Daily Inspiration: Meet Jen Krater

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Krater

Hi Jen, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My name is Jen Krater and I own Krater Studios with my partner and husband Paolo Pagliacolo. We are an on camera acting studio in Los Angeles that focuses on preparing actors for leads in film and television. I have been teaching for almost thirty years. I am originally from Salt Lake City Utah. When I was young I trained as a ballerina with The Ballet West Academy. I received the Elizabeth Hayes Scholarship to attend the University Of Utah’s Modern dance program. During that time I began modeling and booked my first of many national commercials. At 19 I moved to NYC to pursue my acting career. My first major gig, was The Will Roger’s Follies” on Broadway and eventually became a Radio City Rockette.

Although I had early successes as a dancer, my heart was in acting. When I met Sally Johnson and began studying at her studio, I began to work as an actress. I really fell in love with watching actors take huge risks, open up and connect to their instincts and beautiful talent.

When I was 27 years old, I took an improve class and found the teacher to passive and uninspired and at that time I asked Sally if I could teach class at the studio. Thursday nights were my first class in NYC. After five years, I bought the studio from Sally. I was training Broadway actors who were moving into film and tv and eventually leaving for LA. They would reach out to me in NYC and say “No one is teaching an on camera class like you in LA”. When Paolo and I had our first child we moved to LA and opened Krater Studios.

We have been in LA for about 16 years now. We offer On Camera classes in Cold Reading, Scene Study and Audition Technique. My passion is helping actors connect to their creative voices, become full storytellers and have the technical expertise to land what they want to do on film.

When the pandemic hit, we branched out and KS Productions began to shoot demo reels. We found our actors were going to shoot at these companies and the writing wasn’t great and the footage didn’t capture the artists we knew them to be from their work in class. Then we began to shoot short films. We have won some awards, as have our clients. This year we are branching out further to shoot our first feature film. We have such a beautiful community of actors and we want to bring their work out to the world.

Also, I want to support the film and television community in Los Angeles so KS Productions is developing projects where the cast and crew can share in the returns. I believe firmly in a strong creative community and supporting other people.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I laughed a little when I read this questions. No, I don’t think a long career in film and television is smooth for anybody, but then again that is not what I signed up for. As I always tell my clients, “If you wanted comfort, you should have gone in to accounting”. Anytime you choose to make your own path in life there will be head winds. You just truly need to decide that this is what you want to do and put the blinders on to the naysayers and work your butt off.

When I moved to NY I didn’t know anything. I made so many mistakes and although I was very ambitious there were plenty of times where I was lost or scared. For example, when I auditioned for Will Roger’s, I fell down the stairs of the Palace Theatre, jumped up at the bottom of the stage and kept on going. I almost got hired that day. I was brought to the theatre that night to try on costumes. It turned out, the woman I would have replaced stayed and I auditioned for that show six or seven times before I booked it. I was not a strong singer when that journey started, but the audition where I did booked it, the musical director had me sing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” Acappella, sing scales, some of the songs from the show too. But I had done my work. I sang every single day. Quit drinking, smoking and coffee. I also would walk to The Palace Theatre every morning and touch the poster of the girls. It seems silly, but Will Rogers was my first musical and it was a Tony Award Winning Show by Tommy Tune.

Teaching was another huge leap. I was 27 when I started and truly wanted to be great. I was terrified I wouldn’t have anything to offer and I wanted to make a difference for my students. I remember Ward Horton (“The Night Agent” -” The Gilded Age”) was in my first class and in the middle of one of my exercises exclaimed “I am so happy to be in a great acting class” and that sealed the deal for me. I love working with actors.

Paolo and I had our son Ever in 2008. That was right before the huge recession. I had another partner in NY and I knew it wasn’t where I saw my future so I had to say good bye to the city that I love, my studio I had trained in and bought and a stable of actors that I was deeply committed to. That was really hard.

Then we moved to LA. The city’s economy was depressed when we arrived and I had moved from a city where everyone knew who I was to a brand new market with a baby and nobody knew who we are. Looking back I realize that took major balls. Many people told me I wouldn’t be able to teach my cold reading class in LA. But I knew what this process did for actors. We were lucky enough to rent a space from Sam Christensen and we did it. Now my Instinct Classes are all full. I knew what I was doing. You really have to stick to your instincts. I am so proud of that evolution.

We have been in our new space for a little over 1o years. The community at Krater Studios is filled with passionate, amazing actors. We made it through the pandemic, the strikes and now have survived the fires. My heart goes out to everyone in our city. It reminds me of being in NYC during 9/11. I know my responsibility right now is to offer community for our clients. Acting is such a life affirming process and we are grateful to be studio where people can come and open up, tell the truth about where they are and what they are going through. I feel a deep responsibility to keep the business going here in LA, while so many people have suffered unimaginable losses. When I was young I took for granted dancing on the line as a Radio City Rockette. After 9/11, I stepped back into my tap shoes and kicked for the city I loved. Now in LA, I am stepping up to support the film and television community. So many of the parents we know work in the industry and have been deeply impacted by the pandemic, the strikes and now the fires. We are the adults in the room and no one is coming to save us, so I want to gather the creative people in my circle and produce. Not just make art which is incredibly important, but to make everyone some money too. Stay tuned.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I teach INSTINCT (on camera cold read) at Krater Studios. It is a cold reading class, but it is so much more than that. It is a process that unleashed an actors impulses and connects them to their talent, the world they live in and other people. I think I am known for my passion. I love acting. I love actors and Iove watching them grow. We were talking a lot the past couple of weeks in class and many of my clients will say that I gave them permission to be who they are, to be authentic, to take chances and not be afraid. I am proud to teach people to open up and share themselves with one another. We need connection as human beings. We are so disconnected as a society, and acting is one of the ways we learn to be present with one another. I am proud to bring people together.

I think what sets me apart from other teachers is my intuition. I really see people. I also really care. I know how hard nosed the industry can be. I instill good working habits to my actors and I want them to be fearless on camera, but I also know that a studio can be a safe place for the talent to try new things. I want people to develop trust. Sally Johnson gave that to me in NY and I am proud to continue what she taught me.

I am so excited for what comes next. My husband Paolo Pagliacolo is such an AMAZING writer. In the past few years, we have found our creative vein as filmmakers and we are just getting started there. It is so incredible to be 55 and feel so creatively alive. I know we are going to make some incredible films with our community.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the weather. I love that this is where the film industry was born. I love that LA is a city where dreams can really come true. This is where we are raising our family. I love being in California.

The thing I hate about LA is the disconnect. I think it is the driving. In New York, you go out into the city and are confronted with where you live. The city is tough so you have to make it. LA is beautiful, but you can feel so alone. Artistically, I think an actor needs to be in touch with the world we all live in.

I try to get the people I work with to think about how they can contribute. They can be honest. It doesn’t need to be pollyanna but acting is about giving.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kraterstudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kraterstudios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063042888706
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kraterstudios5742