Meet Marlene Wallace

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marlene Wallace. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marlene below.

Marlene, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

I learned early on that joy was a big factor in my creativity. The joy came from me expressing myself fully, and I knew that if I was having fun that the audience would have fun. I used it as a gymnast where I would win meets for our team with my floor exercise score even though I was not the best gymnast on the team but my joy for dancing would win the judges over. I knew there was power in this joy that would just exude from me.

As I was completing my BFA in Dance, I was asked to choreograph a commercial production of a play in Philadelphia. The director also cast me as the lead in the production, and although I had never acted before I received great reviews which I attribute to pursuing joy during the rehearsals and the run of the show. During a pivotal scene, I had to deliver an intense monologue that brought me to tears every night, and I knew that the fun and joy of it was to express it fully so that the audience could feel it.

I later choreographed a dance that was performed at the Kennedy Center. While working on this piece I had some days that were fraught with blocks and I wasn’t sure how to proceed, but I learned that creativity was problem solving and began to love solving the problems. The struggles and problems of one day often led to a creative epiphany the next. Every time I solved a problem my piece got better! Joy, flow, problem solving, and just putting one foot in front of the other are all part of the creative process.

I then moved to NYC and started taking acting classes where I discovered once again that joy and flow were important. I studied with Carol Fox Prescott who had developed an incredible technique based on breathing, awareness and joy (also the title of her book) and I realized that this is what I had been doing all along and that joy was the emotional and/or physical release of any and all emotion which works for both comedy and drama. Added with the focused awareness of a free breath, I realized that this was not only life changing but was also a teachable skill.

I now use this acting technique along with everything that I have learned from all of my other brilliant acting teachers over the years. We all have ingrained patterns of holding our breath which stop us from crying, laughing or feeling something fully or at all. These patterns can shut us down and impede us from honoring how we really feel. Our breath is connected to our instincts. Watching my students learn how to free their breath, become aware of their holding patterns and learn how to follow their newfound free breath is very exciting.

Seeking joy can make any task more fun. For example memorizing lines is difficult for many actors and finding a way to make it more fun such as singing the lines or dancing while doing them and really playing with the voice and body is very helpful. There is joy in making connections to your character by playing fully while memorizing.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

As an actor I was recently cast in several independent films and web series, and I love meeting writer’s and directors and collaborating on projects.

I also teach acting classes on zoom and also offer private sessions. My class is very flexible and people use it like a gym to stay in acting shape, to grow, to work on auditions and one person show material, and to get better at cold readings. I love working with actors of all skill levels. My favorite thing is to get actors more in touch with their bodies, voice, and instincts.

I am looking to expand my teaching practice into corporate settings to help people from all walks of life become more effective communicators. Lawyers, therapists, and writers have taken the class and found that it helped them in their respective fields.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Flexibility is a very important skill. As acting is such a collaborative process, you have to stay flexible to be in the moment and to take the director’s notes. On a set things change constantly in real time, and you have to be ready to suddenly change things due to the light or location or when a wild bear suddenly appears in the woods where you are shooting. This actually happened on a shoot once and it required a lot of flexibility! Things are not set in stone and your ability to play and be flexible is key.

Focus is another skill. Your ability to keep distractions from derailing you is vital and includes distractions from your own mind, noises from the audience or from people in your eye line on set. The point of focus that I teach in my classes is your breath. It is always with you and it always connects you to your body, voice, and instincts.

A collaborative spirit is another important skill. Knowing that everyone working on the project is doing the best they can and that difficulties will arise, being kind, generous of spirit, and having a sense of humor is very important. People want to be around people who have a positive spirit and who can find the humor in a situation when things don’t go as planned. Sometimes the best things come from the mishaps.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I feel overwhelmed I often listen to a song and dance which allows me to release my emotions. I sometimes take a walk in nature, meditate or just take a break. Or I might recite a Shakespeare monologue to course energy through my body. Any one of these things puts me in a more positive place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marlenewallace.net
• Instagram: marlene.wallace.actor