Keep It Real Acting Studios Retrospective

Commercial acting first came on my radar from my time in improv classes. I decided to try out Keep It Real Acting Studios on a recommendation from a former student. Run by commercial veteran Judy Kain, Kira offers courses covering booking, auditioning, commercial improv, self-tapes, and industry insider knowledge.

Each course has classes conducted once a week via zoom with an industry veteran instructor and an occasional guest instructor since everyone here is a working actor. At the end of every class is a guest industry professional who shares their experience and knowledge.

Level 1 is A-Z Commercial Technique which covers the fundamentals of commercial acting, what to expect on set and in auditions, as well as unspoken rules and expectations of the industry. There is a strong emphasis on the importance of adding your own personality to the script as well as to add a lounge and a button to your take. Instructors included Soledad campos, Jolene Kay and Spencer Kramber. The industry guest was Tom Burke, Kira’s image consultant, who reviewed all of our headshots and gave character/costume suggestions.

Afterwards I took Level 2 which was commercial improv. Taught by improv veteran Lisa Fredrickson, this class had everyone do a live performance on zoom for a given commercial copy. Lisa could tell if you were really imagining a real scene or real people and correct your eyes and body language to better create a believable performance. The guest was an agent who shared her insights on what makes an actor marketable to agents.

Level 3 was about self-tapes. You would submit a self-tape every class and have it critiqued live on zoom by Kramber, who has also been the decision maker for callbacks. Judy Kain guest taught two sessions as well with her on industry insights. This class really challenged me to think about the camera, my home self-tape setup, and actually submitting a self-tape. The industry guests were a casting director and a representative from a talent agency.

If you are interested in learning more about commercial acting, I’d highly recommend checking out Keep It Real Acting Studios!