Career Essentials

The Career Essentials program has been carefully designed to lay a foundation for the rigors of a career as a professional entrepreneur, as well as to continue to nurture and refine the artist’s strengths.

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Course Overview

Taught by Drama, Inc., this workshop is for soon-to-be-grads and alumni of TKS, and other actors looking to expand into the world of TV and Film. We will cover AUDITION TECHNIQUE for CAMERA, how to SELF TAPE and the adjustments required from theatre to nail the subtly of On-Camera work. All students will work on-camera each day using assigned tv/film scenes.

- Other topics we will cover:
  - Eyelines – where to look when speaking
  - Marks – where to walk and “land”
  - Cues – when to walk, when to talk
  - Auditions – when to memorize, how to memorize. how to audition with script in hand
  - Ad-libbing – if and when it is acceptable
  - Slating – how to slate
  - The difference between stage acting and on-camera acting
  - Quick turnaround auditions
  - How to quickly do script analysis on audition sides
  - Actor’s Access, Headshots, Resumes, Social Media, Websites and
  - Reels
  - Agents and Managers and being repped in different markets
  - Unions – when to join
  - Differences between LA, NYC and Atlanta markets
  - And much more…

WHEN:

Friday 8/8/25 – Sunday 8/10/25 from 10am-5pm each day with a 1-hour lunch break. Then, on Monday Aug 11th, between 10am-4pm, each student will receive a semi-private career consultation.

COST:

$1,000 + $75 admin fee for non-TKS grads (must have attended an acting conservatory, BFA, or MFA)
$900 + $75 admin fee for TKS grads
Admin fee waived for TKS 2025 grads

Audit price: $450

Email Kevin to enroll Non-TKS Actors – Apply Here Learn More About Drama, Inc.

TRANSFORM

Meet Your Instructors

Catherine Dyer

In the last two decades Catherine Dyer has built an impressive resume on both sides of the camera. As an actress she is best known as the evil Agent Connie Frazier in season 1 of the Netflix mega-hit Stranger Things. She can currently be seen opposite Chris Pratt in Amazon’s thriller The Terminal List and later this year will appear opposite Benicio Del Toro in Reptile on Netflix.

Scott Poythress

Scott Poythress has worked professionally for over 31 years on stage, studio features, indie films, commercials and lending his voice to both video games and scripted podcasts. As an actor, producer, director and now award-winning editor he continues to stay busy on both the east and west coast.

Claire Bronson

In the last few years Claire Bronson has been working in front of and behind the camera as an actor, producer, director and on set coach. In addition to starring opposite Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin in the hit disaster film Greenland, you can catch her in two Stephen King projects.

Jason MacDonald

Jason MacDonald began his professional career in New York City with stints at LaMama, Circle in the Square and opposite Frank Langella in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of The Tempest. Feature film credits include The Man From Toronto, Moonshot, The Accountant, Life As We Know It, The Family That Preys, Beacon Point, The Joneses, Pageant Material, and the thriller 1st Summoning.

What You’ll Learn

In today’s entertainment industry, the modern actor is challenged with maintaining their artistic identity while simultaneously running their own business—marketing themselves as both an artist, and a savvy craftsperson capable of consistently delivering on promised work.

More than making a name for oneself, actors these days are called upon to create a brand for themselves and to balance the vulnerability of creativity with the practical need for logistics, strategy, and fairly paid work.

That’s why we’ve created our Career Essentials: How to be a Successful Working Actor program, where TK Studio can help you step firmly into this duality of roles. We will prepare you to draw upon your life experience and creative energy, and advocate for yourself as a human being and a talented, contributing member of the industry.

We will cover auditioning skills, self-taping and turning around work fast, how to know what headshot works for you, websites, and reels and the differences between the markets of NYC, LA and Atlanta.

Most important of all, we will help you identify your niche and own your “sweet spot” in the industry. What makes you unique? What kinds of material light you up? What are you not? What’s your elevator pitch, who are you?

The workshop includes Q and A with industry guests from LA, NYC and Atlanta and concludes with a one-on-one session with the faculty where you will develop your individualized plan for success.

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