Today we’d like to introduce you to Maximillian Decker.
Hi Maximillian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started my acting career back in 2003. I was a series regular on a soap opera called All My Children. I was also on a Broadway Production called Take Me Out, which is about a baseball player coming out. The Play won the Tony then my career took full bloom. I was working consistently as an actor from shows like Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Reba, and NCIS. I was always looking for a community to put up good professional work, but unfortunately, I never found that. So I decided to start a class which went from 20 actors to over 100 rapidly. The training I received while studying in New York is similar to the training and curriculum I incorporate in my everyday classes.
As an acting coach for over a decade now, I encourage my students to put in the work and stay consistent in order to be at a professional level. I treat the studio as a gym for my students to continuously grow within their craft. You get what you work for not what you wish for.
I am especially proud to offer free agent/manager showcases, casting director workshops, space to shoot tapes, and plays for the community to come watch professional actors working on great material.
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?
The struggle I have encountered is once I get the actor started in the business, getting them signed to an agent or manager or helping them book their first professional acting job, is having them continue to do the same work that got them there.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We do Web Series or Films and put our actors in roles with other working actors to help them get experience and apply what they work on in class on set with the studios productions. We just won the 2022 Audience Choice in Los Angeles Lift- Off Festival for best Web Series.
What sets our community apart is the different classes we offer. I don’t know of another community that does dramatic improv which is grounded subtext work. Actors need to learn how to listen and work off their want before even grabbing a script.
We also only work on long-form material which is either classical or contemporary to challenge the actors for scene study. We also offer an on-camera audition class that works on current material that is being casted for that week. So it’s like a mini casting on the material to really get it worked out. We have booked several network shows through this process.
We also do plays on the weekends where we invite and entertain the local community.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
You need a mentor!!!! All successful people have mentors.
Look for someone who has done what you want to do successfully and has also taught it to people successfully. There is a lot of people who care and that’s great but they shouldn’t be mentors because they have never successfully done it. Trust me when I say this your mentor’s career will be your career.
Contact Info:
- Website: ArtOfTaoMadActing.studio
- Instagram: @madactingstudio
- Yelp: Mad acting studio
