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Lauren Jimmieson Craig & Anthony Craig are two multi-talented Australian
performers. Having first met when they studied together at the Queensland
Conservatorium, both Lauren and Anthony have led successful careers both
together and separately. Lauren has appeared on stage in the international tour of
‘Paw Patrol’, serving as both a performer and the Associate Choreographer - she was also recently seen onstage in the stage productions of 'Cinderella' and 'Elvis'. Anthony
was recently seen on stage in mainstage productions of ‘Once’ and 'Elvis.'
They have also created the children's performance group ‘Story Surprise’ which aims to provide an ongoing series of interactive, educational and stimulating videos and podcasts for children. 
In this conversation, this dynamic duo discussed the realities of being married to a
fellow performer, the rewards and challenges of being children’s entertainers, and
the importance of finding strategies to avoid burnout when creating your own work.

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Guy Edmonds is an Australian artist who is proof that life in the creative industry can take many different paths. As well as being a talented actor with over 50 credits on stage and screen, he is also an Emmy Award winning writer and director who has had two TV series commissioned by the ABC. In this chat Guy discusses the rollercoaster of triumphs and struggles that he has faced throughout his career. In doing so, he speaks about the importance of building life experience as an artist, making peace with the uncertainty within the creative life, and the process of creating your own work - from small-scale indie productions to TV series commissioned by Network TV channels.

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Wendi Lanham is an Australian creative with many talents. Starting young in her professional creative career as an actor and model, she later added presenting and producing to her professional skill set. A true advocate for helping others thrive in the creative industry, she now spends her time mixing her acting talent with business acumen as both a freelance performing artist and the General Manager at Creative Plus Business. 

In this chat, Wendi speaks about finding ways to control your career as an artist,  the benefits of setting internal goals, and the importance of building multiple income streams.

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Carissa Lee is a talented and multi-faceted Noongar actor based in Naarm, Melbourne. Since graduating from Flinders Drama Centre, she has made her mark across film, television and theatre. Most recently, she appeared as Principal Cruz in ABC’s ‘Planet Lulin’, and has also performed with Melbourne Theatre Company, the Malthouse Theatre, and State Theatre Company of South Australia. More than just an actor, however, she also completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in which she focused on cultural safety and how to establish safe working environments between Mob and non-Indigenous arts practitioners in the performing arts.

In this inspiring chat, Carissa spoke about the importance of genuine and meaningful cross-cultural collaboration in the arts, the journey of finding yourself as an artist after leaving drama school, the struggle of battling against imposter syndrome and the importance of community. 

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Charles Wu is an Australian actor, writer and musician who has been building a strong career for himself across both the stage and screen. Perhaps best known for his role on screen as Ken Liu in ‘Doctor Doctor’ Charles has also regularly treaded the boards with some of Australia’s most respected theatre companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Belvoir St. Theatre, and most recently the State Theatre Company of South Australia. 

In this chat, he talks about the many contradictions in the life of an artist. He also shares the lessons he has learned throughout his journey, including the importance of being comfortable in your own skin, the need to find joy within your work and the benefits of surrounding yourself with a supportive community. 

If you want to check Charles’ band ‘Earthquake Magnificent’ which was mentioned in the episode, you can find them on:

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/49iwn18kZ7DFCxAVJBsLjo?si=73f5YKv1RoGSeUZw8gf9jA

Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/au/artist/earthquake-magnificent/1437397505

Bandcamp - https://earthquakemagnificent.bandcamp.com/album/dull-hill

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Alexandra Jensen is an AACTA-nominated Australian actress who you may recognise from her television roles in ‘Talk To Me’, ‘Frayed’, ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘The Messenger’. In this chat, soon after her debut performance in a play in London play, she talks about learning on the job, navigating the highs and lows of acting, battling imposter syndrome, and the importance of asking questions when building a creative career.

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Introducing Rose Marel - an Aussie actor living and working in Canada! If you have ever wanted to give that move a go - listen to how Rose did (and is doing!) it.

When in Sydney she produced a film company called Chimera Storm Productions, and starred in a play called 'Tick Tick Boom' with subtlenuance (and me!) and since moving to Canada she's done numerous jobs for screen, and recently featured in the play 'Time Stands Still' at the Nest Theatre Granville Island.

If you want to check out her shout outs, they were:
https://substack.com/@dariadae?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

and Throw in The Pal https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/throw-in-the-pal/id1662801586

Ps, The story I've told previously of me skipping an entire scene onstage when I forgot my lines... happened in the show with Rose, back in 2018!

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Jay James-Moody is an award-winning actor, director, writer and producer. Jay is the creator and Artistic Director of acclaimed boutique company Squabbalogic Independent Music Theatre - one of Australia’s premier producers of intimate musical theatre. 
In this chat he talks about how squabbalogic came about,  and shares  many thoughts and experiences from his ongoing, amazing career as an actor and a director. 

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You’ve seen him in plays in Sydney and Melbourne, or maybe on you Tv in Home and Away, Transfusion, Deadloch, The Secret Kingdom or many others!? Now you’ve heard him on An Actor Survives! A star of stage and screen - and a genuinely lovely person- chatting with Darius was heaps of fun and really inspiring. Episode out now!

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It’s exciting to hear about the experiences from actors at all stages of their careers- and this episode absolutely rings true to that! Taia graduated from Actors Centre Australia in 2022, so is in her very first year out in the industry. In this episode she chats to Emily about her first experiences with a professional job, life at drama school during a pandemic and her thoughts about life as an actor - as well as her hopes and dreams for the future. Listen now!

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Season 3 episode 2 featuring Julia Billington. 
We chat about acting of course, but also religion, experience as a student and they share their love of yoga, of community, their dog (who you might hear chatting with my cat in the background!) and all the ways they are contributing to the world as a wonderful creative artist. I was also (as I often am) very much fan girling - Julia is an incredible actor- whom you may have seen in recent Bell Shakespeare productions. SO thrilled to have them on the pod!

This episode is sponsored by Actors Centre Australia. 

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Season 3 is finally here!! And what an absolute thrill to start it off with incredible Aussie actor- Patrick Brammall. You’ve likely seen him on your  screen - offspring anyone? Colin from Accounts? (Of which he also wrote with his wife Harriet Dyer!) 
 And, now you get to hear him chat with Emily about what life as an actor is like for him- and hear his top tips for surviving a career in the arts.

This episode is sponsored by Actors Centre Australia.

Each episode of season three has BONUS CONTENT available, head to buymeacoffee.com/anactorsurvives to find out how to access Patrick’s bonus content.

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What an exciting end to season two of An Actor Survives - an episode featuring Lauren Grimson. If you are a horror fan, you might know her from: The Osiris Child (2016), The Legend of Ben Hall (2017), Water Horse (2020), and The Possessed (2021).
Emily hasn't watched much horror... and was beyond thrilled to chat to someone with so much knowledge acting in the genre. Lauren shares lots about her experience, and offers useful advice for all actors. 

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Actor, acting coach, pop singer, and all-round lovely person - Anthony Brandon Wong is this week's guest. Anthony shares stories, advice and experiences from his career and he and Emily discuss all sorts of things from music, to acting styles to cats! This was a hard episode to edit... there was so much good stuff, I am sure you will agree it was worth it to keep it a bit longer!

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This week on An Actor Survives, Emily chats to the incredible Nikita Waldron - having seen her onstage at Sydney Theatre Company the night before! If you are Sydney based, it's likely you have seen her on our stages, or know her from her recent Rebel Wilson Scholarship at ATYP. 

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Jade Fuda and Emily worked together last year with Sport For Jove Theatre Company - having both dreamed of one day working for them. Jade's continued working with them throughout 2022 (and already 2023!) She's been seen on our stages by young and old - also regularly working with children's theatre company CDP. She shares her experiences on this episode- and is open and honest about dealing with nerves, as well as the transition into life as a (regularly) working actor.

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Linda is a freelance voice, accents and dialect coach, an actor and a writer based in Sydney, Australia. Many in the theatre industry in Australia are likely to have worked with her in some capacity: as their teacher at drama school, as an accent coach on a play, a fellow actor, or indeed have discovered her through 'Accent Olympics' - a brilliant online accent coaching class she ran to help actors keep training in lockdown. Her story of working in the arts industry in Australia is fascinating - filled with much knowledge and experience of it from many different angles. 

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It's been one year since the podcast started! To celebrate, this episode features  Australia's National Living Treasure, John Bell.  Known best for running Bell Shakespeare Company for 25 years and for his incredible contribution to theatre in Australia. Emily recently had the opportunity to work with him at Ensemble Theatre, and they sat down to talk about John's life and work and how best to 'survive' as an actor. 

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Deborah An actually HAS been on Home and Away - so she can say that to uber drivers! She's also a regular on our stages and screens and has very refreshing insights about these experiences. We also discuss being an introvert in foyers, not always knowing famous actors names and of course, dogs! 

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Multi award winning First Nations artist, Sandy Greenwood has worked professionally across stage and screen as an actor, voice artist, cultural consultant and writer for over 20 years. In this episode she shares her journey creating her one-woman show, Matriarch, how her life experiences influence her artistry, and how much she continues to learn and grow as her career flourishes. 

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Andrew Hearle is an actor and acting coach. He is the founder of StageMilk.com, one of the world's largest acting resources, and has trained thousands of actors over the last 10 years. He graduated WAAPA in 2012, and has worked professionally across film, TV and Theatre. As you can imagine, with all of the above, he has a lot of interesting thoughts and experiences about ‘surviving’ as an actor!

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Monica Sayers is an Actor, Yoga Teacher and DJ - who has worked extensively in different performance mediums over the past 15 years in Australia, the UK and Ireland. In this episode she shares about many of these experiences. 

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If you are in the industry in Sydney, you have probably come across Emma Wright in some capacity. She wears multiple hats - actor, writer, producer - and co-founder of Eye Contact Theatre Company. She manages to be outstanding at all of the above, (aswell as be a very good human) and in this episode she offers her insights into how to juggle all that, and her experiences managing said juggle.

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Christopher Tomkinson (AKA: CT!)  has worked as an actor, director, producer and writer in theatre, radio, TV & film. 
This chat originally went for over 2hrs and was hard to cut - CT has many a story to share about his experiences - and this ep even has a BONUS five survival tips.  
You can find the Dylan Alcott speech referenced here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-26/dylan-alcott-australian-of-the-year-speech-in-full/100783308

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Maddison Burridge is a Meanjin/Brisbane actor, who is currently understudying the main role in shake&stir’s national touring production of Jane Eyre. She’s also one of Emily’s best friends - they met when touring Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand with Poetry In Action in 2017. In this chat, they discuss navigating a career as a freelance actor, what it’s like working as an understudy, importance of support networks and the transition of craft from university to employment. 

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If you live in Sydney, you would definitely have seen Shan-Ree onstage. He has hopped from stage to stage for the last few years - performing in many different roles, and winning a Sydney Theatre Award in the process! Emily and Shan worked together in Sport For Jove's 'As You Like it' over summer, and in this episode they discuss that experience, juggling multiple careers and a great audition mindset. 

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Sarah Bartolo is an actor, writer and singer based in Naarm/Melbourne. She is also... an instagram 'influencer.'  Well, Emily was 'influenced' by her - Sarah posts hilarious characters and satirical sketches on her page, which Emily discovered during the pandemic lockdowns. In this ep that chat about Sarah's experience as an actor in New York (in comparison to Australia), creating the instagram characters and the ways to survive the times when the work is few and far between. 
The book referenced is called: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. 

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In this episode, Emily and Catherine discuss a lot of BIG topics in the industry (and indeed society!) Catherine shares a lot of insight and wisdom about how she got to where she is now - a regular on our stages, our TVs (currently on The Twelve and Barons) as well as the Co-Artistic Director of Redline at the Old Fitz theatre in Sydney. 

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Simon Ward is an Actor, Singer, Psychologist, Director, Teacher and.. a guest on this episode! Emily and Simon discuss the importance of emotions - especially when coupled with stressful situations ( ie auditions) aswell as the many ups and downs of the industry. Lots of laughs and lots of practical tips in this ep - check it out! 

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Billy's first Belvoir Theatre show was 1993... and he just performed in one in 2021. He's an incredible indigenous actor, writer and voice over artist, who tells many a story and offers some of the best advice I've ever had in this ep. It's a must-listen, right to the end!

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An Actor Survives season two is here!! 
This episode features actor and acting coach: Emily Joy. In this chat, the two Emilys discuss what it's like to be a 'jobbing' actor - in theatre AND film, and how to manage (and reframe) the challenges that that can present. Emily Joy has extensive experience working with actors and has a lot of insights from her own career and that of constantly meeting at talking with other actors.

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Alec is an actor, singer, composer, violinist, musical director extraordinaire. They have worked extensively for theatres around Australia. Emily was lucky enough to play some of Alec's music on flute earlier this year, and tread the boards alongside them in Sport for Jove's As You Like it. In this episode they discuss having a multi-faceted career, the problems of social media, creativity, and much, much more. 

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Sean O'Shea has been treading the boards for over 30 years - and at least 20 of those were with the Bell Shakespeare company. Emily grew up going to Bell shows with her Gran, and getting to meet and chat with Sean for this episode was particularly special. They chat about theatre, teaching acting and the ups and downs of the industry. 

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Abbie-lee Lewis is a Kalkadoon woman from WA, who has a flourishing career in acting and directing. In this chat she reflects on her artistry, identity and how the word 'poop' remains hilarious.


Explicit content: Swearing

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Blazey  is  one of Sydney’s best known  actors  with over ten years experience in theatre, film and television. In this chat, she shares openly and honestly about how she has survived as an actor in Australia.  

Disclaimer: One of the mics stopped working, so please excuse slightly dodgy sound quality! Thanks Adam Buncher (our editor) for making it even sound this good!

CW: Discussion about drug addiction, swearing

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Emily and Mansoor  went to drama school together. They have many similarities in their worth ethic and drive to be actors in the industry. This chat reflects that - and contains some invaluable advice from Mansoor from his years of experience. 

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Gabrielle and Emily had this chat on zoom just before lockdown 2021 as Gab was working with Bell Shakespeare on a Midsummer Night's Dream. She talks about what it's like to work with this company, what it's like to make your way as an actor in the UK and the scary moments on stage too! Her 5 survival tips are VERY useful. 

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From surviving a touring musical show, to the ups and downs of being in lockdown - Shauntelle has lots of insight - particularly about being as creative as possible! This episode is also an example of how networking works!!

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Wendy Stehlow is an Australian actor well known for her many years on the Aussie soap 'A Country Practice' - and her many appearances on Australian stages. In this episode she discusses her love of Judi Dench, Shakespeare.. and whales!

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Kenneth Moraleda is an actor/writer/director/creative producer of Filipino descent. He trained at NIDA graduating in 1995. Kenneth is a part of the STC/CAAP Directing Initiative and was recently Assistant Director to Kip Williams on  Playing Beatie Bow by Kate Mulvany (Sydney Theatre Company). 
In this chat he shares many valuable insights to working as a creative for so long in the industry in Australia. 

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Jessie shares her insights into life as an actor in Australia. In fact, this episode was recorded while she was touring the country with Poetry in Action - her first full time professional acting job- that she maintained even in the midst of the pandemic. 

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Doug has recently had a starring role in Come From Away, Sydney. In this episode, he talks about managing a career in both Sydney and London,  working with his mentor,  a quote that continues to inspire him and his struggles with (and triumphs over) his mental health.  

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Deanna Cooney is a 20+ year veteran of the acting and voice over world and an educator living in Perth, WA. Emily met her during lockdown by taking part in her online VO bootcamp. Deanna is an exciting and inspirational person - and this shines through in this discussion. Lots of wisdom on how to survive as an actor and a voice over actor. 

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Jay has been in multiple mainstage productions, tv shows and films - of all different genres. From play school to Star Wars. All that, plus 8 children, he has a lot of advice on how to 'survive' as an actor. 

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Fiona Press and Emily discuss the nitty-gritty of navigating the acting industry as a woman with an expressive face (!), the importance of being part of the union and the challenges of 'surviving' when there are not many auditions. Enjoy this in-depth chat with this incredible award-winning actor. 

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Shy is the creative director of Ninefold - a theatre company based in Sydney and specialising in Suzuki practice. We had this chat during the lockdown in Sydney in 2021 which was a great time to reflect on the wonders and the struggles of being an artist - particularly at this time and place in the world. 

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James made his acting debut in 2007 opposite Daniel Radcliffe in 'December Boys' and  recently was seen on our stages with Sydney Theatre Company. In this episode he talks about his process, his LA experience, his non-acting work - and offers some great tips on how to 'survive' as an actor.

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If you are Sydney-based you have likely seen Mandela grace our stages - with recent appearances with Sport for Jove and Belvoir. An exceptional actor and storyteller, offering great insight about how he survives as an actor in this latest episode. 

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In this episode, Annie Maynard and Emily we talk all things 'actor life' - family, therapy, multiple other jobs, juggling agents and other people's opinions about actors and the industry. 

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Damien Ryan is the  artistic director of Sport for Jove, a Sydney based theatre company with a focus on Shakespeare and classical text. In this episode he shares his insights and experiences about surviving the arts industry as a director, actor, writer and all round creative. 

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Kate Mulvany schools us on how to pronounce her name correctly, chats about working with Al Pacino, and discusses the time she dressed as a giant bilby. 

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