Today we’d like to introduce you to Shari Shaw.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Shari Shaw Acting Studio: Female Entrepreneur Success Story
I have become one of Hollywood’s Top acting and performance coaches. Here is my story on how it happened.
My passion for acting started in my early teens when I was taking the bus to Laurie Hull’s acting classes at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. I learned the art of personalization, and this is where I started to develop my craft. One day, I saw Lee Strasberg going up the stairs, and he said hi to me and gave me a smile! I will never forget that feeling of being recognized by one of the greatest coaches and how it touched my heart. I had never met this man but I could feel his encouragement and warmth. At the time, I felt delighted he had acknowledged me, but I didn’t realize how impactful that feeling was.
That feeling is still with me, and everything I do at My Acting Studio is to hopefully give that feeling to the actors I work with today. There is no greater satisfaction than guiding and building an actor’s craft and confidence.
Eventually, I went on to get my Bachelor’s in Theater at Cal. State University-Northridge and USC. This is when my passion for acting became even deeper and also became my main motivator. I started auditioning all the time and learned how to navigate the industry without the connections and resources that so many around me had. I hustled every single day and was able to book lots of roles in Film, TV, Commercials, and Theater! I remember around this time, I saw a psychic at a party. I’ll never forget what she told me, “You won’t be successful as an actress, but you’ll be successful in something else.” Needless to say, I was devastated and did not believe her then, now cut to 10 years later, she was correct!
During this time is when I also started to cultivate my own unique method. This method combined the three things I was learning as a working actor, combining the training I had done with legends – like Lee Strasberg, John Lehne, and Peggy Fuery- with what I was learning in those auditions rooms, talking and connecting with my peers, and with the motivational confidence-boosting tricks I was teaching myself to deal with the anxiety of it all. It was my own personal method, and it was working! Then I got a call from casting director Robin Lippin.
You never know what someone will mean to you when you meet them. One day, I got a phone call from casting director Robin Lippin to be the on-set acting coach for the kids on Saved by the Bell: The New Class! I know, I’m dating myself, but who cares! I ran lines and formulated the thoughts and character drive for all those young kids on the show. I had been where these actors have been, and I knew the highs and lows of booking, so I was able to really connect with them. I can’t tell you how rewarding it was as they got so much better, watching them put the work into their scenes, and that hard work totally paid off! Very rewarding! And I was good at it! It helped me become a better actor. I didn’t realize it then, but I was a better coach than an actor. This opportunity would be a turning point that would give me the confidence to begin my new career in Coaching Actors and opening up my Acting Studio- Shari Shaw Acting Studio.
Of course, back then, I was still obsessed with acting, so I was always leaving the set to go on auditions. I clearly remember the House Phone on-set had a taped message saying, “Everyone except Shari can use the phone!” Mortifying but true! I was only focused on being an actor. I was still on my path to being an actor. Until…
My turning point was when I had my son. I was still auditioning like crazy, but it stopped bringing me the happiness it used to. I would come home crying all the time when one day, my husband said, “Change it up!”
This made me think about how I could give back to my community. That’s when I remembered my time coaching on-set. While coaching, I could step out of myself and see the scene. Seeing the story, the character’s behavior, the layers, the nuance, it came with such ease! A light bulb went off in my head. I knew I was onto something powerful that I didn’t know existed! I mean, duh, I have the same birthday as the Great Constantine Stanislavsky. I should have felt it sooner… BUT AT THAT MOMENT. I realized that coaching was my future. I knew I was on the right track in life and my career. Shari Shaw Acting Studio began!
I started out coaching out of my tiny guest house, and thanks to industry friends who gave me recommendations of actors from their rosters, I had a full slate of actors I was coaching. They started booking right away. Series regulars like Roselyn Sanchez, Elaine Hendrix, Freddie Rodriquez, Eric Winter, and Danielle Macdonald only helped add to the studio’s success!
Then came our On Camera Audition Classes and scene study classes… This parlayed itself into word of mouth for the studio, and the business kept growing. Filled with hard work, and focused energy, I am where I am today! I am filled with gratitude knowing that I have found my life’s purpose and can help actors get prepped, get pumped, and get the job.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think that when you find your true calling -your purpose- there are NO obstacles. It becomes a passionate journey, a path filled with helping others obtain success. It becomes more about them than myself, and that is so rewarding. It makes all the obstacles, if any, disappear. When you stay in a place of giving to others, it’s impossible to have obstacles in your path.
As you know, we’re big fans of Shari Shaw Acting Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
One of LA’s premiere acting coaches, Shari Shaw offers acting classes, coaching, and consultation at all levels of performance.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
And then came Covid!
I’m of the belief that if you are well-prepared and one step ahead, nothing will cause you to panic. We were prepared. Online classes were already a major part of our studio. So even a week before the shutdown in March 2020, the studio was able to easily transition all classes online and tripled in size.
Now we have become a hybrid studio and have In-person classes and private audition coaching and taping as well as online coaching and classes!
Covid has also drastically changed the way that actors audition, the days of trekking to an audition on the other side of town are gone, and now it is all about the self-tapes. We had already provided audition classes at the studio before the pandemic, so when the industry made the change to self-taped auditions, we were one step ahead and had the cameras and equipment in place to better serve the actors walking in thru our doors. I continue today as one of Hollywood’s top acting and performance coaches and top acting studio to train.
Casting directors want to see my name stamped on actors’ resumes because they know what the studio teaches has a strong effect on the actor’s performance.
Don’t forget to get your copy of my book – “The Positive Path for Actors and How to Give a Kick A$$ Audition!” Amazon and Balboa Books.
Stay Positive, everyone as this journey is not for the faint of heart but for those who LOVE the craft of acting and have a story to tell in each character they portray!
Love SS
Pricing:
- In-Person Ongoing Classes (4 Consecutive Classes) – $300
- Online Ongoing Classes (4 Consecutive Classes) – $275
Contact Info:
- Website: sharishaw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharishawstudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharishawstudios/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharishawstudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ShariShawStudios
Image Credits
Joanne Degeneres
