54 episodes

The Acting Podcast with Risa Bramon Garcia (director, casting director, producer) & Steve Braun (acting coach, communication consultant), founders of The BGB Studio, takes you inside the craft, the casting room, and the business- and bringing other Industry experts into the conversation- we dig into the work, pull back the curtain of the Industry, and show you how much power you really have as an artist.

The Acting Podcast Risa Bramon Garcia and Steve Braun

    • TV & Film
    • 4.9 • 284 Ratings

The Acting Podcast with Risa Bramon Garcia (director, casting director, producer) & Steve Braun (acting coach, communication consultant), founders of The BGB Studio, takes you inside the craft, the casting room, and the business- and bringing other Industry experts into the conversation- we dig into the work, pull back the curtain of the Industry, and show you how much power you really have as an artist.

    Ep. 53: Finding Freedom & Power in Script Analysis

    Ep. 53: Finding Freedom & Power in Script Analysis

    “Script Analysis” is an often misunderstood term that can result in an actor robbing a scene of its art by reducing it to mathematical calculations. Some actors love the idea of script analysis so they can “solve” the scene and control it. Other actors abandon the idea of script analysis altogether because they are afraid of adding any structure to their art. The truth of Script Analysis is more interesting and dynamic. BGB Master Teachers, Cate Cohen, Sydney Walsh, and Corey Parker, sit down with Risa and Steve to talk about the dance between structure and fluidity in your preparation, and how to use Script Analysis to find freedom and power in your work. 
    Guests & Resources:
    Learn more about our wonderful teachers: 
    Sydney Walsh - BGB Master Teacher, actor, writer, director
    Cate Cohen - BGB Master Teacher, actor, writer
    Corey Parker - BGB Master Teacher, actor, coach
    Listen to other related episodes: 
    Episode 6: The Secret To Successful Preparation
    Episode 42: That Next Level Shit

    Gifts & Opt-ins:
    The Perfect Imperfect Self-Tape
    21 Ways To Make Casting Directors Happy 
    What Casting Wants
    Back To All Episodes
    Meet us on Instagram and other social spaces where we hang out — with tons more great advice, inspiration, and Industry intel.
    @BGBStudio on IG + Twitter + TikTok + @theBGBStudio on Facebook. ‍‍
    CHECK OUT our Audition, Scene-Study, and Hybrid Classes!SIGN UP for our BGB Group Career Coaching series!
    JOIN US for The BGB Actors Summit: A virtual workshop with Risa & SteveThe BGB Sit-Down is back! Meet Risa + Steve in our Studio
    Are You Ready For Class?
    All BGB Classes

    • 1 hr 19 min
    Ep. 52: How to Stand Out from Hundreds of Other Actors

    Ep. 52: How to Stand Out from Hundreds of Other Actors

    An actor who books work consistently is an actor who has the capacity to remain vulnerable in the face of intense rejection, to stay focused in a world full of distractions, and to stay sharp in one of the most competitive Industries around. The actor who books work consistently has found a way to stand out from hundreds of others. They have expressed themself in a way that makes them a singularity. In a hard industry and a hard world, that kind of singular expression must be supported by a lifestyle that nurtures their art and their career. Listen in as Risa and Steve talk about how to cultivate a lifestyle that offers you all that, and then share your thoughts and questions with us on social @BGBStudio or by emailing us at info@bramongarciabraun.com. We want to hear from you.

    Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a review and rating!
    Your words will help connect us all and bring these valuable conversations to even more actors- and other artists- around the world.
    ‍AND… Screenshot, post + tag us @bgbstudio on IG!
    ‍If you’ve missed any episodes, catch up now!
    Guests & Resources:
    Listen to other related episodes: Episode 28: The Practice That Leads To SuccessEpisode 36: The Pursuit Of Happiness - w/ Caroline, Dominic, Ellyn, Johnathan
    Gifts & Opt-ins:The Perfect Imperfect Self-Tape21 Ways To Make Casting Directors Happy
    What Casting Wants
    Credits:
    PRODUCER:
    BGB STAFF
    TECH + DESIGN:
    ASWATHI MENON & MITCHELL BRAXTON
    MUSIC:
    SAM DEWEES + ANDY ABELOW
    Back To All Episodes
    Meet us on Instagram and other social spaces where we hang out — with tons more great advice, inspiration, and Industry intel.
    @BGBStudio on IG + Twitter + TikTok + @theBGBStudio on Facebook. ‍‍
    CHECK OUT our Audition, Scene-Study, and Hybrid Classes!SIGN UP for our BGB Group Career Coaching series!
    JOIN US for The BGB Actors Summit: A virtual workshop with Risa & Steve
    The BGB Sit-Down is back! Meet Risa + Steve in our Studio

    • 58 min
    Ep. 51: 3 Powerful Lessons of 2023

    Ep. 51: 3 Powerful Lessons of 2023

    2023 was a really intense year. Two strikes, wars, a contracting Industry, inflation, lingering effects of the pandemic, etc. And that intensity revealed some powerful lessons that every actor must hear and understand in order to be a working actor in 2024.  Risa and Steve delve into the lessons of 2023 that point to the new reality for actors and light the path to success in the New Year!
    Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a review and rating!
    Your words will help connect us all and bring these valuable conversations to even more actors- and other artists- around the world.‍If you’ve missed any episodes, catch up now!
    Guests & Resources:
    Ep. 50: The Strike is Over. Here’s What to Do Now.
    Ep. 47: A.I. is Coming for your Jobs. Here's What to Do.
    Ep. 46: What to do when The Industry Stops
    Ep. 45: The Healing Required to Be an Actor
    Ep. 43: How To Be A Happy Actor
    @BGBStudio on IG + Twitter + TikTok + @theBGBStudio on Facebook. ‍‍
    CHECK OUT our Audition, Scene-Study, and Hybrid Classes!SIGN UP for our BGB Group Career Coaching series!
    JOIN US for The BGB Actors Summit: A virtual workshop with Risa & Steve
    The BGB Sit-Down is back! Meet Risa + Steve in our Studio
    Are You Ready For Class?
    All BGB Classes

    • 58 min
    Ep. 50: The Strike is Over. Here’s What to Do Now.

    Ep. 50: The Strike is Over. Here’s What to Do Now.

    Ok, so the Industry is back. But it won't be business as usual. It can't be. Too much has changed. And if you want to book work in this new reality, you're going to have to change too. So listen in and let us know what speaks to you! You can meet this moment, but it won't be easy. Risa and Steve discuss where the Industry is at right now and the important first steps that every actor must take now that the strike is over.
    Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a review and rating!
    Your words will help connect us all and bring these valuable conversations to even more actors- and other artists- around the world.
    ‍AND… Screenshot, post + tag us @bgbstudio on IG!
    ‍If you’ve missed any episodes, catch up now!
    Guests & Resources:
    Industry podcast:
    - Episode 35: Is It Time to Give Up Acting?
    - Episode 45: The Healing Required to Be An Actor
    - Episode 46: What to do when The Industry Stops
    - Episode 49: How to Redefine Your Career For This Moment
    Summit Opt-in:
    The BGB Actors Summit Video: How To Redefine Your Career For This Moment w/ Risa & Steve
    Back To All Episodes
    Meet us on Instagram and other social spaces where we hang out — with tons more great advice, inspiration, and Industry intel.
    @BGBStudio on IG + Twitter + TikTok + @theBGBStudio on Facebook. ‍‍
    CHECK OUT our Audition, Scene-Study, and Hybrid Classes!SIGN UP for our BGB Group Career Coaching series!
    JOIN US for The BGB Actors Summit: A virtual workshop with Risa & Steve
    The BGB Sit-Down is back! Meet Risa + Steve in our Studio
    Are You Ready For Class?
    All BGB Classes

    • 57 min
    Ep. 49: How to Redefine Your Career For This Moment

    Ep. 49: How to Redefine Your Career For This Moment

    This is a new world for actors. And the Industry that emerges on the other side of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes will be different than anything we've ever seen.
    The ways in which Actors have thought about their careers for over a century are, in many ways, no longer relevant.
    So, what's an Actor to do?
    Risa and Steve shed light on this strange new world, offer insight into what it might look like, and discuss the action that Actors can (and must) take right now if they want to have a career on the other side of all of this.
    Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a review and rating!
    Your words will help connect us all and bring these valuable conversations to even more actors- and other artists- around the world.
    ‍AND… Screenshot, post + tag us @bgbstudio on IG!
    ‍If you’ve missed any episodes, catch up now!
    Guests & Resources:
    Listen to other related episodes: 
    Episode 46: - “What to do when the Industry Stops” with Risa & Steve
    Opt in:
    The BGB Actors Summit Video: How To Redefine Your Career For This Moment w/ Risa & Steve
    Back To All Episodes
    Meet us on Instagram and other social spaces where we hang out — with tons more great advice, inspiration, and Industry intel.
    @BGBStudio on IG + Twitter + TikTok + @theBGBStudio on Facebook. ‍‍
    CHECK OUT our Audition, Scene-Study, and Hybrid Classes!SIGN UP for our BGB Group Career Coaching series!
    JOIN US for The BGB Actors Summit: A virtual workshop with Risa & Steve
    The BGB Sit-Down is back! Meet Risa + Steve in our Studio
    Are You Ready For Class?
    All BGB Classes

    • 1 hr 10 min
    Ep. 48: John Frank Levey, Casting Director: Finding His Role

    Ep. 48: John Frank Levey, Casting Director: Finding His Role

    John Levey loves his job. He loves actors. He loves storytelling. He loves diving into the worlds each character inhabits. He’s been loving it for 40 years and is one of the masters of this passion profession, having won multiple Emmys and Artios awards, putting actors into groundbreaking roles on some of the most popular television shows of all time- E.R., The West Wing, China Beach, and Shameless, to name just a few. Listen in as Risa & Steve have an honest conversation with the legendary John Frank Levey.
    Subscribe! And if you're loving the Podcast, leave a review and rating!
    Your words will help connect us all and bring these valuable conversations to even more actors- and other artists- around the world.
    ‍AND… Screenshot, post + tag us @bgbstudio on IG!
    ‍If you’ve missed any episodes, catch up now!
    Guests & Resources:
    John Frank Levey’s IMDb‍
    Listen to other related episodes: 
    What Casting Wants:3 Top Casting Directors Tell It Like It IsEpisode 12: - Bernie Telsey: The King of CastingEpisode 20: - Sarah Finn: Superhero of CastingEpisode 23: - Mary Queen of Casting: A Candid Conversation w/ Mary VernieuEpisode 38: - Richard Hicks, CD: We’re All In This TogetherCheck out John’s book, RIGHT FOR THE ROLE: 
    While there are many books that catalog Hollywood—from the classic to the profane, gritty to salacious—few tell the tale of how entertainment’s biggest names became the biggest names.
    Right for the Role shares the story straight from an insider who’s been central to that process for decades. Four-time Emmy-award-winning casting director John Frank Levey hasn’t just witnessed some of the world’s greatest acting talents make it in Hollywood; in many cases, he’s had a major hand in it.
    As the casting director for numerous iconic TV series, including ER, The West Wing and Shameless, Levey saw firsthand that household names like George Clooney, Anthony Edwards and Allison Janney had “it”—and then watched their “it” propel them into the stratosphere.
    In Right for the Role, Levey manages to tell a story of life among the glitterati while never losing his exuberance for being a part of the process. Through his colorful tales of meeting incredible talent early in their careers—including Josh Gad, Lucy Liu and a just-out-of-Julliard Jessica Chastain—Levey documents his transformation from a novice casting director to one of the greats in the field.
    Beyond teaching readers how to spot what it takes to make it in Hollywood, how casting has changed since the 1980s (when telephones had cords!) or how to live in a world of glamor and gusto, Levey’s stories also show how to play a central role in a show’s success without losing a sense of wonder.
    Back To All Episodes
    Meet us on Instagram and other social spaces where we hang out — with tons more great advice, inspiration, and Industry intel.
    @BGBStudio on IG + Twitter + TikTok + @theBGBStudio on Facebook. ‍‍
    CHECK OUT our Audition, Scene-Study, and Hybrid Classes!SIGN UP for our BGB Group Career Coaching series!
    JOIN US for The BGB Actors Summit: A virtual workshop with Risa & Steve
    The BGB Sit-Down is back! Meet Risa + Steve in our Studio
    Are You Ready For Class?
    All BGB Classes

    • 1 hr 8 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
284 Ratings

284 Ratings

Ina Barrón ,

Heart & grit for the work

Just finished listening to an interview with casting champs in the industry. These interviews are such amazing tools for actors to learn more about the industry as it is today from people who have been in it for many years and who know what they’re talking about because they are at the very center of it. The heart and grit that goes into this work is evident. Gaining valuable perspectives is worth its weight for listeners. Thank you, Risa and Steve for keeping the artistry alive and for sharing about it in your work and with your teachings and podcasts. High praise and gratitude for creating and sharing these conversations. They are such gems, thank you! 🙏🏼

tinydanseuse ,

The artist life

Such an incredible podcast for artists, and creatives who choose this as their path. Their podcast is honest, helpful, and such a fresh perspective to what it means to be an artist in times that are changing rapidly. I loved their interview with Mary Vernieu - such valuable & wonderful insight into the artist as a person and their creative pursuits!

afroman12345 ,

Ep.52 sound is glitchy

Not my fav podcast because of the pitching of the classes constantly and the sound is bad in episode 52

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