Ep. 196 - Get Unstuck (w. Anthony Meindl)

When I was in my teens, I got the opportunity to be part of a theatre class. The Director at the time was short one male role so I had the chance to be exposed to the art of the stage for the first time.

It was a defining moment for me as I realized I genuinely had a talent for it.
But then Life happened. Coming from a traditional background where academics are THE priority above all else including creative endeavours, added to the fact that I my grades were in the dumps, my parents drew a line in the sand and I had to close the curtains on the whole experience.

Fast forward a few years and many life experiences later, and I still hold a sincere respect for the art of acting. 

Where one can draw from his or her emotions, experiences, trauma, joy, victories, failures and eventually portray a  fleshed-out character or persona, this not only takes quite a bit of creative expertise but most importantly, a tremendous amount of courage.

I've learned that in many ways, we as human beings are deathly afraid of discomfort.

Anything that steps outside of that familiarity of our comfort zone is a lifeline we tend to hold onto, sometimes against our best interest.

As my next guest has allowed me to see through his resounding body of work, the thrill of being a creative, whether through acting, painting or otherwise, is that the unknown is an essential part of the journey and we get the opportunity to shape it however we desire. A message of accountability and audacity that totally resonates with our mission here on the podcast.

Anthony Meindl is an award-winning director, writer, actor, and acting coach.

Among his numerous achievements and accolades, Anthony wrote and directed "Where We Go From Here", which premiered at Outfest in 2019 at the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. It won Best Screenplay at Q-Films Long Beach and the Jury Award at NYC's East Village Queer Film Festival, and was acquired by HULU. 

He is the founder and artistic director of the Anthony Meindl's Actor's Workshop which he bravely started some 26 years ago in his apartment with 6 students and the desire to help actors understand a more modern and simpler approach to the work.

He has been a passionate advocate in helping actors everywhere understand their worth and advocate for themselves and their own creativity. He has broken myths around the business and what often holds actors back. His mission has always been to help marginalized people and Artists of Color and Trans, Non-Binary, and Queer-identifying actors who often have had little access to training and opportunities in the business.

He now has the largest scene study studio in Los Angeles and locations in 10 other cities around the world: New York, London, Vancouver, Toronto, Atlanta, Sydney, Chicago, Copenhagen and Cape Town.

He is the author of five books; the best-selling creativity book AT LEFT BRAIN TURN RIGHT, self-improvement ALPHABET SOUP FOR GROWN-UPS, acting guide BOOK THE F#©KING JOB!, his memoir, YOU KNEW WHEN YOU WERE 2, and the latest, UNSTUCK, a creativity manual. His self-published books have sold over 28,000 copies.

On this energetic episode, Anthony shares his perspective on the audacity to be yourself, silencing your inner critic, taking that huge leap into the unkwown, finding your voice and how the journey IS the destination.

You can connect with Anthony via his official website as well as Instagram.

 

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