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| An Interview with Billie Shepard |
 | The Art of Truthful Acting | | by Molly Craft |
My friend Mary Mackey has been assistant and protÈgÈ to acting coach Billie Shepard for nine years. I had heard wonderful things about Billie but never had the opportunity to meet her.
So when Mary told me about Billieís upcoming workshop, "ëThe Best of Both Worlds,î a place where actors can work stage and film auditioning skills all in one place óI knew it was time to finally meet Billie Shepard.
As I walk up to the house I find Mary standing in the open doorway with bare feet and a warm smile. After the initial greeting and introduction, I also kick off my shoes to join in the casual shoe-free atmosphere.
I canít help noticing Billieís sincere and gracious personality. You know when you meet someone and you get the feeling that you can ask them anything and they will tell you the truth? No sugar ñcoating, no beating around the bush. Thatís Billie Shepard.
Molly Craft: There seems to be a division of acting disciplines. Itís as if most actors want to be labeled as either a ëfilm actorí or a ëstage actor.í What do you think about that?
Billie Shepard: Learning to act truthfully can be terrifying. I know, Iíve been there. I think actors make certain parts of acting more difficult than it needs to be in order to protect themselves from their fear, self-doubt, and confusion. They often think thereís a huge difference between camera and stage acting. In fact thereís not.
There isnít good or bad acting; there is only truthful acting. We can discuss the differences of being on camera and being on stage all day long, but one has to feel it.
Actors are emotional athletes. An actor needs to practice how it feels to be in a truthful moment with the trained eyes of a coach keeping them on track. In tennis, it would be like hitting topspin, then hitting flat, then hitting topspin, then hitting flat. When itís done one right after another the muscle memory can be trained. Actors need to practice feeling truthful in both contexts.
Mary Mackey: Thatís right. We actors all want to stick with what we do best ówe want to stay in our comfort zone. But here in San Francisco, thereís not enough work to just do one or the other. We have to work in both film and stage and adapt in the moment. Itís like learning to ride a bicycle all over again. You pedal, you wobble, you fall off, and you try again and again. Then one day it clicks and the motor-memory takes over.
Billie: Iím there to guide the actor through that knothole of emotional, psychological and physical terror. I help them to that other side, where their full talent, style and confidence can come to the front each and every time theyíre on stage or on camera.
Molly: Why hasnít anyone done a workshop like this before?
Billie:I trust what Goethe said: ìAt the moment of commitment, the entire universe conspires for your success.î It takes the combination of a teacher with experience, ability and background to teach both. Iíve got a 30-year career in both arenas. Iíve taught in the San Jose Rep Studio Theatre for the last fourteen years, so the theatrical space was available to me. One plus one equaled the all-in-one concept
Billie Shepard would love to hear from you.
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