June 12, 2023 • 31 mins
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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 transitioned to
a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New
Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Domez.
I auditioned every rapper from biggiees 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 Yee 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. We can't stay the same,
(01:09):
even if we want to. We are all evolving every day.
We have a different want enjoy where you are and
what you have. That gratitude will bring magic of joy
and love to your life every single moment, every day,
(01:34):
I choose to be present and love my life. Before
we 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. We'll be
on Crackle Network real soon. I'll keep you posted. Welcome
(01:55):
to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. Always
have amazing guests, a lot of jewels to drop on you, guys,
and today I was inspired to just talk directly to you.
I will be your guest today and I have a
(02:17):
theme for you. It's called the dream of a Creative Artist.
And I want to talk to all the creative beings
out there, not just actors and but writers, producers, sculptors, painters, dancers,
like musicians, everyone that stomps on that fear silences the noises.
(02:43):
When are you going to get a real job? There
are no rolls out there for you. Everybody wants to
sing all of that noise. I want to talk to
you guys today. I want to talk to you about
my journey because I think it's so important for us
to share.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
We learn so much from each other, right.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
And so there were different obstacles and hurdles along the
way of my journey. However, just like you, there is
something very resilient in your soul and in your spirit.
And you know what I'm talking about. You know, when
you get to that point where you may question yourself
(03:27):
or you may doubt your journey, or you get to
that crossroad, and regardless of what those emotions are, like,
that thing in you is like, well, just do it anyway, right,
And then you do you think about, well, I am
unique in my talent. Nobody looks like me, and you know,
(03:48):
networking helps, and I do have this short film coming out,
Like we have to start conditioning our minds the opposite
of what they're being condition and continue to be conditioned
today and especially as creative beings, because.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
We thrive on good feeling energies. Right.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
We want to be optimistic. We want to believe that
there is a role out there for us. We want
to believe that we are not in control of when
it's going to happen, but we truly know in our
hearts that it is happening.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
We need to feed.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Those energies and what feeds that and what brings this
to you. The stillness is in meditation, in just taking
five ten minutes a day, when as soon as you
wake up, maybe right before you go to sleep, but
just quiet your spirit and allow yourself to be guided.
(04:57):
You trust someone that you don't know. Oh, when the
light turns green and you cross the street, and you
don't even think about is someone gonna accidentally step on
the gas instead of their breaks, Is someone going to
have a sudden heart attack which causes their car to
move forward. You don't think about any of them. The
(05:20):
light turns green, you may or may not look both ways,
and you cross the street. You put trust in other people.
You got to take that trust and you got to
put it in yourself. And you have to be aware
and witness what is going on in your surroundings. That's
how you grow, that's.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
How you learn.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So I always talk to my brother, my oldest brother.
His name is James, but I still call him Jamie
to this day. And when I talk to my brother
and we talk about manifestation, I always stress to my
brother that if you do not see the manifestation of
what you created, whether it's a lemon bar from Starbucks
(06:05):
or a two million dollar home, if you don't witness
the journey of that manifestation, you're gonna miss the lesson, right.
And that's why the value should not be like, oh,
it's just a lemon bar, you know, but a two
million dollar house. Don't put the value in that. It's
the same across the board. It's creation, it's manifestation, and
(06:30):
it's with your thoughts. So I started off by saying
that I wanted to tell you my journey. So I
want to tell you my journey and connect some dots
with you guys. But for those of you who don't know,
I was born and raised in San Francisco, California. I
studied acting at ACT, I took acting classes, I did plays.
(06:55):
I love the art of acting. I love the freedom
of being on stage and being able to visually see
how you your work is affecting other people right in
the audience. I loved being able to connect subliminally to
(07:18):
people that I didn't know like that.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
But acting was in my journey.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I knew very early, like in middle school, that I
wanted to direct, Like I liked writing things and seeing
my friends performed, and then I would get inspired and
you know, and then of course I was dramatic, so
I wrote.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I watched a lot of movies and.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I had a typewriter growing up, so I had to
pencil and you know, behind the ear, all.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
The props, all the right props. Sometimes I would get frustrated,
just dramatic.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
But the point is is that I knew that I
wanted to direct, and so for me, the experience of
training and understanding acting. I went to a school called
Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in Santa Maria, California, and
I went to school with Dorian Wilson, who eventually went
on to be Doctor Ogilbee on The Parkers and continues
(08:20):
to work like he's on All America now he's a
fearce actor for Fears. But I wanted to learn acting.
I wanted to study acting. I wanted to understand actors.
That was something that was very important to me because
I felt like if I understood actors, I could communicate right.
So I decided in nineteen eighty three that I was
(08:43):
going to leave my home and I knew two people
in New York and I was going to go. This
is the time seize the moment. One of the things
about dreams is that if you don't do anything to
move it along, you stay in the same place. I
want to say that again. If you don't do anything
(09:03):
with your dreams, even if it's a conversation with someone,
you're not moving along. You're staying in the same place.
And so for dreams to ignite and move, it's your
passion that pushes it. Your persistence, your patience, your understanding,
your skills, all of those things move your dream forward.
(09:26):
And I knew I had to move my dream. I
knew my dream was directing on Broadway. I love theater.
I love, love, love, love theater. I love TV and
film as well, and I've learned so much about it.
But theater is my number one love in studying and
understanding the process. And then all my friends, you know,
at that time, with actors in San Francisco or Los Angeles, when.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I decided to move, I didn't dissect it.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I didn't say to myself, Okay, Tracy, well what if
this doesn't happen? Because you know, just as human beings,
the reaction is to go in the negative first.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
That's just the condition, you know, is.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
To go there and well, what if this doesn't happen,
What if two hundred dollars isn't enough for me to survive?
In nineteen eighty three, it wasn't, but I figured it out.
And more importantly, sometimes as human beings, you have to retreat,
and especially as creative beings, you have to retreat. And
(10:27):
what I mean by that is that when you feel
you can't and you've exhausted all of your possibilities.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
In this, let it go and allow the spirit.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
To take over, because that's when you see the magnificence
of your manifestation, because that's when you gain that confidence. Right,
Like I talked about the hurdles and obstacles that I
had when I got here, right, So, let me just
talk about casting. I never knew what a casting director was,
(11:01):
didn't know the title, knew nothing. I just went to
my last audition. Yes I did audition here in New York.
For those of you who thought it assumed it checked
my background, don't just kidding.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I did.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
But my last audition here was different world. And I
had a call back and the casting director said to me, Tracy,
we want you to be a little more like Lisa Bonet,
and I said with glee, not negative, but with glee.
I said, well, maybe you guys should get Lisa Bonett.
You would have thought I said something about every single
(11:38):
body body's mother. The Cassie director abruptly said thank you, Tracy,
and I walked off the stage, questioning like, what did
I say to offend her?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
What did I do?
Speaker 1 (11:51):
I just made a suggestion. If you want Lisa Bonet,
you should get Lisa Bonet. Because I am Tracy Moore.
I can't be Lisa Bonet unless you want me to
act like Lisa Boman. So at that moment, I just
remember walking off the stage and saying to myself, if
I ever became a casting director, I would always treat
(12:12):
actors like people first, because they are. And the fakery
that I've seen in this business is when a casting
director has said some really negative things about a talent,
or maybe yelled or was firm with them in the
audition I'm talking pre COVID when we had live auditions,
(12:34):
and then maybe just count them out right, and then
that same actor gets a role and that role blows
them out of the water, and then they start becoming
a consistently a working actor, a star, and then that
casting director has amnesia of how they treated them, like
I've seen the foolery of that. That is not the
(12:55):
casting director that I choose to be. I choose to
be authentic with the actor. I choose to authentically remember
your names. That was a big deal when I started.
So when I started casting. There are no casting schools.
There are no casting books on how to be a
casting director, or seminars or tutorials. Maybe there are some tutorials.
(13:17):
I haven't seen everything, however, the point is is that
no one is enthusiastically teaching you how to be a
casting director.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And that's for a reason. The same with agents.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
A lot of agents that is their only job in
their lifetime. They were an agent consistently from beginning to retirement.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
So it's not an.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Exclusive club, but no one is trying to, you know,
really bring people in so to speak.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
That too, wasn't me.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I've trained a lot of casting directors that are consistently
working today, which I'm so proud of. And Twinkie Bird,
who always gives the spirited actor love. She comes to
our class and she was an our class last night,
and she is someone that I've known for decades. She
was my assistant on New Jersey Drive and I trained
her then to be a casting director. So I, as
(14:10):
you can see, I continue to go against the rules
of what you should or shouldn't do. I just know
that we should help each other and that's the only
way that we all survive and strive.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So, there was a book called the Ross Report back
in nineteen eighty three, which is similar to the Callback
book right now, And for those of you who don't
know that book, it lists all the agents, casting directors,
talent managers on the West Coast, the East coast, Chicago, Atlanta.
And I decided after that audition, and I could have
(14:45):
looked at it as a failed audition, but right now, no,
it is part of my journey.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
It's part of my journey.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So I said, you know what I want, let me
see what a casting director because I like being around
actors and I know what the process is because I
have done a couple auditions. I called five casting directors
in the Rosterport and I said, I'm a casting director,
aspiring casting director. Wanted to get some information about how
(15:10):
to become a casting director of protocol rates all of that,
and most of them were They just said they hung
up on me, or they didn't say anything at all.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Right, So, one of the.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Things about a creative artist is that we hear the
word no, but we don't digest it. We don't let
that word control our destiny. We don't let that word
become the end and the be all of all of this.
We just hear no, and then we start thinking of
(15:44):
how to turn that no into a yes. And I
called the same casting directors back, disguised my voice a little,
and I told them that I was a student at
NYU and I was writing an article how underrated casting
directors were in the entertainment business. This business also is
(16:06):
about egos who will love to be loved, okay, And
that's how I got all my information. All the casting
directors started talking about protocol procedures. Some of them invited
me into their offices to intern, and usually that's what
people do. They intern, then they assist, then they become
(16:27):
a casting associate, and then they usually at that point
go off and do their own independent projects or both.
Sometimes casting directors will, you know, keep them on while
they go on and do other projects because it's a
good thing for the casting director's reputation. So I didn't
do that. What I did was take all the information
(16:50):
and I did some research and I found out that
at the Mayor's Office of Film and Broadcasting at that time,
that's where everybody has to go to get a permit.
You cannot shoot on the streets of anywhere without a permit,
and you have to pay for it, and you also
have to have insurance. So when production companies go to
(17:11):
the mayor Office of Film and Broadcasting, or when you
see the Georgia Peach that's their version of the Office
of Film and Broadcasting, they leave a copy. And so
at that time, because you know, we had to write,
we didn't have the Internet, we didn't have social media,
none of that. So we had to authentically take a
pencil and write on paper. Okay, So every Friday from
(17:38):
one to three pm, I would go to the Mayor's
Office of Film and Broadcasting. It was my job. Nobody
was paying me. I invested it in myself, showed up
with a cup of coffee and physically wrote over one
hundred to two hundred permits. The information I would write
the production manager. If they didn't have a production manager,
(18:01):
I would write the production coordinator the phone number, and
I would call them on Monday after over the weekend,
I organized my notes and I would say, my name
is Tracy Moore, I'm a casting director and I was
calling to see if you had a casting director on
your project. They would either say yes or they would
say no. When they said no, that's when I would
(18:22):
forward my resume. Also, because this is just a tracyism,
I love colors, so I would color coordinate my resume.
Somebody told me at a copy place, you can't color
your resume. It has to be on parchment and cream
and I was like, yeah, not me. So I had
(18:42):
Fusia neon colors.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
But those colors were categories for me.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I created, like, you know, those colors represented the fact
that I sent my resume out on the week of
you know, ju first and you know. So I had
all of these methods that I created for myself. Eventually
I would get hired, then I would get referrals, and
then it got to the point where I would be
(19:13):
on a job. I was on New York Undercover at
the time and Nickelodeon called me for an interview and
I was like, wow, okay, well, and they were like,
if you leave New York going to cover or call us,
and I ended up calling them. I ended up working
in Nickelodeon, and while I was on Nickelodeon, I got
a call from VH one. I mean, it was just
(19:33):
such a blessing to, you know, be at that point
where you didn't have to be concerned about where your
next job was going to be. Everything was pretty much
lined up or you had choices. You had choices. So
the thing about creative artist is that, And again, it's
in you. If you're sitting there listening to this podcast
(19:56):
and thinking to yourself, well, I don't know if I
have it in me.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
You do, you do? We all do.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
It's our job, our job to tap into that and
to believe in that and to pursue that unapologetically, unapologetically
because dreams do come true. My whole life is a
representation of that.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
And so.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
When you get these things locked in your head, conditioned,
like there are certain things that are conditioned in your
mind right now, When you change that, you change perception,
you change world, and then you really understand the power
that you truly have, and that is in the creation,
that is in the manifestation.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
You just have to witness it.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
And again, creative beings that I know and creative beings
that I know but they may not know yet. You
have to stomp on fear. Stomp on it. When fear
comes up and you know what it feels like, you
know what it smells like. You no fear and hear
(21:06):
those thoughts. You have to take control and say no,
everything is going to be fine. And then the signs
that you move to are the confirmations. You have to
see and hear the signs and you can't you know
(21:26):
how Again, condition question everything. So if I do take
this chance and with all my belongings and the money
that I have, and I moved to New York, will
will I be successful? Will I be able to do
(21:47):
the things that I that's the I mean, the first
place that we go. But when you say to yourself
that this is going to be an experience, I'm going
to trust and I believe that there's a higher power
that's protecting me and over me, and anything that occurs
on my journey, that I am present, that I witness it,
(22:10):
and that I know that even in bad there is good,
and knowing that every experience is going to move you,
every experience is going to guide you closer to your
dream because the joy is true truly in the journey,
(22:31):
Truly in the journey in seeing yourself, maybe confront a
situation that you know with your agent that maybe you
were nervous about, but knowing that this is your career
and that you do have a good sense of your
skills and abilities because you have an agent, and having
that conversation with the agent and saying, listen, can we
(22:52):
look at scripts that maybe go against what people's expectations
of my talents are. I'd like to do an independent film.
I'd like to to do an international film. I'd like
to shoot outside of America. Whatever the situation is. When
you confront that, there's a power that comes with that.
Now you've had that conversation that you thought was going
to be really bad with your agent. Your agent's like,
(23:13):
you know what, Okay, I'm really glad we had this conversation.
I am really glad because I just wanted to get
a gauge on what you were thinking, or I wanted
to tap into your ideas for yourself and your career.
Always step back from quote unquote problem or an issue
and give yourself some breathing space to see everything and
(23:38):
then stomp out fear with the delete button or cancel,
or see yourself stomping out fear and telling it to
go play somewhere else, because this is the grown folks area.
Trust the journey and learn to enjoy peace and quiet,
(23:59):
because that's where your truth comes. Our thought connects somewhere
before it connects here. What is that place up there?
What is that place around surrounding that place is your piece?
That place is your truth. That places just trust it
and you just have to trust it one time, and
after that you're like, I'm good. You know, you start
(24:20):
to plan, you start to control the situation, and you're like, oh,
spirits plan up. Universe's plan is much bigger than mine.
Let me take a seat. Let me take a seat.
Trust all the signs and do it. Do it because
you will find enough excuses to talk yourself out of
(24:41):
not doing it, when you think too much, when you doubt,
when you criticize, when you judge, when you shame.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Do it.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Now, trust all the signs that this is what you're
supposed to do, and know that the dreams of a
creative artist are not just dreams. They are a reality
when you put your soul into it. When you put
your spirit into it and when you put your trust
(25:14):
and knowing there's no other scenario but this scenario, create
that for yourself. You owe it to yourself. You owe
it to yourself for self care. You owe it to
yourself for mental care. And every day I pray for
a better world. I pray for peace, and I pray
for love. I really want to saturate this earth with love.
(25:37):
Love yourself first, Love every little thing about yourself first.
And when you truly start to love yourself, that love
only bounces out and spreads in the universe like that
new galaxy that was discovered the other day on that
James Webb telescope. Let your love spread out like that.
(26:00):
I want to thank you guys for allowing me to
share the dreams of a creative artists today and share
parts of my journey and just encourage you to never
ever give up. There's no reason to. The journey could
be eighteen minutes and you are quote unquote discovered in something,
or the journey could be eighteen years and you will
(26:22):
sell the show regardless. You manifested it. You did so manifest.
Today we will be back on the Spirited Actor Podcast
with me Tracy Moore and I have some self tape
tips for you. Welcome back to the Spirited Actor podcast
(26:49):
with me Tracy Moore, and I want to introduce some
self tape tips for you. I think it's really important
that you actors do your due diligence to find out
what is the proper setup. And there are plenty of
self tape studios out there now that not only offer
(27:11):
the service of shooting you against their professional wall and
their lighting equipment, but they also read with you or
they provide a reader to read. So you should do
your due diligence in finding out that information, whether it's
on YouTube or Google it. It's extremely important your presentation,
(27:34):
and we are professionals.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
First.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
This is show business. It's not show art, it's not showcraft.
It's show business. And so the business part of it
is your presentation. Put your best foot forward and do
what is required from most casting directors in this industry.
Once you have acquired the proper equipment or you are
(28:00):
have gone to a service near you, I want you
to understand that as a casting director, it is fifty
percent talent in my observation, and fifty percent personality. We
have to like you When we cast you, we usually
work with you, depending upon the budget, anywhere from maybe
two to four to six to eight to ten two months.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
We work with you, and we want to know what your.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Personality is like, and unfortunately we don't get a long
period to extract.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
That information or that energy.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
So, because we no longer live in the live audition
era and now we're in the zoom era, where do
we as casting directors get to extract anything from you,
specifically your personality? And that place is in your slate.
One of the questions that a couple of questions I
want you to ask yourself. One do you like your name?
(28:58):
Do you like where you live or you'll look? Do
you like your height?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
This is where we can feel a sense of who
you are.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Hi, my name is Tercy Moore. I like my name,
and I live in New York City. I still love
New York. New York is my heart. I'm just saying,
fuse as much of your personality into answering those questions
before you when you slate yourself, don't let that slate
be a throwaway. My name is Tracy Moore. I live
(29:28):
in New York and I'm reading for the role of
Anna boring, yan Yan, and it has come down to
especially a director has said, Tracy, out of these two actors,
who has the better personality. Show your personality shine. Remember
this is a business. It's all about presentation. Presentation to
(29:53):
us that screams professionalism, and we want to make sure
that we're not only working with a talented individual that
is going to blow this project away with their performance,
but we're also dealing with the professional who's going to
present themselves accordingly. Show up on time, be happy to
(30:18):
be there, be grateful to be there, because again, this
is a dream that you've manifested. So that is a
self tape tip. Infuse your personality in your slate. We'll
be back with the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore,
and I'm going to.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Give you some love. I'm going to give you some love.
And now it's time to give love.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Stump fear out of your life, please yourself and champion
your own self. We give, and we give, and we
have nothing left for us. You can't please everyone. You
can't and you won't, so stop using valuable time trying
(31:04):
to be happy.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Laugh more. My family they joke around, but I'm gonna
be honest. With you.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
The jokes are really bad and they're porny, but I
laugh anyway.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
It's still fun and most importantly, love, love and love.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
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. We'll be streaming on the Crackle network.
I'll keep you posted. Thank you for joining us on
the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. I look
(31:51):
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 transitioned to
a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New
Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Domez.
I auditioned every rapper from biggiees 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 Yee 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. We can't stay the same,
(01:09):
even if we want to. We are all evolving every day.
We have a different want enjoy where you are and
what you have. That gratitude will bring magic of joy
and love to your life every single moment, every day,
(01:34):
I choose to be present and love my life. Before
we 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. We'll be
on Crackle Network real soon. I'll keep you posted. Welcome
(01:55):
to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. Always
have amazing guests, a lot of jewels to drop on you, guys,
and today I was inspired to just talk directly to you.
I will be your guest today and I have a
(02:17):
theme for you. It's called the dream of a Creative Artist.
And I want to talk to all the creative beings
out there, not just actors and but writers, producers, sculptors, painters, dancers,
like musicians, everyone that stomps on that fear silences the noises.
(02:43):
When are you going to get a real job? There
are no rolls out there for you. Everybody wants to
sing all of that noise. I want to talk to
you guys today. I want to talk to you about
my journey because I think it's so important for us
to share.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
We learn so much from each other, right.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
And so there were different obstacles and hurdles along the
way of my journey. However, just like you, there is
something very resilient in your soul and in your spirit.
And you know what I'm talking about. You know, when
you get to that point where you may question yourself
(03:27):
or you may doubt your journey, or you get to
that crossroad, and regardless of what those emotions are, like,
that thing in you is like, well, just do it anyway, right,
And then you do you think about, well, I am
unique in my talent. Nobody looks like me, and you know,
(03:48):
networking helps, and I do have this short film coming out,
Like we have to start conditioning our minds the opposite
of what they're being condition and continue to be conditioned
today and especially as creative beings, because.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
We thrive on good feeling energies. Right.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
We want to be optimistic. We want to believe that
there is a role out there for us. We want
to believe that we are not in control of when
it's going to happen, but we truly know in our
hearts that it is happening.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
We need to feed.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Those energies and what feeds that and what brings this
to you. The stillness is in meditation, in just taking
five ten minutes a day, when as soon as you
wake up, maybe right before you go to sleep, but
just quiet your spirit and allow yourself to be guided.
(04:57):
You trust someone that you don't know. Oh, when the
light turns green and you cross the street, and you
don't even think about is someone gonna accidentally step on
the gas instead of their breaks, Is someone going to
have a sudden heart attack which causes their car to
move forward. You don't think about any of them. The
(05:20):
light turns green, you may or may not look both ways,
and you cross the street. You put trust in other people.
You got to take that trust and you got to
put it in yourself. And you have to be aware
and witness what is going on in your surroundings. That's
how you grow, that's.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
How you learn.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So I always talk to my brother, my oldest brother.
His name is James, but I still call him Jamie
to this day. And when I talk to my brother
and we talk about manifestation, I always stress to my
brother that if you do not see the manifestation of
what you created, whether it's a lemon bar from Starbucks
(06:05):
or a two million dollar home, if you don't witness
the journey of that manifestation, you're gonna miss the lesson, right.
And that's why the value should not be like, oh,
it's just a lemon bar, you know, but a two
million dollar house. Don't put the value in that. It's
the same across the board. It's creation, it's manifestation, and
(06:30):
it's with your thoughts. So I started off by saying
that I wanted to tell you my journey. So I
want to tell you my journey and connect some dots
with you guys. But for those of you who don't know,
I was born and raised in San Francisco, California. I
studied acting at ACT, I took acting classes, I did plays.
(06:55):
I love the art of acting. I love the freedom
of being on stage and being able to visually see
how you your work is affecting other people right in
the audience. I loved being able to connect subliminally to
(07:18):
people that I didn't know like that.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
But acting was in my journey.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I knew very early, like in middle school, that I
wanted to direct, Like I liked writing things and seeing
my friends performed, and then I would get inspired and
you know, and then of course I was dramatic, so
I wrote.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I watched a lot of movies and.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I had a typewriter growing up, so I had to
pencil and you know, behind the ear, all.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
The props, all the right props. Sometimes I would get frustrated,
just dramatic.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
But the point is is that I knew that I
wanted to direct, and so for me, the experience of
training and understanding acting. I went to a school called
Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in Santa Maria, California, and
I went to school with Dorian Wilson, who eventually went
on to be Doctor Ogilbee on The Parkers and continues
(08:20):
to work like he's on All America now he's a
fearce actor for Fears. But I wanted to learn acting.
I wanted to study acting. I wanted to understand actors.
That was something that was very important to me because
I felt like if I understood actors, I could communicate right.
So I decided in nineteen eighty three that I was
(08:43):
going to leave my home and I knew two people
in New York and I was going to go. This
is the time seize the moment. One of the things
about dreams is that if you don't do anything to
move it along, you stay in the same place. I
want to say that again. If you don't do anything
(09:03):
with your dreams, even if it's a conversation with someone,
you're not moving along. You're staying in the same place.
And so for dreams to ignite and move, it's your
passion that pushes it. Your persistence, your patience, your understanding,
your skills, all of those things move your dream forward.
(09:26):
And I knew I had to move my dream. I
knew my dream was directing on Broadway. I love theater.
I love, love, love, love theater. I love TV and
film as well, and I've learned so much about it.
But theater is my number one love in studying and
understanding the process. And then all my friends, you know,
at that time, with actors in San Francisco or Los Angeles, when.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I decided to move, I didn't dissect it.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I didn't say to myself, Okay, Tracy, well what if
this doesn't happen? Because you know, just as human beings,
the reaction is to go in the negative first.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
That's just the condition, you know, is.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
To go there and well, what if this doesn't happen,
What if two hundred dollars isn't enough for me to survive?
In nineteen eighty three, it wasn't, but I figured it out.
And more importantly, sometimes as human beings, you have to retreat,
and especially as creative beings, you have to retreat. And
(10:27):
what I mean by that is that when you feel
you can't and you've exhausted all of your possibilities.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
In this, let it go and allow the spirit.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
To take over, because that's when you see the magnificence
of your manifestation, because that's when you gain that confidence. Right,
Like I talked about the hurdles and obstacles that I
had when I got here, right, So, let me just
talk about casting. I never knew what a casting director was,
(11:01):
didn't know the title, knew nothing. I just went to
my last audition. Yes I did audition here in New York.
For those of you who thought it assumed it checked
my background, don't just kidding.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I did.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
But my last audition here was different world. And I
had a call back and the casting director said to me, Tracy,
we want you to be a little more like Lisa Bonet,
and I said with glee, not negative, but with glee.
I said, well, maybe you guys should get Lisa Bonett.
You would have thought I said something about every single
(11:38):
body body's mother. The Cassie director abruptly said thank you, Tracy,
and I walked off the stage, questioning like, what did
I say to offend her?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
What did I do?
Speaker 1 (11:51):
I just made a suggestion. If you want Lisa Bonet,
you should get Lisa Bonet. Because I am Tracy Moore.
I can't be Lisa Bonet unless you want me to
act like Lisa Boman. So at that moment, I just
remember walking off the stage and saying to myself, if
I ever became a casting director, I would always treat
(12:12):
actors like people first, because they are. And the fakery
that I've seen in this business is when a casting
director has said some really negative things about a talent,
or maybe yelled or was firm with them in the
audition I'm talking pre COVID when we had live auditions,
(12:34):
and then maybe just count them out right, and then
that same actor gets a role and that role blows
them out of the water, and then they start becoming
a consistently a working actor, a star, and then that
casting director has amnesia of how they treated them, like
I've seen the foolery of that. That is not the
(12:55):
casting director that I choose to be. I choose to
be authentic with the actor. I choose to authentically remember
your names. That was a big deal when I started.
So when I started casting. There are no casting schools.
There are no casting books on how to be a
casting director, or seminars or tutorials. Maybe there are some tutorials.
(13:17):
I haven't seen everything, however, the point is is that
no one is enthusiastically teaching you how to be a
casting director.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And that's for a reason. The same with agents.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
A lot of agents that is their only job in
their lifetime. They were an agent consistently from beginning to retirement.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
So it's not an.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Exclusive club, but no one is trying to, you know,
really bring people in so to speak.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
That too, wasn't me.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I've trained a lot of casting directors that are consistently
working today, which I'm so proud of. And Twinkie Bird,
who always gives the spirited actor love. She comes to
our class and she was an our class last night,
and she is someone that I've known for decades. She
was my assistant on New Jersey Drive and I trained
her then to be a casting director. So I, as
(14:10):
you can see, I continue to go against the rules
of what you should or shouldn't do. I just know
that we should help each other and that's the only
way that we all survive and strive.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So, there was a book called the Ross Report back
in nineteen eighty three, which is similar to the Callback
book right now, And for those of you who don't
know that book, it lists all the agents, casting directors,
talent managers on the West Coast, the East coast, Chicago, Atlanta.
And I decided after that audition, and I could have
(14:45):
looked at it as a failed audition, but right now, no,
it is part of my journey.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
It's part of my journey.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So I said, you know what I want, let me
see what a casting director because I like being around
actors and I know what the process is because I
have done a couple auditions. I called five casting directors
in the Rosterport and I said, I'm a casting director,
aspiring casting director. Wanted to get some information about how
(15:10):
to become a casting director of protocol rates all of that,
and most of them were They just said they hung
up on me, or they didn't say anything at all.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Right, So, one of the.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Things about a creative artist is that we hear the
word no, but we don't digest it. We don't let
that word control our destiny. We don't let that word
become the end and the be all of all of this.
We just hear no, and then we start thinking of
(15:44):
how to turn that no into a yes. And I
called the same casting directors back, disguised my voice a little,
and I told them that I was a student at
NYU and I was writing an article how underrated casting
directors were in the entertainment business. This business also is
(16:06):
about egos who will love to be loved, okay, And
that's how I got all my information. All the casting
directors started talking about protocol procedures. Some of them invited
me into their offices to intern, and usually that's what
people do. They intern, then they assist, then they become
(16:27):
a casting associate, and then they usually at that point
go off and do their own independent projects or both.
Sometimes casting directors will, you know, keep them on while
they go on and do other projects because it's a
good thing for the casting director's reputation. So I didn't
do that. What I did was take all the information
(16:50):
and I did some research and I found out that
at the Mayor's Office of Film and Broadcasting at that time,
that's where everybody has to go to get a permit.
You cannot shoot on the streets of anywhere without a permit,
and you have to pay for it, and you also
have to have insurance. So when production companies go to
(17:11):
the mayor Office of Film and Broadcasting, or when you
see the Georgia Peach that's their version of the Office
of Film and Broadcasting, they leave a copy. And so
at that time, because you know, we had to write,
we didn't have the Internet, we didn't have social media,
none of that. So we had to authentically take a
pencil and write on paper. Okay, So every Friday from
(17:38):
one to three pm, I would go to the Mayor's
Office of Film and Broadcasting. It was my job. Nobody
was paying me. I invested it in myself, showed up
with a cup of coffee and physically wrote over one
hundred to two hundred permits. The information I would write
the production manager. If they didn't have a production manager,
(18:01):
I would write the production coordinator the phone number, and
I would call them on Monday after over the weekend,
I organized my notes and I would say, my name
is Tracy Moore, I'm a casting director and I was
calling to see if you had a casting director on
your project. They would either say yes or they would
say no. When they said no, that's when I would
(18:22):
forward my resume. Also, because this is just a tracyism,
I love colors, so I would color coordinate my resume.
Somebody told me at a copy place, you can't color
your resume. It has to be on parchment and cream
and I was like, yeah, not me. So I had
(18:42):
Fusia neon colors.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
But those colors were categories for me.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I created, like, you know, those colors represented the fact
that I sent my resume out on the week of
you know, ju first and you know. So I had
all of these methods that I created for myself. Eventually
I would get hired, then I would get referrals, and
then it got to the point where I would be
(19:13):
on a job. I was on New York Undercover at
the time and Nickelodeon called me for an interview and
I was like, wow, okay, well, and they were like,
if you leave New York going to cover or call us,
and I ended up calling them. I ended up working
in Nickelodeon, and while I was on Nickelodeon, I got
a call from VH one. I mean, it was just
(19:33):
such a blessing to, you know, be at that point
where you didn't have to be concerned about where your
next job was going to be. Everything was pretty much
lined up or you had choices. You had choices. So
the thing about creative artist is that, And again, it's
in you. If you're sitting there listening to this podcast
(19:56):
and thinking to yourself, well, I don't know if I
have it in me.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
You do, you do? We all do.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
It's our job, our job to tap into that and
to believe in that and to pursue that unapologetically, unapologetically
because dreams do come true. My whole life is a
representation of that.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
And so.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
When you get these things locked in your head, conditioned,
like there are certain things that are conditioned in your
mind right now, When you change that, you change perception,
you change world, and then you really understand the power
that you truly have, and that is in the creation,
that is in the manifestation.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
You just have to witness it.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
And again, creative beings that I know and creative beings
that I know but they may not know yet. You
have to stomp on fear. Stomp on it. When fear
comes up and you know what it feels like, you
know what it smells like. You no fear and hear
(21:06):
those thoughts. You have to take control and say no,
everything is going to be fine. And then the signs
that you move to are the confirmations. You have to
see and hear the signs and you can't you know
(21:26):
how Again, condition question everything. So if I do take
this chance and with all my belongings and the money
that I have, and I moved to New York, will
will I be successful? Will I be able to do
(21:47):
the things that I that's the I mean, the first
place that we go. But when you say to yourself
that this is going to be an experience, I'm going
to trust and I believe that there's a higher power
that's protecting me and over me, and anything that occurs
on my journey, that I am present, that I witness it,
(22:10):
and that I know that even in bad there is good,
and knowing that every experience is going to move you,
every experience is going to guide you closer to your
dream because the joy is true truly in the journey,
(22:31):
Truly in the journey in seeing yourself, maybe confront a
situation that you know with your agent that maybe you
were nervous about, but knowing that this is your career
and that you do have a good sense of your
skills and abilities because you have an agent, and having
that conversation with the agent and saying, listen, can we
(22:52):
look at scripts that maybe go against what people's expectations
of my talents are. I'd like to do an independent film.
I'd like to to do an international film. I'd like
to shoot outside of America. Whatever the situation is. When
you confront that, there's a power that comes with that.
Now you've had that conversation that you thought was going
to be really bad with your agent. Your agent's like,
(23:13):
you know what, Okay, I'm really glad we had this conversation.
I am really glad because I just wanted to get
a gauge on what you were thinking, or I wanted
to tap into your ideas for yourself and your career.
Always step back from quote unquote problem or an issue
and give yourself some breathing space to see everything and
(23:38):
then stomp out fear with the delete button or cancel,
or see yourself stomping out fear and telling it to
go play somewhere else, because this is the grown folks area.
Trust the journey and learn to enjoy peace and quiet,
(23:59):
because that's where your truth comes. Our thought connects somewhere
before it connects here. What is that place up there?
What is that place around surrounding that place is your piece?
That place is your truth. That places just trust it
and you just have to trust it one time, and
after that you're like, I'm good. You know, you start
(24:20):
to plan, you start to control the situation, and you're like, oh,
spirits plan up. Universe's plan is much bigger than mine.
Let me take a seat. Let me take a seat.
Trust all the signs and do it. Do it because
you will find enough excuses to talk yourself out of
(24:41):
not doing it, when you think too much, when you doubt,
when you criticize, when you judge, when you shame.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Do it.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Now, trust all the signs that this is what you're
supposed to do, and know that the dreams of a
creative artist are not just dreams. They are a reality
when you put your soul into it. When you put
your spirit into it and when you put your trust
(25:14):
and knowing there's no other scenario but this scenario, create
that for yourself. You owe it to yourself. You owe
it to yourself for self care. You owe it to
yourself for mental care. And every day I pray for
a better world. I pray for peace, and I pray
for love. I really want to saturate this earth with love.
(25:37):
Love yourself first, Love every little thing about yourself first.
And when you truly start to love yourself, that love
only bounces out and spreads in the universe like that
new galaxy that was discovered the other day on that
James Webb telescope. Let your love spread out like that.
(26:00):
I want to thank you guys for allowing me to
share the dreams of a creative artists today and share
parts of my journey and just encourage you to never
ever give up. There's no reason to. The journey could
be eighteen minutes and you are quote unquote discovered in something,
or the journey could be eighteen years and you will
(26:22):
sell the show regardless. You manifested it. You did so manifest.
Today we will be back on the Spirited Actor Podcast
with me Tracy Moore and I have some self tape
tips for you. Welcome back to the Spirited Actor podcast
(26:49):
with me Tracy Moore, and I want to introduce some
self tape tips for you. I think it's really important
that you actors do your due diligence to find out
what is the proper setup. And there are plenty of
self tape studios out there now that not only offer
(27:11):
the service of shooting you against their professional wall and
their lighting equipment, but they also read with you or
they provide a reader to read. So you should do
your due diligence in finding out that information, whether it's
on YouTube or Google it. It's extremely important your presentation,
(27:34):
and we are professionals.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
First.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
This is show business. It's not show art, it's not showcraft.
It's show business. And so the business part of it
is your presentation. Put your best foot forward and do
what is required from most casting directors in this industry.
Once you have acquired the proper equipment or you are
(28:00):
have gone to a service near you, I want you
to understand that as a casting director, it is fifty
percent talent in my observation, and fifty percent personality. We
have to like you When we cast you, we usually
work with you, depending upon the budget, anywhere from maybe
two to four to six to eight to ten two months.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
We work with you, and we want to know what your.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Personality is like, and unfortunately we don't get a long
period to extract.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
That information or that energy.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
So, because we no longer live in the live audition
era and now we're in the zoom era, where do
we as casting directors get to extract anything from you,
specifically your personality? And that place is in your slate.
One of the questions that a couple of questions I
want you to ask yourself. One do you like your name?
(28:58):
Do you like where you live or you'll look? Do
you like your height?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
This is where we can feel a sense of who
you are.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Hi, my name is Tercy Moore. I like my name,
and I live in New York City. I still love
New York. New York is my heart. I'm just saying,
fuse as much of your personality into answering those questions
before you when you slate yourself, don't let that slate
be a throwaway. My name is Tracy Moore. I live
(29:28):
in New York and I'm reading for the role of
Anna boring, yan Yan, and it has come down to
especially a director has said, Tracy, out of these two actors,
who has the better personality. Show your personality shine. Remember
this is a business. It's all about presentation. Presentation to
(29:53):
us that screams professionalism, and we want to make sure
that we're not only working with a talented individual that
is going to blow this project away with their performance,
but we're also dealing with the professional who's going to
present themselves accordingly. Show up on time, be happy to
(30:18):
be there, be grateful to be there, because again, this
is a dream that you've manifested. So that is a
self tape tip. Infuse your personality in your slate. We'll
be back with the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore,
and I'm going to.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Give you some love. I'm going to give you some love.
And now it's time to give love.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Stump fear out of your life, please yourself and champion
your own self. We give, and we give, and we
have nothing left for us. You can't please everyone. You
can't and you won't, so stop using valuable time trying
(31:04):
to be happy.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Laugh more. My family they joke around, but I'm gonna
be honest. With you.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
The jokes are really bad and they're porny, but I
laugh anyway.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
It's still fun and most importantly, love, love and love.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
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. We'll be streaming on the Crackle network.
I'll keep you posted. Thank you for joining us on
the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. I look
(31:51):
forward to our next Spirited Podcast. Thank you.
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