Equity Foundation Podcast

A rare chance to hear from the artistic directors of two of Australia's most reputable theatre companies - Matthew Lutton (Malthouse Theatre) and Courtney Stewart (La Boite Theatre) as they talk to actor Veronica Neave about navigating an acting career in theatre, their journey from directors to cultural leaders while unpacking the actor/director relationship, casting, the rehearsal process, the current theatrical landscape, and much more.

Acclaimed acting coach Miranda Harcourt will discuss how actors can achieve unselfconsciousness, inner life and responsiveness by balancing their vista, their connection and their internal landscape. Miranda will bring case studies and research about the ways psychology and neuroscience can help us to fully occupy a role and a relationship.

Deanna Cooney is a Perth-based actor and presenter represented by MCA. She teaches Presenting to Camera at WAAPA. In this podcast you’ll learn foundational techniques designed to develop a sense of ease and confidence in front of camera while delivering down the lens with a presentation style performance. This sense of ease is increasingly relevant as many directors and casting agents are calling on zoom and live conferencing as a means of 'on-camera' communication. You’ll also find this skill set useful for many tv commercials where the talent is required to speak directly to camera presenter-style, and it’s a fantastic adjacent skill set that can help you develop another income stream as a TV presenter or program host.

An opportunity to hear from to producer Joanna Werner, (The Newsreader, Clickbait, Secret City) and director Emma Freeman (The Newsreader, Glitch, Stateless) when they join Equity member Nicole Nabout (The Clearing, Return to Paradise) to discuss what goes on behind the scenes of a screen production before actors are cast, what is involved in the producing and directing side of things on a day to day basis, how they work with actors, the best ways to navigate the actor/producer and actor/director relationships, self taping, zoom auditions, rehearsing, protocols on set and much more.

Join award winning Australian actor and voiceover artist Melanie Zanetti, or as she is better known as "Chilli" in the internationally successful, Emmy, BAFTA and five time AACTA award winning animated series, Bluey. Melanie talks to Veronica Neave about her creative journey moving between voiceover, feature film and television in Australia and the US, shares what it is like to work on one of Australia's most successful shows as a voiceover artist and her advice or diversifying your skills so you can work in many different areas locally and internationally.

Syrus Lowe is a leader in corporate role play, having worked in the industry for over twenty years for some of the top companies. He has delivered hundreds of hours of role play in the UK and worldwide. This session will introduce you to the world of corporate role play. You will learn what corporate role play is and how it is used in the business world, how the industry works, how to do corporate role play, and how to give evidence-based feedback. You will be provided with the building blocks and many tips and tricks to enable you to enter this potentially lucrative side hustle.

There are so many hugely important roles in the world of musical theatre that help bring top productions to life and provide wonderful and rewarding careers for performers. If you are pursuing a career in musical theatre, do you know what it takes to be a swing or cover? What are the rewards and challenges? Hear from some of Australia's most successful musical theatre performers about what’s involved and what their work looks like day to day. This livestream will be chaired by Stephen Mahy (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) with panellists Julian Kuo (Hamilton), Shewit Belay (Wicked) and Ashton Lash (Hamilton).

This is a rare chance to hear from leading theatrical producer Michael Cassel, who has brought many of Australia's most successful theatre productions to life including Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, as well as the West End premiere of Sydney Theatre Company’s The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Sarah Snook. With Erin James interviewing, this is a chance to get a behind the scenes look at how top stage productions are cast, how to have the best chance of successful stage career locally and internationally, what you need to know about the industry and how it works to get ahead, the steps that theatre producers take to get a production up and running and Michael's plans for the future.

Actor and Equity member Clare Chihambakwe chats to Vancouver-based Australian actor and writer Ildiko Susany. Ildiko is currently a staff writer on Netflix's hit Virgin River and has written episodes in seasons 5 & 6. As an actor, Ildiko has appeared in Alaska Daily (ABC) opposite Hilary Swank, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (NBC), as well as Lost in Space (Netflix) and many more. Ildiko has navigated a successful Australian career into a flourishing North American career as both an actor and a writer. Ildiko will share how she did this, what she has learnt along the way, her experience as an Australian actor working overseas and how she successfully moved into screenwriting, what it takes and what is is like to work as a Netflix staff writer on an international hit show.

A basic intro for the experienced actor who needs to know what you need to do to move into the broad world of voiceover. Abbe Holmes is one of Australia's most recognized mainstream voice actors and will give you the essential steps to to get you started. This includes, understanding the skills unique to voiceover; how the industry works, tips for creating your voiceover reel and who you approach once you have it, setting up a home studio, whether you need an agent to get work and much more.

As the first point of contact with a potential employer, your marketing materials are an extension of yourself and an indication of your level of professionalism. Kym Jackson (This Is Us, S.W.A.T., N.C.I.S., The Secrets She Keeps) will give you a clear knowledge of how to make your entire acting toolkit (headshots, resume, demo reel, website, business cards) match those of any top working actor in the industry.

An opportunity for casting director Daisy Hicks to talk candidly with Equity member Monica Sayers about the actor and casting director relationship, offer advice about the audition process and answer any queries you may have.

This is a chance to hear from esteemed US hair designer Camille Friend as she chats to actor and activist Cessalee Stovall about her work on major Hollywood productions over the last 25 years and her passion for bringing cultural authenticity to her work. Camille was nominated for an Oscar for her rich, complex work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, her seventh Marvel film. Other credits include The Little Mermaid, Tenet, Us, Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Captain America: Civil War, The Hunger Games Parts 1 and 2, The Help, Dream Girls and Django Unchained, collectively grossing over $US3.9 billion at the box office. Camille is an expert in working with all textures of hair and uses her vast experience to educate and mentor hairstylists wanting a career in entertainment.

Equity member Helen Dallimore talks to producer Helen Bowden from Lingo Pictures (Upright, The Messenger, The Secret She Keeps) about the actor/producer relationship, the current screen landscape, what goes on behind the scenes of a screen production before actors are cast, what is involved in the producing side of things on a day to day basis, the best ways to navigate the actor/producer relationships, self taping, zoom auditions, rehearsing and much more.

An opportunity for casting director Amanda Mitchell (Heartbreak High, Totally Completely Fine, La Brea, Young Rock) to talk candidly to actor and NSW Equity President Glenn Hazeldine about the actor and casting director relationship.

A chance to delve into the art of putting on a cabaret. Performer and QLD Equity President Asabi Goodman talks to cabaret artist Aurélie Roque about forming a concept, stagecraft, lighting design and budgeting: An A to Z guide on cabaret creation. This is an edited version of a livestream held on September 27, 2023.

This is a chance for agent Catherine Poulton of Catherine Poulton Management to talk candidly with Equity member Loretta Kung about how the actor/agent relationship works, what an agent does on a day to day basis, what you can do to have a productive relationship with your agent, what you can reasonably expect from your agent, the agents’ role in the casting process, how to navigate US and UK opportunities and the state of the Australian industry.

Join award-winning stage and screen actor Danielle Cormack and one of Australia's most experienced Directors of Photography Martin McGrath (ACS) as they explore the actor and DOP relationship. As an actor it is important to understand every role on a production and how your work intersects with all involved. DOP's are an integral part of the storytelling process as they are responsible for creating the look of the film. Their primary duties include developing a film's visual style, determining lighting and composition and planning camera angles. The conversation will also cover Martin’s extensive work locally and internationally, how the DOP’s process impacts actors’ and what we see on screen. This conversation may be particularly useful for actors with a theatre background who are not as familiar with the complexities of screen acting. Audience members will leave with a better understanding of how to work effectively with a DOP on their next job.

A chance to hear from Equity's Screen Lawyer, Miles Hunt, about usage payments and residuals. This discussion will cover the following topics: Usage – upfront buyouts and the curse of in perpetuity; Residuals – backend payments and where they come from; Agreements – how usage and residuals work in film, TV and Streaming; MEAA negotiations and payments for performers; The Difficulty with Streamers; International Perspective – SAG and other jurisdictions; and TVC Rollovers. Miles Hunt is a Senior Industrial Officer working within Equity at MEAA. He deals with industrial issues for members (individually and collectively) and negotiates agreements (for film and TV) on behalf of members.

Award-winning voice actor Dianne Weller will introduce you to the world of voicing for video games during this one-hour livestream. This is a chance to see how it differs from animation and how to approach character development and auditions.