Posts in Performing arts
Tea Time with Lindz: Joyful Raven : Breed or Bust

Joyful Raven’s solo show Breed or Bust will be performed at the Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023 2nd - 28th August. Tickets can be found at www.gildedballoon.co.uk

Joyful Raven is an actor, writer and comedian. Born into an iconic political theater family, she has been devising theater for over 25 years. Her last solo comedy Tales of a Sexual Tomboy was dubbed “…one of the funniest shows now on display on Bay Area stages” by the SF Chronicle. Tomboy won “Best of the Fringe '' at the 2016 San Francisco Fringe Festival and was awarded an ‘Encore Performance’ at the 2017 United Solo Festival in NYC. Her additional theatre credits include lead actor and co-author of four plays for “Prize of Hope '' winning company Human Nature and co-founder of the ensemble-driven theatre company Rococo Risqué, winner of SF Weekly Best Theater Ensemble.

Joyful has also appeared as an actor in many projects on stage and film, including Odyssey Works, an immersive theatre project; The Pursuit of Happiness, with Will Smith; and Spring Awakening, directed by Broadway and West End director Stafford Arima. She studied theater at Sarah Lawrence College in NY and holds an MFA in theater from UC Davis. She teaches Solo Performance and Storytelling at Berkeley Rep School of Theater. 

Hollywood Fringe a Step by Step Guide

By Lindsay Lucas-Bartlett

I have been asked multiple times about my experience at Hollywood Fringe, how to do it, what you need to do, and what it takes. So I figured I have done the podcast multiple times asking other people what they did and how they navigated fringe so now I am doing a step by step guide and what my thoughts are on fringe. So here you go, you’re welcome.

Want to do the Hollywood Fringe Festival and don’t know where to start? Feel overwhelmed just thinking about it all? Do you have a new play, established play or workshop that you want to get on its feet? Well let me guide you through the process with hopes that the process will be less daunting.

Venue Venue Venue

Hollywood Fringe is in the whole month of June starting with previews the first few days of June. My first piece of advice is to book your venue, then you can start thinking about the rest. If you know the theatre space that you have and its specifications, you can start your rehearsal process knowing how much or little space you have.

So first things first, what is your show? Is it a solo show? Big group production? Lots of props or just you in a theatre with only a chair? What do you need from your venue? Do you need projector, big lighting design, multiple levels, how many audience seats do you want, think of all the things you need and want. Then start your hunt.

The Hollywood Fringe website has everything you need to know about the venues it works with each year and how to contact them. If you go to the participant area on the site it will go over the venues and there specifics with you. Once you see some venues you like, start booking tours. The sooner the better. I usually go on January to look at venues and you’d be surprised that I am not the only one. The sooner you find the venue you want and book, the more likely you are to get the dates and times YOU WANT. That’s a big deal. There is nothing worse, in my opinion, then doing a show at midnight. That’s not for me. If you’re all for midnight shows, knock yourself out.

When you go to look at venues take a check list of the things you want and need and once you find the venue that ticks all your boxes be communicative with the theatre and get your contract in place.

You do not need to have registered your show yet with the Hollywood Fringe, you can wait to register your show until the very last day, May 1st usually.

Now that you have found your venue, if you are starting your show from scratch, get to work. If not, get rehearsing. If you’ve booked your venue in January that gives you ample amount of time to get your show audience ready.

You can approach your venue or other venues that are in LA, they don’t have to be participating in Fringe, to see what their rehearsal rates are if you need rehearsal space. But whatever you do, don’t leave rehearsing to the last minute either. Be on top of your game.

If you are doing a published piece of work, make sure you have the rights to the show. Getting rights is easy, just contact the playwright and / or publisher. Usually you will have a minimum then a maximum of time you can perform under that contract, so know exactly how many shows you will be doing before you get in contact with them. Once you have the rights you’re sailing.

Registration

Like I previously mentioned you don’t have to register your show until the deadline so sort your venue out first.

Create your show on the Fringe website. You’ll then do the application to the venue. Then you will register your show.

There are three tiers with registration so figure that out before you register. Usually you will do the first tier, the most expensive if you are doing multiple shows plus selling tickets. Look at all the tiers before you pay.

If you are coming from another country look at the International page and make sure you have the correct visas in place and that you are paying the correct tier. When it comes to International shows you cannot get ticket sales if you don’t have a visa however from what I have come to understand you can claim expenses from the theatre venue so in theory you could make your money back but not officially get “paid”. Double check this information with he venue and with Fringe before committing as information changes.

Budget

What is your budget? There are so many things that you can and will need to pay for during fringe and it does become a bit of a money pit so budget the fuck out of it and then have a “reserve” budget amount included in your budget. Likelihood is, you will go over.

Things to budget for:

- Registration

- Theatre

- Theatre Insurance

- Tech running your show

- Posters / postcards / advertising materials / buttons - make sure you have the Fringe logo on there and the show dates, times and theatre address. If your show is in a theatre that has multiple theatre, make sure it is clear which theatre you are in. Get your own show program made. CopyHub in Studio City is a GREAT place to get stuff printed quickly and without breaking the bank.

- Online adverts

- Program adverts

- Will you be streaming or recording your show? Add about $500 in for that if you are.

- Rehearsal space rental

- Any outside musical sources, i.e do you need a pianist on stage with you?

  • Reviews and advertising on outside websites. There are websites such as NoHo Arts that will run your advert on their website plus write you a review, which also will be on their website.

Goals

Set yourself goals for fringe. What do you want from this experience? To network? Make money or break even? Win an award? Workshop your show? Get reviews from audience members or publications? Whatever your goal/s are set them and if you achieve them, wonderful and if you don’t…please don’t beat yourself up. This entire process is brutal, it can be a massive rollercoaster of emotions, good and bad and it is exhausting, if you have had a great fringe or not it is still exhausting.

Tickets

Now when it comes to tickets I saw a bunch of fun ideas this Fringe, postcards and social media blasts with discount codes. Everyone loves a discount code so get one going.

What else do we love with discount codes? Free shows! If you are doing a preview show, comp it. If you can fill the theatre, word of mouth will be a great marketing resource for you, plus it’s free.

You can do a show of pay what you can or a night where you donate the profits or 10% profits of your show to a charity fundraiser.

Whatever ways you can get bums on seats, do it. Fringe is hard and it’s a continuous hussle so figure out fun ways in order to get an audience.

Add all of this into you budget. If you know you’re going to do a comp night, add it in.

Go to Fringe events and Fringe Central and meet other Fringers, do comp swaps and big each other up. At the end of the day you are all in it together and this is meant to be a a fun and safe environment to put on your work so make the most of it if you can.

Do promoted or sponsored ads on social media platforms. If no ticket sales come from it you can still see how many people have seen your posters and show details. Exposure is key. You can do promoted posts with the theatre’s address and have a five or six mile radius for the promotion.

Awards

Before Fringe starts you’ll get an email about the awards. Go through them all and READ the application process in its entirety! Some will ask you to do google forms. And start the award process AS SOON AS YOU CAN! Do not wait. The award panelists get so many applications and there are close to what, 300 shows being performed?

Imagine getting over 300 applications. I have heard that some of the award judges will only go to shows of the first xx amount of applicants. So do not wait a week to apply, apply as soon as the list comes out. Be on top of it.

Community awards are awards you do not have to apply for but make sure you are in the right categories. If your show is a solo show but a musical, put it in the musical section. The way you do that is in your page set up, do it before the program has been printed.

Show time

Once it is showtime…have fun! That’s what it’s all about right? If you are workshopping your show that is a great way to get feedback and notes. Last year we workshopped Trust Me, I’m from Essex at Fringe and we did three shows and I didn’t advertise the show as much as I could have because it was a workshop. The feedback I got a lot of was, more songs please. A year later I did the show again with five shows and four new songs, so time for a re-brand and it became a solo musical.

If your audience can write reviews for you on the fringe website a great way of using those reviews is by either putting them on the poster or any pictures you have had taken during the production and blasting the fuck out of them on social media platforms.

Lastly

Do not be hard on yourself. Fringe is really overwhelming for everybody and like I said before, if you had a great run and sold out shows, the whole process can be draining. Go with it, take breaks, take the time out for yourself to refresh. If you didn’t achieve your goals don’t stress it, it is what it is. Producing and performing in your own show is giving you skills that you will use in the future and they are valuable skills indeed. So if you didn’t achieve your goals I guarantee you achieved something way more valuable and that is being the creator of your own destiny. So be proud of yourself, be very mother trucking proud.

Tea Time with Lindz: Rebecca McGlynn

Rebecca McGlynn (she/they) is a transgender queer writer, actor, songwriter, and filmmaker working in film and TV production in Los Angeles. She premiered her original, award-winning one-woman show “Asexuality! The Solo Musical” in the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2022. She co-wrote and produced 2016's My Big Fat Blonde Musical, which she has since adapted into a digital series as a creator, writer, composer, cinematographer and editor. Awards include the Hollywood Fringe Festival's TOP OF THE FRINGE, BEST MUSICAL, BEST WORLD PREMIERE, ENCORE PRODUCERS' AWARD, PICK OF THE FRINGE; LA Music Critic's BEST SOLO SHOW; OUTDOOR VOICES FESTIVAL Official Selection; JOSHUA TREE SOLO FESTIVAL Desert Salon Official Selection; SOARING SOLO STARS SERIES Official Selection; Official Selection; iO West's 24hr SKETCH COMPETITION; LA 48hr Film Project's BEST DIRECTOR. Previous stage roles include: Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Spelling Bee), Trevor Graydon (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Caldwell B. Cladwell (Urinetown), Pooh-Bah (The Mikado), Mrs. Gloop (Willy Wonka), Rachel Brown (Inherit the Wind), and God (Spamalot!). Rebecca is also an Emmy-nominated photojournalist, writer and composer of the musical Norton! The Astonishingly True Story of America's Forgotten Emperor, and founder of Denison University's first non-singing a cappella group, Talkapella.

GoFundMe:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/acesolomusical

Tea Time with Lindz: Alex Kern

Alex Kern (she/her) is an actor, writer, comedian, and clown from Cleveland, Ohio. Her short films and original series’ (the critically acclaimed “SingleDumb” and “Pawla Dean’s White House Kitchen”) have screened at The Cleveland International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Comedy Festival, Los Angeles Animation Festival, and more. Her acting and writing work has been featured in numerous outlets, some of which include: HULU, Vulture, and Vanity Fair.  Alex trained at The New Actor’s Workshop (NYC) under the guidance of Mike Nichols before focusing on comedy (Groundlings, Upright Citizen’s Brigade) but identifies most as a clown (Idiot Workshop, The Clown School). In her comedy, Alex is interested in the risk of losing the logical and luxuriating in the joy of the moment.

For more details you can visit Alex’s website alexandrakern.com

Tea Time with Lindz: Katierose Donohue Enriquez

Los Angeles based actor, writer and director Katierose Enriquez created the solo show "Queen of Fishtown" which is returning to New York City following award winning runs at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Hollywood Fringe Festival, in London at the King’s Head Theatre, at Theatre Row on 42nd Street, and in Philadelphia at Plays and Players Theatre where Katierose performed her show in the city that inspired it.

"Katierose has created such a heartfelt and honest story with a perfect unsung hero. That's not a character we hear from very often and it's about damn time she gets her own show. It's hilarious but I didn't expect to be so moved by it..."

-- Andrew Rannells (Girls, Book of Mormon, Black Monday, Boys in the Band)

In this one woman show, Katierose brings Kathleen to life with a fantastic narrative of a 40-year-old woman, dealing with change to the neighbourhood she has grown up with and the dramatic changes in her own life. She also brings to life all the other characters in the plot in this truly poignant and hilarious piece of work, a somewhat Irish stubborn humour made better with the fantastic Philly accent.” – The Artiscape

The prime strength of Queen of Fishtown to my mind is the voice it affords to a certain kind of woman in our society, not necessarily from Northeast Philly, who is often overlooked or ignored” RECOMMENDED - Deborah Klugman at Stage Raw

Awards:

* Best Character Driven Solo Show Fireworks Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

* Platinum Award, TVolution for Best Female Solo Show at Hollywood Fringe

* Best of Broadwater Encore Award Hollywood Fringe

* Namba Performing Arts Encore Winner

* Best Solo Show Hollywood Fringe Nominee

* SPLASH Award Female Voices Nominee

Katierose has her MFA from American Repertory Theater’s Institute at Harvard University and the Moscow Art Theatre and is an alumnus of the Groundlings Sunday Company. Her solo sketch showcase, “THAT WOMAN!” was directed by Saturday Night Live's writer and cast member, Mikey Day.

Acting TV credits: 2 Broke Girls (CBS), How I Met your Mother (CBS), The Comeback (HBO), Future Man (HULU), American Crime (ABC), Astronomy Club (NETFLIX)

Find Queen of Fishtown online:

Official: https://queenoffishtown.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenoffishtown 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QueenOfFishtown

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@queenoffishtown

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/QueenOfFishtown

Katierose recently directed the world premiere play “Final Interview” by Gabriel Olivia at the Pico Playhouse and is currently directing Tony Bartolone’s dark comedy, “Homeless Romantic” at Hollywood Fringe. 

Tea Time with Lindz: Welcome back Cat LaCohie aka Vixen DeVille

Welcome back to the show Cat LaCohie aka Vixen DeVille.

In this episode we deep dive into devising a solo show on a time limit. That show becoming an award winning hit that goes on tour to then become a television show.

Talk about a journey or what.

How did Cat get inspired and what was her process? Listen now to find out.

Follow Cat on all the socials @catlacohie and @vixendeville

Tea Time with Lindz: Matthew Quinn

Matthew Quinn is a theatre veteran in Hollywood and oozes knowledge on not only the spaces he runs, basically any space in Los Angeles as well as being a Hollywood Fringe Festival knowledge king.

If you have any questions on the Hollywood Fringe Festival this is the episode for you as we dive into the Fringe and how to get the best out of it.

Matthew also has a three hour workshop that you can watch here:

https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4267

Usual price is $100 and you can get it for $80 with discount code: EARLYBIRD

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is such a fantastic experience to have and I would highly recommend it to all.

Tea Time with Lindz: Season Two Storytelling Intro

Hello everybody,

Tea Time with Lindz the podcast will be back for Season Two in about a week. This season I will be doing things slightly differently, if you listened to the podcast you would know that I just had my darling baby and therefore it is slightly harder for me to record with guests.

So sit back and enjoy some mental stories, all true, right from the horses mouth…I’m the horse.

Follow my on Instagram and Twitter for updates at @duchesslindsay

Thanks for listening.

Lindsay

Tea Time with Lindz: Rebecca Ferdinando

Rebecca Ferdinando is a British actress, model and host as well as an advocate to helping young people from all backgrounds a chance to get into the performing world.

Rebecca trained at Sylvia Young Theatre School before heading to Middlesex University where she gained her BA (Hons) degree before headed to drama school.

Rebecca has had a fabulous run in the British indie film world and she is going from strength to strength. Rebecca’s first film, Shank lead her onto wonderful, scene stealing roles in films such as Bonded by Blood, Outside Bet and Get Lucky. Most recently Rebecca wrapped Nemisis and has a new film, Election Night that is currently in the festival circuit. 

You can follow Rebecca on Instagram @Rebeccaferdinando 

Throwing out that energy for Rebecca to be in Call the Midwife wearing a wig and me being on Grey’s Anatomy, wig or no wig. 

Tea Time with Lindz: Bookclub Edition

In this mini Bonus episode I give a run down on the books I swear by and would highly recommend to anyone in the acting world or anyone who is just starting out. From acting on screen, accents, storytelling to screenwriting and monologue books.

To keep updated with new episodes and shenanigans follow me on Instagram and Twitter @duchesslindsay

Tea Time with Lindz: Tehmina Sunny

Meet Tehmina Sunny, British, Indian and American. Her charm, wit & curiosity makes her an actor’s actor, a director’s actor and a crew’s actor. She has portrayed memorable characters in Emmy award winning TV shows, Golden Globe nominated productions & Oscar winning movies. But really, Tehmina Sunny is the same little girl that once dreamed of one day acting. Not for the fame, but because as an actress she is a storyteller.

Born in London, her passion for the arts was developed at an early age. She received a scholarship for playing the violin, Viola and piano. With no previous training she was a finalist for the BBCs cross-country search for acting talent.

Sunny put her artistic dreams aside and attended the University of Leeds in England, where she studied Business Information Systems with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science. This combined with marketing and business studies earned her a Bachelor of Science degree with honors. After graduating, she worked for Richard Branson’s Virgin corporation. But soon after a UK acting agent persuaded her to embark in the entertainment industry as an actress.

Tehmina’s career began in the Oscar winning movie ‘Children of Men’, working with award winning director Alfonso Cuaron & actors Michael Caine, Clive Owen & Julianne Moore. Continuing on to ‘Argo’ with Ben Affleck.

On the small screen, she has portrayed a retrospective of characters in Emmy award winning & Golden Globe nominated productions including, CBS’s Training Day with the late Bill Paxton, NCIS, CSI, Fox’s 24: Live Another Day & The Following with Kevin Bacon. Aaron Sorkins The Newsroom on HBO, ABC’s Mistresses & CW’s Sci-fi show Pandora. Sunny is currently recurring on NBC’s Primetime show, ‘Chicago Med’.

Go follow Tehmina on Instagram and Twitter @tehminasunny

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Tea Time with Lindz: Shaan Dasani

Shaan Dasani is an American actor who started out in the world of production before making the jump to acting. Shaan not only is an actor but he also writes and creates his own projects. In the past several years he has directed and produced projects such as Game Night and Bollywood Invasion. 

We discuss the importance of community, fears in the creative world and what it is like being transgender in the ever changing industry today.

You can watch Shaan in projects such as Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. 

You can follow Shaan on Instagram and Twitter @shaandasani 

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Tea Time with Lindz: Danni Nicholls

Hailing from Bedfordshire, England, growing up on the American roots music of her Anglo-Indian grandmother’s record collection, singer/songwriter Danni Nicholls has been paving her way in UK Americana for over a decade, building a loyal fan base and much critical praise. “I absolutely love the beauty and elegance of her music” - Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2.

 

With the wind still in her sails from three consecutive Americana Music Association UK award nominations (Album, Artist and Song of the year in 2017, 2018 & 2020 respectively) plus extensive tours and opening slots with the likes of The Secret Sisters, Shakin' Stevens and Lucinda Williams, Danni, her powerful, arresting voice and her dynamically poetic original songs are ever-gaining presence and reach.

 

April 12th 2019 saw the release of Danni's third studio album The Melted Morning.

 

Produced by Jordan Brooke Hamlin (The Indigo Girls, Lucy Wainwright-Roche) at the idyllic woodland studio MOXE, Nashville TN, The Melted Morning is a collection of closely personal yet widely relatable songs.

The themes of this album span an array of life’s takeaways; from the pain and darkness of rejection, the fear of losing yourself and the power of human connection to offering up hope, light and new perspectives in the face of adversities.    

 

“I needed a new challenge, a new landscape to work in sonically, physically, energetically and viscerally. Collaborating with Jordan and this incredible team of women gave me that opportunity and we have created a delicate, vibey, honest and vulnerable collection of songs. We dove deep to find out who they wanted to become”.

 

This team team is made up of the cream of the Nashville crop including Annie Clements (Maren Morris, Amos Lee), Larissa Maestro (Margo Price) Jordan Hamlin (Brandi Carlile, Katie Herzig), Engineer, Gena Johnson (Jason Isbell, John Prine) and background vocals from grammy award nominated duo The Secret Sisters.

 

“Working with almost exclusively women for this project felt like the most natural and obvious path, partly out of a desire for a whole new record-making experience and knowing wholeheartedly I wanted to work with Jordan in this inspiring safe-haven she has built and partly because it just feels good and important to play a small part in addressing the ongoing gender imbalance in the music industry. But mostly because I admire and respect these people immensely and felt they were the absolute right people to help bring these songs to life”.

Her vibrant, captivating performances are guaranteed to melt your heart into the soles of your boots. Danni’s passionate delivery, captivating velvet voice and charmingly engaging between-song banter compel you to fall under her spell.

You can follow Danni and her music at the links below:

Website: https://www.danninicholls.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danninichollsmusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/danninichollsmusic

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3eD9PioRhPQtJOWTM3Od1R?si=y-MuSCLEQMiPuC9qaYVLaQ&dl_branch=1

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/danni-nicholls/355381948

Instagram @danninichollsmusic

We discuss the subject of fear a lot in this episode and a video I have found to be very helpful to me personally that we talk about is linked below - Lindsay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5nVqeVhgQE

Tea Time with Lindz: Troy Titus-Adams

Troy Titus-Adams is a British actress based in Los Angeles. Troy has appeared in soap operas EastEnders as Nina Harris and Family Affairs, as Kim Davies as well as several films and stage productions. She has also appeared in Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.

Finding her passion as a performer from an early age in Holland where Troy spent her early years, Troy grew up with a strong musical theatre background Troy was a dancer in Mexico for seven months and in Starlight Express in the West End. Then Troy decided to explore what it was like to live Stateside before returning back to the UK to appear in Eastenders and Family Affairs, before returning back to living Stateside once again.

Not only has Troy had a wonderfully creative journey but also a spiritual journey as well, which we discuss at length.

You can follow Troy on Instagram @troytitusbarrow

Tea Time with Lindz: Anthony Mark Barrow

Anthony Mark Barrow is an actor, director and coach originally from Birmingham currently based in Los Angeles, California. Knowing he wanted to pursue a career in the arts from an early age Anthony took the plunge and started training at the prestigious drama school, East 15. After not being able to afford the expensive tuition fee’s Anthony auditioned and got offered a place at The Central School of Speech and Drama at his audition.

After many successful theatre runs Anthony moved to Los Angeles where he has had many successes over the years including directing, working in audio books and most recently working with David Fincher on his new project.

We discuss the craft of acting, family, and Anthony’s experience of how resting on his laurels cost him work.

You can follow Anthony on Instagram @anthonymarkbarrow and on Twitter @antoniousmarcus


Tea Time with Lindz: Jane Gull

Jane Gull is a director, writer and producer from Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. Jane started out a dancer and actor before finding her true passion as a director.

Jane has just finished wrapping on her second feature film, Love Without Walls after a highly successful run with her first feature film My Feral Heart that won over 14 International Awards. My Feral Heart can be watched on platforms such as iTunes, GooglePlay and Microsoft as well as being purchased from Sky Store

Not only has Jane directed feature films she has also had many successes with several short films including multi award winning short, Sunny Boy and Twitcher.

Love Without Walls is currently looking for Post Production help, the crowdfunding link is below.

You can follow Jane and keep up with her projects here:

Twitter @gulljane

http://www.lovewithoutwallsfilm.com 

Crowdfunding page for post-production for Love Without Walls

https://greenlit.com/project/love-without-walls

http://www.myferalheart.co.uk 

Tea Time with Lindz: Josh Jarvis aka Verses Bang

Josh Jarvis aka Verses Bang is a rapper, hip hop artist and creative from Southend-on-Sea, Essex who has recently made the leap across the pond to Los Angeles. 

Josh has been writing his own material since he was sixteen recording his first record at the age of seventeen. 

Listen to how Josh gets inspired by what’s going around him, navigating mental health into his music and how his hometown has influenced him and his music. You can listen to us have lots of Southend talk and what words of wisdom Josh has for anyone pursuing a career in the arts. 

You can listen to Verses Bang on any of the links below and on any streaming service such as Spotify and iTunes.

Watch Verses Bang music videos from Southend to Los Angeles on YouTube and see how his life has changed dramatically in the past eighteen months since Covid hit. 

https://versesbang.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/Versesbang1/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZTWwuezLVk7hkOFWYdFBDw

You can follow Josh on Instagram @bangcam and Twitter @versesbang

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Tea Time with Lindz: Eddie Ruiz

Eddie Ruiz was born and raised in Boyle Heights, California, near downtown Los Angeles. He quickly landed a guest-star on “That’s So Raven” as Barry The Mascot during drama school. He attended C.S.U.,Fullerton where he received hi B.A. in Acting. He then quickly flew over to London, UK where he received his MFA in Acting from The Central School of Speech and Drama. Some grads from CSSD include Sir Laurence Olivier, Gael Garcia Bernal and Judy Dench.

After his return, there has been a lot of love for Eddie in the industry. He made his film debut in the award winning film, “Russel Fish: The Sausage and Egg Incident” starring alongside GLEE’s Chris Colfer (Kurt). Eddie was nominated for Best supporting actor in Russel. After landing several TV guest roles, he booked Michael Patrick King’s NBC/WB Pilot as Juan in A Mann’s World starring Don Johnson.

Eddie also stars in films such as “Make A Movie Like Spike” appears alongside Jamil Walker Smith (Stargate, Hey Arnold), Malcolm Goodwin(Breakout Kings), “Ghostown” alongside Jack Guzman(Power Rangers), The Missing Link, Heavy Metal Strawberry Pickers, and Neighborhood Garden.

Eddie is no stranger to the stage. He has worked with many respectable theatre companies such as Will & Company where he was Pinocchio in Pinocchio, playing Verges in Tony Plana’s Much Ado About Nothing with East LA Classic, and Martinez in Ray Bradbury’s The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit with the Pandemonium Theatre Company. He has received many awards and great reviews for his performances.

Eddie lives in Hollywood, CA where he is now Acting and Producing with his Independent film company “Obviam Entertainment” with Eddy Martin, Luke McClure, and his wife Jean Altadel. www.obviamentertainment.com

You can follow Eddie on Twitter and Instagram @TheEddieRuiz

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Tea Time with Lindz: Lucy Drive aka Roxi Drive

Lucy Drive is an actress and musician also known as 80’s alter ego Roxi Drive. Lucy can be seen in BBC programs such as Hustle and Doctors as well as feature films such as Outside Bet, directed by Sacha Bennett, performing alongside Bob Hoskins

Not only has Lucy had a lovely acting career but in 2014 Lucy wrote, produced and co-directed an 80's Spielberg inspired coming of age short film called Our Time which was accepted in to the Cannes Short Corner.

Lucy moved to Los Angeles and then spent some time in Atlanta figuring out the acting scene before headed back to Brighton where Roxi Drive, 80’s inspiring singer and performer was born. 

Not only has Lucy had success in acting and with her music she also has a podcast called Deadly Debbie’s Creepy Files: Ghost Stories and More, a podcast focusing on the paranormal. 

You can follow Lucy here: 


Instagram and Twitter @lucydrive @roxidrive (IG) @deadlydebbiepodcast (Twitter) @debbiefiles 

https://www.roxidrive.com

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Tea Time with Lindz: Sabra May

Sabra May is an actress, voiceover artist, writer, improviser, and standup comedian. She currently co-produces the all female standup show Comedy Stew in West Hollywood. She has also written and performed two one-woman shows. The most recent, titled The Creature, was performed while 8 months pregnant. Sabra has completed the improv and musical improv programs at Upright Citizen’s Brigade and is currently on the musical improv team The B-Side.

Sabra has also voiced thousands of commercials across all platforms as well as video games, technical and medical narrations, and animated works. The client list is so extensive, Nike, intel, Microsoft, Nintendo are just a few and voices a character on Cyberpunk.

Sabra has an extensive theatrical background and has worked with Anne Bogart and SITI Company and has studied at Warner Loughlin Studios. She is a fan of immersive theatre and is a co-founder of the Action/Adventure Theatre company in her hometown of Portland, Oregon

Listen to Sabra and I discuss the world of stand up comedy, creating shows that women will have a safe space to perform and not get sexually harassed or discriminated against, motherhood and our love for Grey’s Anatomy.

You can follow Sabra on Instagram and Twitter @sabramay

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