Artists in Depth

Alan Powell, Nicole Powell

A podcast about wellbeing in the artistic process. Join us and reflect on your journey & artist within.  Subscribe where you listen to your podcasts. An Actor Care® project Sponsored by Equity Showcase

  1. S4 EP2 In Discussion with Chiara Carlotta Leonetti

    4D AGO

    S4 EP2 In Discussion with Chiara Carlotta Leonetti

    Our Guest today is AWFC member Chiara Carlotta Leonetti https://www.chiaracarlottaleonetti.it/ Chiara worked as a dancer in various theatrical and television productions and served as assistant choreographer for two major Italian musicals. As an actress, she has performed both on stage and in film. In parallel, she earned a degree in Clinical Psychology and is an EMDR therapist and focuses primarily on unconscious processes, integrating hypnotic and imaginative approaches into her therapeutic work. She currently runs a private practice in Milan, carries out public outreach on psychological wellbeing for actors in Italy, and provides psychological preparation for professional actors in the process of role development. Chiara had a translater , Lisa Vampa , who added to our discussion. So it’s only fair that I should introduce her as well.  Lisa is a Medical doctor, a specialist in Nephrology, Jungian analytical psychotherapist and healing practitioner. She has an international background that weaves together medicine, research, psychology, and performing arts. Following a six-year sabbatical dedicated to professional acting training, she began her theatre career in Milan, performing in both English and Italian. Aside from  practicing psychotherapy, she also combines her expertise in medicine, psychology, and acting by teaching Medical Communication at Humanitas University and conducting workshops on “Difficult Conversations in Medicine” for healthcare professionals. What stood out for me in our conversation was the importance of educating psychotherapists and psychologists on the impact  of embodying a character’s psychology. It was also insightful to hear how hypnotherapy works on actors.

    41 min
  2. S3 EP11 In Discussion with Theresa Tova

    APR 25

    S3 EP11 In Discussion with Theresa Tova

    My guest today is Theresa Tova linkedin.com/in/theresa-tova-33139a20 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0869797/ Theresa or as her friends know her, Tova, is an award-winning Canadian actress, singer, and playwright. With several nominations to boot. Including a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her role as Marge Atherton in TV series E.N.G., a Canadian Screen Award nomination for her work in For the Record, and two Dora award nominations for her portrayal of Mrs. Van Daan in the Diary of Anne Frank.   Her play Still the Night, based on her mothers experiences surviving the holocaust, and which she also starred in, won several Dora Mavor Moore Awards and was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language drama.  Tova tours internationally headlining major festivals in Amsterdam, Argentina, Germany, Poland, and New York. And Her three CD’s of Yiddish Jazz have won rave reviews.  As an arts activist Tova served as President of ACTRA Toronto, and continues to serve as Treasurer of ACTRA National. She co-chairs the Association of Acting Coaches and Educators, and The Entertainment Industry Coalition. Tova is a recipient of the Cliff Pilkey Labour Activist Award, the 2025 King Charles lll Coronation Medal and is the 2025 Cayle Chernin Woman of the year. Tova shared some of her experiences growing up in the shadow of a holocaust survivor, and how that played out in her acting. Her passion for advocating for women and children’s rights in the entertainment industry is palpable and honorable.

    32 min
  3. S3 EP.10 In Discussion with Shaina Fawn & Tyee Tilghman

    MAR 28

    S3 EP.10 In Discussion with Shaina Fawn & Tyee Tilghman

    Our Guest today is Tyee Tilghman & Shaina Fawn  Co-founders of Wellbeing in Entertainment and Creative Arts (WECA) https://www.wellbeinginentertainment.org/ WECA is a non-profit based in Los Angeles whose mission is to bring wellbeing standards to the entertainment industry in the USA. WECA is guided by trauma-informed principles, by which the health, safety, and wellbeing of artists and entertainment workers are prioritized throughout the entire creative process, from pre- to post-production. Tyee is an actor, filmmaker and educator. He’s a lover of the human experience, and the variations of interpretation based on the eyes and ears of the beholder. He holds an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre, and is a student of life and human behavior. His deep interest in the care of his fellow artists keeps him passionate and driven to ensure care is provided for all involved in the process of sharing stories of the human experience. Shaina is a licensed clinical social worker. She has been in the mental health field for nearly 20 years and has experience in child welfare, hospice, medical social work, and integrated care. She is currently working on a P.H.D. exploring mental health and wellbeing for workers in the entertainment industry.  Our conversation centered on the reasons why they started WECA, the challenges they face, The simplicity of integrating trauma-informed practices in production, and how they practice in their own lives what they preach.

    29 min
  4. S3 EP8 In Discussion with Thalia Goldstein

    12/09/2024

    S3 EP8 In Discussion with Thalia Goldstein

    Our Guest today is Thalia Goldstein https://www.thaliagoldstein.com/ Thalia is a former professional actress, dancer, and lifelong theatre nerd. She is currently an associate professor and director of the Applied Developmental Psychology program in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University, where she directs the Play, Learning, Arts and Youth Lab (PLAYlab), and codirects the National Endowment for the Arts Lab, the Mason Arts Research Center (MasonARC). With her students and colleagues, she has published more than 70 papers on the effects of pretend play, imagination, theatre, and other art forms on child and adolescent development. She earned her BA at Cornell University, her MA and PhD at Boston College, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University. Since 2017 she has been the coeditor of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, the Division 10 journal for the American Psychological Association, where she has also won several awards and was recently named fellow. Our discussion mainly centered on the 8 acting habits of mind which she writes about in her book, Why Theatre Education Matters: The book is the first-of-its-kind, a nationally representative study of actual acting classes showing how the activities of acting are directly connected to critical 21st Century Skills such as collaboration , communication, creativity and emotional intelligence. Her passion for research is contagious. We started off with her personal reason for becoming a scientist in the arts - a reason I think we all can resonate with. I know I certainly did.  The 8 Acting Habits of Mind

    30 min
  5. S3 EP7 In Discussion with Bella Merlin

    09/23/2024

    S3 EP7 In Discussion with Bella Merlin

    Our guest today is Bella Merlin http://www.bellamerlin.com/ Bella has been working for over twenty-five years in theatre, film, television and radio. She is Professor of Acting and Directing at the University of California, Riverside and is the author of several books on acting. Including  The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit, Facing the Fear: An Actor's Guide to Overcoming Stage Fright and Shakespeare & Company: When Action is Eloquence... co-authored with Tina Packer.  Bella is known on the international circuit for her workshops on Stanislavsky and his rehearsal process, Active Analysis. She has held posts in the UK at the university of Exeter. And university of Birmingham (where she received her PhD). She has also taught workshops and directed at a number of drama schools and universities both in the UK and USA.  Her stage acting appearances are numerous and include productions with Shakespeare & Co. in Massachusetts and the Royal National Theatre in London. Her one woman show Tilly Nobody explored identity and domestic violence. Her recent touring production, Lucy Gough’s The Wild Tenant, is currently touring the UK and is what we focused on. With the the continuing theme of domestic violence and her personal connection to her Character, I started the conversation by asking how she took care of her wellbeing when doing such an emotionally demanding play. Bella’s honesty is honorable and her insights into the acting process invaluable.

    30 min
  6. S3 EP6 In Discussion with Dr. Suzie J. Jarmain

    07/28/2024

    S3 EP6 In Discussion with Dr. Suzie J. Jarmain

    Our Guest today is Dr. Suzie J. Jarmain https://www.linkedin.com/in/suziejjarmain/ Ph.D. (Theatre Performance), MA Applied Theatre Studies, Pg. Dip (Theatre Directing), BCA (Acting). Dr. Suzie J. Jarmain is an actor, theatre artist, director, educator, coach, mentor and practice-based scholar with over thirty years of expertise. Specialising in psychological realism-based character transformation, Suzie holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts in acting from the University of Wollongong (AUS), a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance Creation from Victorian College of the Arts (VIC), and a Master of Applied Theatre Studies from the University of New England (NSW). She completed her Ph.D. at Monash University supported by a scholarship. Suzie has worked with worldwide companies such as the National Theatre of Scotland, BBC Scotland, Traverse Theatre (UK), The Arches (UK), North Edinburgh Arts Centre, The Performance Space (AUS), Melbourne Theatre Company, La Mama Theatre (AUS), NIDA, Victorian College of the Arts (AUS), and Union House Theatre (AUS), to name a few. She has undergone professional development training with the Michael Chekhov Association (US), the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (UK), and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (UK). She has previously certified as a teacher with Stagecoach Theatrearts (UK) funded by a grant from the British Actors’ Equity Association (UK). In 2016, she was awarded the Phillip Parsons Prize by the Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama, and Performance Studies (ADSA) for her project ‘Faking it For Real,’ which explored the autobiographical ‘self’ in character creation. Suzie has presented her research at conferences such as AusAct (AUS) and Performance Studies International (CAD) and contributed to the PAMA Actors Wellbeing webinar series on ‘Interventions in the Acting Process’ (2024). Her solo works include ‘Elizabeth Taylor is My Mother’ (2016), ‘The Disappearing Trilogy’ (2019), and ‘Celebrity’ (2023). As a published scholar and researcher, Suzie continues to explore and innovate in transformative acting practices. Her recent article, "Remember My Name: The Critical Role of Selves in Transformative Acting," contributes to the ongoing discourse on sustainable acting methodologies, highlighting broader artistic concerns related to transformative processes and the identity of the actor. In 2023, Suzie founded the Michael Chekhov Studios in Melbourne, Australia, focusing on the Michael Chekhov technique, transformative acting processes, and actor wellbeing. She is a member of the Association of Acting Coaches and Educators (AACE), a community member of the Actors Wellbeing Facilitators Collective, the Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama, and Performance Studies (ADSA) and Theatre Network Australia (TNA). Suzie also regularly collaborates with the Melbourne Actors Guild, coaching actors and ensembles at various stages of professional development. Our discussion covered Chekov’s philosophy of higher and lower ego states in the creation of character, performance & identity, how we create characters for ourselves - not just in acting but in life —and mental health challenges that arise during the actors process of character development.

    29 min

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A podcast about wellbeing in the artistic process. Join us and reflect on your journey & artist within.  Subscribe where you listen to your podcasts. An Actor Care® project Sponsored by Equity Showcase