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KEIRA KEELEY SHARES MEMORIES AND ADVICE ABOUT HER DAYS AS AN EMC
 Guest Speaker Keira Keeley Keira Keeley was Guest Speaker at an Equity Membership Candidate Meeting held on Monday, Oct. 18th, the day following the closing of her Theatre World Award-winning portrayal of Laura in THE GLASS MENAGERIE at (the) Mark Taper Forum. The meeting, held at the Los Angeles office of Actors' Equity coincided with EMC gatherings held on the same day held in Chicago and New York City. In addition to THE GLASS MENAGERIE at the Roundabout Theatre in NY and the Mark Taper Forum in LA, Keira's credits include THE THUGS at SoHo Rep, ROMEO AND JULIET: The Young People's Concert at Lincoln Center, THE YOUNG LEFT at Cherry Lane Theatre, WE DECLARE YOU A TERRORIST and GREEN GIRL for the Summer Play Festival at The Public, LOCAL STORY and DEPARTURES at the Access Theater, among others. Regional Theatre credits include: THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, THREE GUYS AND A BRENDA, THE CRUCIBLE and THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Keira spoke of her training at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and lessons she learned there, such as how important it is to learn all the behind-the-scenes roles people play and to treat everyone with respect, for example, your dresser. Her training in Louisville included working as a dresser; therefore she appreciated hers much more when she was the Actor with quick changes. She also recalled in detail the many trying days she spent in New York City waiting long hours in long lines for the possibility of a spot opening up for her to be seen at an Equity call. She encouraged the EMCs to take advantage of those opportunities, saying, "Once I finally got my chance to audition, my goal was to do my best, and to know that I was the one they had been waiting all day to see." When asked how does one know when they ready to join Equity? Keira replied, "When you confident you are ready to compete. When you see an actor play a role and you think, 'I can do that,' or even 'I can do that better.' Then, at that point, if you feel ready, and if your resume is good enough, then commit and join." Following Keira's talk, Business Representative Ivan Rivas led an entertaining meeting complete with a mini-play about negotiating a job offer without the help of the union and a Q&A about the benefits and responsibilities of future Equity membership. EMC Kaja Martin was particularly inspired, saying, "Kiera Keeley put everything into a real life context; it really made everything seem possible and not like I was chasing some unattainable dream."
Respectfully submitted, |
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