What happens when you stop waiting for someone to “pick” you and start making your own opportunities.
Sam went from not booking anything since 2021 to writing, producing, and starring in her own short film...and it completely shifted her mindset as an actor.
And we get real about the difference between playing at being an actor and actually being one, the myth of “I just want to act,” and why the cavalry isn’t coming.
We cover:
What Sam spent on her short film and what she's do differently
How to use your footage for reels and festivals
Why self-tape reels still work and when they stop
The difference between creating your own work and “pretending” to be on a show
How to find fulfillment when nothing’s booking
Why the new actor era is all about DIY
Links:
Sam's Patreon – bonus episodes and behind-the-scenes breakdowns of the short (plus 100+ more eps)
Headshot Class – get $50 off here only!
Rock Your Reels / Melissa Blue – the team that helped shoot my micro short
Cara Chute Rosenbaum – CD and coach who’s helping cut my new reel
Muse Box (Atlanta) – DIY studio for headshots and content creation
Eddie Liu on One Broke Actress Podcast – the episode we reference about rejection and resilience
Welcome to our very first guest, actor and coach Vas Saranga from The Online Actor! We talk about how coaching fits into an actor’s process, what it means to find your own approach to the work, and why acting class can feel so different once you know how to use it.
We cover:
• How to know when (and when not) to coach your auditions
• Why variables can change everything in your self-tapes
• What “process” actually means for intuitive actors
• How to take ownership of your auditions without burnout
• The new TM genre workshops and how they’re restoring actors’ confidence and creativity
If you’ve been feeling stuck, uninspired, or unsure what to work on between auditions, this one’s for you.
Chapters
00:00 – Flossing, stretching, and the ultimate accountability showdown
02:40 – Introducing Vas Saranga of The Online Actor
05:00 – How persistence built our collaboration
08:00 – Coaching vs self-directing your own auditions
10:30 – What makes Vas’s coaching approach different
13:00 – Defining “process” and why it looks different for every actor
16:00 – Intuitive acting and why most of us fall in the middle
18:00 – Acting across markets: LA, Atlanta, Canada
21:00 – The importance of variables and playing within a scene
27:00 – How to disrupt your own system and find fresh choices
31:00 – Why actors lose hope and how to get it back
33:00 – Building confidence and creativity through TM workshops
37:00 – What Vas is learning from coaching hundreds of actors
41:00 – Vas’s self-tape challenge for your next audition
43:20 – Where to find Vas and how to work with him
44:00 – Small victories, booking mindset, and next week’s teaser
We get wonderfully off track on purpose so skip the first 18 min if you just want to hear about actor-stuff.
There’s a humiliating music game for Sam, how Gab is going to spend some commercial income, and where Sam (and her *frugal*) husband land on money mindset.
Sam brought a real audition dilemma to the pod: do I tape as my true self, or try to guess what the casting director actually wants?
We also dive into the actor-AI panic sparked by the rise of Tilly the synthetic “actress,” and why Gab thinks it’s actually a good thing. We talk fear, job security, industry change, and why connection is the one thing AI can’t replicate.
Then we close it out with something ridiculous: a new game called “Guess That White Guy.” (lolz)
we get into:
when an audition role feels uncomfortably familiar
why vague character descriptions can mess with your head
how AI actors are showing us who’s in this for the long haul
the real reason actors have job security
a hilarious, unhinged game we may or may not regret
Join TM here (if we didn't scare you off).
Follow us here:
If you’ve ever stared at a character description and thought, “This is so not me,” or if you’ve spiraled mid-tape wondering if you’re good enough to book the room, this episode is for you.
What happens when your own brain hijacks your audition? Gab shares the mental spiral she went down prepping for a prestige TV role with a character described with words that pushed up against everything she’s worked to undo. And Sam helps her unpack what happened, how it showed up in the tape, and what actors can do when old programming creeps into the work.
We also cover:
Why your “essence” matters and how we’re still working through ours
The myth of playing “the right type” vs. playing what’s real
How breakdown words can bring up deep actor conditioning
Gab’s self-tape process when she’s in her head (and what she changes)
Sam’s love of closing loops and watching every audition Gab does
Also...skin suits, childhood videos, Altered Carbon, audition rejections, and how different our acting styles and self-concepts actually are....yea.
Doors to the Membership are currently open! Get in while you can!
Get on the 3-Day Momentum Challenge asap!
Actors love to call something a “slow season.”...we think that term might be the problem. We talk about how the industry has changed in both LA and Atlanta, how our auditions have evolved, and why we’re not sitting around waiting to be handed opportunities anymore.
We cover:
What’s actually filming right now and why it feels so quiet
Why your audition log might be more helpful than you think
The identity crisis of being an actor without auditions
When “series regular” became the holy grail and if it even still makes sense
How we each handle long stretches without bookings
We also share the behind-the-scenes of Sam being put on hold for a recurring role while at a Canadian lesbian wedding and the chaos that followed. And we break down why being a “local hire” is so much more than a line on a resume.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything right and still not seeing results, we made this one for you. We also talk about our $5 three-day actor challenge and why we built it to help you stop spiraling and start taking your next right step.
And you can take the Actor Next Move Quiz here!
should we buy land in new mexico?
Sam and Gabrielle are tired. Like, commercial bootcamp, actor quiz building, free Zoom session hosting tired. But the chaos doesn’t stop there. In this episode, they spiral productively about acting markets, money mindset, dog adoption, and whether two working actors (plus their husbands) should co-buy property in New Mexico.
You’ll hear:
Why Sam almost moved to Atlanta in 2020—and why she doesn’t need to now
Gabrielle’s pitch to buy land and tiny-home it with podcast studio vibes
The real fear Sam has around “adult” things like owning property
What actor income really looks like—and why it’s not as limiting as you think
Big thoughts on doing the thing… and having nothing change
take the FREE actor quiz by commenting Next Move on this post!
Join us for FREE monthly LIVE calls!
follow us: @samvalentine + @gabriellebynloss
check out The Membership
Shape-shifting with our own demons… that’s the part of the acting process nobody teaches you.
Sam and Gabrielle crack open a deeply honest convo about the invisible pressure actors feel to always be “put together”...on tape, online, in class, and even in friendships. What starts with a rant about method acting backlash turns into a vulnerable deep-dive on self-worth, preparation, and the stories we tell ourselves behind the scenes.
in this episode we talk about:
why social media clips are never the full story. and why that triggers people
the difference between feeling “behind” vs actually being behind
Gab’s upcoming acting workshop and her fear of being perceived as unprepared
Sam’s inner narrative of needing to be more “interesting”
the old actor mindsets we default to… and how to gently fight them
what “doing the work” actually looks like between auditions
creating safety in community instead of pressure to perform
redefining our standards of readiness and showing up with grace
next week:
We’re talking what we’re watching...and why we’re scouting real estate in New Mexico 👀
we are BACK, this time recording from opposite coasts — sam in oregon, gab in florida — and proving that actor brain never takes a vacation.
in this episode we talk about christmas movie auditions on the beach and the awkward reality of watching the person who booked “your” role. plus: road trip meltdowns, sorority house confessions, why method acting feels outdated, and what we’re watching right now (weapons, hostage, untamed, f1 to name a FEW)
what you’ll hear in this episode:
christmas movie self tapes and the great camera movement debate
using clue cards, photos, and props for auditions
the question every actor hates: “what’s your method?”
why method acting feels out of touch with today’s industry
movie and tv recs we're dabbling in
follow sam @samvalentine and gab @gabriellebyndloss, and subscribe cause it tells us we should keep going!!!
sam and gabrielle kick off the very first episode of working actor life by pulling back the curtain on what it’s really like to be working actors. about viral audition tapes (yes, the bathroom floor one), when to break the so-called rules, and the mental gymnastics of watching someone else book “your” role.
plus: why sam felt ready to part ways with the name one broke actress, why gab is obsessed with camera pans, and the shocking reason we’re both kind of in love with an ai voice.
what you’ll hear in this episode:
starting this podcast on a whim (very on brand)
breaking self tape “rules” and the bathroom floor debate
audition heartbreak, comparison, and who else was “almost” cast
the great pan vs button showdown
what we’re watching right now (hunting wives, weapons, companion, ballard)
fake “insta friends” and why we all do it
follow sam @samvalentine + gab @gabriellebyndloss for more!
