'm seeing is the character that's
speaking to me, the voice, which is a which says
a lot. So if I closed my eyes, it's a
whole another world that I'm seeing. I wish I had
something negative to say and or some critical but I
feel like both of you embraced the characters that were

(49:00):
given to you so simultaneously in such a brilliant way.
My only thing would be make sure that as you
start to like do more of this to almost reverse
do what would be absolutely opposite of what you would
typically do, which is obviously you did a great job.
But try something completely, maybe a different voice, maybe a
different culture, to stretch your muscle a little bit, to

(49:25):
see to feel it out just a little bit from
a different, not a familiar place, because you really are
mastered in terms of your own you know as an actor,
but try and take it one step further into an
area of an individual or a character or a personality
that you don't really know but you can cultivate so
that muscle gets strengthened even more. Excellent, excellent, Mitchell. Take that.

(49:51):
Take that, and you know you're in front of somebody
who is an amazing storyteller, continues to be amazing storyteller,
and is about to open start telling her own stories
under Little Brown Girl Productions. That's what I'm putting out. Yes,
I'll put it out there, ladies and gentlemen. I just

(50:12):
really want to put your hands together. I this was
just to spread. This is my whole day, like I'm
just gonna press Rewine all day. I love this woman,
every every ounce of who I am. Ladies and gentlemen,
put your hands together again for Caste Arkin, and I
love you and I love you all extensions of Tracy.

(50:34):
But this is what we live for, right We get
to do great things with each other and hold each
other up and be a part of that shoe string
where we're tying the knup. We're all doing it together.
So I'm I feel so blessed an honor to be
in this space with you all, and I love seeing
our faces. What a beautiful rainbow. Thank you, Cassidy, thank you,

(50:56):
love it all, Thank you and We'll be back on
the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy More. I'm gonna
give you love. I'm gonna give you some moth Oh day. Hey,
we are back with the Spirited Actual Podcast with me
Tracy Moore in Kudo's Corner, and today we are celebrating
Spirited Actor alumni Nia Smith. She's going to tell us

(51:19):
some exciting news. Okay, Nia, Well, Hi everybody. I hope
everyone's doing so well today. I'm doing just having so
many experiences this year and for first I turned thirty,
so like I'm just like just in a new space, um,
and just really trying to put myself out there and

(51:39):
and be more confident and what I have to offer.
And it's just something that I've been slowly learning and
I feel like it's taken me a long time to
get there. But that's what I'm truly grateful for the journey,
Like no matter how long it took, Like, I'm just
so grateful that I'm on it, and I just want
to stay on the road to enlightenment. It's never ending
and I know that and as long as I'm still

(52:01):
on that path, like I just know that, you know,
everything will be okay. Um, But Um for the Kudos corner.
I did just book two shows. I booked dream Girls.
I do a lot of theater, musical theater specifically, but
I'm transitioning into film and I'm very excited about that journey.
But I also booked Um Little Shop of horace Um

(52:23):
for Crystal and the Audrey understudy as well, So I'm
very excited for what they have to offer. The pandemic
like really put a halt on theater. So I'm so
excited to get back in the game. I'm so excited
and now it's time to give love. The joy is
truly in the journey. One of the things that I

(52:43):
always stressed to actors is that you are never going
to be where you are today. Things are not going
to evolve and change. You're not going to go from
you know, when you're consistent and when you are dedicated
to the training process, You're gonna go from extra to
under five to co starring to starring. That is the process.

(53:06):
But where you're going to find the joy, the true joy,
where your heart sings, where everything feels like it really
is okay. That part is going to be in the journey.
That's where you're gonna find it, and that's where you
should seek it, and that's where you should hold it

(53:27):
because the truth is, when you are a visionary, when
you are a creative being, when you are a spiritual person,
you know without a doubt that everything that you ask
for will come to fruition. All you have to do
is believe in yourself, believe in whatever higher power that

(53:51):
you do believe in, and authentically, authentically feel and connect
with the gratitude of being on this journey. And as
Cassie Arkins said in our interview, you have to know
your destination, know where you're going so that you know

(54:13):
how to get there. Don't forget to look out for us.
On our new show, Inside the Black Box, my co
host will be Joe the Legend Morton. It's going to
be The Spirited Actor Podcast on Steroids. Will be streaming
on the Crackle network. I'll keep you posted. Thank you
for joining us on The Spirited Actor Podcast with me

(54:35):
Tracy Moore. I look forward to our next Spirited Podcast.
Thank you,