The Spirited Actor - Phyllis Toben Bancroft

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

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

(00:24):
I realized the 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. Life is like riding a bicycle.

(01:09):
To keep your balance, you must keep moving. Albert Einstein,
we have to learn to balance our lives. We have
to learn to balance our spirit, We have to learn
to balance our breaths. We have to learn that life

(01:29):
is unpredictable and the consistent thing is change, and we
have to be able to I do this in my class.
I pivot around like a basketball player pivot. We have
to learn to pivot in life. And the reason for
that is because life happens and we have no control
anything and everything can happen at a given moment, right,

(01:53):
and so to just have some breathing space, some thinking
space instead of going to that negative thought, first, go
to the positive thought. What if things are getting better?
Move in that direction. But we need to learn how
to balance so that we are happy, that we are stable,

(02:16):
and that our selfres care. Our self care is taking
care of today. I will learn to balance 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

(02:39):
be on Cracle Network real soon. I'll keep you posted.
Welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
You guys are always in for a treat on this show.
We have old friends, new friends, new acquaintances. You know,
it's a wonderful thing to get the opportunity to meet

(02:59):
such creation aided people in this industry. And I want
you guys to stand up and I want you to
put your hands together for our guest today, writer, director, producer,
extraordinary on all levels, you guys. I can't wait to
talk to her. Ladies and gentlemen, please put rance together
for Sillis fan. Thank you so much. I'm so happy

(03:23):
to be here, Tracy. I am so happy that you
are enthusiastic dancing like, yes, you are at home. You
are the right place. Okay, I'm really taking off my clothes,
you know. Okay, easy, that's that's the other show. Yeah,
that's later on today. Okay, thanks for dining me now,

(03:46):
no problem. I just wanted to say thank you again
to Elsa for you know, this introduction. Um wow, I
don't even know where to start Phyllis because I saw
with Salt okay and you guys, um such an important

(04:07):
film and the way you shot it. I'm so curious
about a couple of things, right. Um. First of all,
let's start with what was Let's start with um, so
I just have so many things I gotta get with salted,
but let's start with your inspiration to writing in salt Okay,

(04:30):
So sorry. I went to UM Antioch. I finished my
undergrad Antioch La Okay. I was in the creative writing program,
and um, I was I'm very interested at the time,
I was very interested in nonfiction writing. And I wrote
this story because it's the story that actually happened to me, right,

(04:53):
and that was God, I don't know how many years ago.
Um well, I graduated in two thousand and the read
so basically um No two thousand and five. And so
I put that story away like it was an essay,
and I put it away. And I during COVID, I

(05:15):
was applied. I went to a fium for my UM
and producing though, so I was looking to the AFI
DW Director's Workshop for Women and I made it to
the final round and I didn't get in, and they
gave they give you feedback, which is great. A lot
of people don't take the feedback, but I was like,

(05:36):
what's the feedback? So the feedback was write something more personal, right,
And so I pulled this story out and I was like,
this is as personal as it gets, right, and um
and I hadn't really talked about what happened, Like, I
hadn't really talked. I wrote it, and I tell people

(05:58):
about it, like the people who knew knew, but maybe
like five people like and it was not happened didn't
talk about it, and so I was So then I
brought on a writer to help me because it was
very personal, so someone with an outside perspective to come

(06:18):
up help me and get the script together. And I
brought on Nikki Serrita and she did a great job,
I felt with the script and she just added some
nuances that were really wonderful. And um, so I reapplied
to the program. But then COVID happened and they didn't

(06:38):
and at the time they were like, just send seven pages, right,
So we had convinced thing this story somehow to seven pages,
and then COVID happened, so they said money back, and
you know, I was like, well, I was in the
producing program. I'm just gonna do it. Because I was
literally reading Roxane Gay's book called Hunger, and it's about

(07:01):
her experience with date rate when she was twelve she
was raped by her boyfriend and his friends. And after
reading that book, I just it just changed something in me,
and I was like, I really have to tell this
story because there's probably one person out there that will
be affected by it, right, So then I just made

(07:22):
up my mind. So then because it was my production,
now we could expand the script. So we expanded the
script to like eleven or twelve pages, and then I
started doing the fundraising for it. And when we did that,
it was very hard because I had to tell people
was my story. I'm a little bit more practice now,

(07:43):
but you know, I had to just fess up, like
this happened to me, right, And every room that I
went into, I'm telling you, Tracy, I would tell someone
and say, oh, what's your story about? And I would
be like, oh, it's about my experience with date rape

(08:04):
and how people like live with this guilt and shame
their whole life and never talk about it. And there's
always one or two people in rooms that happened to me,
but I never talked about it. So I was like,
I know that I come on to something here, know that, Like,
So that like started to just give me confidence, because yeah,

(08:25):
I was one of those people who just did not
talk about it, right. So I was like, no, we've
got to talk about it. We have to have conversations
about it. So basically that's how it started. And I
put a crew together and we literally I have to
do the year. And I appreciate this as a casting director.
So happened was Mo, who's in it? Yes, he does

(08:48):
an amazing job. Yes, the lead. So Mo was originally
cast and then he got a job in Fraude, right,
so I had to replace him. Wow, four days before.
So I shot the movie with this other person who

(09:09):
didn't really show up for the role, right, He didn't
really have the depth. And there were some other issues
with reproduction. And after talking to my DP and we
tried to kind of shoot around, you know, and basically
after talking to my editor, we were like, we can't
use this footage. This is not a movie. So I

(09:31):
had to eat you know, I had to eat it. Yeah.
Then I was so shame because I was like, I've
wasted people's money, you know. And somebody I'm in this
writing group and someone told me the story about Spike
Lee and how I don't know what film it was,
but basically a similar thing happened where he shot something.

(09:54):
It was millions of dollars. Though for me, it was
just thousands, but for him of billions, and he had
raised money and he was this kid on the bus
maybe so and he got like t he had like
ten investors, from Michael Jordan to Ruben Cannon, a lot
of people. Yeah, and he I guess something happened where
it just he couldn't use the footage and he had to.

(10:16):
So the woman told me, like he got he went
home and got in the bathtub with all his clothes
on and decided not to come out until he was
ready to face these people. And eventually he got out
and he faced well, and I was like, well, I
got to do that. And so the first person I
went to said, the universe is testing you and you

(10:41):
are winning, and here's five thousand dollars to prove it.
You gotta go do this movie. And then other people
just started like Nope, you gotta do it, you gotta
do it. So I did it again, which is the
movie you saw, and um, and I just had a
lot of people come on board and help me out

(11:02):
and pay, you know, you know, donate and give me
services and stuff. So it was journey. It was a
journey because it was an emotional journey, but it was
also like why you know, I had to ask myself
why did that happen? Like how did and so because
it has to be done right, you know what I mean,

(11:24):
has to be the movie that it is now you know, well,
I have to say this, um, in terms of your DP,
beautiful beautiful shots. Love the shot at the airport at
the end, like that is beautiful, even in the bedroom,
like you know, just start. But you know, your DP
did an excellent job. The story was riveting. Um. I

(11:46):
think one of the things for me, there's so many things.
First of all, I love how you took breaths in
this movie, because we don't take breath in movies and TV.
We take breaths in theater in my opinion, and so
I loved how you were able to incorporate that. And
then to me, I don't know if this was your

(12:09):
I feel like it was, but the way you shot
the movie and the way you tell the story, for me,
it was through the guilt. It was through the pain,
like cinematically, you were able to capture those emotions in
telling the story. Yeah, we talked about it so much.

(12:31):
We just talked about it a lot with my team,
and initially I had a different DP actually, but she
got pregnant and she got sick. So the guy who
shot it, Zach Frit, He was my first day C
so he already knew knew he bore the first time.

(12:52):
He already knew the direction we were going. But then
once he came on board as a DP, we really
had in depth conversations out color, like the lights at
the airport needing to be red, and you know, the
earring especially needed to be shot. That was like the
most ding just needed to be shot correctly, you know,
and then even the candle being blown out in the

(13:13):
best Yeah, you know it just h We had extensive
conversations about that and yeah that that Gil, Yeah, it
was infant. Oh my god, because now in knowing that
this was your story. The woman that you cast, what
is that actress is name? Her name is Dominique. Yeah, Dominique. Okay,

(13:36):
so Dominique. You know how when people cast movies for,
you know, the real people like Dominique. I don't even
know you feel us, but I feel like she totally
embraced who you are, and like she is such a
younger version of you right now looking at you and
then having flashbacks of the story um, and then you guys,
ladies and gentlemen. Like one of the things that was

(13:59):
taught about in this film was very briefly, but this
dominique had lost a lot of weight. I don't know
how many pounds, but based on that picture, it looked
like maybe between fifty and seventy pounds maybe, Yeah. And
so the thing about that is that for me, she

(14:22):
was already coming and she was just now coming into
her own like she's never been let's say she was
a size eight. You guys, she's never been a size eight,
So what does that look like? So what it looked
like to me is that not only was she experimenting,
because now she's a size eight and getting all of

(14:42):
this attention right from all over the place, and and
it was new. It was literally I mean that that
was part of my story too, Like I was you
know how it was like forty pounds back then. Um,
it's still anyway accomplishment, yeah no, but no it was

(15:02):
in a count. But at that age I hadn't gotten
that kind of attention because when you're bigger, I just
didn't get that attention. And then as because I lost weight,
I got so much attention, Like I was like I
could my head was whipping. I was like this, right, Yeah,
it was just it was a lot. It was really

(15:23):
a lot to handle and just dealing with your body
in a different way, you know. So I thought that
was important to put in there because you're already in
your early twenties and you're dealing with you're still coming
of age, like yeah, impressionable, Yeah yeah, you're not your
your frontal lobe isn't fully developed to your twenty five right,

(15:45):
and she's like twenty. So you know, I just wanted
to make sure that that was a part of it,
you know, and how those were the layers for me,
you know what I mean, because it wasn't when you
talk about three dimensional characters. Yes, she was dealing with
you know, but how you bought these things to surface
and then you know, I don't want to give away

(16:06):
you guys. I pray there's a place where we you know,
people can go see it, but that it was so real.
You mentioned earlier about um, you know, talking about and
how many people had experienced molestation or date daybreak. Right,
So in terms of molestation, that's a whole other story.

(16:29):
But I was doing a play, directing a play, about
sexual abuse and domestic violence. Excuse me, and I said
to the table, I said, they say that nine out
of ten women have been sexually abused. And it was
I was at a wedding, right people asked me what

(16:50):
I was doing at that time, and it was a
huge table and this one white woman she said, what
I find had very hard to believe. And do you
know that nine people raise their hands and said that
they had been sexually abused by uncle's grandfathers. And the
thing is is that it's not just you know, sitting
I learned doing this play, sitting on the lap of

(17:12):
a grandfather and him moving around, you know, and making
you feel uncomfortable, you know, touches things like that. It
doesn't have to always be the act, but those things,
you know, are included in that. And so those are
the things I mean. You have to see this film.
This film in such a short time, it encompassed so

(17:34):
many things about life and how we handle life. And
I love the fact that she was young because it
just made her so much more impressionable. And you know
because as an older woman, let me tell you, if
I was out on a date with somebody and he
had like more than two drinks, I'm gonna have a

(17:56):
problem on the first day and he's driving yeah, yeah,
you know, yeahs out because when he got all he
was getting intoxicated. He was like, um, you know, just
looking at her, and I was like, he's a little tipsy.
I don't trust that. I don't I need an uber, right,
but I would say, But then I said to myself,

(18:17):
she's in her twenties, you know, and he's an older guy, attractive,
very I love his work. Yeah, so I could see
how she could. And then again, being in that place
where you're getting all this attention for the first time,
you know, it feeds into the ego. Um, is there
a place where we can go and see the film

(18:38):
or so right now we have to it's in the
film festival circuit, so it's not anything yet, but we'll
get there. Yeah. Yeah. So our next one is at
the Las Vegas Black Film Festival, and that's April twentieth
through the twenty third. I don't have the specific date yet.
And then we have another one in La that La

(18:59):
Women International Film Festival, and I don't have the dates
yet for that one either, but we just got into that.
So and then we're doing sisters are doing it for themselves,
which is May Night's love that love that. Yeah, and
prayerfully you're doing Urban World. I'm a part of Urban World.
We did. I absolutely I remember now meeting you at
Urban World this past um fall because I was there.

(19:22):
We sat next to each other in the in the
at the Soho Place. Yeah, the Soho Place. Okay, So
when you first came on, I was like, you look
so familiar. But then I was saying to myself, maybe
I'm getting her confused with the actress that was in
the I didn't know. But we had a great conversation. Yeah,
and I had listen please like um Martha's Vineyard Film

(19:46):
Festival is like every one I'm waiting to hear. Okay,
good good, good good good. I hope that I get in.
I hope I get it. You should, you really should, like,
I mean, this is such an important film. Elsa and
I we just cast this. A friend of mine, she
has a new professional theater company in New York, has
been here for at least I want to say, twenty

(20:08):
five years, and she gave me my first casting job
in theater. And so she's doing this program bringing it's
called pressured and so bringing these actors and things that
high school students go through and they're you know, performing
and Q and a after and so I just think
that this is such an important film where it was

(20:31):
her silence was riveting. Yeah, it was riveting because I
wanted to scream for her. I thought when she got
the earring that she was going to maybe poke him
or stab him. But because she didn't, Oh, it was
even more heavy and more deeper because it just I
was even more intrigued by why isn't she speaking, Why

(20:54):
isn't she using her voice? Because clearly she just met
this guy. It's not like this sexual attraction just happened.
It was influenced and his part from alcohol, Yeah totally yeah.
So um, but but I walked away from the film
thinking bravery, thinking bravery, because yeah, I want to Yeah,

(21:18):
you go ahead, No, no, go ahead, I want to
say that I want to. Dominique's last name is Denny,
Dominique Denny. Um had just moved to LA. This is
her first leading role in FLM, and she really brought it,
you know, she did. She was, um, just very courageous

(21:39):
in doing this role. You know. Um, we we used
an intimacy coordinator actually Bea who was also the other writer.
She was also our intimacy coordinator, and that was very
helpful for me, which I used one and it was
also really helpful for Dominique because Dominick really she put

(22:02):
her foot in it. Actually at the Culver City Film Festival,
her and Mo like you know, but she was just
she was the one who was taking the breaths. She
was the one that, you know, in terms of authenticity
and her reactions, like, you know, everybody says what they

(22:22):
would do in that situation, but she made me feel like,
this is authentically what you would do if you were
really in this situation. You know, it's a you go
in the shock, right yeah, yeah, and that alcohol and
we it's like, yeah, I forget. You know a lot
of women do go on the shock, and some women
who haven't experienced it would be like I would, you know,

(22:44):
but you don't know what you would do unless you're
in that situation, right exactly. So what's the future. Because
I am so intrigued. I was like I got to
see all your work, like I want to see yeah, yeah,
because you know, like my thing I grew up when
I came to New York in the in eighty four.

(23:07):
I grew up at the Angelica Film Center. Oh yeah,
I remember, I lived in New York, so I remember Angela.
Is it still there? Is still there? Okay? Still? I
just passed by it on Monday. And I love independent films.
I come from my first film as Just Another Girl
in the Irt that I cast, and so you know,
to see like I get bored with studio films. I

(23:30):
get bored like I just need more truth, more substance,
more something. And in what sixteen minutes, this just satisfied
my whole thirst and I was like, oh my god,
I need to see more of Phillis's work and looking
forward to what your future? So where are you? So?
I know the film is in film festivals now, and

(23:52):
you do have other films that you've done and you
can share with us. Yeah, they're actually some of them
you can link to through my website, which is Phyllis
Spencroft dot com. Um, there's a link to the web
series that I directed that actually was Tracy Thomas was
nominated for an Emmy for it. I read that and
I worked with Tracy in Urban World. She did a

(24:15):
scene for us years ago. Yeah, she's she's amazing. And
then another film Burned that I did years ago. Um,
it's about a female UM veteran who has PTSD. You
can watch that. It's on two B, but you can
get through it through my website. Um. And then there's
another that's a full length feature that no, I haven't

(24:37):
done a feature yet actually okay. And then there's another
film called Spent, which was my first film out of
a five that I was a producer of that and
the writer one of the writers, and that one you'd
have to email me for the link, but I'd be
happy to share it with people. But right now, I

(24:57):
just finished a month ago shooting a new piece just
five minutes. It's called The Merge. And actually Kayla who
plays um um um Claudia, who's the girl in the lobby.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. So I did a movie

(25:17):
called The Merge and it's where um Kayla is playing double.
So it was kind of an experimental thing for me,
but I wanted her to play double. And it's basically
the lower self talking to the higher self and the
high self convincing her that, you know, come to the light, girl,
come to the light. So I process of editing that now.

(25:41):
That's a really quick thing. And I'm working on a
feature script right now that I'm writing that I hope
to shoot in twenty twenty three. That is my goal.
So I'm yes, I'm in a boot camp I called
Writer's boot Camp, and it's a ten week program. You
you know, Writer's Food cabet Wood. Yes, I am. So

(26:05):
you're in the twenty week by the end of the week,
the ten weeks. By the end of ten weeks, you
should have I did the twenty week. By the end,
you should have your full length feature school writers. I
love my teacher. His name was Andy. I can't remember
his last name, but I love my teacher, and I
did in New York City. Yeah, my son was born

(26:27):
in PREMI and I had all this time. I didn't
know what I was going to do with myself, and
I didn't want to go into this abyss of darkness
because I could only see him two hours a day.
So I saw an ad and remember the village voice. Yeah, yeah,
So I saw an ad in the village. Choice called
them up and I took it and had the best
experience ever in that. So, yay, it's good to do

(26:50):
a Writer's Food camp. I haven't heard it so long. Yeah,
I'm in it right now. It's my going into my
third week, so I'm excited. I also you know right,
it's a it's yeah, I'm like, I'm you see, I
move a lot, like it takes a lot for me
to just sit down and be you know, the script.
So I joined this other group. It's called a writing club.

(27:14):
Everybody from six thirty to nine am I go? And
I just started this yesterday. Wait wait, wait, you get
up and leave your house to go somewhere. I get
up and just go to my little workspace and we meet.
We meet online, okay, okay, we check in to say
what are we working on today? And then we have

(27:35):
a break and how's it going? And then at the end,
did you accomplish your goals Monday through five, six thirty
to nine. And that's like the kind of accountability that
I actually need. So it's helpful for people to know
what they need. Some people don't need that, but I need,
you know, So I I really appreciate love the honesty

(27:57):
in your writing process because a lot of times writers like, yeah,
you know, I sit down and you know, I don't.
I rarely get writer's block or they embellish, like you know,
and the truth is, yeah, you do get sometimes you
do get stuck. I write, and I when I write
and walk away, I like to come back and see
what they're doing. I feel like my people are into

(28:17):
some mess. And yeah, I know right now that's a
challenge of writer's boot camp because you don't have a
lot of time to walk away and come back, so
you just have to just be with it, you know,
just some kind of I'm more of an intuitive writer
and that's more of a structure thing. So I'm finding

(28:40):
my way. But I think it's gonna be great, you know,
feature done. I'm committing I really and please call us
when it's done so we can read the script and
participate in some way. But I really want to our
twenty eight minutes flew by. I want to. I guess

(29:01):
I'm so serious, he said, I want to ask you,
what advice would you give to some of these actors
on who are listening to you about writing, you know,
producing and directing. You have such I love the fact
that there's this thing about you I feel that's like,
you know, by any means necessary, you're going to get

(29:22):
it done, you know. So What about those actors who
are fearful or who don't feel that they can write,
What do they need to know? I think it's important
to just sit down and do it and not be
afraid to do it wrong, and not be afraid to fail,
and not be afraid to rewrite it. Because writing isn't
like a one time I got this right, I'm doing it.

(29:46):
It is a process and so and I think that
that's true for acting and directing too. We have to
learn how to fail so we can learn from those failures, right,
And that's what at this point in my life, I've
surrendered to that. Like some people just get opportunities to
fail up right, And I have opportunities, So I'm just

(30:07):
gonna give them to myself. For you, I'm giving them
to myself because nobody's giving them to me. You know.
Some some people get an eighty million dollar movie. I've
never done anything before that happened for me. So basically,
I'm just gonna I'm not it's not it's letting go
of the outcome, right, and letting go of the criticism

(30:30):
the self criticis and just doing the work. It's really hard,
just staying in it, keep your foot in it and
doing the work that it gets you far. And everything
may not be brilliant, but you're getting better each time
because it's the practice. Everything is practice, you know. So
I I my takeaway is pure bliss today. Thank you

(30:54):
so much. Like seriously, I love your work. I love
your working, And Phillis Bancroft is going to be around
a very very long time. You guys need to know
her now because I know you guys are going to
be sending her pitchures and resumes. Ladies and gentlemen, I
want you guys once again to please put your hands
together for Phillis Dancroft, writer, director, producer. She's just a

(31:16):
phenomenal woman, and we were going to celebrate her during
this woman's months. Yes, we are celebrating you, and we're
going to continue because we have some very enthusiastic actors
who want to ask you questions. So I'm gonna bring
on Elsa and else is going to introduce them. Yes,
such you already know completely loved that conversation. So today

(31:44):
we have two of us spirited actors. Chanie and Raquel
you can turn your cameras on, and Shanice you can
ask you a question first, Hi Shanese. Okay, So my
questioning as a woman director, who is are she the
most to even direct? Who inspires me the most? There

(32:07):
are a lot of people who inspire me. Honestly, I
will say Ava Duvenai inspires me because he is relentless
and getting the work done, but also in terms of
her commitment to UM, you know, social justice, I really

(32:27):
appreciate that UM. But one of the first people I
worked for as an assistant director was Nima Barnett, and
I will say, yeah, I will say that Nima continues
to inspire me because like, I want to be Nima
when I grow up, Like she working and she's brilliant,

(32:48):
and I just I just yeah, I just love her,
you know. But I honestly am inspired by many people
who just don't give up. And I don't think that
so I don't want a lot of women are falling
to this thing where they're aged out, and I just

(33:08):
feel like, you know, why can't I direct movies until
I'm nindy, you know what I mean? Why can't? So
I'm not planning retirement or anything. I'm just gonna keep
directing until I can't do it anymore, just because because
I look at these women who I love, and that's
what they're doing, you know. So yeah, your question? Thank you? Okay, Raquel,

(33:37):
you're up? Yes, Hip, Hi, hope you can hear me?
Think you can first? Hi, Tracy, Hey, and I'm high feelis.
It's been a pleasure listening to you today, So thank you,
thank you. I have a million questions, but I'll just
as one. Okay, how do you work with actors to
get the performance that you want? That is a good question.

(34:00):
Every actor that is different. You know, I come from
the theater, so I literally before I usually try to
hire people who have the same language that I do
coming from the theater. And then the other thing is
I just I trust my casting when I do it,

(34:21):
and I let them find their way and make adjustments
after that. We have a lot of conversations like this
piece especially, we had a lot of conversations about it,
so we just I don't I don't like to talk
actors into the ground though, because I don't want to
ruin their instincts, right So I because that's where the

(34:45):
life comes from. So I try to allow after those
conversations them to trust their instincts and make adjustments after that.
But it's a process and every actor is different, you know,
and every actor is different. And I have found myself
with the first time I did this project in a
situation where we didn't speak the same language, and it

(35:08):
boils down a communication. Right. So I think as an actor,
I would actress. I would give just the recommendation to
learn all the modalities of acting, you know, Wisner learned
the method, you know, whatever that is, so that you
can be available to whatever the director is, you know,

(35:31):
whatever language they speak. Yeah, but I'd love that, like
you know, they love the camera. I love actors like that.
That is my joy because that's how I started out
as an actor. I went to Circle on the Square
Theater school and I did a lot of plays and
that's how I started directing theater and that led into

(35:53):
directing film. Yeah right, thank you so much. Yeah, yes,
thank you ladies, Thank you Chenie, thank you Racal for
your great questions. Thank you Elsa. And so now we
are going to come back for class and session. Really excited.
So and you guys are blessed because Phillis is going

(36:15):
to stay with us and she's going to give us
some feedback to the actors. So it'll be really fun.
So we are going to be back with the Spirited
Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore for Class and Session.
Welcome back to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
And you're so blessed. Phillis Bancroft is still blessing us

(36:35):
with her presence and so we're going to bring her
into class and session. And how this works is that
we have two Spirited Actor alumni and they will read
a scene. Most of the times, our scenes are written
by students, our spirit actors, and so else is going
to do the introduction to the actors and then I'm
going to read all the narrative and We're ready. Good TV. Yes,

(37:00):
So today on the Spirited Actor, we have two movies
to class in session. We have Missini Prinshaw and we
have mister Aaron Bolware. Yay, take a ballware and take
a bath? All right, all right, okay, So if you

(37:22):
guys are ready, go ahead, Elsa, no, just we're ready
when you are. Okay. On's action okay and action. And
then there was Light written by Dana Cale Kyle Dana

(37:42):
cap Interior living Room evening Desk. Max and Barbara, husband
and wife are rearranging their living room of furniture. Max
screws above into a floor. Lamb, honey, I told you
we needed the Sylvania Energy Saver Spiral CFL DASH twenty

(38:05):
seven equivalent to waundt wat bob, barb. This is a
classic General Electric sixty wild ball lighting from our first date.
You know, the cafe Seattle. You look, you look beautiful
in that light. Am I'm not beautiful in one hundred

(38:26):
wat bob equivalent dash CFL twenty seven. Yes, but but
our energy bill would be through the roof for that
old city white thing. But you always used to love
the sixty WI before I know. But times are changing.
Max goes into a box and pulls out another light

(38:48):
bulb package. Let me see that one. Barbara grabs the ball. Well, honey,
this is a spiral, but it's a cf AB that's
twenty three, which is the equivalent of a seventy five
watt Bob, well, seventy five. What are you trying to

(39:12):
make me go blind? Now? I'm not gonna read in
that little light, No, honey, this is the waters of
the boat in the restaurant. What I propose to you?
You still love the seventy five honey, we are saving
energy and saving money. And now I also read were

(39:33):
feeding glasses hundred wat verse seventy five what yes, it's
a whole twenty five wats. Max has a come hither
look in his eyes. I know, I know what I

(39:55):
thought you would you know, seventy five wat? You know
would what? Max wink said Barbara. Barbara blushes. Listen, Max,
I know we are saving money and energy, and I

(40:15):
don't feel like I'm being hurt. Max size and goes
to the box and pulls out it and incandescent. Who floodlights? Money?
What about these those globe flood laps? Really, I'm not

(40:36):
in a natural disaster. This feels like one. And see
all right you guys, nice words what interested seed? Wow?
So cute. Okay, So whatever you want to give them,
it's up to you. Phyllis. Yeah. First of all, congratulations

(40:59):
on doing it. Thank you. Um wow, there's so many
ways you could do this, this scene. And I would
just say, in terms of so Yini's character that you could,
um there's a lot to build on, right, So you

(41:20):
could start a lot softer. And it gives you a
long place to go, like, it gives you a place
to go. If you start down here, then you can
just take the steps up. And I feel like part
of it should be seductive, you know, it would be
fun to try to seduce him. And I love I

(41:44):
love the writing because he's like, well, you know, you
look good in this light. It's like, remember that what
I propose to you? Yeah, I love that. I love
that so im. But it's the same thing. I think
it's a seduction between both of you really, you know,

(42:07):
like you're trying to you both want what you want,
which at the end of the day is each other, right,
But you know, to just really try to think of
the seduction in the scene, you know, for both of you.
If I thought it was it was great work and
it was a really funny scene. Whoever wrote it, so

(42:29):
thank you and I agree with you. I just wanted
to say one thing too, is that you know when
this is why reading the narrative is so important. I
don't know about you, Phillis, but I have challenging times
with actors with reading narrative. I don't know what they're doing.
I don't you do, not know what's going on, just
like right, yeah, there's no way, but there was a

(42:50):
line for you where when it said for you, Barbara,
when he he looked at you like come hither. You know,
there was a lot of the inner windows that so
let's just talking about, was really in the narrative, which
gives you that insight. That's what the dance was between

(43:11):
the two of you. So it's just I can't stress
enough actors, you have to read everything. That's how you're
going to know what's going on. I want actors Aaron
and Sonini, thank you so much, and I want to
give you a round of applause, and I also inclusive
of this applause, keep it going for Phyllis Bancroft, writer, director, producer,

(43:35):
just all around spiritual human being extraordinaire. It was so
great meeting you today. Thank you so much for being
on the Spirited Active Podcast. And we are going to
We're gonna shout you out. It was definitely my pleasure.
Thank you so much. It went by ways here. Hey,
oh you have to come back. Yeah, you're coming back

(43:57):
that feature, Phillis, we go to that. Okay, yeah, good,
all right. Well, once again, thank you Elsa for introducing
us to fill us for the the spirit Actor Podcast family.
So when we come back to the Spirit Actor Podcast
with me Tracy Moore. I'm going to give you guys
some love. That's what you need, and now it's time

(44:18):
to give love. When I used to go to this
is before COVID, I would go to a lot of
premieres or you know, you know, industry parties and people
would introduce me right. They would say, this is Tracy Moore.
Do you know Tracy, she's celebrity acting coach coaches, and
they would just laundry list my credits right, and I

(44:40):
would just stand there and then I'd say to them,
that's what I do, but who I am is Tracy Moore.
Don't allow your work to define who you are. That's
a tricky, tricky slope when you when you dive into

(45:02):
that right because if you are not currently working, or
if you don't have current credits, that's gonna eat at
your soul and your spirit because you know, this business
truly is about what have you done late? So your
work learn Now when we talk about balance, learn to
balance your work and balance your life. There are two

(45:25):
different things. And if your work is your life, then
you need to carve out some me time and learn
to spend time in nature. Learn to spend time alone,
learn to spend time in stillness and quiet. That's the
balance that you need. But don't allow people to define

(45:45):
you by what you do. People should define you by
the person and the character in which you are. 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.

(46:09):
I'll keep you posted. Thank you for joining us on
the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. I look
forward to our next Spirited Podcast. Thank you.