December 31, 2019 • 42 mins
Cathleen Triggs-Jones - Emmy Award Winning Fox Journalist turned Producer/Actress. Her credits include Power, Madam Secretary, All Eyez on Me and her show BET’s “We are the Joneses”
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Episode Transcript
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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 Thomas.
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
casting director that is powerful meditation of the day. I
(01:07):
finally stopped running from myself. Who else is there better
to be? Goldie Hans. It is so important that we
find a quiet space in our life that we can
go to to rejuvenate. We need to take the time
to create this place. It can be a corner in
your room that you decorate with candles and incense. Take
(01:29):
your time and build your sanctuary because regardless of what
the outer distractions, maybe you don't have to be involved.
Every day. I will add something special to my sanctuary
where I find peace. Welcome back to the Spirited Actor
Podcast with me Tracy Moore and I have a super
(01:51):
special guest today, Kathleen trigged Jones. Give it over. Kathleen.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hi. Hi Kathleen. So
good to be here today. And congratulations Mama, thank you
so much. I love being here. I love talking actors,
and I love sharing my friends, my dear friends, with
(02:13):
the audience. Kathleen and I have history together. We go
back twenties years UM when I was when I first
started out as an acting coach. Kathleen interviewed me on
up and nine news and she is an Emmy Award
winning journalists Fox News UM and she is today we
(02:34):
are talking about the committed actor. When I think about
commitment in this industry, I think about Kathleen, because Kathleen
she takes her power in her own hands. She doesn't
rely on other entities to create her success. Um, she
creates her own success. And I want to talk about
(02:55):
that today, all the opportunities that she's created along with
her production company. But we're gonna start at the beginning.
How did this all start for you, Kathleen? Well, you know,
let me just let me first just say that word
committed is is an interesting word because because you know,
being committed can get you committed if you're not right.
(03:17):
There's a thin line between commitment and being committed. Um. Yeah,
So I you know, this started for me way before
I had a platform. So I I like to tell
the story that when I was I believe, around seven
or eight years old, and there was a school play
and I played Harriet Tubman and that made me know
(03:39):
with certainty that I wanted to do that. I didn't
know what that was where I loved it, and I
was kind of a shy kid, but yet something clicked
with acting. And so from that point on, then my
my dad put us in like a community play. And
my dad got real mad at cursed everyone out and quit,
but I got to stay into play. Please don't make
(04:00):
me quit, you're crazy, but I like this, you know,
so yeah, but that was kind of the beginning of
of my UM and it was like one of the
slave trade kind of you know plays and UM when
I loved it, and so from that point on, I
did a combination of community theater and also school theater.
And then in the summer's I sometimes snuck, and I
(04:21):
say snug because my parents weren't really on board with
me being an actor UM, so I would sneak and
sign up for programs and UM and sometimes before signature.
At times I wasn't just signed because they weren't really
in support of it that you know, they didn't know
what they didn't know. They didn't believe that this was
(04:43):
a thing that could actually turn out to be something,
so they tried to stifle that talent in me. UM.
But as I got older, I couldn't get away from it.
It's really all I dreamed of. And I didn't just
dream of being an actress. I dreamed of owning a
media company. I wanted to be Oprah. I wanted to
be uh Sisily Tyson. I wanted I wanted to be
(05:05):
at all of that wrapped up in one and as
I got older, it became really important for me to
learn the behind the scenes as well as in front
of the camera. And it's funny because the way you
and I clicked was I then made it my mission
to find other blacks when I was on when I
became a news anchor, news reporter in New York, I
(05:26):
made it my mission to find other blacks who were
not getting their limelight. And I was determined to make
them experts on mainstream news. That's how I found you.
I saw you out, Tracy. I didn't know that. I
didn't know Tracey. I know the back story, yes, I
I because they weren't. You know. When I was in news,
(05:47):
the experts that they always found for every story were
the same, you know, white people and nothing against them,
but I was just the same. They went to the
same experts. You know, let's get an expert to talk
about Michael Jackson, and it was a white expert, or
a white female dermatologist, or a um or, you know,
maybe a white casting director or a white agent or something.
And I thought, well, there's got to be some black
(06:08):
people in New York City who are experts as well.
And so I literally made it a point to find
you and when some Sinclair and other black professionals, and
every time there was a story, I was like, I
know somebody and I didn't, but I would go through
calling and try to find someone. And this is crazy,
but sometimes I would even like because we didn't have
(06:28):
the Internet, wasn't as big then, so I had defined
a way to know who, you know, who actually fit
my bill. I would sometimes just call if the name
sounded like it could be black, you know, look at
the phone book, if the if they you know, if
they if we made a call and a person answering
the phone sound like they could be from around the way,
you got a job exactly. But yeah, that that was
(06:52):
kind of interesting because that's the type of casting director
I was, you know, whatever projects I I always bought
in people of color just to give choices. And back then,
like you're right, we didn't have Internet, and we definitely
had defined you know, it was either black, white, Asian other.
Now we have ethnically ambiguous. Everything is whatever that means
(07:12):
you are. If I was casting, I would cast you
as because that means, I mean it means that you
could be black, you could be you have like this latina,
like you know, we could just say that you are,
and I could be like, I could play a seventeen
year old or well, that's what you're going to do
today classes session. Um. One of the things that you said, uh,
(07:33):
in terms of the news, how did you make the
transition from news serious to live action in terms of
playing a journalist, Let's say on Madam Secretary, right, and
on every other show? Right? I think that And this
is true, Kathleen. You were so great at what you
(07:55):
do that casting directors don't know if they haven't done
their due dilige, and they don't know that your background
is a journalist. They just see you and say, she's
amazing journalist. And that's why we got to get out
of that. Give that girl an oscar. She's going to play. Yes,
I'm playing a journalist on TV. Yes, I'll gladly do
(08:16):
that acceptance speech regardless. Right. So the transition is real
easy when you know that you're not living your life. Um,
based on what you're calling is right. So it's hard
to leave a high paid job. You know when you
know when you're living your life the way that you're
supposed to, and you also know when you're not. The
(08:37):
question is what are you going to do about it?
And for me, I fell into being a news reporter
and a news anchor more so than I planned it.
Those doors just opened up for me. I was in college.
I went to Delaware State, HBCU and UM. And while
I was in college, I was doing a combination of
theater and UM and I and journalists. But theater was
(09:01):
really my passion. I was writing plays, I was we
were performing them. I was just having a great time
on the stage. But then I had a professor who said,
you know, you're a really good writer. Have you ever
considered journalism? And I didn't even hadn't even really I
didn't even really know what journalism would mean, Like what
is that gonna be a newspaper reporter? That's not interesting?
And um, what I saw was that could be a
(09:22):
segue to get on television. So similar to this, I
started a radio show at Delaware State and I interviewed
every artist that came to Delaware State to perform. And
I liked it. I enjoyed doing the interviews. So I
did everyone from your Guy bust A Rhyme to Salt
Peppa to all of those you know eighties rap groups
(09:44):
would come through my my college performance, so I would
I would put them on my radio show. So it
made me feel like I was like really doing my thing. Um.
And then when I graduated from college, I didn't have
a job, but my major with journalism I I did
and actually officially declare a minor in theater because they
didn't have a minor. But I had enough courses like
(10:05):
that was my my second discipline, and that's really what
I wanted to do. But you know what, I had
my daughter in college, and so I was a single mom,
and I had to think about money. So move into
New York with a bag and Mike would you would
you rib with you a suitcase? I didn't have radiance,
thank god. Yeah, yeah that was It wasn't impossible, but
(10:26):
it felt a little irresponsible for me to do it right.
So what I decided instead was I did some internships
at radio stations, at local TV stations, and with a
day that I graduated, I got a phone call from
one of the news directors that I had interned with, saying, hey, there,
you know, this is Marilyn Burkele and I remember her
to this stay. She gave me my first on their job.
(10:47):
So what are you up to these days. I said, well,
funny you should ask. I just graduated college. She said,
what are you gonna do? I was like, I don't know.
She was like, well, I guess you're gonna work for me.
So she hired me and gave me my first TV job,
and um and that from there, Tracy, I didn't really
apply for other news jobs. Someone else would call me
like that. It just kept happening. I would get a call, Hey,
(11:10):
I saw you on such and such, or would you
like to move to Richmond? I guess, okay, sure, increase, sure,
you know, and I was moving literally for increments of
about five thousand dollars, to the point that I was,
you know, Richmond might have put me up to like
thirty thousand dollars you know. Um, and then I've moved
to Northfolk, Virginia, which might have put me up to
like thirty five thousand dollars a year. Um. And as
(11:33):
a single mother, you know, it was really difficult. But
I had a stable job, I had benefits, I could
pay my bills, and I was to me, I never
saw it as a place I was ever going to stay.
Verse so I didn't really hang my hat. I instead
just said you know, this is a this is a stomp,
a stopping point from me as I'm climbing getting all
the experience I can. But my goal is still to
(11:55):
be in New York. But to be in New York
with a job, you know where Reckon make money and
then I could start doing the active stuff. So that's
what happened. So was that a call from Fox News?
That not exactly? So I came to New York to
work for up N nine Knews, which doesn't even exist.
They just told it building down. I just demolished it. Um.
But I I had a I got engaged to my husband,
(12:18):
Michael Dr Michael Jones, Michael Jones love Michael. Yeah. So
I we had gotten engaged and we were commuting. He
was in New York, I was in Virginia, and we
had to decide, well, who has the most earning potential
because that's where we're gonna live. Am I moving to
New York or as he moving to Norfolk? And um?
And it was pretty easy. You know, I wanted to
be in New York, um, and he was already h
(12:38):
he was a resident at the time, just finishing his residency.
And so I told my station that I didn't want
to sign my new contract when they that was a
five o'clock anchor, so I was it was like it
was a perfect position for me, but I told him
I didn't want to sign because I was going to
get married. I was moving to New York without a job.
And my news director there called Paula Madison in New
(13:01):
York at NBC and and her her higher ups, her boss,
and said, hey, I've got this news anchor. We love her,
she's under contract, but we can't keep her. She's getting married,
she wants to move to New York. Can you do
anything for her? And I ended up getting a call
from Um Will Write at Channel nine. Oh I love
he's my mentor. I love him to death. Will called
(13:22):
and and said, coming to New York, I'll hire you.
So I came to New York with a job, and
I really increased my salary then and to the six figures,
and I was like, wow, I thought I'd really made
it as well. This is a whole different beast, right Um.
And from that point the rest was history. I stayed
there working and then Fox eventually bought Channel nine, so
I started working with both Fox five, not Fox News,
(13:45):
but Fox five and and up and nine, and that's
how I met you, and that's where I won, you know,
an Emmy. I was nominated for Emmy. So wait, let's
not let's not brush pass the Emmy. Let's not brush
pass Emmy because I wanted to ask you, and I
know my audiences they want to know as well, how
was it receiving an Emmy Because I'm gonna tell you this.
When I get my Emmy, Oscar, I'm wearing right there
(14:06):
with Look, this is my chain, and they're gonna say, Tracy,
I'm gonna be like, what my Emmy is just gonna
follow right right, right right. It should be a title,
like you know, there's a doctor. If you're a doctor,
they call you doctor. Why can't they should be like
let me Tracy, Oscar Tracy. Yeah. So that was incredible,
(14:27):
But you know it was interesting because I didn't I
never thought I was gonna win. I had three nominations
that year, which was incredible. Do you know I didn't
even go to the award. I didn't go. So it
was accepting this award for call. I saw it on
the news like everybody else. It was. I was just
telling the story the other day. I don't know what
(14:47):
I was thinking back then, you know, but I I was.
I had fallen asleep. I didn't go to the Emmy
Awards and my tea now you fall asleep with the
news on? Yes, I fell asleep. The news was on
and I happened to hear a name at the very
end of the newscast. It was like, Brenda Blackman and
whoever Arnie an Assas or something. We want to thank one, No,
we want to we want to congratulate one of our
(15:10):
own tonight, Kathleen trig Jones for taking home the Emmy
for Best Reporting for Hip Hop Math with Puff Daddy.
And I was like, what I think. I think I
want an Emmy. He's like, what what I said? Wake up?
I think that I think what he's at? Why? No, No,
I swear I think I heard and you couldn't reverse right,
So I called the station. I was like, like, yes,
(15:34):
you you know your nominations. You know we're well received.
Who went up and got my Emmy for me? Like?
Did they give a speech? I don't know what I
was thinking, but you know again, it was more so
we you know, when you're talking about committed. Let's get
back to your talking when you're really committed to your crap. Absolutely,
you're not really doing it for the accolades. You're it's
it's your hustle. You know, you're really all in, Your
(15:56):
heart is in this. You're just every day and you're
in that grind. Sometimes you know you don't really have
the time to slow down and stop and make sense
of it all because it's all happening so fast. I
take the time now, Tracy, I'd say that's what's changed
as I've gotten older, because I really try to now
take the time to enjoy every second that's the best
(16:18):
of every day of my life. And I'm so purpose
driven right now. So if if if what I'm doing
isn't serving a purpose to get me where it is
that I want to go, then I shouldn't be doing it.
I'm not saying I don't do a lot of stuff
that doesn't. But I know where all the bodies are married. Yes,
between the two of us, Lord have mercy, that's the
(16:42):
other show. But that would be the two Your graves,
your grave take to the grave like that we should
create that should take it to the grave or in
my case, I'm going to be cremated. So you know,
it just has to go with me. Yeah, bird, all
the sea with me between you, we know them. Um.
(17:02):
I wanted to also talk in reference to commitment, your
commitment to helping other people, including myself. I'm so honored
and grateful that you know, when you thought about a director,
you would call me and I'm like, well, I don't
have all these credits, but you believed in me, which
built my confidence as a director. So I'm very grateful.
(17:22):
But you also give other opportunities to producers, editors, just
the whole gamut. I want to talk about building your
production company, Catscape, and then I want to go into
I Woman because I think that that is an amazing platform.
Thank you. Um well, let's let's back up and talk
about you in this directing. I oh, I listened to
(17:44):
people's dreams because people didn't listen to my dreams. I
always say that I wouldn't even be here if it
wasn't for my dreams, because you know, you know my story.
And then I was an orphan right and I was
in I was in foster care until my parents adopted me.
And I didn't really have growing up any one who
believed that I could be anything. And so they didn't
listen to my dreams. And and the biggest dream crusher
(18:07):
is is just not having anyone around you who believes
in you. And it's not that they it's not that
they thought I was a horrible person, but they just didn't,
you know, they didn't think that what I what was
important to me really was important in life right, focused
on being a teacher, focused on going in the military.
In fact, i'd rolled in the military and the Air Force.
I was leaving for boot camp, I swear to goodness
(18:30):
on my way to matamp. Was on my way to
bootcamp in Texas, and right before I was going to leave,
I just thought, you know, if I if I go
to this boot camp, how am I gonna how a
gonna be an actress? Like this is gonna take me
farther away? I don't know where they're gonna station me.
How's that going to happen? So I I had to fight,
actually to get out of my commitment, because once you
(18:51):
sign up, you're you're stuck, right, But I had to fight.
I had to get some lawmakers behind me and stuff,
and and what they said was of you enroll in college,
that's the only we can get out enrolled a college.
I paid my way through college and the rest was history.
But what I like to do now, even with it's
not just about believing in a child's dreams, it's believing
in in anyone's dreams. You told me in our first
(19:13):
meeting that you really you were a casting director, but
you said I really want to direct, and I never
forgot that. So the second I had a project, the
first person, the only person I thought of, was Tracy
got to direct this. I was like, why is she
thinking about me? I didn't even know if you could
direct it. I direct? You said you want direct, right,
you were like, yeah, alright, let's direct. What are we
(19:34):
gonna direct? We're gonna direct something that's fine, you know.
And we came up with a project. We paid for
it ourselves, we pulled the crew together, and we made
it happen. And that's that's kind of indicative of my life.
I make it happen. You say that I try to
make things happen. I really do. If I want something,
I don't wait for Fox or b Et or someone
else to say that you can, because we've been waiting
(19:55):
a long time, right for our for those opportunities. Um
so I don't wait for that. Instead, I find a
way to get it done by any means necessary. And
that's what we've done. We've we've done music videos together,
We've done a whole series together. You know, we have
some summarious commercials, right and and it runs the gamut.
So I started my production company really with that same
(20:18):
thought in mind. How many friends do I have that
are so talented, have these audacious dreams, but they may
not have the resume or the opportunity, for whatever reason,
to get in the door and shine. And so if
I create my own company, my own opportunities, well they
can shine on my stage, on my platform. And that's
what I've tried to do. So I've casted everyone I
(20:40):
know in my productions I have made. You know, someone
says they want to be an editor or an editor.
Now you know you want to learn how to shoot
pick up that camera over there. And that's really how
I I've built my company. Um. It comes with a
lot of criticism though, you know, because there are people
who would, of course rather work for one of the
bigger entities, where it might be Union. They might be
(21:02):
making a lot more money, but you're not going to
get the same experience not at all. And we do
some big productions, but we also do some some heart
I call them, you know, our heart projects, and those
ones we just rolled our sleeves up and we get
them done. And you do. And that's the important thing,
is that, um and that's what the commitment was to
me as well, is that you're committed as an actress.
So you're committed to the work. But in terms of
(21:25):
just sitting on the sidelines and making something happen, you know,
we're just beyond that. In today's world, when you can
film featured film on an iPhone, it's incredible. So you're
making these opportunities, creating these opportunities. Tell us about I Woman,
because I'm so excited about this platform for women empowerment?
(21:45):
What is so am I Tracy? So am I I Woman?
Like everything for me, it came to me in a dream, really,
when you know, I launched my talk show chick Chat, yes,
several years ago, and I struggled with chick Chat because
I wanted chick Chat to be more than it it was.
It was like, is it a talk show? No, I
want a whole platform. I want to uplift women and
(22:07):
chick Chat was really kind of my entry into creating
a platform that brought women together to open up and
tell their stories and tell unique stories and and it
motivate each other. But I struggled with the name chick,
especially in this day and age, when you know, we're
talking about women's empowerment, talking about how women are portrayed
(22:28):
on camera, behind the camera, in the bedroom, you know,
in relationships, and so I I you know, the word
chick didn't strike everyone in a positive way. Some people
don't want to be called chicks, you know. For me,
I felt like it's just a playoff work chick Chat, right,
It's just chicks opening up. But if you don't want
to be called chicks, then I don't want to offend anyone.
So what could what could be a more broad platform
(22:49):
that I could make into really a media company, not
just a talk show. And that's when I came up
with I Woman, I Woman TV, and I Woman is
to me a culmination of everything that I've been building
as an actress, as a produced producer, as a director,
as a a production company owner for all these years,
(23:12):
my journalism skills. It gives me the platform to do
everything I've always wanted but not just me. It gives
me a really big opportunity to lift other women up
and put their shows. I don't want my show to
be the only one. I want you to have a show.
And I want her to have a show, and her
to have a show, and and um, and I really
want to change. I want to use this platform of
(23:33):
a woman to really change the image of women in
the media, the way that we're portrayed, the misogyny and
and the thoughts. And I feel like, long before this
women's empowerment movement, I have felt like women are just
bad ass and that we just need our opportunity to shine.
We don't need anyone else telling us that we can't
(23:55):
or someone else telling us, Ah, you know, women won't
want to see that kind of show. Like when we
were Chink Uptown Girls, for instance, we pitched it to
be two. We went out to Fox and walked their
lot and pitched it and I and everyone that I
met with, aside from one person of B two, that's
that's one of those stories. But you know, yeah, but
(24:21):
everyone for the most part that I've pitched to was
a was a man, and mostly white men. Were you know,
who would decide? Yeah, women wouldn't like that. Black women
wouldn't support that kind of show. And I just thought,
how can men tell women what they would support, what
they should watch, or how can men write for women
truly right for women? It just it's not that it
(24:43):
can't be done, just like I could write for a man,
but it's going to be stronger, you know, if if
I have a male perspective, right, And so that's what
I wanted to do with with my women. I just
wanted to create a open door for female content creators.
It's one thing have a production company where I could
produce something for a woman, but I still got to
go through a man to get it picked up somewhere. Well,
(25:06):
not at I woman, because there is no glass ceiling here.
We have a glass conference table, but we're all sitting
at it. There's a seat for anyone who wants to
come and sit at it. And you don't have to
fight your way to get in the door that doesn't
want you into, because the doors wide open. And if
we get enough content, enough shows on this platform, we
don't need any other platform because we're promoting each other.
(25:27):
So my shows on there, you're promoting my show, and
I'm promoting your show then, you know, I don't know.
Mary Jay May put a show on there. We're promoting
her show, Angelina. Joe Lee calls Cat, you know I
got this documentary, Angree, you know coming buzzing now. Yeah,
you know it's like, why do we really need anyone
else if we all come together? So we're launching. My
(25:49):
My goal is to launch in sync with Women's History
Month in March. We'll do a soft launch in January
with some of our programming, and we've signed a lot
of a lot of town and a lot of people already.
We have a lot of shows that are gonna be
pretty exciting. My shows will be on there right um,
and so we have streaming, we have it will be
on your Android, your iOS devices, Apple, TV, Amazon, all
(26:13):
of those, all the same outlets that you would find,
you know, any of the other major platforms. So I'm
going to be pumping that up you guys. Um, coming March,
We're gonna be talking about I women because um, this
is definitely and it's not just for women in terms
of you know, um, watching the content and being a
part of it, but it is a platform that is
(26:34):
so strong and so empowering, and I think that for
younger girls growing up and to see and have those
images are important. Um, I wanted to say really quickly, Um,
one of the things that I have a challenge with
in the acting world with women is vulnerability, because we're
building our women to be empowered. And so when I
(26:56):
work with I always tell actresses your character doesn't start
out that strong. She's more vulnerable, goes through some things,
and then grows into this empowered woman. So, UM, I
applaud you for a woman. I applaud you for Cat's
Cake Productions. I applaud her for hiring me. Um, do
(27:17):
our journey has has just begun, just begun. Like listen,
I'm here until the wall the wheels fall off, and
then we're gonna build some more wheels and they go
fall off. That's what we do it here. I'm just saying,
we go right until it all fall off. Right. This
went by two fast, so quick I did. But you
know what, we got some really great jewels. And I
(27:39):
do want to ask you before we go for three
tips that you want to give aspiring actors something that
you feel like they need to take on their journey. Well,
the first one, um, actually is to be committed you know.
That's that's interesting, man, And that's the theme today, because
you can't make it in this business unless you're committed
to it. You can't really be half in and half
(28:00):
out and and expect to get where you want to go.
So I would say, be committed, be fearless, you know.
And that's something that I struggle with. That's something that
I think a lot of people struggle with. But I
always say, you can't live in faith and fear at
the same time, right, So if you're faithful, you then
forget living in fear um. And the last one is
(28:21):
just have fun, enjoy the journey. When you think of
the money more so than you think of your craft,
then it's just a recipe for disaster because you're not
gonna make a lot of money for a long time
unless you get really lucky. And some people get really
lucky something to never make any money, and some people
make a ton of money. But you can't really be
in it for just that. You have to be in
it because you really love this. And I'd say, embrace
(28:44):
every opportunity, even to this day, and I've been I've
played a newscaster in every show. Probably I don't I
mean I must have like fifteen or sixteen different shows
on my IMDb that's like, oh, reporter, number one, reporter
or newscaster, this is that. But you know what, every
single time that I walk on a set and and
you know they're all this, all this is there for
(29:06):
me for my scene, I thank God every single time.
And I see myself as seven years old saying I
said this was what I was gonna do, and that
to me, that is I. And and so I allow
myself to really soak it in and enjoy it, and
I don't get frustrated. I could stay there the whole
day and I'm just like, yeah, you love me to
(29:26):
do it again, I'll do it again. I'm just happy
to be there. And we're happy that you are here.
You're so happy that you came on the Spirited Actor
podcast today, and I know, actors, you're walking away with
a lot of jewels, a lot of pearls. I love.
Be fearless. You have to be fearless in this business.
And and you're right committed. If you're not committed, it's
(29:47):
not going to happen. So I want you all to
put your hands together for the fabulous Kathleen trigged Jones,
and I feel like we're going to call her back.
I feel like right around the corner. Yeah, we're gonna
have it because we have to. We have to keep
talking about I Woman and the launch in March. We
have to big that us. And you'll come on the show, right, Yeah,
(30:11):
do you want to? Yes, that's right, we're doing your show,
so yes, make sure you look out. Just check. We're
gonna blast it everywhere time right yeah. Um, and I
just want to say thank you and um, we will
be right back on the Spirited Actor Podcast with me
Tracy Moore. Thank you, Welcome back to the Spirited Actor
Podcast with me Tracy Moore, and my guest is still here,
(30:35):
Kathleen trig Jones stand. So this is our part. This
is the segment called class in Session with Spirited Actor
alumni Leanna Motto. So we're gonna have some fun today,
ladies and gentlemen. We are going to do a scene
called the Counselor. Now, Kathleen, because she is an actress
(30:58):
and she can be everybody, ad and anybody, Kathleen will
be playing a sixteen year old. Um, I've changed it.
She is a sixteen year old young lady with an attitude,
and we'll go into the scene. Um so, I'm going
to read all the action and then um so you
are Sasha Kathleen and okay, will you do that's the
(31:22):
wrong show. You're sixteen. I just got your sixteen. Okay,
you look sixteen. I don't know why a god's name
you want to be sixteen, but alright, that's your life. Okay,
Leanne you with me line. Okay, so classes in session,
we're going to read the scene. Now, I'm going to
(31:43):
read all the action and then you guys will do
the dialogue and we'll get some notes. Okay. So Interior
office day, Ronda Gray sits at her desk, typing notes
from her recording on her iPhone. Her voice can be
heard saying, I happen to say I did on a
recommendation for this case. A knock on the door is heard.
(32:05):
Come in, Sasha sixteen struts in with an attitude. Well,
I gotta come here now. I thought I was seeing
you at three yo. Ronda gestures for her to have
a seat. Please yo, I mean, what is the emergency?
Rhonda retrieves her file from her desk. This is not
(32:26):
easy to say, Oh my god like, I mean always
through dramatics with you. Your biological parents have been found.
I asked her foster parents to share this with you,
but they've been let me guess they asked you to
do it. Probably too busy, like sitting on their butts
collecting the checks. Waiting on that check every month can
(32:47):
be exhausting. Rhonda takes her glasses off. Sasha, how long
have I known you? Yo? Are you filming some reality
show right now? I mean, this is getting kind of corny, Sasha.
I'm really trying to save you. I know that the
duties only do what is required of them, and you
guys have a friend for yourself. It breaks my heart.
(33:08):
Maybe your real parents are different, Sasha thinks, sure they are.
Thanks see, if you just give it a chance. I
was joking, I'm not. Maybe if you just give them
a chance to tell you their story, it may be
different from what you know. It could be the truth.
(33:29):
I never thought about that. I mean, everybody treats me
so bad, that's like my normal. I mean, you, I
think I could meet them. I think you should do
what you feel. Adults don't always get it right, Sasha.
Sasha stands. Do I still need to come back at three. Yes,
(33:50):
then I'll tell you at three. Sasha begins to walk
towards the door. Do do they want to meet me?
M desperately? Sasha's eyes feels with tears. I mean, what's
happening to me? Like? It's okay, Sasha, you're allowing yourself
to feel whoa I mean, just can't get out. It'll
(34:14):
ruin my rep She winks at Rhonda, she smiles. There
is hope the end. Wow, give them a round of applause.
That was great. So I want to say two things. One, Kathleen,
I didn't even think about the foster parent aspect of it, right.
And then you have a teenage daughter. So what brings
(34:36):
authenticity to a scene or monologue is the experience. So
you were just playing Olivia right now? All my attitude
little girls? Yes? And you know, um, it's interesting because
I actually believed you as a teenager. There was nothing
(34:56):
there rightly here, there was nothing there that you know,
made me not feel like you. Definitely I hate teenagers. Okay,
no I don't, but I do. But you had all
of the elements of a teenager. You know, they wake
up mad. Everything I used to say to Radiance she
would get up and she'd be mad. I'm like, did
I do something in your dream? Right? Why you got attitude?
(35:20):
So the thing that I would say, the note that
I would give, which you already did, is to pull
from your experience. You know, Um, even though you're just
a couple of years older than sixteen, you know you
still are able to pull what you know. So this
time we're going to read it again. The notes that
(35:41):
I have is to stay true to the experience that
you know of because you're bringing that authenticity. You have
the experience of knowing what being in a foster home
is like, and when people are not necessarily invested in
you as a human being, but more invested in that
paycheck because the more children you have, the more money
you get. Right, So, and then just teenagers is just
(36:06):
something wrong every day? Um. The other thing is is
that when when when actors read scenes, and this is
why I stressed to read the scene the first time
like a normal person, no highlight or anything like that,
understand what the scene is. Because what you know, Kathleen,
is that your character is going to cry, or at
(36:27):
least her eyes are gonna water. Where are you going
to find that prior to the moment of it happening,
because you have to sort of conjure that up. Yeah,
and then um, Leanne, you know her, you're a counselor.
You know how she is, and you know she's not
the tough girl that she portrays. There's something else under that.
So if you could work at trying to pull a
(36:49):
little of that, then by the time we get to
her crying, we'll have that that moment because she's not
a tough girl. That's all the front just to survive,
so to speak. Kind I know this, Yeah, Okay, so
I'm not going to read the action, you guys. We're
just going to go straight through the scene. Right all right,
here we go, Come in? Why do I have to
(37:12):
come here? Now? I thought I was seeing you at
three yo? Do you sit yo? I mean, what's the emergency?
This is not easy to say, but oh my God,
always through dramatics with you. Your biological parents have been found,
(37:32):
and I asked your foster parents to share this with you,
but let me guess they asked you to do it.
Probably too busy sitting on their butts, collected the checks,
waiting that check every month. It's kind of exhausting, Sasha.
How long have I known you? Yo? Are you filming
some reality show right now or something? This is getting
(37:53):
kind of corny, Sasha. I'm trying to save you. I
know that the duties only do what is required of
that and you guys have to friend for yourself. It
breaks my heart. Maybe your real parents are different, sure
they are, thank Yeah, see, if you just give it
a chance. I was joking, I'm not. Maybe if you
(38:14):
just give them a chance to tell you their story,
it may be different from what you know, and it
could be the truth. I guess I never thought about that.
I mean, everybody treats me so bad, that's like my normal. Um,
I don't know. Do you think I should meet them?
(38:35):
I think you should do what you feel slash. Adults
don't always get it right. So do I still need
to come back at three? Yes, ma'am? Okay, then I'll
tell you at three? Do did they want to meet me? Desperately?
(39:06):
What's happening? What's happening to me? It's okay, Sasha, you're
allowing yourself to feel well. I mean, all right, this
can't get out, okay, because like it would ruin my
rep got it okay and seen wow give them around
to applause. Excellent. One of the things that um, I
(39:30):
wanted to say with you, Kathleen. The reactions were great
and and um touching her hand at the end that
was so endearing, which kind of got me choked up
as well. So um, you guys took the notes and
and and you applied them and it felt authentic. Bravo, ladies,
good transitions to Bravo. So I just want to say,
(39:54):
I'm for hire for a sixteen year old if anybody's
looking for five. This is true and she looks sixty. Guy,
it's not a day over sixteen and a half. Go
back to what you said earlier. Who would want of these?
And a girl especialist? Oh I can't. I mean, I'm
(40:16):
just saying, all right, thank you for a class in
session with Spirited Actor alumni Leeanna Motto and our guest
that's committed actress, Miss Kathleen Trigg Jones, Give love, Protect
your Spirit. I was in a producer session with Eve's
(40:39):
television show years ago and an actress was performing in
front of a room of about twenty people TV executives,
producer director Eve, myself and the head of the studio
said to the actress, you're really talented, but you're not
(41:02):
pretty enough to be a star. The actress took in
the constructive criticism and she smiled as a TV executive,
and she said thank you, and I saw her eyes
starting to fill with tears. I excuse myself from the
room and I ran down the hall to to chase her,
(41:24):
to to just track her down. And when I reached her,
I said, listen, don't believe what he just said. That's personal.
If he had given you constructive criticism on your performance,
that's valid. But to say to someone that you're not
pretty enough to be a star. You have to learn
(41:48):
as actors to protect your spirit, to protect your heart,
to protect your personal space, because there are a lot
of people out there that are going to try to
break you down, bring you down, take you down. You're
stronger than that. You're more powerful than that. Protect your spirit,
protect your space, and protect your heart. Look out for
(42:08):
yourself and know that regardless of what people say to
you is their opinion, and the only opinion that matters
is the opinion you have of yourself. Thank you for
joining us on the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
I look forward to our next Spirited podcast. Thank you,
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 Thomas.
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
casting director that is powerful meditation of the day. I
(01:07):
finally stopped running from myself. Who else is there better
to be? Goldie Hans. It is so important that we
find a quiet space in our life that we can
go to to rejuvenate. We need to take the time
to create this place. It can be a corner in
your room that you decorate with candles and incense. Take
(01:29):
your time and build your sanctuary because regardless of what
the outer distractions, maybe you don't have to be involved.
Every day. I will add something special to my sanctuary
where I find peace. Welcome back to the Spirited Actor
Podcast with me Tracy Moore and I have a super
(01:51):
special guest today, Kathleen trigged Jones. Give it over. Kathleen.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hi. Hi Kathleen. So
good to be here today. And congratulations Mama, thank you
so much. I love being here. I love talking actors,
and I love sharing my friends, my dear friends, with
(02:13):
the audience. Kathleen and I have history together. We go
back twenties years UM when I was when I first
started out as an acting coach. Kathleen interviewed me on
up and nine news and she is an Emmy Award
winning journalists Fox News UM and she is today we
(02:34):
are talking about the committed actor. When I think about
commitment in this industry, I think about Kathleen, because Kathleen
she takes her power in her own hands. She doesn't
rely on other entities to create her success. Um, she
creates her own success. And I want to talk about
(02:55):
that today, all the opportunities that she's created along with
her production company. But we're gonna start at the beginning.
How did this all start for you, Kathleen? Well, you know,
let me just let me first just say that word
committed is is an interesting word because because you know,
being committed can get you committed if you're not right.
(03:17):
There's a thin line between commitment and being committed. Um. Yeah,
So I you know, this started for me way before
I had a platform. So I I like to tell
the story that when I was I believe, around seven
or eight years old, and there was a school play
and I played Harriet Tubman and that made me know
(03:39):
with certainty that I wanted to do that. I didn't
know what that was where I loved it, and I
was kind of a shy kid, but yet something clicked
with acting. And so from that point on, then my
my dad put us in like a community play. And
my dad got real mad at cursed everyone out and quit,
but I got to stay into play. Please don't make
(04:00):
me quit, you're crazy, but I like this, you know,
so yeah, but that was kind of the beginning of
of my UM and it was like one of the
slave trade kind of you know plays and UM when
I loved it, and so from that point on, I
did a combination of community theater and also school theater.
And then in the summer's I sometimes snuck, and I
(04:21):
say snug because my parents weren't really on board with
me being an actor UM, so I would sneak and
sign up for programs and UM and sometimes before signature.
At times I wasn't just signed because they weren't really
in support of it that you know, they didn't know
what they didn't know. They didn't believe that this was
(04:43):
a thing that could actually turn out to be something,
so they tried to stifle that talent in me. UM.
But as I got older, I couldn't get away from it.
It's really all I dreamed of. And I didn't just
dream of being an actress. I dreamed of owning a
media company. I wanted to be Oprah. I wanted to
be uh Sisily Tyson. I wanted I wanted to be
(05:05):
at all of that wrapped up in one and as
I got older, it became really important for me to
learn the behind the scenes as well as in front
of the camera. And it's funny because the way you
and I clicked was I then made it my mission
to find other blacks when I was on when I
became a news anchor, news reporter in New York, I
(05:26):
made it my mission to find other blacks who were
not getting their limelight. And I was determined to make
them experts on mainstream news. That's how I found you.
I saw you out, Tracy. I didn't know that. I
didn't know Tracey. I know the back story, yes, I
I because they weren't. You know. When I was in news,
(05:47):
the experts that they always found for every story were
the same, you know, white people and nothing against them,
but I was just the same. They went to the
same experts. You know, let's get an expert to talk
about Michael Jackson, and it was a white expert, or
a white female dermatologist, or a um or, you know,
maybe a white casting director or a white agent or something.
And I thought, well, there's got to be some black
(06:08):
people in New York City who are experts as well.
And so I literally made it a point to find
you and when some Sinclair and other black professionals, and
every time there was a story, I was like, I
know somebody and I didn't, but I would go through
calling and try to find someone. And this is crazy,
but sometimes I would even like because we didn't have
(06:28):
the Internet, wasn't as big then, so I had defined
a way to know who, you know, who actually fit
my bill. I would sometimes just call if the name
sounded like it could be black, you know, look at
the phone book, if the if they you know, if
they if we made a call and a person answering
the phone sound like they could be from around the way,
you got a job exactly. But yeah, that that was
(06:52):
kind of interesting because that's the type of casting director
I was, you know, whatever projects I I always bought
in people of color just to give choices. And back then,
like you're right, we didn't have Internet, and we definitely
had defined you know, it was either black, white, Asian other.
Now we have ethnically ambiguous. Everything is whatever that means
(07:12):
you are. If I was casting, I would cast you
as because that means, I mean it means that you
could be black, you could be you have like this latina,
like you know, we could just say that you are,
and I could be like, I could play a seventeen
year old or well, that's what you're going to do
today classes session. Um. One of the things that you said, uh,
(07:33):
in terms of the news, how did you make the
transition from news serious to live action in terms of
playing a journalist, Let's say on Madam Secretary, right, and
on every other show? Right? I think that And this
is true, Kathleen. You were so great at what you
(07:55):
do that casting directors don't know if they haven't done
their due dilige, and they don't know that your background
is a journalist. They just see you and say, she's
amazing journalist. And that's why we got to get out
of that. Give that girl an oscar. She's going to play. Yes,
I'm playing a journalist on TV. Yes, I'll gladly do
(08:16):
that acceptance speech regardless. Right. So the transition is real
easy when you know that you're not living your life. Um,
based on what you're calling is right. So it's hard
to leave a high paid job. You know when you
know when you're living your life the way that you're
supposed to, and you also know when you're not. The
(08:37):
question is what are you going to do about it?
And for me, I fell into being a news reporter
and a news anchor more so than I planned it.
Those doors just opened up for me. I was in college.
I went to Delaware State, HBCU and UM. And while
I was in college, I was doing a combination of
theater and UM and I and journalists. But theater was
(09:01):
really my passion. I was writing plays, I was we
were performing them. I was just having a great time
on the stage. But then I had a professor who said,
you know, you're a really good writer. Have you ever
considered journalism? And I didn't even hadn't even really I
didn't even really know what journalism would mean, Like what
is that gonna be a newspaper reporter? That's not interesting?
And um, what I saw was that could be a
(09:22):
segue to get on television. So similar to this, I
started a radio show at Delaware State and I interviewed
every artist that came to Delaware State to perform. And
I liked it. I enjoyed doing the interviews. So I
did everyone from your Guy bust A Rhyme to Salt
Peppa to all of those you know eighties rap groups
(09:44):
would come through my my college performance, so I would
I would put them on my radio show. So it
made me feel like I was like really doing my thing. Um.
And then when I graduated from college, I didn't have
a job, but my major with journalism I I did
and actually officially declare a minor in theater because they
didn't have a minor. But I had enough courses like
(10:05):
that was my my second discipline, and that's really what
I wanted to do. But you know what, I had
my daughter in college, and so I was a single mom,
and I had to think about money. So move into
New York with a bag and Mike would you would
you rib with you a suitcase? I didn't have radiance,
thank god. Yeah, yeah that was It wasn't impossible, but
(10:26):
it felt a little irresponsible for me to do it right.
So what I decided instead was I did some internships
at radio stations, at local TV stations, and with a
day that I graduated, I got a phone call from
one of the news directors that I had interned with, saying, hey, there,
you know, this is Marilyn Burkele and I remember her
to this stay. She gave me my first on their job.
(10:47):
So what are you up to these days. I said, well,
funny you should ask. I just graduated college. She said,
what are you gonna do? I was like, I don't know.
She was like, well, I guess you're gonna work for me.
So she hired me and gave me my first TV job,
and um and that from there, Tracy, I didn't really
apply for other news jobs. Someone else would call me
like that. It just kept happening. I would get a call, Hey,
(11:10):
I saw you on such and such, or would you
like to move to Richmond? I guess, okay, sure, increase, sure,
you know, and I was moving literally for increments of
about five thousand dollars, to the point that I was,
you know, Richmond might have put me up to like
thirty thousand dollars you know. Um, and then I've moved
to Northfolk, Virginia, which might have put me up to
like thirty five thousand dollars a year. Um. And as
(11:33):
a single mother, you know, it was really difficult. But
I had a stable job, I had benefits, I could
pay my bills, and I was to me, I never
saw it as a place I was ever going to stay.
Verse so I didn't really hang my hat. I instead
just said you know, this is a this is a stomp,
a stopping point from me as I'm climbing getting all
the experience I can. But my goal is still to
(11:55):
be in New York. But to be in New York
with a job, you know where Reckon make money and
then I could start doing the active stuff. So that's
what happened. So was that a call from Fox News?
That not exactly? So I came to New York to
work for up N nine Knews, which doesn't even exist.
They just told it building down. I just demolished it. Um.
But I I had a I got engaged to my husband,
(12:18):
Michael Dr Michael Jones, Michael Jones love Michael. Yeah. So
I we had gotten engaged and we were commuting. He
was in New York, I was in Virginia, and we
had to decide, well, who has the most earning potential
because that's where we're gonna live. Am I moving to
New York or as he moving to Norfolk? And um?
And it was pretty easy. You know, I wanted to
be in New York, um, and he was already h
(12:38):
he was a resident at the time, just finishing his residency.
And so I told my station that I didn't want
to sign my new contract when they that was a
five o'clock anchor, so I was it was like it
was a perfect position for me, but I told him
I didn't want to sign because I was going to
get married. I was moving to New York without a job.
And my news director there called Paula Madison in New
(13:01):
York at NBC and and her her higher ups, her boss,
and said, hey, I've got this news anchor. We love her,
she's under contract, but we can't keep her. She's getting married,
she wants to move to New York. Can you do
anything for her? And I ended up getting a call
from Um Will Write at Channel nine. Oh I love
he's my mentor. I love him to death. Will called
(13:22):
and and said, coming to New York, I'll hire you.
So I came to New York with a job, and
I really increased my salary then and to the six figures,
and I was like, wow, I thought I'd really made
it as well. This is a whole different beast, right Um.
And from that point the rest was history. I stayed
there working and then Fox eventually bought Channel nine, so
I started working with both Fox five, not Fox News,
(13:45):
but Fox five and and up and nine, and that's
how I met you, and that's where I won, you know,
an Emmy. I was nominated for Emmy. So wait, let's
not let's not brush pass the Emmy. Let's not brush
pass Emmy because I wanted to ask you, and I
know my audiences they want to know as well, how
was it receiving an Emmy Because I'm gonna tell you this.
When I get my Emmy, Oscar, I'm wearing right there
(14:06):
with Look, this is my chain, and they're gonna say, Tracy,
I'm gonna be like, what my Emmy is just gonna
follow right right, right right. It should be a title,
like you know, there's a doctor. If you're a doctor,
they call you doctor. Why can't they should be like
let me Tracy, Oscar Tracy. Yeah. So that was incredible,
(14:27):
But you know it was interesting because I didn't I
never thought I was gonna win. I had three nominations
that year, which was incredible. Do you know I didn't
even go to the award. I didn't go. So it
was accepting this award for call. I saw it on
the news like everybody else. It was. I was just
telling the story the other day. I don't know what
(14:47):
I was thinking back then, you know, but I I was.
I had fallen asleep. I didn't go to the Emmy
Awards and my tea now you fall asleep with the
news on? Yes, I fell asleep. The news was on
and I happened to hear a name at the very
end of the newscast. It was like, Brenda Blackman and
whoever Arnie an Assas or something. We want to thank one, No,
we want to we want to congratulate one of our
(15:10):
own tonight, Kathleen trig Jones for taking home the Emmy
for Best Reporting for Hip Hop Math with Puff Daddy.
And I was like, what I think. I think I
want an Emmy. He's like, what what I said? Wake up?
I think that I think what he's at? Why? No, No,
I swear I think I heard and you couldn't reverse right,
So I called the station. I was like, like, yes,
(15:34):
you you know your nominations. You know we're well received.
Who went up and got my Emmy for me? Like?
Did they give a speech? I don't know what I
was thinking, but you know again, it was more so
we you know, when you're talking about committed. Let's get
back to your talking when you're really committed to your crap. Absolutely,
you're not really doing it for the accolades. You're it's
it's your hustle. You know, you're really all in, Your
(15:56):
heart is in this. You're just every day and you're
in that grind. Sometimes you know you don't really have
the time to slow down and stop and make sense
of it all because it's all happening so fast. I
take the time now, Tracy, I'd say that's what's changed
as I've gotten older, because I really try to now
take the time to enjoy every second that's the best
(16:18):
of every day of my life. And I'm so purpose
driven right now. So if if if what I'm doing
isn't serving a purpose to get me where it is
that I want to go, then I shouldn't be doing it.
I'm not saying I don't do a lot of stuff
that doesn't. But I know where all the bodies are married. Yes,
between the two of us, Lord have mercy, that's the
(16:42):
other show. But that would be the two Your graves,
your grave take to the grave like that we should
create that should take it to the grave or in
my case, I'm going to be cremated. So you know,
it just has to go with me. Yeah, bird, all
the sea with me between you, we know them. Um.
(17:02):
I wanted to also talk in reference to commitment, your
commitment to helping other people, including myself. I'm so honored
and grateful that you know, when you thought about a director,
you would call me and I'm like, well, I don't
have all these credits, but you believed in me, which
built my confidence as a director. So I'm very grateful.
(17:22):
But you also give other opportunities to producers, editors, just
the whole gamut. I want to talk about building your
production company, Catscape, and then I want to go into
I Woman because I think that that is an amazing platform.
Thank you. Um well, let's let's back up and talk
about you in this directing. I oh, I listened to
(17:44):
people's dreams because people didn't listen to my dreams. I
always say that I wouldn't even be here if it
wasn't for my dreams, because you know, you know my story.
And then I was an orphan right and I was
in I was in foster care until my parents adopted me.
And I didn't really have growing up any one who
believed that I could be anything. And so they didn't
listen to my dreams. And and the biggest dream crusher
(18:07):
is is just not having anyone around you who believes
in you. And it's not that they it's not that
they thought I was a horrible person, but they just didn't,
you know, they didn't think that what I what was
important to me really was important in life right, focused
on being a teacher, focused on going in the military.
In fact, i'd rolled in the military and the Air Force.
I was leaving for boot camp, I swear to goodness
(18:30):
on my way to matamp. Was on my way to
bootcamp in Texas, and right before I was going to leave,
I just thought, you know, if I if I go
to this boot camp, how am I gonna how a
gonna be an actress? Like this is gonna take me
farther away? I don't know where they're gonna station me.
How's that going to happen? So I I had to fight,
actually to get out of my commitment, because once you
(18:51):
sign up, you're you're stuck, right, But I had to fight.
I had to get some lawmakers behind me and stuff,
and and what they said was of you enroll in college,
that's the only we can get out enrolled a college.
I paid my way through college and the rest was history.
But what I like to do now, even with it's
not just about believing in a child's dreams, it's believing
in in anyone's dreams. You told me in our first
(19:13):
meeting that you really you were a casting director, but
you said I really want to direct, and I never
forgot that. So the second I had a project, the
first person, the only person I thought of, was Tracy
got to direct this. I was like, why is she
thinking about me? I didn't even know if you could
direct it. I direct? You said you want direct, right,
you were like, yeah, alright, let's direct. What are we
(19:34):
gonna direct? We're gonna direct something that's fine, you know.
And we came up with a project. We paid for
it ourselves, we pulled the crew together, and we made
it happen. And that's that's kind of indicative of my life.
I make it happen. You say that I try to
make things happen. I really do. If I want something,
I don't wait for Fox or b Et or someone
else to say that you can, because we've been waiting
(19:55):
a long time, right for our for those opportunities. Um
so I don't wait for that. Instead, I find a
way to get it done by any means necessary. And
that's what we've done. We've we've done music videos together,
We've done a whole series together. You know, we have
some summarious commercials, right and and it runs the gamut.
So I started my production company really with that same
(20:18):
thought in mind. How many friends do I have that
are so talented, have these audacious dreams, but they may
not have the resume or the opportunity, for whatever reason,
to get in the door and shine. And so if
I create my own company, my own opportunities, well they
can shine on my stage, on my platform. And that's
what I've tried to do. So I've casted everyone I
(20:40):
know in my productions I have made. You know, someone
says they want to be an editor or an editor.
Now you know you want to learn how to shoot
pick up that camera over there. And that's really how
I I've built my company. Um. It comes with a
lot of criticism though, you know, because there are people
who would, of course rather work for one of the
bigger entities, where it might be Union. They might be
(21:02):
making a lot more money, but you're not going to
get the same experience not at all. And we do
some big productions, but we also do some some heart
I call them, you know, our heart projects, and those
ones we just rolled our sleeves up and we get
them done. And you do. And that's the important thing,
is that, um and that's what the commitment was to
me as well, is that you're committed as an actress.
So you're committed to the work. But in terms of
(21:25):
just sitting on the sidelines and making something happen, you know,
we're just beyond that. In today's world, when you can
film featured film on an iPhone, it's incredible. So you're
making these opportunities, creating these opportunities. Tell us about I Woman,
because I'm so excited about this platform for women empowerment?
(21:45):
What is so am I Tracy? So am I I Woman?
Like everything for me, it came to me in a dream, really,
when you know, I launched my talk show chick Chat, yes,
several years ago, and I struggled with chick Chat because
I wanted chick Chat to be more than it it was.
It was like, is it a talk show? No, I
want a whole platform. I want to uplift women and
(22:07):
chick Chat was really kind of my entry into creating
a platform that brought women together to open up and
tell their stories and tell unique stories and and it
motivate each other. But I struggled with the name chick,
especially in this day and age, when you know, we're
talking about women's empowerment, talking about how women are portrayed
(22:28):
on camera, behind the camera, in the bedroom, you know,
in relationships, and so I I you know, the word
chick didn't strike everyone in a positive way. Some people
don't want to be called chicks, you know. For me,
I felt like it's just a playoff work chick Chat, right,
It's just chicks opening up. But if you don't want
to be called chicks, then I don't want to offend anyone.
So what could what could be a more broad platform
(22:49):
that I could make into really a media company, not
just a talk show. And that's when I came up
with I Woman, I Woman TV, and I Woman is
to me a culmination of everything that I've been building
as an actress, as a produced producer, as a director,
as a a production company owner for all these years,
(23:12):
my journalism skills. It gives me the platform to do
everything I've always wanted but not just me. It gives
me a really big opportunity to lift other women up
and put their shows. I don't want my show to
be the only one. I want you to have a show.
And I want her to have a show, and her
to have a show, and and um, and I really
want to change. I want to use this platform of
(23:33):
a woman to really change the image of women in
the media, the way that we're portrayed, the misogyny and
and the thoughts. And I feel like, long before this
women's empowerment movement, I have felt like women are just
bad ass and that we just need our opportunity to shine.
We don't need anyone else telling us that we can't
(23:55):
or someone else telling us, Ah, you know, women won't
want to see that kind of show. Like when we
were Chink Uptown Girls, for instance, we pitched it to
be two. We went out to Fox and walked their
lot and pitched it and I and everyone that I
met with, aside from one person of B two, that's
that's one of those stories. But you know, yeah, but
(24:21):
everyone for the most part that I've pitched to was
a was a man, and mostly white men. Were you know,
who would decide? Yeah, women wouldn't like that. Black women
wouldn't support that kind of show. And I just thought,
how can men tell women what they would support, what
they should watch, or how can men write for women
truly right for women? It just it's not that it
(24:43):
can't be done, just like I could write for a man,
but it's going to be stronger, you know, if if
I have a male perspective, right, And so that's what
I wanted to do with with my women. I just
wanted to create a open door for female content creators.
It's one thing have a production company where I could
produce something for a woman, but I still got to
go through a man to get it picked up somewhere. Well,
(25:06):
not at I woman, because there is no glass ceiling here.
We have a glass conference table, but we're all sitting
at it. There's a seat for anyone who wants to
come and sit at it. And you don't have to
fight your way to get in the door that doesn't
want you into, because the doors wide open. And if
we get enough content, enough shows on this platform, we
don't need any other platform because we're promoting each other.
(25:27):
So my shows on there, you're promoting my show, and
I'm promoting your show then, you know, I don't know.
Mary Jay May put a show on there. We're promoting
her show, Angelina. Joe Lee calls Cat, you know I
got this documentary, Angree, you know coming buzzing now. Yeah,
you know it's like, why do we really need anyone
else if we all come together? So we're launching. My
(25:49):
My goal is to launch in sync with Women's History
Month in March. We'll do a soft launch in January
with some of our programming, and we've signed a lot
of a lot of town and a lot of people already.
We have a lot of shows that are gonna be
pretty exciting. My shows will be on there right um,
and so we have streaming, we have it will be
on your Android, your iOS devices, Apple, TV, Amazon, all
(26:13):
of those, all the same outlets that you would find,
you know, any of the other major platforms. So I'm
going to be pumping that up you guys. Um, coming March,
We're gonna be talking about I women because um, this
is definitely and it's not just for women in terms
of you know, um, watching the content and being a
part of it, but it is a platform that is
(26:34):
so strong and so empowering, and I think that for
younger girls growing up and to see and have those
images are important. Um, I wanted to say really quickly, Um,
one of the things that I have a challenge with
in the acting world with women is vulnerability, because we're
building our women to be empowered. And so when I
(26:56):
work with I always tell actresses your character doesn't start
out that strong. She's more vulnerable, goes through some things,
and then grows into this empowered woman. So, UM, I
applaud you for a woman. I applaud you for Cat's
Cake Productions. I applaud her for hiring me. Um, do
(27:17):
our journey has has just begun, just begun. Like listen,
I'm here until the wall the wheels fall off, and
then we're gonna build some more wheels and they go
fall off. That's what we do it here. I'm just saying,
we go right until it all fall off. Right. This
went by two fast, so quick I did. But you
know what, we got some really great jewels. And I
(27:39):
do want to ask you before we go for three
tips that you want to give aspiring actors something that
you feel like they need to take on their journey. Well,
the first one, um, actually is to be committed you know.
That's that's interesting, man, And that's the theme today, because
you can't make it in this business unless you're committed
to it. You can't really be half in and half
(28:00):
out and and expect to get where you want to go.
So I would say, be committed, be fearless, you know.
And that's something that I struggle with. That's something that
I think a lot of people struggle with. But I
always say, you can't live in faith and fear at
the same time, right, So if you're faithful, you then
forget living in fear um. And the last one is
(28:21):
just have fun, enjoy the journey. When you think of
the money more so than you think of your craft,
then it's just a recipe for disaster because you're not
gonna make a lot of money for a long time
unless you get really lucky. And some people get really
lucky something to never make any money, and some people
make a ton of money. But you can't really be
in it for just that. You have to be in
it because you really love this. And I'd say, embrace
(28:44):
every opportunity, even to this day, and I've been I've
played a newscaster in every show. Probably I don't I
mean I must have like fifteen or sixteen different shows
on my IMDb that's like, oh, reporter, number one, reporter
or newscaster, this is that. But you know what, every
single time that I walk on a set and and
you know they're all this, all this is there for
(29:06):
me for my scene, I thank God every single time.
And I see myself as seven years old saying I
said this was what I was gonna do, and that
to me, that is I. And and so I allow
myself to really soak it in and enjoy it, and
I don't get frustrated. I could stay there the whole
day and I'm just like, yeah, you love me to
(29:26):
do it again, I'll do it again. I'm just happy
to be there. And we're happy that you are here.
You're so happy that you came on the Spirited Actor
podcast today, and I know, actors, you're walking away with
a lot of jewels, a lot of pearls. I love.
Be fearless. You have to be fearless in this business.
And and you're right committed. If you're not committed, it's
(29:47):
not going to happen. So I want you all to
put your hands together for the fabulous Kathleen trigged Jones,
and I feel like we're going to call her back.
I feel like right around the corner. Yeah, we're gonna
have it because we have to. We have to keep
talking about I Woman and the launch in March. We
have to big that us. And you'll come on the show, right, Yeah,
(30:11):
do you want to? Yes, that's right, we're doing your show,
so yes, make sure you look out. Just check. We're
gonna blast it everywhere time right yeah. Um, and I
just want to say thank you and um, we will
be right back on the Spirited Actor Podcast with me
Tracy Moore. Thank you, Welcome back to the Spirited Actor
Podcast with me Tracy Moore, and my guest is still here,
(30:35):
Kathleen trig Jones stand. So this is our part. This
is the segment called class in Session with Spirited Actor
alumni Leanna Motto. So we're gonna have some fun today,
ladies and gentlemen. We are going to do a scene
called the Counselor. Now, Kathleen, because she is an actress
(30:58):
and she can be everybody, ad and anybody, Kathleen will
be playing a sixteen year old. Um, I've changed it.
She is a sixteen year old young lady with an attitude,
and we'll go into the scene. Um so, I'm going
to read all the action and then um so you
are Sasha Kathleen and okay, will you do that's the
(31:22):
wrong show. You're sixteen. I just got your sixteen. Okay,
you look sixteen. I don't know why a god's name
you want to be sixteen, but alright, that's your life. Okay,
Leanne you with me line. Okay, so classes in session,
we're going to read the scene. Now, I'm going to
(31:43):
read all the action and then you guys will do
the dialogue and we'll get some notes. Okay. So Interior
office day, Ronda Gray sits at her desk, typing notes
from her recording on her iPhone. Her voice can be
heard saying, I happen to say I did on a
recommendation for this case. A knock on the door is heard.
(32:05):
Come in, Sasha sixteen struts in with an attitude. Well,
I gotta come here now. I thought I was seeing
you at three yo. Ronda gestures for her to have
a seat. Please yo, I mean, what is the emergency?
Rhonda retrieves her file from her desk. This is not
(32:26):
easy to say, Oh my god like, I mean always
through dramatics with you. Your biological parents have been found.
I asked her foster parents to share this with you,
but they've been let me guess they asked you to
do it. Probably too busy, like sitting on their butts
collecting the checks. Waiting on that check every month can
(32:47):
be exhausting. Rhonda takes her glasses off. Sasha, how long
have I known you? Yo? Are you filming some reality
show right now? I mean, this is getting kind of corny, Sasha.
I'm really trying to save you. I know that the
duties only do what is required of them, and you
guys have a friend for yourself. It breaks my heart.
(33:08):
Maybe your real parents are different, Sasha thinks, sure they are.
Thanks see, if you just give it a chance. I
was joking, I'm not. Maybe if you just give them
a chance to tell you their story, it may be
different from what you know. It could be the truth.
(33:29):
I never thought about that. I mean, everybody treats me
so bad, that's like my normal. I mean, you, I
think I could meet them. I think you should do
what you feel. Adults don't always get it right, Sasha.
Sasha stands. Do I still need to come back at three. Yes,
(33:50):
then I'll tell you at three. Sasha begins to walk
towards the door. Do do they want to meet me?
M desperately? Sasha's eyes feels with tears. I mean, what's
happening to me? Like? It's okay, Sasha, you're allowing yourself
to feel whoa I mean, just can't get out. It'll
(34:14):
ruin my rep She winks at Rhonda, she smiles. There
is hope the end. Wow, give them a round of applause.
That was great. So I want to say two things. One, Kathleen,
I didn't even think about the foster parent aspect of it, right.
And then you have a teenage daughter. So what brings
(34:36):
authenticity to a scene or monologue is the experience. So
you were just playing Olivia right now? All my attitude
little girls? Yes? And you know, um, it's interesting because
I actually believed you as a teenager. There was nothing
(34:56):
there rightly here, there was nothing there that you know,
made me not feel like you. Definitely I hate teenagers. Okay,
no I don't, but I do. But you had all
of the elements of a teenager. You know, they wake
up mad. Everything I used to say to Radiance she
would get up and she'd be mad. I'm like, did
I do something in your dream? Right? Why you got attitude?
(35:20):
So the thing that I would say, the note that
I would give, which you already did, is to pull
from your experience. You know, Um, even though you're just
a couple of years older than sixteen, you know you
still are able to pull what you know. So this
time we're going to read it again. The notes that
(35:41):
I have is to stay true to the experience that
you know of because you're bringing that authenticity. You have
the experience of knowing what being in a foster home
is like, and when people are not necessarily invested in
you as a human being, but more invested in that
paycheck because the more children you have, the more money
you get. Right, So, and then just teenagers is just
(36:06):
something wrong every day? Um. The other thing is is
that when when when actors read scenes, and this is
why I stressed to read the scene the first time
like a normal person, no highlight or anything like that,
understand what the scene is. Because what you know, Kathleen,
is that your character is going to cry, or at
(36:27):
least her eyes are gonna water. Where are you going
to find that prior to the moment of it happening,
because you have to sort of conjure that up. Yeah,
and then um, Leanne, you know her, you're a counselor.
You know how she is, and you know she's not
the tough girl that she portrays. There's something else under that.
So if you could work at trying to pull a
(36:49):
little of that, then by the time we get to
her crying, we'll have that that moment because she's not
a tough girl. That's all the front just to survive,
so to speak. Kind I know this, Yeah, Okay, so
I'm not going to read the action, you guys. We're
just going to go straight through the scene. Right all right,
here we go, Come in? Why do I have to
(37:12):
come here? Now? I thought I was seeing you at
three yo? Do you sit yo? I mean, what's the emergency?
This is not easy to say, but oh my God,
always through dramatics with you. Your biological parents have been found,
(37:32):
and I asked your foster parents to share this with you,
but let me guess they asked you to do it.
Probably too busy sitting on their butts, collected the checks,
waiting that check every month. It's kind of exhausting, Sasha.
How long have I known you? Yo? Are you filming
some reality show right now or something? This is getting
(37:53):
kind of corny, Sasha. I'm trying to save you. I
know that the duties only do what is required of
that and you guys have to friend for yourself. It
breaks my heart. Maybe your real parents are different, sure
they are, thank Yeah, see, if you just give it
a chance. I was joking, I'm not. Maybe if you
(38:14):
just give them a chance to tell you their story,
it may be different from what you know, and it
could be the truth. I guess I never thought about that.
I mean, everybody treats me so bad, that's like my normal. Um,
I don't know. Do you think I should meet them?
(38:35):
I think you should do what you feel slash. Adults
don't always get it right. So do I still need
to come back at three? Yes, ma'am? Okay, then I'll
tell you at three? Do did they want to meet me? Desperately?
(39:06):
What's happening? What's happening to me? It's okay, Sasha, you're
allowing yourself to feel well. I mean, all right, this
can't get out, okay, because like it would ruin my
rep got it okay and seen wow give them around
to applause. Excellent. One of the things that um, I
(39:30):
wanted to say with you, Kathleen. The reactions were great
and and um touching her hand at the end that
was so endearing, which kind of got me choked up
as well. So um, you guys took the notes and
and and you applied them and it felt authentic. Bravo, ladies,
good transitions to Bravo. So I just want to say,
(39:54):
I'm for hire for a sixteen year old if anybody's
looking for five. This is true and she looks sixty. Guy,
it's not a day over sixteen and a half. Go
back to what you said earlier. Who would want of these?
And a girl especialist? Oh I can't. I mean, I'm
(40:16):
just saying, all right, thank you for a class in
session with Spirited Actor alumni Leeanna Motto and our guest
that's committed actress, Miss Kathleen Trigg Jones, Give love, Protect
your Spirit. I was in a producer session with Eve's
(40:39):
television show years ago and an actress was performing in
front of a room of about twenty people TV executives,
producer director Eve, myself and the head of the studio
said to the actress, you're really talented, but you're not
(41:02):
pretty enough to be a star. The actress took in
the constructive criticism and she smiled as a TV executive,
and she said thank you, and I saw her eyes
starting to fill with tears. I excuse myself from the
room and I ran down the hall to to chase her,
(41:24):
to to just track her down. And when I reached her,
I said, listen, don't believe what he just said. That's personal.
If he had given you constructive criticism on your performance,
that's valid. But to say to someone that you're not
pretty enough to be a star. You have to learn
(41:48):
as actors to protect your spirit, to protect your heart,
to protect your personal space, because there are a lot
of people out there that are going to try to
break you down, bring you down, take you down. You're
stronger than that. You're more powerful than that. Protect your spirit,
protect your space, and protect your heart. Look out for
(42:08):
yourself and know that regardless of what people say to
you is their opinion, and the only opinion that matters
is the opinion you have of yourself. Thank you for
joining us on the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
I look forward to our next Spirited podcast. Thank you,
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