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Testimonials for Judy

Judy has been a professional actress now for 38 years, showcasing her skills and talents in over 375 commercials and in over 90 roles for film and television.  She is a published author of the book I BOOKED IT! The Commercial Actors Handbook.

Commercially, she has worked with countless celebrities, including: Ringo Star, Norm McDonald, Dr. Ruth, Kate Hudson, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul & Dinah Shore to name a few.  She's appeared in 2 acclaimed Super Bowl Ads in 2013, Oreo's "Whisper Fight" and Deon Sanders' NFL promo.  Over 50 of her commercials have won Cleo’s.  Her extensive background in commercials has lead to several career highlights such as being remembered as the Judge in CLAIROL HERBAL ESSENCE with Dr. Ruth, a role in which Saturday Night Live did a hilarious spoof of her.

Some of her more well-known credits include a Television Series Regular on The Jackie Thomas Show and a Recurring role on the Emmy-winning show Mad Men as Olive Healey (Peggy’s Secretary), a role which won her a SAG Award.  Her other favorite recurring credits include The Odd Couple with Matthew Perry, Hand of God with Ron Pearlman, Married with Children, For Your Love, Grosse Pointe, and Manhattan, AZ with Chad Everett.  She has done numerous guest appearances on the hit shows Modern Family, The Middle, Bones, Castle, Scrubs, Desperate Housewives, ER, Seinfeld, The District, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, Friends, and The Drew Carey Show just to name a few.  

Her teaching career has also lead to immense success, being voted BACKSTAGE WEST'S FAVORITE AUDITION TEACHER in 2015 and FAVORITE ON-CAMERA COMMERCIAL TEACHER IN LA in 2010 and 2011.  Her other acting classes have won BACKSTAGE WEST'S FAVORITE IN LA a total of 4 times as well, and continue to produce amazing results for her students.

Judy first co-founded the acting training company, Talent To Go, which lead to the empowerment of countless actors' careers.  In 2009 and 2010, TTG won the BEST CASTING DIRECTOR WORKSHOP IN LA.  Judy opened Keep It Real Acting in 2012, which now continues her teaching legacy and offers an vast amount of classes for all students of all ages and skill levels.  She is continually grateful to have helped transform so many actors' careers.  She resides in LA and is the proud mother of her son, Frankie Manes.

Buy Judy's book, I BOOKED IT
Read Judy's Blog Articles
Judy's Superhero Hotline Campaign
Judy's Reel

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Testimonials for Paul

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 also in between on series such as Dirty, Sexy, Money and My Wife and Kids.  He also had a recurring role on Bravo’s Significant Others.  Paul’s film credits include Stark Raving Mad, Happy Holidays, and Hate: A Comedy, which was a winner at the Aspen Comedy Festival.  Additionally, his voiceover work was a part of Nougat, an animated short film that won the "Late Night" at the SXSW Film Festival.  Paul is a founding member of the film horror troupe Fewdio and has been directing short films with them for the past five years.  Most recently, he directed the half hour sketch comedy pilot Lipstick Jones: Half Hour Power Hour!  If you’re looking for him, you can usually find Paul on one of the various stages in Los Angeles performing live comedy in front of a drunk, yet grateful audience.  He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two daughters, and giant dog.
Here's Paul in his latest AT&T U-verse commercial!

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Testimonials for Stacy

Stacy has been a working actor for 28 years.  In television she was a series regular on Chicago Hope, has appeared in the TNT movie, Houdini, and was on HBO's Vietnam War Stories.  She has guest starred on numerous series, including CSI, CSI: New York, NCIS and Grey's Anatomy to name a few.  In film she was nominated for an INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD for her role in In The Company Of Men.  You can also see her in Primary Colors, Super Bad, and The Bling Ring.

Testimonials for Tom
Read Tom's Blog Articles

Tom began his career as a model in New York, working with well-known photographers and designers while appearing in numerous campaigns and magazines and on runways all over the world.  Tom then moved to Los Angeles to transition his success in print work into a career in commercials, stage work, feature films, soap operas, and episodic television.

Tom now focuses on passing along his knowledge through teaching and through his work as an On-Set Acting Coach, Headshot Coach, and Image Consultant.  He is also a regular contributor to Backstage West, writing articles as an official Backstage Expert.  His diverse acting training includes programs at Circle in the Square, NYC and AADA, NYC; Meisner Technique with Richard Pinter; Cold Reading with Brian Reise; Improvisation with Cynthia Szigeti, Donovan Scott, Paul Hungerford; and Commercial Technique with Francene Selkirk, Judy Kain, and Carolyne Barry.  Tom’s experiences in different acting mediums together with his knowledge of several acting methods has developed a talent to be able to successfully teach, coach, and understand a wide range of actors and help them pinpoint their most marketable image. 

George has been an actor for the past 20 years.  Having started his career on the stages of the Chicago theatre scene, he quickly realized that being and actor was his calling.  Looking to take his career to the next level and pursue work in television and film, he relocated to Los Angeles and jumped right in.  In the past 10 years George has worked steadily in television and commercials.  Currently, his "survival job" is working as a session director in the commercial casting world and he has cast hundreds of commercials over the past 6 years.  Casting directors he has worked with include Ross Lacy, DB Casting, M Casting, RMB Casting, Anissa Williams and more.  Television credits include: Guest Stars on Shameless, Grimm, NCIS:LA, Scandal and plenty more.  Commercial credits include: Chevrolet, Nicorette, Merrill Lynch, Hummer, State Farm.

George lives in Silverlake with his wife Sharon and his son Leo.  

Testimonials for Doug
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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.  Casting Directors he has recently worked with include:  Paul Ventura, Mick Dowd, Sheila Manning, Beverly Long, Danny Goldman, Jeff Gerrard, Frannie Selkirk, MC Sweeters, Mary Jo Slater, Rick Pagano, Debbie Manwiller, Sharon Bialy, Tina Treadwell, Deborah Kurtz, Kate Enggren, Stuart Stone, Ellen Blake, Yumi Takada, Annissa Williams, M Casting, Sobo Casting, Petite Casting, Ava Shevitt, Jeff Hightower, Jeff Hardwick, Michael Donovan, Arlene Shuster-Goss, Danielle Eskinazi, Julia Kim, Ross Lacy, Joe Blake, Kathy Knowles, Tony Sepulveda, Britt Enggren, Beth Holmes, Bengston-Cohen, Annelise Collins, Annie Egian, Barbara Bersell, Terry Berland, Craig Colvin, Gabrielle Schary, James Levine, Jeff Rosenman, Judy Belshe, Judy Landau, Kris Nicolau, Lisa Fields, Lisa Pantone, Liz Paulson, Megan Foley, Melissa Martin, Jon Beauregard, Michael Sanford, Balyndah Bumpus, Mark Randall, Pam Gilles, Ross Levine, Tiffany Company, Renita Casting, Fringe Casting, Outcast International, Rise Barish, Plaster Casting, Rosanna Crash, Pamela Kaplan, Shane Liem, Susan Tyler, Alice Ellis, Vicki Goggin, Carolyne Barry, Davis-Baddeley Casting, Lindsay Chag, UBER Content, Victoria Burrows, Lynn Stalmaster, Robert Martin Jr., Steven Erdek, Mike Humphries, Gayle Pillsbury,  Robin Lippin, Fern Champion, Bad Girls Casting, Judy Elkins, and Kari Peyton.


His film credits include Robert Miller’s Brenda Starr, the critically acclaimed Speak of the Devil and the black comedy Dead Giveaway.  He has had multiple roles on General Hospital, appeared in America’s Most Wanted and Saved by the Bell, among others.  He has made a number of national TV commercials for products such as Mercedes-Benz, Sony Playstation, Sprint, Blue Cross Insurance, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and Hardee’s Restaurants.

Doug loves teaching and providing career guidance to young actors or those just getting into the business.  He also directs theatrical and industrial video productions through his own independent production company.  He studied acting with master teacher Cliff Osmond for 15 years and improv with the LA Connection.  He began teaching commercial classes 12 years ago and theatrical classes in 2003.  He has also taught in San Francisco, Chicago, Oakland, Phoenix and Santa Barbara and recently returned from Tokyo where he taught American acting to Japanese students.

Actress, Spanish Teacher & Dialect Coach

Soledad is a bilingual actress who works in both general and Hispanic markets. She has taught Spanish for 14 years. For the last 10 years, she has been an on set dialect coach to Spanish and non-Spanish speaking actors for Spanish language commercials. She also assists Casting Directors throughout the audition process for commercials in Spanish. Her theatre roots, in Washington, D.C., taught her discipline and respect for the craft, and her love for the performing arts led her to create and produce Encuentros: Latin/o America at The Smithsonian.

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Testimonials for Donna

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 Industrial films, most recently for clients such as Sara Lee, Suave, Curves, Farmers and Merchants Bank of California and Reliant Energy.  Donna can be seen in the Ben Affleck thriller “Gone Girl” and has a lead role in “The Periphery” now winning awards at film festivals.  Recent television credits include Criminal Minds, Revenge and the new ABC series “How to Get Away With Murder”.  Donna has extensive experience working as an acting coach for kids and teens.  She says “I so enjoy my career and find it both a thrill and privilege to mentor the next generation as they reach for their dreams."

Lisa Fredrickson has been teaching and performing Improv for over 25 years. In Los Angeles, she currently leads classes at Impro Theatre, Harvard-Westlake School, Mayfield Senior School and California Lutheran University. Her focus is always on FUN. Her goal is that you leave her classroom smiling and realizing that you are endlessly creative. She will use improvisational games, theatrical acting exercises and your own ideas to get the best out of you! She is a positively charged, working commercial actress who applies improv to most things she does in life! 

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Endorsements for Nancy

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.)

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.

She started her career on stage in Chicago, performing with the famed improv comedy group, The Second City.

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Testimonials for Jeff

Jeff has been a successful actor for 35 years.  The wisdom that has served him as a fantastic actor has also served him and many others as a teacher and a mentor, both in acting and in meditation. 

In television, Jeff has appeared as a regular on the highly acclaimed Vietnam War drama, China Beach, and on the now-cult horror series, Kindred: The Embraced.  He was also recurring on the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Vegas and Nothing Sacred.  Currently, he is recurring on the Fox series, The New Girl and on the FX series, Sons of Anarchy.  He also has guest starred on many television series, including Breakout Kings, Lost, Law and Order: LA, Law and Order: SVU, CSI, CSI: Miami, ER, 24, Reaper, Burn Notice, The Closer, The Cleaner, and Criminal Minds.

We are fortunate to have Jeff teach our On-Camera Theatrical Technique and Repetition for Auditions classes at Keep It Real Acting.

Jeff's Meditation Site

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Testimonials for Ashley

Ashley Crow holds an MFA in Acting from New York University and has been a professional actor for 30 years.  Her New York theater credits include: Prelude To a Kiss (B’way), Coriolanus and Twelfth Night (NY Shakespeare Festival), Summer Winds at Naked Angels, and Plunge at Playwright’s Horizons.  In addition to playing the role of Sandra Bennett on the series HEROES, other television appearances include: Secret Circle, Everybody Loves Raymond, Grey’s Anatomy, The Mentalist, Supernatural, and American Dreams. Film credits include: Minority Report, Little Big League, and The Good Son.

Testimonials for Suzanne
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Suzanne has spent her recent years acquiring a Masters in Acting while simultaneously teaching and coaching acting at Northern Illinois University.  She has a background as an actress, director, singer, theatre company co-founder and producer.  Before moving to Illinois, Suzanne spent years as a working actress in Los Angeles and you can see her in the upcoming season of SONS OF ANARCHY.  Suzanne is trained in and thus her coaching is inspired by the methods of Constantine Stanislavsky, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Michael Chekhov, Catherine Fitzmaurice and Lloyd Williamson.  Suzanne's goal is to help her students establish the truth within their character’s given circumstances while realizing the inevitability of the words and actions of their character.