Jonathan Buckley
An actor who moved from Colorado to Phoenix in 2018 looking for a studio and found one. Jonathan’s Dearing Story, in his words: acting is not easy, there is a place for you if you work, and why he wants to be seen on screen.
Jada Warner
A swimmer and athlete who found the studio through a search in 2018, was greeted at the door with a hug, and went on to Masterclass and then USC. Jada’s Dearing Story: being the character instead of performing it, and why the word is liberating.
Phoebe Kozinets
Six years at the studio, from teen improv to both comedy troupes to Masterclass, then on to Columbia College Chicago for comedic writing and performance. Phoebe’s Dearing Story: a room where everyone works, empathy, and letting go of judgment.
Saya Luke
A homeschooled teen whose mom suggested one acting class in 2017. Saya’s Dearing Story: from performing for herself and chasing perfection to lifting up the actors around her, and her advice for anyone curious: try it no matter what.
After the Audition: What to Do in the Parking Lot
The most stressful place in acting is your car after the audition, replaying every second. Three rules for the drive home: don’t apologize or explain, drop it at the door and go find the next one, and take the one lesson the room just handed you.
Block Out the Negative: Replace It, Don’t Fight It, and a 15-Year-Old Influencer on Why the Numbers Aren’t Friends
Romans 12:21, overcome evil with good, and Philippians 4:8, think about these things. Our first guest of season two was Madison Taylor, fifteen, a competitive dancer with 13,900 followers who told teenagers the truth about the numbers. Then Brian, Joey and I on why you can’t stop a thought by fighting it, the influencer who answered a comedian’s cruelty with thanks, and the sentence I say to my kids.
Get Off the Emotional Rollercoaster: Acknowledge It, Observe It, and Don’t Get Too High or Too Low
Highs and lows are exhausting, even the highs. Brian, Joey and me on the first move (stop saying nothing, I’m good), the question Leeann asked me that I’d never been asked, why every emotion layers down to love and how an actor uses that, Obi-Wan on feelings, and the fantasy draft that proved our anger was about us.
Do What Is Hard and Your Life Will Be Easy: Newton’s Third Law, the Butterfly Effect, and Who Holds You Accountable
Galatians 6, a man reaps what he sows, and Newton’s third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Brian, Joey and me on the phone call to your mom that changes a stranger’s day, the rock steps Brian climbed at the cabin, my one-year-old and the DVDs, why I got up at 3:30 for a show I could have prepared over the weekend, and the three-step takeaway: be honest, adjust, track.
Be Unshakable: Where a Tree Gets Its Power, Why the Mess Is Part of the Process, and Questioning From Love
Hebrews 12:28, a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and an hour with Brian and Joey on how to be that in life, at work and on a stage. The old tree and its roots, a baby’s diaper, my kitchen floor torn out by a restoration crew, the car Brian talked me out of by asking one question, and the student I told to sit closer to my desk.
What Fear Does to You, and the Exercises That Work on It
What fear actually does to your body, why naming your own reaction is the first move, the stand-up class where five of twenty raised a hand, and the exercises we use in the room to walk toward it on purpose.
What Are Your Goals? Start With the Dream, Work Back to Today, and Let the Goals Pull You Out of Bed
The first show of 2021 and the launch of season two, with Brian back in the room. Philippians 3:13-14, three honest weeks where I lost my goals to worry, why you have to have a why before goals mean anything, and the framework: a dream goal, five years, this year, this month, this week, today. My three months out of the Arizona summer, Brian’s river, Joey’s voice in sports, and the rule that goals should pull you out of bed instead of making you push.
