Coffee Chat Podcast

This week I chatted to Ella May Cannon. We chatted about all things acting, auditions, living in LA, a very exciting project she has coming up and some fun rapid fire questions which turned into an insightful conversation about authenticity. So, grab a coffee and enjoy! :)

BIO:

Ella May Cannon is an Australian Actress best known for her roles of 'Rachel' in iZombie and 'Peyton' in the upcoming film Trees of Peace. Ella was born in East Melbourne, Australia, and grew up on a small farm with her parents and younger brother. Ella began acting professionally at 17 and initially began showcasing her talents through theatre. Her first leading role was that of Electra in the NIDA production The House of Atreus, shortly followed by Grace in the Wax Acts Theatre Company's original play The Innkeeper. After many years of studying her craft in numerous institutions, Ella has followed her career pursuits as a professional actress all over the world from Australia, Los Angeles, Mexico and Canada. After completing production on Trees of Peace, which is gaining considerable success on the festival circuit already, she has since gone on to film 3 back-to-back leads in feature films for major networks in the midst of the covid pandemic. Her past credits include roles on the Australian all-star series 'Neighbours', 'Winners and Losers', and CW's fan-favorite series 'iZombie' and 'Supernatural'.

Instagram: @ellamaycannon

This week I chatted to Julie Bruns. A Vancouver based actress, writer, director and producer. We chatted about her journey in acting, creating your own work, writing and some fun rapid fire questions! So, grab a coffee and enjoy! :)

BIO:

An award-winning actor, director, writer and producer, Julie Bruns has never been good at just sticking to one thing - she’s a multi-hyphenate with a passion to bring stories to life that leave a lasting impact and keep people thinking long after the credits roll. Her latest projects currently on the film festival circuit include Ada, a biopic about the world’s first computer programmer set in 1851, where she plays the titular character and The Purgamentum, a PNW-set eco-horror short that she co-wrote, co-directed and stars in. She has lived all over North America, has worked an associate producer for the Crazy8s Film Competition, and you'll usually find her writing, re-writing or skulking around a set somewhere.

Instagram: @julie.bruns

This week I chatted to Stephanie Pringle and Alison Fowler from Chicken and Chips Casting. We chatted about their journey into casting, the joys and challenges of casting, advice for actors, dream projects, diversity in Australia and some fun rapid fire questions! So, grab a coffee and enjoy!

BIO:

Al & Steph are Australia’s most dynamic casting duo. In 2018, they were the first Casting Directors to win B&T’s 30 under 30 Award. 2020 sees them gaining 3 x nominations for this year's Casting Guild Awards. As proud members of the Casting Guild of Australia they are both a part of the Guild’s Diversity Committee to continue their work in advocating for representation and diversity in Casting. Both are mentored by Casting Industry legend, Fiona Dann. Recent credits include Australian pioneer film The Flood directed by Victoria Wharfe McIntyre, Ellie & Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt) directed by Monica Zanetti (the first Aussie film to open the Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival in it's 27 year history), Deadhouse Dark Anthology created by Enzo Tedeschi, Blood Sisters directed by Madeleine Dyer, factual program Stargazing produced by the BBC, Short Documentary Bright Lights directed by Charby Ibrahim, Metro Sexual directed by Henry Boffin for Channel 9 and Chlorine directed by Melissa Anastasi and Deluge directed by Cloudy Rhodes - both of the latter premiered at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival. Steph & Al are known as the 'Actor's Casting Directors', putting the actor and the actor's process first and foremost and with their energy they are reigniting the craft of casting in Australia.

Instagram:

@chickenandchips_

@itsstephaniepringle

@itsalisonfowler

This week I chatted to Stephanie Pringle and Alison Fowler from Chicken and Chips Casting. We chatted about their journey into casting, the joys and challenges of casting, advice for actors, dream projects, diversity in Australia and some fun rapid fire questions! So, grab a coffee and enjoy!

BIO:

Al & Steph are Australia’s most dynamic casting duo. In 2018, they were the first Casting Directors to win B&T’s 30 under 30 Award. 2020 sees them gaining 3 x nominations for this year's Casting Guild Awards. As proud members of the Casting Guild of Australia they are both a part of the Guild’s Diversity Committee to continue their work in advocating for representation and diversity in Casting. Both are mentored by Casting Industry legend, Fiona Dann. Recent credits include Australian pioneer film The Flood directed by Victoria Wharfe McIntyre, Ellie & Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt) directed by Monica Zanetti (the first Aussie film to open the Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival in it's 27 year history), Deadhouse Dark Anthology created by Enzo Tedeschi, Blood Sisters directed by Madeleine Dyer, factual program Stargazing produced by the BBC, Short Documentary Bright Lights directed by Charby Ibrahim, Metro Sexual directed by Henry Boffin for Channel 9 and Chlorine directed by Melissa Anastasi and Deluge directed by Cloudy Rhodes - both of the latter premiered at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival. Steph & Al are known as the 'Actor's Casting Directors', putting the actor and the actor's process first and foremost and with their energy they are reigniting the craft of casting in Australia.

Instagram:

@chickenandchips_

@itsstephaniepringle

@itsalisonfowler

This week I chatted to Ajay Banks. I've known Ajay for the last two and a half years and he was one of my first friends when I moved to Vancouver. We chatted about his acting journey from Australia to Canada, changing agents and auditioning, creating your own work and some fun rapid fire questions! So, grab a coffee and enjoy! :)

BIO:

Ajay Banks is a Queer Australian actor and writer. After getting his start in plays and musicals, his first credited acting role in television was in the well known Australian soap ‘Neighbours.' In 2015 he temporarily relocated to Los Angeles and studied at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting, and the New York Film Academy. Later that year, he was one of the leads in the award winning comedy web series ‘The Happiness Curve’ (Best Ensemble at the LA Webfest) He was also featured in a series of mockumentary educational films for ClickView that can currently be seen in Schools all around Australia. In 2016 he wrote, produced and starred in the short film ‘Always.’ For ‘Always’, he won Best Actor for an LGBT Short Film at the New Renaissance Film Festival in 2017. ‘Always’ also won Best LGBT Short at the Perth International Queer Film Festival. ‘Always’ was available to stream on OutTV Go in Canada from 2017-2020. In 2017 Ajay (alongside his partner) relocated to Vancouver, Canada. He was also apart of the award winning ensemble for the short play ‘Compelling Spencer’ in the About Love Festival in 2018. Ajay recently appeared in an episode of ‘Snowpiercer’ Season 2 and has also had small roles in Hulu’s ‘Woke’ and Disney Channel’s ‘Gabby Duran and the Unsittables’. In August 2020 Ajay placed in the Top 10 of the Artist2Artist Showcase. He can currently be seen as the very normal face of ‘Omegamart’ In 2020 he produced, co-wrote, directed and starred in ‘The Realists’. The Realists is an up and coming four part Queer Comedy-Drama series. It will be released later this year. Ajay is represented by Candice May-Davies at Leo Management.

Instagram: ajaybanks__

This week I chatted to Jovanna Burke a multi talented lady based in Vancouver. We chatted about her journey into acting, studying New York, creating your own work, auditions and some fun rapid fire questions. So, grab a coffee and enjoy!

BIO:

Jovanna grew up in a latino household and spent her childhood playing dress-up and creating characters. Since then she's done many things: graduated from school, met her true love, birthed two children. But she always seems to find herself back in the playroom with her dress-up clothes and her stories. Jovanna co-wrote and starred in her first play, `Gags Life’ in 1986, about a girl who magically and tragically lives in a tent with her mother Moisa on Campground 6 with the rest of her tragic extended family. The show was produced by and performed in the dining room of her family home, and ran every day for a staggering year straight. She was six years old. She followed her passion for storytelling to Walnut Hill School for the Arts as a Dance Major andin her junior year, landed her first professional gig. Dancing with the prestigious Boston Ballet. After an injury forced a major pivot, she continued her education in theatre at Circle in the Square, Weist-Barron Studio in NYC and thenVancouver Film School. Since then Jovanna has performed on stages across North America and accrued many hours on set in many capacities. Most notably acting, choreographing and producing. A couple of her favourites credits are: 'The True Heroines' (Leo Award, CSA Nomination) and 'The Trap' ( Leo Award Nom). With her extensive experience as an actor in film and television (over 45 credits to her name) and producer (The True Heroines, (YouTube + Hulu Plus) Jovanna’screativity is constantly evolving. Having visualized stories since she was a child, she looks forward to telling important stories that focus on female driven narrative.

Instagram: @officialjovanna

This week I chatted to Aaron Alexander a talent agent with Trisko Talent in Vancouver. We chatted about Aaron's journey from acting to talent agent, what he looks for when signing new clients, the agent and actor relationship,branding and some fun rapid fire questions. So, grab a coffee and enjoy!

BIO:

Aaron is a born and raised Torontonian with over 30+ years in the entertainment industry.Prior to working at Trisko Talent (Agent/Partner), Aaron spent most of his life working on both sides of the camera, stage and mic. As an actor in Toronto, he enjoyed the best of times carving out a career consisting of numerous commercial, film & television appearances. He also worked on radio and got a laugh from time to time performing sketch, improv & stand-up comedy. After shifting gears, he packed up and moved out west to begin his career in talent management. He has since worked with some of the brightest minds in the industry while making a name for himself as a supporter of the local art scene.

INSTAGRAM:

@aaronmalexander / @triskotalent

This week I chatted to Amanda Yipp again for the podcast! We chatted about all things mindset, aliens, her passion for animal rescue and some fun rapid fire questions with some new would you rather questions added into the mix! So, grab a coffee and enjoy the final episode for 2020! :)

BIO:

Amanda is a local movement coach/dance instructor, teaching for over 10 years. She has worked in the professional arts and dance scene in booking and performing for large events and stage, film and television, and music videos. With a physical literacy, martial arts and theatre background she is passionate about movement for the mind body and soul. Her love for creating inclusive and confidence building classes ensures a safe creative space for all.

Instagram: @amandaychoreo & @amanda.m.y

This week I chatted to Marissa Saroca. I met Marissa this year during an online zoom acting class and we instantly became friends. We chatted about her journey as a performer, body image and representations in film and TV, keeping inspired and creating your own work and of course her very exciting booking in RENT and some fun rapid fire questions. So, grab a coffee and enjoy! :)

BIO:

As a professional singer/musician for most of her life, Marissa Saroca has two independent original albums (Cheaper Than Therapy and Boys Write Love Songs Too), was on Team Lea (Salonga) of season one of The Voice of the Philippines, two ABC Newcastle Music Awards for Best Female Vocals, and an extensive recording, coaching, and live performance career. In 2006 she was in her first musical RENT, with her third reprisal of ‘Maureen’ in 2017 earning her a CONDA nomination (City of Newcastle Drama Awards). She has played roles including ‘Gabriella’ (HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL) and was part of the development workshop of new work BETWEEN WORLDS, which was performed at the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) by a professional cast. Marissa was in the ensemble for the musicals GHOST and SHREK on the Philippine professional stage and her first play was for Knock And Run Theatre’s AJAX IN IRAQ in 2018, followed by THE PLASTIC BEACH at the Newcastle Fringe Festival in 2019.

Marissa is currently in pre-production for her third original album, and will be playing ‘The Arbiter’ in the musical CHESS at Civic Theatre Newcastle in late February 2021, starring David Harris and Silvie Palladino as Anatoly and Florence.

Marissa is the proud daughter of a Filipino immigrant and is excited for a future of more diverse representation and accessibility within the industry. She is an active member of Musicians Australia (MEAA). Marissa honours Awabakal and Worimi Land where she was born, grew up on, and is currently living. Always Was, Always Will Be.

Instagram: @marissasaroca

This week I chatted to Sinead Curry. I found Sinead through her beautiful content on Tik Tok and here we are chatting on the podcast! We chatted about her acting journey from Australia to Vancouver, coming out as queer and a lovely conversation about queer representations in film and TV. So, grab a coffee and enjoy!

BIO:

Sinead Curry is an award winning Australian / Irish actress, voice artist and model. She has been working in the film, television, theatre, corporate and live performance sectors in Australia and Canada for several years. Sinead has starred in TV shows such as the American supernatural crime drama series iZombie and the popular, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the American superhero television series based on the characters of DC Comics. The show is hugely popular around the world and has been nominated for a variety of awards including Best Superhero Television Series for 3 years running at the Saturn Awards and Choice TV Show at the Teen Choice Awards. Sinead showcased her acting skills in season 4 of the series. On top of these television credits, Sinead has performed in numerous international television pilots currently in development and has featured at various film festivals such as Palm Spring International, Montreal International, Kinofilm, Leeds International, Melbourne Fringe Festival and MetroScreen where she was an award winner for Like Breathing, where she plays the hilarious role of Theresa. Sinead is currently featured in the highly anticipated series Nancy Drew, an American mystery drama television series airing on the CW Network. The 2019TV series revolves around Nancy as she is about to head off to college, only a family tragedy holds her back another year and she finds herself in a “ghostly murder investigation” in her hometown of Horseshow Bay.

Instagram: @sineadcurry