Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Reaney.
Hi Rebecca, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am from a small town near Birmingham in the UK with strong connections to my Welsh roots from my Mother’s side of the family in Newport, South Wales. I originally trained as a dancer from a young age before transitioning into acting and my performance career of over 25 years has quite an eclectic body of credits. From London West End shows such as ‘Blood Brothers’, ‘The Mousetrap’, ‘Fame’ to motion capture work playing the role of Jane in Constantin Films ‘Tarzan 3D’, to the Christmas story ‘Buttons’ starring the legendary Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke to the music video ‘Handsfree’ for Sonny J directed by Eran Creevy which gathered several award nominations.
After living in Frankfurt Germany for five years, Los Angeles enticed me in from the first visit which genuinely surprised me! There was and is something about this city; a certain energy, a feeling of possibility and so after obtaining my visa, I moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and deepened my acting development and professional work experience.
In 2018, while working with Aquila Theatre Company, I felt the strong desire to shift from acting into working with the movement for actors from the creative team’s point of view. I could see the stories available through movement while we were rehearsing a production of ‘Hamlet’ and therefore transitioned into coaching and directing movement, creating and collaborating on numerous short films and productions. I am now Deputy Head of Acting at the award-winning acting studio Identity School of Acting in Hollywood and a freelance movement and intimacy coach and director, dividing my time between Los Angeles and London.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Los Angeles, like any big city, can leave you feeling a little isolated and overwhelmed oftentimes. I remember people telling me when I first moved here that it takes at least two years to settle in this city. I would wholeheartedly agree, if not, add that it sometimes takes longer. It took me a while to find my tribe but the wait was certainly worth it. Friends are my family here in Los Angeles and this city is special because of my people that live here!
As well as professional shifts in my life this was also true to some significant personal shifts and events that happened. All my life, I had been doing such a great job of bottling up feelings, not fully processing grief and keeping myself insanely busy that one day on a routine run, my body decided it had had enough. I suffered an asthma attack, which came quite out of the blue and truly terrified me. I had noticed my breath could sometimes feel tight in my chest but I had ignored the warning signs until my body literally had to make me stop and pay attention. Getting diagnosed with asthma was one thing but I wanted to dive deeper into the ‘why’ this had happened. This took me on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance which felt immense at times when you are new to a city and don’t have a support system around you. Everything I had done a really good job of avoiding, of pushing back down, of not addressing now really needed some attention. It was certainly not a smooth road but I know it was fundamental in moving me forwards, connecting me to some incredible people that are now my treasured friends and certainly shifted me into the work that I feel passionate about and aligned to do.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Movement Coach for actors, and a Movement Director and Intimacy Co-ordinator/Director for TV, Film and Theatre.
I help and support actors embody the roles that they play, offering a movement language and a movement-scape to support the story needing to be told. Each job is different, depending on the actors, the director, the vision, the story and the time available. Often the role of a movement director can feel invisible but if a mood or a feeling is sensed from the performances, embodiment will be a key factor. Our bodies are telling a story way before our voice is.
I specialize in getting actors (and anyone that wants to do this work!) connected to their true selves through movement. I believe in the gut knowing, heart feeling, and intuitive wisdom of our bodies. From the simplicity of bringing awareness to our breath to the freedom, expression and release that movement can give us all. I care deeply about empowering and inspiring actors to know that they are enough, to embrace their authentic self and to support their journey into embodying the roles that they play.
Our bodies hold the library of our life. We all move based on our movement heritage and I am known for using the seven energy centers of our bodies as a compass for this journey of discovery. I qualified as a Breath & Yoga teacher in 2020 and became a Facilitator of Chakradance® which is a practice available to anyone, whether you are an actor or not and has been key to my own movement and self-care practice.
My work with intimacy support and coordination allow for a consent-led practice giving actors agency to feel brave to do the work they are required to do. Intimacy can be physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Acting as a craft is intimate. I specialize in providing a platform for actors to discover their boundaries, realize they have a choice and advocate for them to be an equal collaborators in the filming process. An actor is a storyteller, but possibly more crucially, a reminder of our own humanity. We watch plays, films and TV shows to connect, to feel and to not feel so alone in the world. An actor’s job is to be more real in unreal imaginary circumstances than the often countless times we are behaving in an unreal way in the ‘real world’. I hope to offer a place for actors to embrace their uniqueness, feel courageous to fully immerse into the story and achieve their best performances.
I feel rather proud of recently graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London with a Master’s in Movement: Directing & Teaching, which was quite an achievement academically for someone that left school at 16! I’m also immensely proud of my current and former students who I have trained and then hire me to be a movement coach on their own productions. That’s always an incredible full-circle moment that constantly inspires me.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I would love to collaborate with other creatives who have stories to be told and would value an embodied approach.
I’m currently in pre-production with director Dana Gartland for a short movement-based film incorporating ASL that explores the notion of raising a generation of women who fully embody and value their worth and let their beauty, which is a given – take care of itself. We would love to build more connections with this project, especially with the deaf community in Los Angeles.
For any aspiring actors or professional actors that are seeking a community for their craft, I am proud to be Deputy Head of the award-winning acting studio Identity School of Acting in Hollywood. This was originally founded 20 years ago in London by Femi Oguns MBE and is run by our formidable Head of Acting Anthony Mark Barrow. If you have any queries or would like to apply for the school, please contact https://www.identityschoolofacting.com/ or connect via Instagram @identitydrama and @idsalosangeles
For my own workshops and classes, you can connect via my Instagram @rebeccareaney or website www.rebeccareaneymovement.com/projects
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rebeccareaneymovement.com/projects
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccareaney/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccareaney/
Image Credits
Veronica Crawford Sarah Prikryl Matthew Law Matthew Williams-Ellis Richie Luwawa Tiyah DeCosta
