Acting

Acting

Whether you’re an actor, voice actor, casting director or anyone else related to the profession of acting, this is the place to discuss, share content and offer advice and tips on technique, audition strategies, headshots and all other topics related to the sweet science of acting

Hello, Stage 32!

I’m excited to be hosting an AMA here in the Acting Lounge from Wednesday, August 5 through Thursday, August 6. You can start leaving your questions below now, and I’ll begin answering them Wednesday morning.

I’ve spent much of my career moving between different sides of the industry...

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Hello, Stage 32!

I’ve spent much of my career moving between different sides of the industry as an actor, acting coach, writer, director, editor, and producer. As an actor, my credits include SURREALESTATE, UNWRAPPING CHRISTMAS, DIGGSTOWN, and the CBS movie BLUEMOON, along with commercial and voice work for brands such as McDonald’s and Molson.

When I worked full-time as an acting coach, I trained up to 200 actors a year, from beginners to award-winning performers. My focus was teaching actors how to connect to their instincts, make stronger choices, build incredible performances, and let go of outdated ideas about line memorization.

Outside of acting, I’ve directed television and award-winning films, edited more than 300 broadcast episodes for networks and platforms including Netflix, PBS, Nickelodeon, CBC, and Prime Video, and earned more than 40 awards for my screenwriting. I’m also a Stage 32 Thought Leader and an AI Specialist focused on the ethical integration of AI into creative work. My slogan is Tools NOT Terminators.

You can ask me about acting techniques, auditions, self-tapes, character choices, building a sustainable career, working across multiple areas of the industry, dealing with rejection, staying creative during slower periods, or adapting to changes in the business. I’m also happy to answer questions about writing, directing, editing, voice acting, coaching, or how AI can be integrated into creative work ethically and practically.

Bring me your questions, whether you’re just beginning or have been doing this for years. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone and having a great conversation!

The character you play existed long before their first line of dialogue — and the actors who understand that life are the ones who walk into every scene with something extra. As Viola Davis puts it, "The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. But as an actor, the job is to figure ou...

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Building that backstory starts with mining the script itself: list every fact the writer gives you: age, job, location, relationships. Then study what other characters say about your role and, just as revealing, what your character avoids talking about. From there, imagination fills the gaps. Decide where they grew up, their family dynamic, and their economic class. Pick one defining turning point or past wound that shaped how they see the world today.

Denzel Washington frames the stakes of this work perfectly: "Build the house before you walk into the room. If you don't know where the character grew up, you cannot know how they walk through the door."

The details that matter most are the ones that create energy in the present moment. Figure out what your character consciously wants versus what they unconsciously need. Give them a specific fear or a hidden secret they work to conceal. Bryan Cranston believes this is where scenes come alive: "You have to know what your character ate for breakfast, who broke their heart in high school, and what they are hiding from the person sitting across from them."

However deep you go, the test is always the same: does this detail change how you enter the room, listen to your scene partner, or fight for what your character wants? A backstory that lives only in your notebook is a biography. A backstory that shapes your posture, your pauses, and your choices is a performance.

So we want to hear from you: How do you build a character's backstory to inform your performance? Do you write pages of history, improvise a normal Tuesday in their life? Share your process in the comments, your approach might be exactly what a fellow actor in this community needs to hear.

Ashley Renée Smith

Head of Community at Stage 32 ♦ Creative Executive, Writer, Author, Director of Development

September 2026 Open House Webcast

Bring Your Questions: Join Us for the FREE Stage 32 Community Open House

Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:00pm PT

You have questions. You're curious about how to actually make the most of your time on Stage 32, how to use the resources here successfully, how to build genuine relationships that lead somewhere meaningful, and how to move forward with real intention. How to find the right collaborators, producers, financiers, reps, distributors, etc.

That's exactly what this FREE event is designed for.

Our Community Open House is a live, fully interactive conversation hosted by me, Ashley Smith, Head of Community here at Stage 32. It's a genuine gathering where you get to show up, share what you're working on, ask the questions that have been on your mind, and get direct guidance tailored to where you actually are in your journey.

Whether you've attended one before or this is your first, the conversation is different every single time. It's shaped by the members who take the time to join, be present, and bring their real questions to the table. Your voice, your goals, and your curiosity make each Open House uniquely valuable.

Free Registration: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-september-2026-community-open-house-webcast

We'll cover the tools and features on Stage 32 that most consistently create momentum for members, and we'll talk about what's happening on the platform that you don't want to miss out on. September lands us in a genuinely exciting stretch of the year. We're coming off Venice and Toronto International, in the middle of New York Film Festival, heading into Austin Film Festival, and gearing up for our annual November Write Club campaign. There's real opportunity to position yourself for what's ahead, and we'll talk about how to do exactly that.

We'll close with a live Q&A focused entirely on you, your questions, your projects, and your next steps. And if you can't join us live, don't worry! Registering guarantees you the full recording so you can watch it anytime, from anywhere.

Come as you are. Bring your questions. Let's have a real conversation.

Click HERE to Register for FREE!

Ben Script

6 hours ago

That’s an interesting perspective, especially when the decision isn’t really about the immediate paycheck but about where the opportunity could lead. Sometimes the experience, relationships, or future...

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Jackie Letkowski I can understand that. There’s something different about being able to read the room and feel the chemistry between people in person that a video audition probably can’t fully capture...

Sydney S

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2 people like this
- Suzanne Bronson
- Maurice Vaughan
4 days ago

Great post Suzanne!

Jason Raymaker

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2 people like this
- Suzanne Bronson
- Maurice Vaughan
2 days ago

I have been working on some monologues lately. Just to help with my memorization skills and to keep active with studying lines.

Suzanne Bronson

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
1 day ago

That's great Jason Raymaker Where do you select your monologues from? Do you read plays or do you have a book?

Haley Mary

2
2 people like this
- Suzanne Bronson
- Maurice Vaughan
1 day ago

I had the rainy blues today because I got caught in the rain on my bike ride and had to cut my ride short. As I haven't been able to perform my comedy at open mic nights for quite some time now, I kee...

Why not put your routine on TikTok or YouTube Haley Mary

Myranda Peterson

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3 people like this
2 days ago

Both! I'm an indie writer and animator, and I constantly see my voice actors listing their work on social media, both as proof that they're active and as a showcase of what their range is. You can bui...

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Joshua Young

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3 people like this
3 weeks ago

Dwayne Williams Great question. There's a TON of misinformation floating around. Even people who seem like informed content creators are exaggerating a lot of AI claims. The restrictions haven’t stopped studios from using AI, but they have made everyone more careful about consent, copyright, ownership, security, and how someone’s face, voice, writing, or performance can be used. So AI is still moving forward, but there are more lawyers and contracts standing around it now. Some think it's almost at a point where it's not worth it to bother with AI in some situations, which is good for artists.

A lot of the AI tools being used professionally in studios, though, aren’t even separate programs. AI is consistently being embedded into software the industry already uses, such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Avid, DaVinci, and After Effects. For many people, learning AI will really mean learning how the new features fit into their existing workflow.

Prompting is helpful, but I don’t think prompting alone is the most valuable skill. The industry needs people who know what the tool should do, whether the result is actually good, when it saves time, and when it creates a legal, ethical, or creative problem. Quality control, confidentiality, disclosure, and knowing where the human contribution begins and ends are becoming increasingly important.

For example, I have clients who want me to use some AI imagery when creating their pitch deck material. I can make it way more realistic than most I've seen, but even with my advanced skills, I need to use photoshop to perfect the images. It still saves a ton of time, but knowing how to use other software to improve your results is the key.

For writers, actors, directors, editors, and producers, I’d focus on AI literacy rather than trying to become an engineer. Understand the tools in your area, test them, know their limitations, and don’t upload confidential material without knowing where it may go. The easy part is getting AI to generate something. The valuable skill is knowing whether it should be used at all and whether it actually makes the work better.

That’s really the heart of Tools NOT Terminators. Use AI to strengthen your skills and workflow, not as an excuse to stop developing the judgment the industry is actually hiring you for.

Dwayne Williams

Thank you, Joshua Young. Fantastic answers! Exactly what I was looking for, and beyond helpful. I’m looking forward to learning more from you and applying all the great advice!...

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4 people like this
3 weeks ago

Joshua is the best!! We love having him as a Stage 32 educator :)

Thank you so much, Sydney! That means a lot!

:-)

Ivan Djuricic

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3 people like this
6 days ago

It is important to remember (especially inexperienced actors) that every bit of character’s life or past that you imagine HAS to be rooted in the script. If it’s not rooted in the script or not connec...

Nicholas P

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2 people like this
- Laura Hammer
- Maurice Vaughan
6 days ago

A lot of inspiration and one or two good characters

Geoff Harris

Interesting and valuable thoughts from Denzel and Bryan, really important. One thing I say to actors, is to imagine what happened in the ten minutes before the scene begins and what's going to happen...

Maurice Vaughan

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1 person likes this
- Laura Hammer
6 days ago

Great tip, @Geoff! I can use that when I write scripts. Thanks.

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2 people like this
- Laura Hammer
- Maurice Vaughan
5 days ago

I agree with Denzel. "If you don't know where the character grew up, you don't know how they walk through the door." Yes, you must use the script to create your character's backstory. If I am doing "T...

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
5 months ago

Thank you for sharing that Haley Mary

Rishi Gallion

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2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Suzanne Bronson
5 months ago

For me, repetitive takes allow for me to really get into that scene. There would always be some rigidity to doing a scene for the first time, so as I go along and the proverbial iron becomes hot, the...

Russ Randall

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3 people like this
7 days ago

Suzanne, one thing I’ve found helpful is to stop trying to reproduce the emotion from the previous take.

The actor’s job is to reconnect with what the character wants, what’s at stake, and what they’re...

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
6 days ago

I love that Rishi Gallion

Yes Russ Randall I imagine it's a little like rehearsals and performances in theater. Every night is different.

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2 people like this
- Jackie Letkowski
- Maurice Vaughan
1 week ago

I love this question Jackie Letkowski I would ask businesswise, what is their biggest regret? i.e. is there a role they wish they hadn't done, a role they wish they hadn't turn down, or a financial mi...

Jackie Letkowski

1
1 person likes this
- Suzanne Bronson
7 days ago

Suzanne Bronson Yes! I always learn hard lessons from my mistakes. One of my favorite books on screenwriting is called "How NOT to Write a Screenplay". It points out many mistakes that screenwriters m...

Bring Your Questions: Join Us for the FREE Stage 32 Community Open House

Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:00pm PT

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