Good News York by Growth Mode Content - GNY EP.140 | Feat. Davine Bey & Jamie Sara Lewis

Episode Date: January 15, 2026

Innovating Talent Acquisition and Personal Growth with Davine Bey In this episode of Good News York, host Matt Masur interviews Davine Bey, a business and community leader involved in various ventures. Davine discusses his boutique talent management firm, Dcon Consulting Group, which focuses on improving companies' hiring processes and attracting top talent. He shares insights on modern recruiting practices, the importance of company culture, and facing resistance to change in the hiring mindset. Davine also talks about his entrepreneurial journey, including a short-term rental business with his wife and a kitchen cabinet dealership. The conversation delves into his background, community involvement, and early entrepreneurial ventures. A fascinating discussion about navigating business challenges and continuous learning rounds out the episode. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome 00:37 Davine Bey's Professional Background 02:17 Challenges in Talent Acquisition 04:31 Focus on Construction and Engineering 07:50 Entrepreneurship Journey 10:28 Short-Term Rental Business 11:37 Kitchen Cabinet Business 12:44 Early Entrepreneurship with Clothing Business 17:12 Community Involvement and Personal Interests 18:11 Travel and Culinary Experiences 22:43 Conclusion and Contact Information 35:58 Living Truthfully in the Moment 36:31 The Importance of Listening in Acting 37:50 One-on-One Coaching and Safe Environments 39:19 The Meisner Technique 41:33 Method Acting and Sense Memory 44:42 Voice Acting vs. On-Camera Acting 46:41 Working on Wildwood 49:05 Advice for Aspiring Voice Actors 51:58 Changes in the Acting Industry 55:10 Offering Acting Courses 01:03:41 Rapid Fire Questions and Conclusion

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explore over 350 plus programs at asuonline.asu.org. Hey, everybody, Matt Measier from Clickstream Studios. Welcome to another edition of Good News, York. This is a fun one. Joining me is this incredibly handsome gentleman here. My good friend, Divine Bay, has joined us. And if you're a follower of any of our other content, you might have seen. He's been a guest on another podcast that we have here.

But we'll talk a little bit about that. Good morning, Divine. How are you, buddy? Good morning, Matt. How are you? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. So, Devine, we asked you to come in and just talk a little bit about, because yourself and all that,

because you're involved in so many different things and interesting things from both the business and the community side. And every time I have a conversation with you, you're just an incredibly interesting fella. So what better guests to have here on Good News, York? If you wouldn't mind, jump in and just tell folks a little bit about what it is you do today in your kind of day-to-day world. Sure. Thank you.

And thank you for having me, Matt. So I do a few things here locally. My main course is yours is we run a boutique talent management firm here called DeCon Consulting Group. Essentially, we help companies become better at hiring and attracting people to work in their workforce. Wow. And is that when you say you have... help them become better? Are you trying to, I guess, sort of train the companies even and how to work with culture and things that help keep talent? Yeah. So we're more on the acquisition side.

Gotcha. So everything from looking at a company's website to see how they're positioning themselves in the market, helping them become better at engaging people who are peak interest into their companies, but also helping them become better at attracting what we would. referred to as the passive candidates, meaning the individuals who aren't necessarily looking for work, they're doing the work, and they're doing it very well. Gotcha. So positioning themselves to be in a position to attract that type of talent. Wow.

What, and I'm sure that you encounter a lot of different things that you might want to tweak to reach those goals, but is there a very common thing when you do an engagement with a company, kind of a first step that almost everybody needs to take that maybe they haven't already? Yeah, that's really a great question, Matt. And what we find oftentimes that companies, when they reach out and they're engaged, and hey, we need to fill this particular role. And we like to kind of take a step back, right?

Because we look at the hiring process as a cycle, right? The recruiting process actually begins way before your attractive role. It begins with, you know, let's take a look at your website. Let's do an audit, right? What does your company tell people about your organization? Because ultimately, the question that an employer must ask is, why would someone come, want to come work with the why? So we help them develop what we call an employee value proposition.

How easy is it for an individual to apply for your job on your website, where the career sections bury, is it buried deep in your page or is it right front and center? So those are some of the things that we look at at the beginning of the process. That's incredible. Do you find that you're met with some resistance on that? Because I feel like there's a lot of sort of old school business mentality where it's like, if I got a job, you should work hard to find it and get it. You know, it's like I'm doing you a favor sort of thing to the job seeker.

And I don't know that's necessarily the modern mindset anymore. Is that accurate? Yeah, I think that's, I think there's some truth in that. And we do have, it's part of the education process with our clients. You know, there was a time where and you know, you can place an ad in the paper and people would apply. Yeah. But we're at a different time now.

Yeah. And so we, when we encounter that kind of pushback, we like to provide our candidates with, our clients rather, with some real concrete insights into the market and what's happening in the market. It's a very competitive. It's always been a competitive market. Sure. It's a hyper-competitive market today. Yeah.

Yeah. I can imagine. Do you work with any particular industries divine or is it a wide variety of types of businesses? Yeah. So just by context, my background is talent management, right? So I worked in various different verticals over my career. I've worked in law firms, manufacturing companies, high red. But in terms of our business today, we have decided, we made a decision that we really want

to focus in areas of growth. And right now, the growth is happening in construction management and engineering. Gotcha. Those are the vertical stack that we focus in. That kind of sounds like a bunch of Micron jobs. Am I on to anything there locally? Well, you know, so Micron is not a client yet. Yeah.

But there are so many adjacent companies to Micron. And there are other organizations that support the work that they're doing. And those are the companies that we find that are having rapid needs for growth. expansion. Yeah, that's incredible and encouraging, right? It's great to hear that those jobs are in demand because they're typically pretty decent wages and decent jobs, aren't they? For sure, for sure. And we focus in on more of the mid-management senior-level roles. Lots of opportunity there. Yeah. And that there is a business is definitely demand. And what I would say is that what we're finding is that, yes, there is a, there is a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's

definitely local talent, but it's not a critical mass of local talent for those particular lows here in San Diego, New York. Wow, that's, that's interesting. Now, do you work at all at the other side, like with the candidates, or are you primarily focused on setting the companies up and yeah, great questions? So, we actually work with both because we see both as clients. Sure. We work with the clients, but we also work with the candidates, right? Helping them understand, wait, when it's time for you to interview, the interview process is not the time to be humble. Yeah.

That's the time to brag. And we coach them on how to best present their accomplishments. Don't read the job description to me over in your resume. Tell me what impact that you had in each role, right? That's what's going to sell you. I like that. That's great advice. That's great advice. Along those lines, Divine, you know, I think that was an incredible tip. Are there any other immediate things that stand out for the job seeker side, just a bit of advice that almost everybody kind of needs to hear

from you when you work with them? Yeah. So I would say don't become frustrated in the process, because it is a process. And as much as us on the hiring side, hiring of the hiring, authorities, HR folks, hiring managers, as much as we want to keep the process objective, hiring remains a very subjective process, right? Sure. Your skills and qualifications may get you to the table, but your personality is what's going to get you to nod, right? So that's fair. I love that. Great advice, great advice. Yes.

Devine, what, if you don't mind me asking, what brought you to this particular venture? It sounds like maybe you kind of worked in that field and then ventured on your own. Is that how it went? Yeah. So I was what's five years ago, but we're five years old and Decon Consulting and actually started when I was still in my capacity as head of talent management for Syracuse University locally. And I started out kind of part-time doing some side consulting work.

And once I, you know, determined that there was a critical massive need there, decided to branch out on my own. That's great. That's great. I love hearing those stories. Fiscally responsible. Financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds.

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Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads just like this. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start your new podcast for free today at RSS.com. What has been the biggest challenge of kind of entrepreneurship going from that full-time guaranteed paycheck to now working on your own? How's that been? Yeah, you know, so I, a few times, over the past few years, I've had an opportunity to talk with business school students at Whitman and talk to some of the MBA graduates. And I always thought up by saying, entrepreneurship sucks, right? It's not for the week of heart, right?

Business is a contact sport. And the analogy that I use, Matt, is when you are looking to start your business, it's like, kind of going on vacation, right? You're excited about it. It's a lot of enthusiasm around it. You get on the plane and you're thinking about the destination, right, where you see yourself. But what we don't anticipate is you have to take off and at some point you have to go through some clouds and go through some turbulence. Just like going to a plane, as your business is going through turbulence, you have to remain confident because eventually you will break through the clouds. And that's a process to get there.

I often talk about, you know, starting out early on. You know, you say, Peter to Rob Paul, Pay Paul. Doesn't have to rob Peter and Rob Paul, right? To make things work. But the flexibility, the ability to get to choose who you want to work with as a client, all those things are really important. And what I would say is that having some of the best advice that I received in starting out was this. choose your business partners wisely.

That's phenomenal advice. Yes. I've learned that less than the hard way in the past. That's great. Divine, you're just absolutely incredible. And so if you wouldn't mind, tell us a little bit, you've got a couple of other things going on around town as well, right? Yeah, yeah.

So in addition, my wife and I, we're actually business partners in a different venture. we own a short-term rental business. And it's interesting because our initial goal wasn't to get into the short-term rental business. But we decided that there was an opportunity in the market, especially where our property was located. And the thing that we realized and that throughout that process was we couldn't go into that with a landlord mindset. We had to go into that business as being a host and a hospitality business. because what we are providing is an experience.

We're providing an experience for our customers who come and to our space. So we want to make it feel like home. So we were very clear at the beginning. We know what we don't know and we know what we don't know, but we're smart and we'll figure things out along the way. And I'm smart enough to know that, you know what, in order for this space to be optimized,

I need to get out of the way and allow and let my wife do what she does best and create that internal experience. And so that's been really good. In addition, I own a kitchen cabinet dealership business as well. Wow. And it's called Kitchen Cabinets Plus. And so we primarily work with a lot of the local nonprofit community development

organization. Oh, wow. And they've done a lot of the homes throughout the Central New York area. That's pretty neat. If you don't mind me asking, how do you get into the cabinet business? on top of these other kind of different businesses. Yes, it was pure serendipity. Yeah.

We actually, as we were going through the process of remodeling the rental property, we gutted it out. And we needed to source, you know, various materials, including kitchen cabinets. And I was out of town and I came across this cabinet manufacturer and he said, hey, you simply look at a really personal guy. We're looking to establish a presence in the center of New York market. would you be interested to be in the kitchen cabinet deal and i'm like i never really thought about that but i gave us some thought and uh kind of vetted it with a few people that i know locally and uh that that's with land that's into the space wow that's pretty neat that's really neat actually

divine i got to ask you about one other thing and hopefully uh hopefully it's not a sore subject i don't think of this uh you're good friends with our good friend next door uh arthur there yes at wards printing and he was telling me a story about uh you and he and he's in your younger days selling some clothing or something like that, right? Can you tell me a little bit about that? Yes. So Art and I actually met when I graduated from Lemoyne College, and we both worked for the same employer and for a local insurance company. And so just to put some context behind that, so this is 1991. We're in the middle of a recession, right? And I was a new, I have a newly formed family, right, wife and a young son. And I was only making $20,700. Wow. Right. And there was no way I would be

able to support my family. Sure. And so while I was in college at LaMoyne College, I would always go down to New York City. I'm from New York City originally. I would go to New York City. I'd buy a bunch of T-shirts that were popular at the time. I'd bring them back and I'd sell them and, you know, I'd turn it over. That led to me getting introduced to someone in New York City who made custom shirts. And I would start, he became my exclusive vendor that I'd buy shirts from. Eventually he said, hey, you know what, let me show you how to do this. Rather you're coming down to do it, you know, me. And I was very appreciative of that. And in the process of him showing us how to go through the process, I started coming up with this idea.

And we had a couple of ideas and I didn't have a lot of money. Art had more money that I did at that time, you know, and so I had the idea. He had the money, and we decided to form this business. And the name of the company was called Divine Art. Nice. And we would every weekend, we get our shirts printed here, come up with our designs. We developed a relationship of a local printer, and we would go down to New York City, Philadelphia, off throughout New York State, and sell our products. And one year, well, one of the first, one, summer we actually saw one of our designs on MTV. Really? Yes. That's incredible. So, but it was a great experience. I love the engagement with the customers and just being able to

create something that people appreciated. So yeah, that was our start. That's that's such a neat thing. I love, I just love hearing those stories of young entrepreneurship and, you know, just hustling and figuring something out and doing it. That's so cool. And can I add something to that? Sure. And this is something that I would say for entrepreneurship, right? I think it's really important that at some point you have to turn off the noise around you, right? Sure. Even people who care and love you may not always understand your journey, right? And so when I started to teach your business, as I mentioned, young family on the way,

we weren't making tons of money, but we were doing okay, right? Sure. But I listened to the noise around me, hey, when are you going to get a real job? Sure. When are you going to do anything? Now, ironically, some of the people that we were on that circuit with, they've gone on, Fubu. Yeah. They've gone and had various careers.

And I just wondered what would have happened had we turned off the noise and had pursued that where we would have been with that entity at that particular time. That's interesting. And always something to think about because you hear that all the time. It's, you know, especially people that don't do those things will be the first to tell you, oh, that that'll never work. Right. And I think that's phenomenal advice.

You still got some of those divine art designs anywhere? Yes, yes, yes, yes. You fellas should, I don't know, I feel like things that were popular in the 90s are trendy again. There might be something there. I don't know, I'm just saying. Yes, yes. I have to have we are we are discussing that yeah that's awesome yes I love to hear that oh man divine you are like I said you're listening to a podcast right now driving working out walking the

dog if you're into podcasts chances are you have something to say too with rsss dot com starting your own is free and easy upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple podcasts Spotify Amazon music and hundreds more track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads like this, even with just 10 listeners a month. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start free at RSS.com. You're listening to a podcast right now, driving, working out, walking the dog. If you're in a podcast, chances are you have something to say too. With RSS.com, starting your own

podcast is free and easy. Upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music and more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads just like this. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start your new podcast for free today at rs.com. It's just incredible, and this is why I was so excited to have this conversation, because such phenomenal advice and experience that you've had, you also do a little bit of work in the community, right? That's not even necessarily a business-centered activity, right? Right. You talk a little bit about that? Sure, sure. So I'm involved in a few different organizations.

I'm a board member of ACR Health, which is a Syracuse-based organization here. I'm a member of an organization called 100 Black Men, which is a mentorship organization here. And I also belong to a couple of local fraternities in the market as well. That's incredible. And my spouse, my wife is actually, so we're both foodies. And she's actually, she teaches, she's a faculty member. She teaches culinary arts. Oh, wow.

But we travel a lot. Lucky you. Yeah. Look, it doesn't help the waistline. But no, we are, she is in the process now kind of thinking about how does she begin to extend that education to underserved populations with the community as well. That's neat. So you mentioned a little bit doing a little travel.

What are some of the destinations you like to go to to experience? some of this different food. Yeah, so, you know, we travel frequently to South America. Oh, wow. In America, Panama. We've been to St. Kitson, Navis. We have been to various islands. My wife has actually been across the pond.

I haven't been there yet. She's been to France. She's taken a few courses over there in Paris. And I like, you know, me personally, I like, I like, I love Caribbean food. I love, I love Mexican food. Yeah. I love, I love food. What's, what's your go-to Caribbean meal? What, uh, I was what that is? Jerk chicken. Okay. I like a little spice. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. That's so cool, man. Um, traveling the world, I think, and experiencing, that's something that so many folks don't, you know, you go to Europe and eat at the McDonald's or something. It seems silly.

But just having those experiences and, you know, because food is so tied to culture as well. And it's you kind of get the history lesson along with the taste. You know, it's a really good point. Growing up in New York City, I grew up in Harlem. And during the time when I grew up in Harlem in the early 80s, there was an influx of immigrants coming from Western Africa into Harlem. So what happened was I got exposed to some of the cuisine. What I started to realize was that the universal nature of cuisine. So there's a real popular dish in Nigerian, Senegalese culture called Joloff rice,

which is basically a tomato-based rice, right? My maternal side of the family are from Charleston, South Carolina, Gullah Islands. Okay. I grew up eating a dish called red rice, which is a tomato-based rice, right? And once you begin to understand the history of the transatlantic slave trade, oh, Joloff rice became peas and rice, became red rice, became jambalaya. And you see the continuity and the connection with food. Conversely, being in the recruiting space, you meet people from various walks of life.

And what I have found is that food is a way for me to, when I understand what people are from, I know some of the foods from those areas, and that allows the relationship to form. Yeah. And it's a great way to kind of experience different cultures. But traveling really just opens up your aperture. And what you realize, you know, Matt, what I realized in my travels is that people are people, wherever you go. Yeah.

You know, there are prototypes. They may speak different languages. They can dress differently, but people are people, you know, kind of wherever you go. And it's really phenomenal just opening up. the aperture and traveling and seeing the world and experience it and getting different perspectives in the world as well yeah no that's that's uh absolutely incredible um great that you uh can do that and experience that and um it sounds like you've got an incredibly talented wife who can even recreate some of those things when you get back home too right that's uh that's the part that i could do

oh man this tastes great i could never do it again so i have to travel um that's great man And locally, Syracuse has an emerging food scene that's emerging. Yeah. That's growing. And I'm really happy to see that, you know, there's so much new variety that's coming in the town. And I think that's going to be good for our local folks here locally. 100%.

Having those options, you know, when I was a kid, I grew up in a tiny small town. And your options were Italian or Chinese. And that was as cultural as we got, unfortunately. Yes. But even a lot of these small towns and things are evolving and you're seeing all kinds of different and new foods. And I love seeing that. My wife is from Queens. And, you know, the first time I'm...

The first time I visited her family, we're getting all kinds of different things that like, this is what you guys eat on a regular basis? Like, I don't know that my parents have ever even had these things. You know, so it's great to see. Nice to know there's more options, you know. Devine, I don't want to take up too much more of your time and let you get back to the massive list of things that we just talked about that you got going on. But we should take a minute and just tell folks where they can find more information about this. So you got some websites, some social media, things like that that we should share? Sure, sure, absolutely.

For the HR consulting, that website is DeCon Consulting Group. Actually, the website is DeCon Group, D-K-O-N-Groop.com. Gotcha. For the kitchen business, that's kitchen cabinets. Kitchen cabinets. Awesome. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, Devine Bay, D-A-V-I-N-E, B-E-E-E-E-E-E-Y, and I'm on LinkedIn. That's awesome.

And the last thing I'll say, Divine, is who would you like to hear from most? So in all these conversations, are you very much looking for candidate? for particular things? Are you looking for more organizations that want to place candidates? You're looking for homeowners with kitchens? You know, what's the, just the folks to know who should contact? Yes. From my HR standpoint, we're really looking at, I would love to hear from local employers who are having a difficult time filling critical roles. I'd also love to hear from local talent, but specifically folks who may be in the construction fields, project managers, superintendents, and engineers.

From the kitchen cabinet standpoint, local developers who are looking to build multi-unit properties that would be ideal for that as well. Gotcha. That's awesome. Divine Bay, we could talk for days and we definitely will. So as you know, we're massively expanding. These are a couple of the last few episodes. we'll actually be doing from this facility.

So we'll definitely have you in for our grand opening and then have you back on Good News, York, on a regular basis as well. So anytime you got something new or interesting or just in general, you want to talk some more, we'll have you back anytime, my friends. This has been great. Thank you so much, Matt.

Appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely. That was an incredibly jam-packed interview. I really appreciate Divine for joining us. Tomorrow's Micron Day. Yes. We are groundbreaking. The Good News York team will be there covering it all.

I don't want to promise live in case Verizon goes out, but we will be covering it all in great detail. And very excited to see that project kick off and celebrate all the great things that are happening here in New York State. So with that, check out our friends at Ads on the Go. Get Ads on the Go.com. Our buddy, Zach, will be more than happy to hear from you. Peace out. Hello, and welcome to Good News, York, sponsored by our friends. Ads on the Go, get ads on the go.com. I am your host, Mike Brindisi.

You can follow me on all socials at Mike B-TV, and you can follow us at Good News York, good newsyork.com. I've already spoke to my special guest for probably a good half an hour before we even got on the air. We should have just miced that as our interview. This is a very special guest.

An L.A.-based actor and voiceover artist with over a decade of experience working with top networks, producers, and recording studios in the industry, including Disney, Hulu, FX, Nickelodeon, E. Entertainment, Sundance TV, PBS, Kids, Crest, Hershey's, Rockstar Games, and more. A native New Yorker from Syracuse, New York. Give it up for Jamie Sarah Lewis.

And thank you for clapping. I'm going to clap for myself. You should. Why not? Because I do this, so whenever we have a guest, I like to, you know, yay. And it sounds so sad because it's one clap. So I think maybe if the guests start clapping for themselves, it'll... I feel like we need to do it.

Yeah, we need more of a smattering of applause. You know what I mean? It's like a pat on the back. Absolutely. Jamie, I want to get right into it. It's just such an impressive resume and career. I want to get into your background, and I know it's pretty extensive. You have done work as an actor, but also as a voice actor.

You're teaching some acting classes, which we're going to get into. But tell us a little bit about your origin story and how this all kind of started for you. Yeah, you know, gosh, I feel like there's so much, right? There is, I know. I was 16 when I started interning in radio and Sarah. in Syracuse, New York. And, you know, I started off by doing like food runs and things like that, board hopping the Howard Stern show. And I came across this wonderful voiceover artist who still is, like, the voice god. His name is Howard Parker. And he was doing production and radio. And he got me in

front of a mic, and he's like, why don't we just play with your voice a little bit? And it's something that I never even thought about doing. But I started doing voiceovers for different companies. He got me my first one. And I just watched. him and trained with him. And then I became a DJ. And, you know, I did a lot of local theater here. And then I was just like, all right, you know, acting is, was in my bones. You know, I had the bug. So I was like, all right, let me go to New York City. Let me go to New York City, which I did without knowing what the heck did you. You know, I don't come from an entertainment background. So I had absolutely no roadmap. It was like, when I think about it now, I'm like, wow. People don't understand that,

you know, before Goose. you know, there was really no roadmap and a lot of actors would, and people in the entertainment industry would have to just kind of create their own map. There was, you know, there's no set way to do it. There isn't. And even also to know how to audition and to prepare for an audition and knowing that you, you have the fearlessness, you love performing, but it's like, okay, how do I walk in the room and how do I get rid of the nerves and how do I prepare to, you know, stand out and also have the comments. of knowing who you are and what you can bring to the table.

But I found my way. I went to conservatory, which is a two-year, very strict acting school in New York. And when I left conservatory, I started auditioning for film and television and theater, and I played with all the things. And then I think you and I were talking about this beforehand. I really resisted voice work because I was like, oh, I want to, you know, I'm going to do more on camera stuff. I want to play around and whatever. But I just kept booking voice work.

And then it just, I feel very lucky in what I do. But I'm telling you right now, so much training. So much training. I mean, I paid so much money for lots of training in New York in L.A. But yeah. Yeah. It's really impressive that, you know, you're not only doing the acting, you know, on camera, but the voiceover work.

And, you know, people don't understand. understand, you hear training and some people might go, you know, you turn the mic on, you just do a different voice. There's so much more to that, isn't there? There is so many elements to voice acting. When somebody gets a microphone in their face, they tend to just start announcing and they feel like they got to talk like this. And it's actually the exact opposite, especially right now, the trends are so very natural. When you think about the TikToks and the influencers that are out there, everything's kind of like, hey guys, it's me in front of me, whatever they're doing. Right, right.

There's mic technique. You know, there's certain distances you have to keep from a mic, you know. There are levels that you play with on your audio mixing board. But yes, it's the bones are acting. And I always say a microphone is like a camera. It picks everything up. So, and, you know, with acting for the camera, everything is behind the eyes. And if you need to have those thoughts and you need to feel those thoughts in order for it to really to hit its.

target. Same thing with with microphones. The roots are are acting and and and and and being completely believable and when I'm you know I train a lot of people I coach people all globally all over the world about um acting but also particularly in voice acting and you know I always say it's like we know when you're reading and we know when you're actually living in the moment truthfully 100%. I remember you know in some of the acting experience I have I remember hearing the term like, you know, we want to be able to smile with your eyes. And I always thought that was BS until I had to try to smile with my eyes. That's what it's called?

Smize. Yeah. And that's a good example of like the kind of things you learn in training and why it's so, so important. And you are doing some acting classes. Again, we will get into that. Do you find, we were talking about how, you know, as a performer, people don't understand that when you're not performing, it just, it is excruciating. And it's not because you need to hear, good job.

It's because it's, you just, you want to perform. You want to get, you do. And so do you find that it, does it scratch the same it? Does the voiceover work scratch the same it that did you have for on camera acting work? That's a really good question. Yes, it does. And no, it depends on the character and who you're doing. Sure.

There's a lot of work that I do that is just very straightforward. Corporate stuff, medical stuff. That's just that, you know, they're looking for a voice to, you know, captivate and whatever. But then when I do a different character, when I do animation, I mean, that's what feeds me. I love being on stage. Yeah. I think that that actually gives you the adrenaline that nothing else does. I agree.

I don't know why. And it's not even like what you were saying. Like, it's not because all eyes are on me. It's just, maybe it's more of a connection thing. Connecting. You know how, like, when you, I mean, I work out a lot. So it's like when I'm at the gym or I'm in a yoga class, like, I want to be with people. Like, I don't want to work on alone.

I want to work out with people. It's the connection. You know, that's such a great perspective. Personally, I think what it is is in, in, you know, when you do radio or voiceover work or you do film, there's not that immediate feedback or that immediate connection. You know, you got to wait until the film premieres or maybe someone stops you and says, hey, I was listening to that show or I heard your voice. When you're alive and you're in or just in front of a crowd, you get to see and feel that

connection that you make with people, whether you're making them laugh, whether you're making them cry. And I think, I mean, I could be wrong, but that's. No, you're absolutely right. You know, you've been on stage so you know. Yeah. I will just say a quick little story. Please.

When I was working at, in local radio here, I worked for a rock station. And I mean, 90s rock was there. It's still my juice. Don't even, you want to do a whole episode on that? We can. Yeah, we can. We can. Please.

Well, we know the band live. Of course I did. Okay, so I just saw them. Me too. My buddy was their touring drummer for a little bit. So I got to go backstage and meet him actually. They're phenomenal. They're really cool.

And this is kind of part of my story. So I was working in radio and at the time, it was, I was probably the late 90s, early 2000s. And I got to do. go backstage and meet the band and I remember I was talking to Chad Gracie, who I think was their drummer. You're listening to a podcast right now, driving, working out, walking the dog. If you're into podcasts, chances are you have something to say too. With RSS.com, starting your own podcast is free and easy.

Upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads just like this. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start your new podcast for free today at RSS.com. You're listening to a podcast right now. Driving, working out, walking the dog. If you're into podcasts, chances are you have something to say too. With RSS.com, starting your own is free and easy.

Upload an episode, and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music, and hundreds more. Track your listeners. see where they're from and start earning from ads like this, even with just 10 listeners a month. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start free at RSS.com. But I was like, hey, do you guys have any like front road tickets? Because I didn't have any front rows.

I would kind in the back as one of those things. And he's like, why don't you just hang out on stage while we perform, side stage? So I hung out side stage while they performed. And, you know, I've done a lot of theater. But there is nothing like that. feeling that energy with those guys feel every single day. It was like one of those moments. I was like, wow, these rock stars feel that energy. And it's also all that love. Like they're fans, right? So, I mean, there's a small percentage of people, like obviously like the Taylor

Swift's and all those other people. Sure. That feel that love and energy. It's incredible. I don't even, and like you were saying, it's not a validation. It's not that we need attention. It's just like an energy. Yes. It's an energy. It's an energy. It's an energy. It's an energy. It's an energy. It's an And it's like, it sounds so corny, but it's because you're all in one room experiencing one thing together. And when you're up there with your band, you're experiencing it as a band. But even as a fan, it's just like you're all together on one night, singing these songs. And it's just, especially nowadays, I have more of an appreciation for that because we've moved away from in person more and everything's on these things. So those are, it's so special.

Do you have a preference over? Do you find that now, I know you like to follow the work. We talked about that, which I love. Yeah. But do you find that you enjoy the camera work, a film work more than voiceover? Or is it kind of a watch? You like both?

I like both. I mean, well, I love, obviously, my voiceover work, right? I would never like poo on that stuff because I love it. But the thing, the main reason that I got, we were just talking about connection, got into acting, is because I do love connecting with another actor, right? It's being in the moment, there's this whole set, you know,

living truthfully in the moment, which I talked about before, under imaginary circumstances. So, right, so you're doing a scene and you're connecting with another actor and you guys are playing this scene. There is nothing more special than actually being in the room with another actor.

And that's how I feel about even these acting classes. Like I teach virtually a lot, but I love connecting with, humans. I love connecting with people. So I do think that being on stage and being on film or television is a special thing. And, you know, acting too, the big thing about acting is, you know, I tell this to a lot of the people that I teach, you know, it's not just spewing out your lines. It's actually becoming a really good listener. You know, if you and I are doing a scene and you said something, I'm watching and listening and reacting to you. You know, it's not me knowing my lines

and how I'm going to say it. No, I actually shouldn't know. how I'm going to say it. I should know how I'm feeling, but listening to you and then reacting, whatever, you know. It's funny to say that. That's something I learned along the way, too, is that I took an acting class

when I went back to college, and I had already had some acting experience professionally, but obviously it doesn't matter how much experience you have, you can always learn. And so on the first day, the professor was like, so he wanted to go around and ask what each actor, what they wanted to get out of the class. And I kind of said that same thing, which is, I want to learn what to do when I'm not speaking.

I want to learn, I want to learn how to create space between lines and how to react better. And there's just something to be said about listening and not, you know, speaking. And there's just a lot to learn. There is a lot to learn. And that's part of like, you know, I do a lot of one-on-one coaching, especially for a lot of kids in the area who are looking to book their high school plays, right? And they come in and they do the monologue for me. And I always create a very safe environment for them, supportive and safe. But I talk about before you know what to do, what I like to do is choreograph the monologue a little bit for them to help them get into their bodies.

Because say that you're right now listening to me, you're not thinking about how you're reacting, right? you're just kind of having a neutral face. Now I'm putting it on you. Well, now, now I'm thinking about how I look. Well, like, I, you know, I listen to the podcast Smartless. And not that I should talk about another podcast because this one's fantastic. Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure.

Not that we should compare. But Jason Bateman was talking about how important it is as an actor to have a very neutral face. Yeah. And I think that that actually, when he said that, I was like, wow, that speaks volumes to me. Because, you know, just in life when you're listening to somebody, you're not going, Hmm. Right. That's exactly what I meant.

Contrive. Right. That was part of what I meant. It wasn't the whole idea. But when I said to the professor, that's what I meant. Like, I don't want to learn. I mean, I do want to learn how to become a better actor overall. But I'm more interested in what to do when I'm not speaking, how I'm reacting, what are my hands doing.

But also, like, having silence. Like, it's okay for there to be a pause. You know, an artistic pause. Did you train under Meisner? Do you know what that is? I do. The Meisner theory or method. Meisner technique.

Yeah. So a lot of the really cool that, you know, I'd love to get into with my students as down the road too. It's, you know, I'm doing this intro tech kind of acting, but this is something a little bit more down the road with them. But Meisner technique is when you bring in an activity. So say you had like, I'm just throwing something out there. Say you had like a wooden model airplane or something, right?

Yeah. And you come in and we're going to be doing a scene. And the other person's just. kind of doing the airplane, putting it together. And you guys are working together to see it because you're putting the energy into something else. Right? So the only problem with, so that helps you when you're on set doing things like that. But during an audition, they usually don't allow you to have props.

Right. But that helps as well. Like, I love the Meisner technique. You know what? I did do the Meisner technique because in that class, one of the things we did is, it was a little while ago. But basically, we were given wrapping paper. and an object. Yeah.

And I forget, I think he gave you, the professor gave you a backstory on what the situation was. Like you just lost your job and you're wrapping a gift. And you had something like that. And you basically had to convey all of what happened, that backstory without speaking and while you're wrapping the gift. And I was like, well, this is what I asked for. And it was hard. Yes, it's hard.

It was really hard. And you really have to have real thoughts. Yes. really have to have real thoughts about what you're feeling in the moment or what you're, I always say like an opinion. It's an intention and it's an opinion. If you have an opinion, I don't care what it is, it's going to transcend. Like, you're going to, you know, a lot of the times with my kids when I work with them and

like trying to memorize their monologues, I have them do it in gibberish. So it's like a feeling. So it's like, say if they're like, you know, they come in and they're talking, but if they're like, you know like I have them do that so they know where the feeling is and then they can add into you know add their words yeah what a word am I trying to find here at their script let me ask you this this isn't I didn't plan on asking this but I I've always wondered this with other actors is so you you hear about method acting pretty much everyone under the sun knows what that is and we think of

extreme cases. Like there was a whole documentary on Jim Carrey when he played Andy Kaufman, which was absolutely phenomenal performance. Yeah, me too. And, you know, that was a very extreme case. Have you encountered other, I don't know, do you do, do you use the method technique and have you encountered others that do? And do you find that it can cross the line and be obnoxious? Or do you completely like totally respect it and, and I don't know, I just threw a lot at you. No, no, you didn't because here's the thing is I absolutely respect. I don't think that I've come across anybody in particular, like a Daniel D. Lewis or something. You know, I was thinking of him.

You're not going to work together yet. But what we do, I absolutely will respect that. No, I do I use the method acting? You know what? So Uda Hagen, who is a famous acting coach, created the coined the phrase, sense memory, right? So here's the thing is that I think I've been doing this long enough now where if I have to get into the feeling, I do activate it

because I have been doing it for so long. I guess that could be considered. It's like muscle memory. Yeah. So like if I had to cry for a character, which, you know, I do a lot of video games. There's times where I'm crying. And like, I'm in my studio really crying. Wow.

Do I snap out of it? Absolutely. It's like right out of it. But I don't have to try, you know, to do it because I remember that feeling of that emotion. And here's a part of the acting training that I went to. It's like it really helps you bring everything to the surface, right? Like your feelings are right there whenever you need it. And I do remember, I do have to kind of touch on this real quick, because when I was in my method acting, or I'm sorry, my Meisner technique training, I had this amazing teacher.

And Pam, Pam, Cam Caraman. And she, um, hi, Pam. Hi, Pam. I was kind of a little shit, you know, going in there. And I was like, there's always been kind of this tough kid, right? So I was going in here, not really having much training. And I, you know, we're acting and I'm kind of holding this, my guard. up. Like, you're not going to get, you know, whatever. And we're kind of doing the Meisner technique. And she starts yelling at me. And you little shit, you do, no, no, no, like that. And boom. It worked. Crying. And I walked out of there being like, wow, she was so mean to me. Like, she hates me, blah, blah, blah. And it took me years down the road being like, no, she broke me. That's what she was trying to do. She was trying to break me. She was trying to penetrate me to know that I needed to react. I needed to let the other actor in. And it changed my life.

Wow. I know it's so serious. It was like acting boot camp. I'm going to strip you down and rebuild you. We were in a black room for hours and hours and hours during the week. You know, the closet. Everything was black. The ceiling is black.

The walls are black. The floor is black. Every you step into a black room. And it's, yeah, conservatory training is like, real. It's intense. Yeah. Real quick. You know, for the most part, especially nowadays with social media,

we kind of have an idea of what is. it's like for a film or television actor on set. But we don't really know too much other than, you know, you're in an isolation booth for voiceover work. But those can be extremely long sessions or extremely quick sessions. Can you take us through like kind of what the process is like? And what is your favorite and least favorite part of those sessions? You know, here's a with voice or with voice stuff.

You know, sometimes when you like for video games and stuff like that, the efforts are hard. Yeah. You got to be careful. You know, use your voice. There's certain things that I won't even do anymore. You know, like I'm not going to get eaten by a bear and react. Right.

Because it's like, I'm like, that hurts my voice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, the voice acting isn't as long as the film acting because a lot of times, like, they're changing the set. They're changing the lighting. There's a lot of waning around. But then again, that's the time that you get to connect with other actors. Sure.

Cool. So those can be long and tedious. I mean, a lot of these actors that are on set are like filming, you know, know for long, long, long hours. You know, I do long, long sessions with voiceovers, but they, they tend to be about two to four hours. You know, four hours is kind of my max of what I will go at. It depends, but that's usually, because it is a lot. You know, it depends on what you're doing. You know, a lot of the times, you know, I'm union, so there's also different, you know, regulations that they have to withhold um and sag after so like with the sneaches you know this is a 45

minute special i worked on that for like a year and a half wow you know so there's it's it's a i mean in these video games um there's things that i'm working on that probably won't come up for years i mean wildwood yes i want to talk about that yeah i started working on that in two 2003 or something? Really? Yeah. Let's talk about Wildwood. Yeah. What is Wildwood and what can we expect?

What's it all about? Yeah. So Wildwood is a trilogy. It's being produced by Lake of Studios and they did Coraline, Paranorman. And I got to work with Travis Knight, who is Phil Knight's son, Phil Knight's the guy who created Nike. And Travis also does claimation. And he actually is such a nice and humble guy and super creative and very talented.

So I was supposed to go in studio to film that. And something happened that I wasn't able to go. And I was able to record it from my studio. And they filmed me over Zoom. And they're turning me into a character from what they filmed. And, you know, I actually, that was a very special booking for me because they went through like three rounds of all. auditions trying to find the right voice trying to find the right voice and on the um and i'm not talking callbacks like rounds so and they and they booked me and at the time i wasn't able to go in the studio

and i almost turned it down and and there was also an nda so it was like i couldn't they couldn't really tell me what it was but i remember my agents being like you really don't want to turn this one down and um and i didn't and it was a really cool experience and my character is uh you know it's a it's a small character it's not a huge role by any means you know but but to be a part of it and to be able to work with such creative, talented people, that was really great. Do you know when it's going to be out?

No, I don't. What the hell? Yeah, hopefully this year. It was supposed to be out last year, but this is stop motion feature. So this is clamation and every little move and every little, you know, I mean, I don't really know what goes on to the inside of,

because, you know, I'm not a part of that part of the production. But I can imagine it takes a really long time to make. I mean, I mentioned the line took years and years. years, Pierre Norman. Yeah. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah, that's another one that they did.

A couple more questions, and then we'll get into the meat of it. Want to talk about the acting classes you're doing. You know, back to the voice over real quick. For the most part, when we talked about this, there's really no clear-cut path for actors on how to do it and what to do. Yeah, but there's kind of some things that you can, you know that you should do, like try to get an agent, you know. But with voiceover, again, that's a little more up in the air.

What kind of advice would you give to young actors that specifically want to do voice? What's a good first couple steps? Yeah, and there are a lot of different. There's a lot of information out there. And, you know, I'm a part of this amazing platform called Skills Hub. It's run by Jennifer Hale, who is a legend in the voiceover world. I think she holds the Guinness World Records for voicing the most video games. Wow.

And she, not only that, she's a super cool human. So Skills Hub, it's acting. skillshub. Life is where you want to go to. And I coach on this platform. The great thing about this platform is it's for people that want to get started in voiceover and had no idea where to start. So there's paths. There's many different coaches to work with. I mean, I work with so many different clients. But I'm also like, I always say like, you know, don't just work with me. Work with others. You're going to learn. It's just like for me, like taking a yoga class. Like I take many different yoga classes with different instructors and you learn so much. But same thing with voice acting.

And we talked about this before, it's like, follow the work. People tend to make demos too quickly. And then that demo is their resume. So that's their representation, right? So say if I, you know, I have my demos, which, you know, it costs quite a bit of money to get a demo made. But say I was doing my commercial demo where it's I'm doing all national commercials. Like say I'm doing like Krest, I'm Hershey's, you know, it's like, you know, whatever. Those demos are going to cost some money.

And then I start sending these demos out to agents or to, you know, casting directors. And if it's not a good representation and if you don't know what you're doing, you're just going to get a bad name in the industry. So training, training, training. And the problem with training is it does cost money and people are on a budget. And I totally get that. The great thing about Skills Hub is you become a member for, I think it's like $22 a month. And there's a lot of free different assets. So there's these rooms that you can enter called workout rooms.

and then different coaches will host them. That's great. So, and, you know, there's a lot of really well-known voice actors, very successful actors that are a part of that. There's this one. You're listening to a podcast right now, driving, working out, walking the dog. If you're into podcasts, chances are you have something to say too.

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I'm telling you guys, if you have not looked up like voice actors that just do creature voices, it is unbelievable. That's something that, I mean, I can make things happen, but my God, that's a talent. I do remember the footage. I guess this isn't really voiced, but I do remember. what is it, Smeagle from Lord of the Rings, there was a lot of footage of him doing it. And the voice and the, you know, the, yeah, and it was just like, this is my, I mean, it really is a performance. So clearly, especially in the last 10 years, I mean, the world is changing rapidly.

And so are the industries, music business, the entertainment business, acting. From your perspective, what is like the biggest change? Like, if you go back to when you started acting, what do you think the biggest change in the industry has been that you've noticed or experienced? Yeah, I've been through some changes. I'll tell you that right now. I mean, when I first got into acting, you know, you go and get your headshots and then you go get them printed. You get like 500 of them printed, right? Or you go and you get your demo.

And then I remember going to this place in New York City and just printing my demo or getting them, what do you call them printed? If you get imprinted on CD? Sure, yeah. Whatever. I don't even know anymore. What do they call? So, and I'm, you know, putting my package in the Manila envelope. It's my resume on the back and the stapling on the back of the thing.

And I'm sending them out and hopefully it makes to the casting director or an agent. And now everything is done digitally, right? So everything is like send an MP3 or send a JPEG or whatever. You know, upload your submission on this website, you know, to different casting directors. You know, the things that and taking classes virtually, that's different. But, you know, I, when I first started in this business, I auditioned by going, as I started off in New York City. So I read the subway. I went to an audition.

I had like a 2.30. Then I'd have like a 310. You finished with that audition. Go to the next audition. Always say, if you're running, if you're running late, it came from another audition. That's like boom, boom. That's a good one. Yeah.

You use it every time. Every time. Great. So you're going all around. And now when I audition, I auditioned alone. So self-direction is something, is an art that you have. to learn now. So it used to be I get in front of a casting director and they would guide me through it, direct me. And so now it's all self-direction. So it's like, okay, I'm going to try this one way

and I have to do with it. My second take a different way. And am I even capturing what they're looking for? And I always say to people, it's like, you know, you need to tell, you need to show them what they're looking for rather than questioning what are they looking for. But that is a giant change. Also streaming. Streaming has changed. Hello. And that's one of the reasons why we've went on strike. You know, we went on strike because we weren't getting paid, what we were getting paid for prime time and national networks.

Same thing with video games, but video games are heading in a really good direction of other, as long as they keep the, you know, the AI clauses within. But, you know, I mean, oh, it's, you know, I worked hard to become union and I'm union. Good for you. So, you know. That's a big deal. That's a big deal in an acting world. That's a, it's a special day.

I'm sag eligible, but I never, because I'm not, you know, acting primarily, you know, it wasn't worth it. But I remember just being sag eligible after being in a film was like, what? Yeah, you can start. I mean, I'm sag eligible. Is Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman? A lot of these guys started off. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'm not saying that you're old.

No, no, no. I mean, I'm no spring chicken. So now you are based in Syracuse now. I mean, you still work all over the country, but you are here. You originally from here? I am. Yeah. I was born and raised here and I loved.

I was born in Syracuse. Yep. Yes. But the main reason you're here, other than your amazing resume and everything we're talking about, you are offering acting courses. Let's talk about it. Yeah. Where, when, why all of it?

So I'm offering them acting courses and this is something that it's just the jump off because I would love to do this for adults as well because I actually do teach a lot of adults virtually. But I had, I taught a class for a homeschooling community not too long ago. I taught them animation, an animation course. And I brought the, the microphone in. And we had some fun with all these different characters. But a lot of it, you know, we did a lot of warm-ups and improv and things like that. And I am just a natural teacher. It's, oh, I've always been like that. I'm a little bit more maternal. I have a very positive outlook. And I wanted to start teaching these acting courses. Also because growing up here, like when I was touched on a little earlier,

I don't come from an entertainment industry. And my parents just didn't know what to do, right? And I have been, and don't begrudge them for that by any means. But I would have loved to have taken classes to just learn how to say I have to get a monologue to perform to audition for a high school play. Like, you're just going to go in there and do the best you can. But if I give you a roadmap and help you navigate that and use your use what you have and I always say like every kid or actor brings in something different let's use those differences to be our best assets right and and celebrate that you know you're not you're not going to portray a character the same way that like joe is or that emma is and I really want to help young performers feel confident going in in auditioning

And even if you don't get the part, you can walk away knowing that look like, I did the best I could. And here's the thing, too, is that not getting the part doesn't mean that you did a bad job. It's the dynamic of how they want the production to work. It took me a long time to realize that. You know, you do take it personal. Then you realize you've got to remember. And when I started writing my own scripts, I realized it's a lot of times they have an idea in their head of who this character is. And it could be a little thing.

It might be, you know, you just don't have the same. the gruff look they're looking for, or you were just picturing something different. For a long time, I thought, I made a mistake. It's like, no, no, you didn't make a mistake as long as you prepared. And you know what? And we're sensitive. Guys, we're active. Yes.

It hurts. Very. We feel. So I, you know, and that's something that comes with time as well. I mean, I just touched us the other day. I lose way more than I win. And it just becomes part of the game. And you don't hold on.

You don't make anything. any of these jobs too precious and you continue to follow the work and the thing is is in acting classes everyone gets to be the main role absolutely you know absolutely and everything i've ever learned and it's cliche because you hear it now on social media but it's like everything i've ever learned has been from losing or failing not from when i succeeded i mean you learn from things when you succeed too but but that's where the that's that's that's where it's at's what's where it's where it's So these acting courses, what can somebody expect coming coming into the course? What kind of things are you doing?

So I'm doing, I didn't mention this before, but I'm doing these classes in Camillas, but, you know, I might be bringing them to other areas like Fayetteville and things like that. Because here's the thing too is that I'm a mom, so I get it. My daughter's in a lot of different activities. Sure. And, you know, and if you have tons of kids, it's like, oh, I've got to take this kid, this. So it's, I'm hoping to do these classes, you know, seasonally, maybe do a summer camp too. But what to expect with these classes? So these classes are set up for beginners, people that have done moderate theater or any type of performance,

and people who actually have a lot of experience. It fits all different types of levels because we are digging into improv. We're going to dig into comedic timing, which is the best, right? You know that. We're going to learn how to prepare a monologue. Do a little scene study, you know? And a lot of, with my kids, you know, this is all play-based. So, but I also want to give them, like I said, a roadmap.

So it is set up for anyone can come into my class at any level and still have a great experience and still walk away, learning so much. You know, it's, yeah, it's set up for everybody. I mean, between the ages of 8 to 17. I mean, I do, like I said, I do want to do adult classes. And if I get enough interests, I 100% will hold them. You know, I take this for what it's worth. But, you know, in the classes I've taken to take it. or the training I've done, there's times when you're scared going into these things because

you don't know what to expect. And a lot of, you know, you know in this business, you're going to find a lot of people who are like, do you know who I am? And I just want to tell you, you are the furthest thing from that and you're very, very comfortable to talk to. So I think that's a really huge character to have, especially when you're when you're training people and teaching. Yeah, because here's the thing, too, is that like for these kids, like I said, we're all sensitive, right? So I'm definitely one of those people too. So for these kids, like my goal, is when they come into this class, I want them to experience a connection and a bond with each other in the room and let them know that this is a safe space to explore. This is a safe space to play.

There's absolutely no judging yourself or each other's choices. They're just making choices. And here's the thing, too, is that I always tell the people that I train. This is a collaborative effort. I'm just here to guide you and to direct you into finding your own imagination and creativity. One of the things I learned late in life with some acting training, someone said something to me that I never thought of. And they were like, it was in regards to speaking publicly or performing live. And they said, nobody wants, nobody in the audience is waiting for you to screw up or if you do screw up, they're like, they're actually just as uncomfortable as you are. Everybody in that audience is rooting for you. And I just, this is years after I'd been performing live and I was like, I never thought of it.

Because you hear like, just picture everybody in their underwear. And I'm like, that doesn't work. In fact, that's gross. You know, but for me, I just thought, wow, what a, you know, what a concept. Nobody wants you to screw up. So you saying, hey, take chances. Everybody here is on the same team. That goes a long way.

It does go a long way. And I heard that before, too. And I was just telling a young girl that I was coaching the other day. And I said to her, you know, when you walk in the room, you know, you say, your name. There's the casting director of the panel of the people. And I was like, she wants you to win. She wants you to do well. Don't think that she's judging you, right? And then also it's like, don't ever look at them in the eye. Look at them like up here or over here. And that's something that, you know, I was taught to. There is something that I think takes time to get, right? So say if you're,

and I was just talking about this actually with Jennifer Hale, the woman that owns that company that was talking about. It's like when I'm performing, I am. I'm very, very much, if I have to be by myself, I'm very within. So it's like I could be on stage and there could be thousands of people there, but I'm very focused and very within. And I think that takes time to learn. There's a way to connect to the, I know what you mean, like there's a way to still connect with the audience

while still kind of being in your bubble and kind of closing it off. Is that kind of? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, like you were saying that you did stand up. Yeah. God, that is such a connective performing. You ain't kidding. And you're like trying to like, you know, I'm sure there's a lot of improv that goes with that.

Oh, yes. And things that are off the cup and there's things that happen that you don't expect. And that's what makes it all fun and exciting. But you still have your routine. You still got your thing that you're going to get to. And you have to make it sound like it's off the cup. You do. And the one thing in standup is it's like it's fun and it's actually encouraged to go down a road off the cuff.

But you have to have to have enough experience and. be good enough to be able to do that and then zip right back to where you were. You know, that's a challenge. Yeah, just like, where was I? Where was I? You know, anyway, before, I want to do one last thing, but where can people go for these acting classes? So you can go to my website.

It's my name, jamiesarralewis.com slash classes. Or just go to my website, jamiesarralewis.com. And then you can find my classes in the menu. So you can find my work there, too. Awesome. I've been seeing it. Some fancy pictures. Wildly, wildly impressive.

All right, rapid fire questions. How do you feel about that? I feel great about it. I feel great about it. Okay, here we go. Question one. Favorite character you've played or voiced? Oh, man, I get this all the time.

Oh, I gave you a hack question. Damn it. The favorite character that I've, you know, problem. I really don't know. That's so hard. You know what? We can skip it. Can we skip it?

Can we skip it? We can skip it? Jeez, I have so many. Pass. It was a hack question anyway. Here's another hack question. Dream director to work with. Oh, Paul Thomas Anderson. Wow, that was really rapid fire. Dream actor to play opposite. I mean, Daniel Dave Lewis. I knew that was coming. I knew that. That's everybody's, I think. Favorite performance by an actor in a movie. That's another tough one. It is so tough because I'm going to say something. I'm like, why didn't I say something? You're going to watch this and then you're going to go, why? did I say that one?

Man, you know. I did a bad job. I'm asking complex questions and putting them in a rapid fire. I'm like, tell me about your life in five seconds. Maybe, you know who I love. Breaking Bad, Gia Carolito, the guy who plays the cartel. What's his name? Giancarlo Espozy.

Danny Tripote. I'm going to tell you real quick why I love him so much. And I talk about like being in control in a level of chaos. So my husband's a scientist and we talk about, he was talking about chaos one day. And like the greatest level of chaos is like, is like something that's loud and crazy and blah, blah, blah, blah. But something that is completely contained in control. He played that cartel like the most like when you're playing at high status. Yeah. You are powerful. Yeah. That's probably my favorite show of all time. It's incredible. It's a good one. I really like that role, but I'm sure there's a lot of

All right. I know, again, here we go. L.A. or New York City? Oh, God. I love both, but I think for now, at this point in my life, I'm a big fan of the L.A. Okay. I just like the sunshine. I like the vibes there. People are cool. But listen, you throw me in New York and I'll own that shit. Heck, yeah. Of course you will. All right, last one. Biggest pet peeve when you're working on set.

Mean people. Well, yeah. You know, people that just act like you were talking about, they act like they're bigger and better. And trying to show off and out-act each other. Like, I'll tell you in auditions, this happens a lot. You walk into a room. And everyone's trying to out-funny to each other in the waiting room.

And you're just like, I mean, I'm not saying I haven't done things that I've pissed people off. But I'm always like the quiet one. Yeah. You know what? I'm so glad you said that. Because I've done stand-up shows where there's like five of us. Oh, my God. You're all-f funny each other.

Before it starts, everybody's trying to be funny. And I'm like, I don't want to do this funny off. You know what I mean? Like, let's just be natural. All right. Give us the plugs. Website, social media classes. Hit it.

Yes. So you can find me on jamiesara Lewis.com. You can find me on Instagram, Jamie Sarah Lewis, V.O. Find my classes online. Honestly, if you Google me, you can get a hold of me. Awesome. You know, you can put, honestly, if you guys have any questions, about the business.

I'm, you can email me. I'm always happy to help. And that's, that's one thing that somebody told me a long time ago, too. It's like, you know, usually when you ask someone for help, 99% of the time, people want to help you. Absolutely. You know, I ask for help along the way. I've asked for guidance.

Jamie, Sarah Lewis, this has been an absolute pleasure. No offense to the other people I've had on this show, but this might just be my favorite interview. I'm not kidding you. Definitely one of, I've had so much fun. I can talk to you. for another hour. You guys are great. I can't wait for your, your studio. Well, we're moving to our new studio, clickstream studio soon. So thank you for joining us. Best of luck. Thank you so much. Jamie Sarah

Lewis, she's amazing on screen, on Mike and in person. This has been another episode of Good News, York, sponsored by ads on the go. Get ads on the go.com. You can follow me on socials at Mike B TV and you can follow us at Good News York. Good NewsYork.com. We will see you tomorrow. Taxes was feeling so stuck. Sitting in traffic, squeezing into a parking spot, all to squeeze in getting tax help during your lunch break. Now Taxes is a TurboTax expert who does your taxes for you.

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