news

Kristen Pottle is not only one of the kindest people in the industry, but is also a seasoned veteran of the stage. Over her years as a performer, she has worn countless different wigs and is here to teach us how to wig prep like a pro. Whether you are acting and singing, or "headbanging" to 80's glam rock, if you use Kristen's methods, your wig won't be going anywhere.

We are so lucky to have Cameron Grant give us the abridged version of his creative writing workshop. He is here to guide us through a streamlined writing process and walk us through a few exercises that he uses when putting thoughts onto the page. He is an incredibly supportive and kind teacher and comes to the writing process from the place of being an actor. Grab and pen and paper, and get ready to explore your curiosity through writing.

Stephanie Yelovich is here to give her insider’s tips and go to rituals for vocal hygiene. Stephanie was trained as a musical theatre actor and then pursued a career as an opera singer. She has performed internationally and has one of the best voices out there. She also has a second passion as a reiki practitioner, so health and well-being, especially involving her “instrument”, is of the utmost importance to her. Enjoy!

Sam Hale has been the backstage backbone to so many productions over the years. He is going to give us an inside look into the integral job of a stage manager. He is one of the most gracious and supporting folks to be in a rehearsal room with and we are so lucky to have a chat with him about all things Stage Management.

Laura Welch is a classically trained actor with a wealth of knowledge of various dialects. We are lucky to have her chat with us about how to break down the British RP dialect and give us phrases and sounds to practice. Besides some serious Mary Poppins vibes, she also has some stellar visuals as well. AND if you enjoyed learning this dialect, request another dialect on our "Ask the Pro" wall. Enjoy!

Christian Potenza is back with us again to share more of his endless knowledge but this time in regards to voice acting and the voice actors set-up. If you want to learn how to set up your own "in-home voice studio", take a look at this video and feel free to reach out if you have any questions for Christian. I'm sure he will have an answer for you!

Billy Lake is an actor/director/story-teller extraordinaire. He enjoys encouraging folks to explore their creativity in a vast array of styles and is here to guide us through a style of storytelling and performance that is not often explored in the “mainstream” theatre world:  Mime.  I hope you enjoy Billy’s “Intro to Mime” tutorial as much as we all did here at BizWiz Academy.

We are so lucky that we get to learn from Alexis Gordon(@alexisgords) before she is off to make her Broadway debut! Not only is she a wonderful actor to learn from, but it's also such a treat to watch her perform. She walks us through her go-to prep for songs and gives us a beautiful performance of her implemented techniques. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to watch this Broadway Actress do her thing.

Richard Lam is not only a very talented actor/musican,vbut he's a cool human with awesome thoughts. Between his contract last season at The Stratford Festival and  this season at The Shaw Festival, he is here to talk to us about the actor's mind game. He let's us in on his 'performance pre-game' and gives us some interesting exercises to help us keep our minds strong, brave and focused.

Eric Dahlinger is not only a dancer/singer/actor who has performed all over Canada, but also is an accomplished dance teacher, teaching at many studios in the GTA. He is going to lead you through a basic dance warm-up and remind you of some important things to remember when preparing your body for a performance. Let’s get warm!!!

Aidan deSalaiz is not only one of the most generous actors out there, but he is also incredibly skilled at his craft. He's going to lead us through an "actor's warm-up" and show us how he prepares himself to give us the stellar performances we've witnessed him give. Whether you are a singer, a dancer, an actor or an athlete, your warm-up is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and Aidan is here to guide us!

Hello my BizWiz Folks,

Due to unavailability for our teacher/coach Tracy, we will be postponing this specific workshop until September. She's hopping on a plane to head to Argentina to perform! That is the kind of elite Biz Wizards you have access to, but unfortunately means they are sometimes unavailable due to how incredibly talented they are.

Keep an eye open for this workshop date to be announced soon. You won't want to miss out.

‍

Other workshop announcements to come soon!

Tracy Michailidis is joining our BizWiz family and will be sharing her wealth of knowledge and experience with all of you in her upcoming workshop on February 10th. Check out her bio on our Biz Wizard Page and stay tuned for the workshop announcement coming soon! She is not only a very special and talented performer, but she is a phenomenal teacher and coach. You won't want to miss this opportunity to work with the extreme Canadian talent that is Tracy Michailidis.

‍

‍

Now that BizWiz Academy has launched on the web, we are hard at work putting the final touches on launching our official mobile app on the App Store and for Android. Users can expect this exciting update January 16, 2023.

Of course, in the meantime, you can always navigate to our website on a mobile device.

Pro Tip: for easier, quicker access, tap the share icon in your browser, and select "Add to Home Screen" to get the BizWiz Icon on your device! Easy!

To be notified of the mobile app release and everything else that's coming up for BizWiz Academy, sign up for an account!

‍

Check out Christian Potenza's video on how to self-tap like a boss. Post-Pandemic auditioning looks very different than pre-pandemic. Self-tapes have become the norm and we have a true professional who has (I speculate) made 100's of self-tapes give you his own personal tips and tricks as well as the industry standard expectations.

Whether you're new to self-tapes, or could use a refresher, this is the video for you!

Hello, BizWiz Academy!

After months of research and development, we are so proud to finally launch our web application, BizWiz Academy--a hub for all things Performing Arts. Aimed at young performing arts enthusiasts, BizWiz Academy offers a wide variety of training, tutorials, interviews, tips and tricks, trusted resources and workshops.

Seasoned professionals from the theatre, dance, opera, film and television worlds have contributed video content to this application. This content will be available through a paid subscription with new episodes being released regularly, covering topics ranging widely from "How to Do a Proper British Accent" to "Curiosity Through Writing". There is also a question-and-answer forum through which subscribers may submit questions and curiosities about anything to do with a life in the arts, to be answered by a BizWizard and then posted for other subscribers to view. They may also use this forum to request content for future videos.

Users can subscribe for 99 cents per month or $9.99 per year for access to everything BizWiz Academy has to offer. Users can also sign up for free with limited access. We also look forward to January 16, 2023, when our mobile app will be available for Android and iOS.

Sign up for updates

BizWiz Academy is a service project of Talk Is Free Theatre and was made possible with generous funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.