Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany S. Hall.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Brittany. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
Actors Play LA was actually born in my living room. It started with me looking for space where I could continue to train as an actor. I am a series regular on Ballers so it’s great to be working, but the in between time when I’m not shooting, I still want to train. I searched all over LA for a drop in classes for actors that doesn’t require me to commit to a certain amount of time because due to my schedule it’s hard for me to commit to a class that requires me to show up weeks in a row. I couldn’t find a class that was specific to what I was looking for. So I just started inviting my friends who are also actors over my house to do this thing called “Actors Playground” which is what I was calling it at the time. They loved my idea of bringing actors together to “workout” and train together. And when I told them I wanted to make this an open space for the public, they all told me I should. When I decided to make it a public space I changed the name to Actors Play LA, I thought it had a nice ring to it. Lol. I got hesitate and doubtful about it though so I sat with the idea of bringing it to life for a long time. One day I had coffee with a friend I haven’t seen in a while and she was like “You’re doing this NOW!” She kinda forced me to get the ball rolling instead of sitting on the idea. I went home and told my wife and we got to planning. I reached out to my friends and colleagues as well. I would come to them with ideas on how to build it, and they would give me insight or point me in the direction I was looking to go. I reached out to two people that are actors as well and asked them if they would be interested in being instructors. Patrick Walker and Sheldon Frett are two friends that I met years ago in an acting class in Atlanta.
Patrick was already teaching in Atlanta. I knew he was already familiar with instructing and had so much to pour into this LA community of actors. Sheldon graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. I knew he had a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that he learned to share with the community as well. When they said they were both on board as instructors, I felt like I found the perfect team to get the wheels in motion. I first thought of creating a workshop for Actors Play LA called Open Gym that is every Saturday where actors participate in a range of exercises from Improv to Voice and Movement for 3 hours. We also have an Audition Prep class on Monday’s and an Emotional Prep class on Wednesdays.
Carnetta Jones, who’s an amazing acting coach, joined our family of instructors and she teaches our Emotional Prep Class. My wife Kim Alex Hall is our Creative Director and Event Planner. And we just added Zakiya Young to our team, who is an amazing actress that performed on Broadway. She will be the instructor for our new Musical Theatre class. We host an event every other month called the “No Small Talk” panel where we invite industry professionals to speak and give first-hand insight to attendees. We’ve had our first panel with the cast of BET’s Boomerang and our second panel was on the business of acting so we bought in a CAA agent and a manager from Link Entertainment to come speak. I love what we are doing. We are growing tremendously fast, and I believe it is because of the community we built and the constant love and support that we receive. A major supporter has been Lena Waithe, who’s supported us since day one and constantly refers people to Actors Play LA. I am extremely grateful for the people who believe in Actors Play LA and what we are building. We had our very first class on January 23rd, 2019 and every class since has been sold out.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Actors Play LA is like my baby. It honestly took months for it to come to life. I had so much doubt within myself about doing it, and that has been my biggest obstacle. I was over analyzing how it would be received or if people would support it. I was scared people wouldn’t understand what it actually is. It’s not an acting school.
It’s a training facility for actors. It’s like a gym. You can come to every class, and if you do, you’ll see the results in work. Just like if you were to go to a regular gym to work out every day of the week, you’d see results. We don’t teach actors how to “act.” We teach them how to prepare for auditions, connect to characters authentically, fine-tune their instruments through voice and movement, and be emotionally available and present.
Getting people to understand that is a bit of a challenge. I also know that because our prices are “cheaper” compared to other acting class and acting studios people assume that the quality of the work we offer is poor. That can be challenging. On the other hand of that, once they come to Actors Play LA and experience what we are actually doing, they fall in love.
Please tell us about Actors Play LA.
Actors Play LA is a training facility for actors, and we don’t require a membership. We have Voice and Movement classes. Classes that focus on diving deeper into being emotionally connected such as our EP (Emotional Prep) Class. Our AP Class which is our Audition Prep class is completely focused on preparing you for the audition. It’s not the kind of class where you show up and are given some lines to remember so you can be critiqued on something you learned in five minutes.
It’s a class focused on connecting you to your character and on creating a world that you feel confident to walk into the audition room with and present to casting. It’s different what we do here. The best part is you can when you want to come, and we don’t charge you an arm and a leg. What we charge for a 3-hour acting workshop in Los Angeles is unheard of, but that’s what you get at Actors Play LA.
On top of that, there is a strong community built within it. What we experience in our classes and workshops together as actors create a bond between us, so it starts to feel like you have an extended family that supports you.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My first time on stage. I played Little Bo Peep in a school play. I remember the stage, the lights, and the feeling of all those eyes being on me but also feeling so unafraid to be seen. I must’ve been in kindergarten. That was when I fell in love with performing.
Contact Info:
- Website: ActorsPlayLA.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/actorsplayla
- Facebook: facebook.com/actorsplayla
Image Credit:
BK Headshots, NoviBrownPhotos
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