Two television legends told AACC students on Wednesday to contemplate their personal reasons for wanting to write or act, and then stay true to those goals as they pursue their careers as entertainers.
Kevin Chamberlain, most famous for his role as the beloved butler Bertram on the Disney Channel kids’ sitcom “Jessie,” and Michael Gans, who produced shows like “Scream: The TV Series,” “Siren” and “Make It or Break It,” shared their experiences and advice about writing screenplays and auditioning in back-to-back presentations on campus.
Gans, who is married to Chamberlain, opened his workshop by encouraging the audience to find the truth in their stories, or, as he put it, “finding the kernel,” suggesting that this should be
the driving factor behind each story.
During his presentation later in the evening, Chamberlain agreed, quoting the late actor and acting teacher Stanford Meisner, who, Chamberlain said, defined acting as “being truthful under imaginary circumstances.”
“You can apply that to any role you play, as the minute you step into an audition, the minute you step on stage, you’re looking for the truth in the character, and you have to use your imagination,” Chamberlain said. “If you go to your own experiences [instead of your imagination], you can’t do that eight times a week.”
Gans turned his speech into a workshop after urging the would-be writers in attendance to find confidence in their decisions when writing.
“I worked for 20 years writing at the highest level in television,” Gans said. “And in rooms like this. … I want you guys to take part. And what I think we’ll have at the end of this, is a story.”
Second-year transfer studies student Olivia Comeau offered up an original idea she said she has been toying with. The premise is that three siblings are sent on a treasure hunt after the death of their father.
“It was really helpful just hearing everybody’s ideas,” Comeau said after the audience suggested that the siblings could be the adult children of two mothers.
“I never thought of that,” Comeau said. “I loved the way people built on [my] characters.”
First-year art history student Morgan Vauls said his takeaway from the workshop is “not being secretive. Somebody’s going to see my stuff. … Share your ideas with as many people as possible, so you can get more facets to it.”
During the second presentation, Chamberlain, who had three Tony Award nominations, conducted mock musical theater auditions.
Chamberlain allowed audience members to perform self-selected audition songs as he gave pointers and went over his five rules for auditioning: Knowledge is power; less is more; embrace your quirks; be savvy; find joy in every moment.
“Savvy is like street smart right?” he said. “And you exude street smartness,” Chamberlain told Avery Camacho after the first-year transfer studies student entered the stage bursting with confidence. Camacho performed “The Magic Foot” a song from the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee.
“I had so much fun on stage,” Camacho said. “He asked me if I’ve played the character before. That’s my dream role, but I’ve never played the character. I hope to play the character.”
Mallory Owens, a dual-enrollment student, performed “If I Loved You” from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Carousel, which brought Chamberlain to tears.
“It was surreal,” Owens said. “I still haven’t processed it. I don’t know. I’m just so grateful to have been a part of this and that he … taught me how to just ‘let it go’ and be in the moment. Like, in such a short amount of time. I’m floored.”
Overall, first-year undecided student Lindsey Ugiansky said she is “really thankful to the school and the theater [program] … for putting this together.”
Ugianskyy, who attended both presentations, added, “It’s really helpful and it’s great to hear firsthand from people who do these things for a living.”
