The only constant of a freelance career is inconsistency and unpredictability. As an actor or performer, how do you skillfully navigate this precarious landscape? This panel of coaches, educators and actors lends their considerable experience and insight to the topic of professional uncertainty with tips, advice, commiseration and more. Featuring composer and educator Georgia Stitt, writer Ruthie Fierberg, actor Jeremy Beiler, and choreographer and educator Tanya Birl. Moderated by coach and president of Capes Coaching Betsy Capes and actor and writer Lori Hammel.
***Member participation encouraged! Please bring your questions for the panelists to the program. Feel free to submit questions in advance anonymously here.
PLEASE NOTE: This program is not meant to serve as a clinical evaluation for any specific individual. We instead would like to present ways of thinking about mental health and well-being specific to actors and performers.
PANELIST BIOS
Writer, actor, and producer Jeremy Beiler is a three-time Emmy Nominee, four-time Writer’s Guild Award winner, and two-time Peabody winner, who has become one of the brightest voices on the comedy scene.
Currently, Beiler is the co-creator of Showtime’s I LOVE THAT FOR YOU. The series, which stars co-creator Vanessa Bayer and Molly Shannon, centers on a woman who overcomes childhood leukemia to achieve her dream of becoming an on-air host at a home shopping network. The series will premiere on April 29th on streaming and on demand for all Showtime subscribers before making its on-air debut on May 1st. The season finale will air on June 19th.
An accomplished writer, Beiler has written for HBO, Comedy Central, Netflix, Hulu, FX, and NBC, among others. Most recently, he was the Head Writer for TruTV’s AT HOME WITH AMY SEDARIS as well as a writer for Netflix’s I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE WITH TIM ROBINSON. Beiler is best known for his award-winning work writing for season two of INSIDE AMY SCHUMER and writing for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE until his departure in season 43.
On the acting front, Beiler was most recently seen appeared in CRASHING, THE LAST O.G., THE DEUCE, AT HOME WITH AMY SEDARIS and INSIDE AMY SCHUMER.
Born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Beiler started performing and writing in high school in a sketch comedy show he made with friends on the weekends. He attended Columbia College Chicago and is a former video journalist for The New York Times.
Beiler currently resides in New York.
Tanya Birl has taken her years of experience as a professional Broadway performer and melded it with her love and passion for justice. With a deep and grounded sense of presence, Tanya uses her voice to provoke curiosity, promote love and empower others to create change from the inside out. Tanya is a Movement Director and Choreographer for noted institutions such as The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit, Guthrie Theater and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She has been a guest speaker for “The Dream Unfinished” an activist orchestra highlighting the under-recognized works for artists of color. She spoke about being one of the “tokens” on Broadway and how that has informed her life and career promoting advocacy and education as a way to continually diversify the arts. Tanya was a guest speaker at the Faith + feminism rally which was in support of the Women's March here in New York City. She spoke of these turbulent times being a new day and a new opportunity for those who were not in mind when this country was founded to take their rightful seat at the table. Tanya is the founder of SoHumanity and creator of the Embodying Change and BeHold workshop series and retreats which focuses on the Rights of the Body and how we can reclaim them and increase our capacity for joy as an act of liberation. She is also a 500hr E-RYT Yoga teacher and has recently led 100 educators in both New York and Denver in bringing yoga and mindfulness into the classroom through the Breathe for Change program. Her most recent collaborations are with revolutionary Urban Educator Chris Emdin and founder of hip-hop Ed on the power of embodying the knowledge that we receive and ‘We Can Breathe’: Healing for the BIPOC Artist community. A series of inspirational videos which speak to our time and our call as artists to heal and be healed.
Georgia Stitt is an award-winning composer, lyricist, music producer, pianist, and activist. Her original musicals include SNOW CHILD, BIG RED SUN, THE DANGER YEAR, SAMANTHA SPADE, ACE DETECTIVE, THE BIG BOOM, MOSAIC, and THE WATER. Georgia has released four albums of her music: A Quiet Revolution, My Lifelong Love, This Ordinary Thursday, and Alphabet City Cycle. She is currently at work on a new album of theatrical art songs and an oratorio called The Circling Universe. Her choral piece with hope and virtue was featured on NPR and her orchestral piece, Waiting for Wings, co-written with husband Jason Robert Brown, was commissioned by the Cincinnati Pops and premiered there with conductor John Morris Russell. She is the Founder and President of Maestra, an organization for women and nonbinary theater musicians, and she is in leadership at The Dramatists Guild, The Recording Academy, and MUSE. Georgia has worked as a Music Director on projects including NBC’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Live!), the film version of THE LAST FIVE YEARS (starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan), Off-Broadway’s SWEET CHARITY (starring Sutton Foster), and the upcoming film 13: TTHE MUSICAL for Netflix. She lives in New York with her husband and their two wonderful daughters. www.georgiastitt.com
Ruthie Fierberg is an independent journalist specializing in arts coverage and based in New York City. She is the creator and host of the podcast "Why We Theater," which fuses theatre and social justice. She is the former Executive Editor of Playbill where she spent five years creating in-depth features, as well as launching and hosting Playbill's Live From the Red Carpet specials. Ruthie continues to moderate panels at the 92Y, Disney Theatrical Productions, and the annual BroadwayCon. She has written for Broadway News, Dance magazine, Backstage, and more and previously worked as a full-time staff member at Parents and American Baby, and helped launch Parents Latina. She is involved with such causes as the Entertainment Community Fund, Covenant House, and HIAS New York.
Moderator Betsy Capes (CPCC) is the founder and president of Capes Coaching. Now celebrating 18 years in business, Capes Coaching was an early pioneer in the entertainment sector and is sought after by creative professionals and institutions alike for career coaching expertise. Respected for her integrity and approach, Betsy has been engaged as a guest speaker at New York University, The A.R.T. Institute at Harvard University, The New School, Brown University, The Atlantic Theater School, The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Upright Citizen's Brigade (UCB), and Carnegie Hall. She is certified through the Coaching Training Institute, holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Illinois, studied Drama Therapy at NYU, and is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Betsy began her career casting for and directing theatre, developing a deep understanding of the needs and challenges facing artists. This led to the creation of her acclaimed signature course, The Creative Path, which has helped thousands of artists and creatives cultivate and sustain fulfilling careers in the entertainment industry. While Capes Coaching continues to offer coaching services, The Creative Path will launch its first online on-demand format this year tied to a membership community for alumni of the program, the fulfillment of Betsy's personal vision for the growth of this work. http://www.capesco.com/
Moderator Lori Hammel is a NYC-based actress and writer who hails from North Dakota. Film work includes Ethan and Joel Coen’s BURN AFTER READING; SHE'S LOST CONTROL; PUZZLE and the horror/thriller BLOOD CONSCIOUS along with numerous shorts including the lead in CONEY ISLAND QUEEN (Cannes Shorts Corner). On TV Lori has appeared on BLUE BLOODS; FBI: MOST WANTED; JESSICA JONES; HIGH MAINTENANCE; 30 ROCK and MASTER OF NONE. Her stage work includes Broadway, Off Broadway and National Tours. As a commercial actor, Lori has been delighted to work opposite Keegan-Michael Key and to be directed in national spots by Johathan Krisel, David Steinberg, Phil Morrison and Oscar winning documentarian Errol Morris. Lori played recurring political pundit Leslie Hillerman on the Onion News Network series, IN THE KNOW and is the creator and star of the series MARGO ROSE REPORTS. She received an Excellence in Acting Award at the NY International Fringe Festival and is the recipient of a Jeff Award, two Jeff nominations, two After Dark Award and the SAG-AFTRA Joseph C. Riley Service Award. Lori co-authored the critically acclaimed guidebook MINDING THE EDGE – STRATEGIES FOR A FULFILLING, SUCCESSFUL CAREER AS AN ACTOR and is a contributing writer for ACTING FOR THE STAGE (Focal Press). www.lorihammel.com
