Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amondre Oglesby. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Amondre thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

I am the founder of TALO – The Actors Life Organization. We help ensure the wellbeing and advancement of Georgia actors. Coming up in the acting business, I found that many of my friends were struggling, homeless, or having a hard time staying in class because of financial reasons. All of the workshops and opportunities for actors to get in front of industry pros were too expensive to pursue, so most of them had a hard time advancing their careers. I started TALO to offer three programs, the “Affordable Education Program”, which offers acting classes at no more than $100 per month — guaranteed to never change, and the cheapest in the city. We offer the “Dreams & Opportunities” program, which offers events where actors can network, learn from, and get seen by industry pros who have the power to give them opportunities. Lastly, we offer the “Survive & Thrive” program, which offers emergency financial assistance to actors in need. For more information, actors can visit www.taloco.org.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

About me:

I’m an actor and screenwriter. I’ve been doing this for about 10 years now. I played L.C. Cooke, the brother of the legendary Sam Cooke in Regina King’s One Night In Miami, currently streaming on Prime. I just filmed a show headed to Netflix that I can’t say much about other than Tyler Perry is producing it. As a writer, I like to create content with my talented friends, and content that I would want to see in television. I’ve created two spec TV pilots, and won multiple film festival awards. My current screenplay “The New Jacks” is a top 26% script on Coverfly and a quarter finalist with the Los Angeles Screenplay Awards Diversity Initiative.

About my business:

I’ll reiterate what I talked about previously: I am the founder of TALO – The Actors Life Organization. We help ensure the wellbeing and advancement of Georgia actors. Coming up in the acting business, I found that many of my friends were struggling, homeless, or having a hard time staying in class because of financial reasons. All of the workshops and opportunities for actors to get in front of industry pros were too expensive to pursue, so most of them had a hard time advancing their careers. I started TALO to offer three programs, the “Affordable Education Program”, which offers acting classes at no more than $100 per month — guaranteed to never change, and the cheapest in the city. We offer the “Dreams & Opportunities” program, which offers events where actors can network, learn from, and get seen by industry pros who have the power to give them opportunities. Lastly, we offer the “Survive & Thrive” program, which offers emergency financial assistance to actors in need. For more information, actors can visit www.taloco.org.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As an actor and screenwriter, I’ve gotten a lot of “no’s” in this industry. After a while, it takes a toll on you, and you start to question if this is for you. One day I realized that my talent isn’t just reserved for the television screen. God blessed me with talent and it’s up to me how I use it. So, I told myself that while my journey may be different, and it may take longer for me to make it because that’s Gods plan, I’ll spend this time helping other people get “yes’”. That’s why I started TALO. I also teach 4 acting classes a week, and manage new actor’s careers and help turn them into working actors in less than a year.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I pay for everything myself right now to show and prove that we’re going what we say we do. This will give donors the confidence to donate to us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.taloco.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talo.corp
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558341764318
• Twitter: https://X.com/talocorp