Exclusive Interviews with Backstage's 2015 Reader's Choice Award Winners

We did it!   

Keep It Real Acting is officially the 2015 BACKSTAGE READERS' CHOICE Winner for FAVORITE AUDITION TEACHER, FAVORITE IMPROV TRAINING CENTER, and FAVORITE KIDS ACTING CLASS!  Below are our exclusive interviews with our Award Winning Teachers this year, Judy Kain, Paul Hungerford, Donna Rusch, Doug Traer & Nancy Linari!  We hope these brief clips can give you a little insight as to what make these teachers so special.

Judy Kain is the owner of Keep it Real Acting and teaches the Commercial A to Z Class and the Advanced Callback Class.  Judy has been a professional actress now for 37 years, showcasing her skills and talents in over 350 commercials and in over 80 roles for film and television.  

Paul Hungerford teaches the Commercial A to Z Class and Improv-a-thon at KIRA. For over 25 years, Paul has been performing on stage and in film and television productions, as well as working with The Groundlings, Acme Comedy Theater, Impro Theater, and Comedy Sportz LA.  He is currently the Director of TheatreSports at the Impro Theatre in LA, and has been seen on your TV set in over 40 commercials and a number of shows.

Paul Hungerford teaches Keep it Real Acting's Award Winning Improv Program. http://keepitrealacting.com/improv.html

Doug Traer teaches the Kids Class & Commercial Wednesday Workouts at KIRA.  Doug has been working in film, television, theatre, and commercials for the past 26 years.  When he is not acting, he works as a commercial casting director and session director for many Casting Directors around town. 

Doug Traer teaches Keep it Real Acting's Award Winning Kids Class for ages 7-11. http://keepitrealacting.com/youth-classes.html

Donna Rusch teaches the Next Step class at KIRA. Donna has more than 20 years experience as a professional actress and broadcaster.  She is a former TV News Anchor and Television Show Host and has been seen in more than 100 commercials and films, including last year's hit, Gone Girl.

Nancy Linari teaches the Teens Class at KIRA. Nancy has been a professional actress for over 30 years. Her work can be seen and heard in both commercials and animation, on television and radio; from Bones to Modern Family, from ABC’s animated The Addams Family (the sexy Morticia Addams) to the Academy Award nominated The Social Network (the cranky secretary to the president of Harvard.)

Donna Rusch teaches Keep it Real Acting's Award winning Next Step class for ages 4-6 and Nancy Linari teaches the award winning Teens Class. http://keepitrea...

Again, We are overflowing with gratitude, humility, and love.  Thank you so much for making KIRA a 2015, 3 Category Winner and a leading, competitive, loved acting studio in LA!

Sincerely,
Your KIRA Family

What is your Goal in an Audition?

Nancy Linari in Cascade's "Kitchen Counselor" campaign as the judgemental mother-in-law

Someone once told me that actors have the wrong goal at auditions. He wasn’t talking about the character’s needs and choices, but what the actor in the waiting room wants that day.

To get the job. Of course, we all want the job, but this means that 99% of the people in that room fail.

As actors, we can spend a lot of time trying to figure out what “they” - the producers, the director, the writers, the client – want. So we try to adjust things about ourselves - our looks, our voice, our clothes, even our age – to become what we think they want. Sometimes we succeed in this, but often our audition doesn’t ring true. You can see the acting, when all you want to see is the character.

What if instead, our goal was to show the powers that be how we would do this role? What unique things we bring to the party? This doesn’t mean we are going to get every job; we are not right for every job. But we can succeed at each audition. We can leave the room knowing that we did a good job and will be remembered for it. Good auditions are like energy, they live on.

Nancy Linari has been a professional actress for over 30 years.  Her work can be seen and heard in both commercials and animation, on television and radio; from Bones to Modern Family, from ABC’s animated The Addams Family (the sexy Morticia Addams) to the Academy Award nominated The Social Network (the cranky secretary to the president of Harvard.)  Nancy has appeared in hundreds of commercials including Cascade, Swiffer, Honda, McDonalds, Bisquick and Walgreens.  Her voice over work includes national campaigns for Advil, Taco Bell, Radio Shack, Wal-Mart and California Avocados. She also works extensively in video games and is an award-winning audiobook narrator.

At Keep it Real Acting she teaches Youth Classes, as well as Commercial Wednesday Workouts.