Have you ever wondered how much movement is too much movement in an audition?  

Have you struggled to find movement that feels authentic to you?  

In this episode, Roger Ellis (@rogerellis), head of movement in the MFA Acting Program at Northwestern University, shares how he develops character, creates choreography, and develops a directorial vision through the lens of movement. 

He pulls back the curtain on his creative process and reveals the specific tactics he uses to devise choreography, dig deeper into a show’s themes, and how to bring out each actor’s truest self.

Roger Ellis (they/he) is a movement director and filmmaker investigating the mixed reality of Black-queer-aspec experience. Roger is the original director of Nikki Lynette’s Get Out Alive (Steppenwolf, film adaptation, National Alliance for Musical Theatre). Current projects include the documusical series Unhappy Songs About Unhappy Things, sound installation Interstitial and the short film Emergency Contact. Ellis is an assistant professor and head of the movement area for the MFA Acting Program at Northwestern University.

In this interview, we discuss:

• What does storytelling mean to you?
• What's your approach to storytelling through choreography?
• When you're starting to choreograph a new show, how do you begin?
• How do you approach the score?  What's your process?
• What's your take on movement in auditions? 
• How can actors utilize movement in auditions without it feeling fully choreographed?
• How can they best represent themselves in the movement?
• What are you looking for in callbacks that is different from auditions?

I hope you enjoy this fascinating conversation!

Xo,

Korrie

Find more about Roger Ellis at www.movementdesignchicago.com

Check out www.korrieyamaoka.com to find info about FREE RESOURCES and AUDITION COACHING, and to sign up for my email list.

Korrie’s Email List - Sign up for weekly resources about auditioning, information on new offerings, and the latest news from Studying the Song.

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Contact Korrie at hello@korrieyamaoka.com.

Ever wonder what it’s really like to WORK a National Tour of a Broadway musical?  I mean, like being in BUSINESS as an actor and dealing with contracts, agents, and managers?

In this episode, April Josephine shares her journey as an actor in New York and how she booked the First National Tour of Mean Girls.  She admits that she had to learn the ropes of the business side of things by asking other actors while on tour.  She also had to get active on the Equity website and find things out for herself.  

In this interview, she tells you all the things she wish someone had told her, including:

• The benefits of self tapes for actors with learning disabilities
• What to look for in an agent
• The difference between an agent and a manager
• How and when do you pay your agent and manager
• The audition and callback process for the First National Tour of Mean Girls
• How do contracts work for tours
• The rehearsal and maintenance process for long running tours
• How to be a life-long learner and discover new strengths in yourself

April is based in Manhattan, and loves the art of storytelling in any and all forms. She grew up in sunny California, and had the opportunity to grow and work in many regional productions based there. To Name a few: La Jolla PlayHouse, Moonlight Stage Productions, Lambs Players Theater, La Mirada/McCoy Rigby Entertainment, 3-D Theatricals, Welk Resort Theater. 

Other passions include teaching/ collaborating with budding artists (tiny tot to young adult)  in any way that furthers growth, safety and positivity in dance and the performing arts. 

She has been on the road with the Broadway First National Tour, Mean Girls The Musical, since October 2021, playing Mrs. George, Mrs. Heron, and her favorite adult woman, Ms Norbury. She looks forward to working in and alongside the arts in the future as a beacon for hope, a catalyst for change, and rehabilitation in our world.

If you’re looking for VERY PRACTICAL advice about managing the business side of your acting while also pursuing work that connects to your heart, then this is the episode for you!

Xo,

Korrie

Find more about April at www.apriljosephinemedia.com

Check out www.korrieyamaoka.com to find info about FREE RESOURCES and AUDITION COACHING, and to sign up for my email list.

Korrie’s Email List - Sign up for weekly resources about auditioning, information on new offerings, and the latest news from Studying the Song.

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe today!

Contact Korrie at hello@korrieyamaoka.com.

A disarmingly honest conversation about career, loving yourself (ie your voice), and taking on the identity of "artist."

In this episode, you’ll hear Sasha talk about finding success in unexpected opportunities like workshops, readings, and cabaret shows.  She also shares her honest realizations about fighting her “type” and coming to terms with her voice (which she now loves, btw).

Sasha received her MFA in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University and her BFA in Musical Theatre with emphasis in Acting and Vocal Repertoire from The Boston Conservatory. 

Some of her favorite NY credits include: Jerry Springer the Opera (Carnegie Hall); Colette Collage (The York Theatre) I and Albert (York), The Grand Tour (York); and readings/workshops such as Carrie: the Musical (with Sutton Foster & Marin Mazzie, dir. Stafford Arima), Mister Hollands Opus: the Musical (with BD Wong), Dig Lenny Bruce (with Mario Cantone & Mary Testa, dir. Jerry Dixon), TV: ABC's What Would You Do? (“Ugly Americans in Paris”), Food Fighters (judge), and one-time game show winner on $100,000 Pyramid. Commercials: Jenny Craig nat'l (w/Mariah Carey). 

Sasha wrote her thesis on “The Art and the Venue of Cabaret” and has written, produced, and performed her own cabarets in NYC, San Diego, and LA. Sasha has been a faculty member in the Musical Theatre programs at Pace University, Marymount Manhattan College, San Diego State University, and The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)..  

If you’ve ever questioned your own success or wondered if this was what you were “supposed” to be doing, then you’ll want to hear this conversation.

Find more about Sasha at www.sashaweiss.com

Xo,

Korrie

Check out www.korrieyamaoka.com to find info about FREE RESOURCES and AUDITION COACHING, and to sign up for my email list.

Korrie’s Email List - Sign up for weekly resources about auditioning, information on new offerings, and the latest news from Studying the Song.

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe today!

Contact Korrie at hello@korrieyamaoka.com.