Equity Foundation Podcast

Equity Foundation Podcast

The Equity Foundation – the professional development arm of Actors Equity – was established in 2002 to oversee Equity’s publications, awards and extensive professional program. The mission of the Equity Foundation is to enhance the lives of Australian and New Zealand actors by investing in programs which help them in their professional endeavours and the communities in which they live. Our professional program, which connects with performers in Australia and New Zealand through an extensive masterclass and workshop program, is developed in close collaboration with performers. The Equity Foundation is independent from Actors Equity but offers substantive services to Equity members, free of charge. The Foundation relies solely on the support from grants, corporate sponsorships, bequests and individual contributions to maintain our programs and create new ones. Our mission is to assist, educate and inspire actors.

  1. In Conversation with Lauren Wiley, Casting Director

    31 MAR

    In Conversation with Lauren Wiley, Casting Director

    Equity's Live Stream Program continues with esteemed casting director Lauren Wiley talking with Equity member Helen Dallimore about all things auditions, musicals, casting, current and past projects, the actor/casting director relationship and answering all your questions. Lauren Wiley is one of Australia’s most accomplished Casting Directors, bringing more than two decades of experience. She is currently the Casting Director for the forthcoming Australian premiere of A Beautiful Noise – The Neil Diamond Musical (TEG Dainty/Ken Davenport). Her extensive credits include MJ The Musical (Michael Cassel Group), Gaslight (Newtheatricals/Queensland Theatre), Hamilton (International Tour) and Hamilton (Australia) (Michael Cassel Group), Come From Away (Junkyard Dog/Newtheatricals), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Michael Cassel Group), and Kinky Boots (Michael Cassel Group). Lauren also served as Consulting Casting Director for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical (TEG Dainty/Stage Entertainment) and was Casting Administrator for Cameron Mackintosh’s Les Misérables (Michael Cassel Group). Lauren began her theatrical casting career at Sydney Theatre Company in 2009, appointed Casting Coordinator to Co-Artistic Directors Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. She later returned to Sydney Theatre Company as in-house Casting Director under Artistic Director Kip Williams, a role she held until 2019. A graduate of Charles Sturt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Theatre/Media), Lauren spent two years based in London, where she worked as Casting Assistant to Jina Jay on major feature films including The Lovely Bones (Dir. Peter Jackson), Body of Lies (Dir. Ridley Scott), Agora (Dir. Alejandro Amenábar), and The Adventures of Tintin (Dir. Steven Spielberg) as well as time working for London’s most established talent agencies.

    58 min
  2. How to Make Money Playing Yourself with Michael Pope

    31 MAR

    How to Make Money Playing Yourself with Michael Pope

    How to make money playing the role you were born to play: yourself. Or in other words: learn that the skills you have gained as an actor are of value beyond the script. A deep dive into what skills you have as a performer that can be monetized in other ways including corporate work as an MC, hosting children's shows, game shows and light entertainment with ongoing high profile warm up audience work. Michael worked as an actor on both stage and screen for several years. 1984 was a turning point as he began an on-air career as a television presenter, hosting children’s shows, game shows and light entertainment. What followed was a decade of profile building which opened opportunities in the corporate space as host and emcee of Award Nights, conferences, product launches and the like. Work that he continues to this day. 1990 saw another sideways turn as audience warm-up for Blind Date. More shows followed and Michael soon became the go-to-guy for audience warm-up for everything from The Voice, Australia’s Got Talent, Mad As Hell and sitcoms such as Acropolis Now, and All Together Now. He continues in this role now on Tipping Point – celebrating 35 continuous years applying the performance skills he learnt as an actor, to this arena. Along the way he has worked as Breakfast Radio host and has created television programs and produced others such as The Price Is Right, Bert’s Family Feud and Comedy Slapdown. Check him out: www.michaelpope.com.au

    55 min
  3. Acting for Late Bloomers (It’s never too late to start) with David John Clark

    03/12/2025

    Acting for Late Bloomers (It’s never too late to start) with David John Clark

    Join David John Clark, aka The Late Bloomer Actor for some insights into acting as a late bloomer. The how’s, what’s, where’s and why’s of acting in your ‘later’ years, whether it’s a new endeavour for you, or returning to fulfil your younger self’s dreams, before career, family and everything got in the way. Learn what you can do to propel yourself forward and to treat your journey as a business but maintain it as an exciting opportunity. And you don’t need to be a late bloomer either to benefit from this discussion, as we look into all the little things you need to do to keep the momentum going. David John Clark is an actor and podcaster. He is the host of the popular podcast "The Late Bloomer Actor"'. David got his first taste of acting as an extra in the booming movie industry in Sydney during the 1990's, including a small role in Star Wars 'Attack Of The Clones' of which he personally received direction from the great George Lucas. Little did he know then, that 20 years later this would be his calling. David stepped up and began various acting training courses in Adelaide from 2013, which includes ongoing training and mentor-ship today by Greg Apps (Casting Director Sydney) as well as training with Jeff Seymour of The Real Life Actor (USA), StageMilk Online Drama and more recently the wonderful Les Chantery in Sydney. David is a well-known and respected actor in the South Australian film and television industry as a source of support, mentorship, advice and training in his delivery of various online acting sources including his monthly podcast series and regular 'Off Script' bite size info sessions. David is your Teacher, Doctor, Father Figure or Enforcer type, but can draw on his experience living in different states and working with many different people and cultures when needed. His acting style is naturalistic, drawing on life experiences for character development. David is also a competitive bodybuilder and has competed in several Australian state championships.

    1 hr
  4. In Conversation with US Casting Director Meg Morman

    27/11/2025

    In Conversation with US Casting Director Meg Morman

    Meg Morman, award winning US Casting Director will talk to QLD Equity Vice President, Sophia Emberson-Bain about the US casting process, the actor/casting director relationship, her advice for actors and what she has learnt along the way. There will be plenty of time for audience questions. Meg Morman, CSA is an award-winning casting director and a partner at Morman Boling Casting. Previously a manager of casting in the Feature Film Department at 20th Century Fox, she also spent four years as an associate and then casting director at Walken/Jaffe Casting. In 2004, Meg cast the acclaimed films Me and You and Everyone We Know (Sundance & Cannes 2005) and Steal Me (Sundance 2005), and soon after, she launched her company with partner Sunday Boling Kennedy. Since then, she has cast over 100 films, including Omaha (Sundance 2025), Green and Gold, Waitress, Hello, My Name is Doris, Aporia, The Ballad of Lefty Brown and Suze. Her television and streaming credits include The Baxters, Sneakerheads, Ish Hashuv Meod, The Dead Girls Detective Agency, In the Vault, and Relationship Status. She has also worked extensively in narrative podcast casting, with notable projects such as Star Trek: Khan, DC High: Volume Batman, Blackout, Ad Lucem, 13 Days of Halloween (Seasons 2 & 3), Last Known Position, and Narcissa. Meg has been nominated for 11 Artios Awards for excellence in casting and has won twice. Currently the VP of Governance for the Casting Society, has also served as an advisor for Film Independent’s Directing Lab and the Global Media Makers project.

    55 min
  5. Relocating to a Major Market with Kym Jackson

    21/11/2025

    Relocating to a Major Market with Kym Jackson

    Relocating to any "major" film & TV market is a vital step to pursue your acting career. While self tapes have enabled established actors to remain remote, it's important for developmental talent to be where the COMMUNITY is. This enables you to attend in-person networking, educational, and social events on a regular basis to build trust, contacts, and become part of the 'tribe'. In this class, you'll learn how to choose the best market, the steps to prepare in the months leading up to your move, and what to do once you arrive. Kym Jackson (This Is Us, S.W.A.T., N.C.I.S., The Secrets She Keeps) is an actress credited with 60+ feature films & TV episodes and is the author of the Amazon best selling textbook, The Hollywood Survival Guide For Actors, a comprehensive 300+ page guide to navigating the entertainment industry. She is the founder of the Secret Actor Society app and website, which boasts over 3000 classes and Q&A’s, with 50+ industry experts and casting directors, that reveal strategies best used by actors to obtain success in their career. As a coach and regular speaker for organizations including SAG-AFTRA, MEAA, WIFT, Spotlight, Kym has taught thousands of actors to navigate the business of acting. Her coaching sessions incorporate mindset work and techniques to help artists develop and maintain the mental fortitude required to successfully pursue a career acting professionally in the film & TV industry.

    1hr 38min

About

The Equity Foundation – the professional development arm of Actors Equity – was established in 2002 to oversee Equity’s publications, awards and extensive professional program. The mission of the Equity Foundation is to enhance the lives of Australian and New Zealand actors by investing in programs which help them in their professional endeavours and the communities in which they live. Our professional program, which connects with performers in Australia and New Zealand through an extensive masterclass and workshop program, is developed in close collaboration with performers. The Equity Foundation is independent from Actors Equity but offers substantive services to Equity members, free of charge. The Foundation relies solely on the support from grants, corporate sponsorships, bequests and individual contributions to maintain our programs and create new ones. Our mission is to assist, educate and inspire actors.

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