Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gage Wayne. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Gage, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I have been very fortunate to have a few projects that were very meaningful to me, but the two that stand out most were a personal project that I created and also working on the first ever live commercial for “The Greatest Showman”. Starting with The Greatest Showman, it came right around the holidays in the winter of 2018! Very little work happens in those last holiday months and it was a direct booking for the x amount of dancers that got back to the agency! Working up to this job, I was consistently taking studio tours on the Warner Brothers Lot. Learning all the different projects that were filmed there, and was taking a lot of background work for tv shows that were filming on the lot. I did this in manifestation of doing a project on the lot as a dancer. When I received word that I had booked this gig, I had no idea that it was going to be filmed on the Warner Brothers studio lot! We were in rehearsals one day and there was a bus of people on a studio tour that passed us and waved, we all waved back in costume and it was such a surreal moment to be on the other side. It gave me so much pride to be doing what I love!
My second project was a visual that I put together for my grandma in the winter of 2020. We had just lost my grandpa earlier that year and I wanted to give her something to remember him by. The video can be found on YouTube now entitled “Without You” by Gage Wayne. The song is sung by Leslie Odom Jr, and he even shared the project on his social media platforms which was a really cool moment for myself and the dancers involved on the project!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi Everyone! My name is Gage Wayne and I am a professional dancer, choreographer, educator, and mentor! I began working in the entertainment industry at the regional level when I was just 7 years old. Performing in many local theatre’s and that led me to dig into my dance training at the age of 10! Since then, I have always been training in many styles such as Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Contemporary, and much more and have been traveling the country assisting many choreographers and have begun educating the next generation myself. It was always something I felt called to do, and when I decided to really dive in, and move to Los Angeles and pursue a career, I was blessed to work on projects such as American Horror Story, VROOM, Panda Express, two Netflix films, and with many artists such as Paula Abdul, Toni Braxton, and Presley Tennant just to name a few!
While dancing is still such a passion of mine, I have really fell in love with teaching and mentoring students who have a passion for working in the entertainment industry. I work with many dance studios and dancers all around the country on finding their voice in this industry, and have been fortunate to choreograph award winning numbers for them over the years. From the start, I have always used the hashtag “stayenGAGEd” which was fitting since my name was right there in the root of the word! It took me years to decide how I wanted to use it, and over the last two years I have been able to put together a mentorship program that allows me to help students prepare themselves as a business before going out in the industry! The main focus of my program are the RSVP’s of entertainment : Resume, Social Media, Videos, and Photos. Having all these materials consistently updated, and at hand will surely get you a great start into any part of entertainment that you want to go into! My boyfriend and I both work together to make sure our mentees have their resumes in the proper format and the correct information, are posting great content consistently for their personal brand, and have high quality photos and videos to post on social media platforms and send in for self tapes and submissions to castings, agencies, and college programs. Each student gets their own personal focus and the information that they get is personal to them since we are all working towards a different goal. I have a student who has been working hard on his prescreens for Musical Theatre and Acting programs and we have him getting Callbacks for some of the top programs in the Nation, and another who is working with a prior colleague of mine on creating video treatments for her own personal projects as she aspires to work behind the camera.
It has been wonderful to use my personal experiences and connections to pass along to a generation that does not have all the access to the living and business of what we do. So many intensives and conventions to attend as a dancer, but what do you do when they want more than just your skills? How can you prepare your personality, your brand, on a piece of paper and on social media that most people use for job postings these days any way! We hold webinars once a month and also do in person seminars when people reach out for large groups of aspiring artists!
What I want people to understand when they come to me for advice or for guidance is that I am confident that what I am telling you, works. This is because it’s all material that I have personally done myself, or have witnessed first hand with my closest friends in the business. Now, what I also tell them is there is going to be a trial and error for everything you do. How I approached it may have worked for me, but you are your own individual being, and there may be some adjustments throughout to make it all about YOU. Our full entertainment company, GCYOU, is exactly that. Myself and my boyfriend, Colby Taylor, work with YOU to tailor all of what we know to make you the best you can be as a business and building you a strong foundation to start on.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
This question can be answered in so many ways depending on how you look at it, but it all comes down to the hard work that you put out in that area. As a dancer, the most rewarding aspect is consistently auditioning, consistently being told no and not losing hope, staying consistent with what feels right for you and not feeling pressured by the masses to be a certain way that will get you booked, always showing your personal character and values no matter what, and then getting that call from your agent that you booked a dream job. That is when you know that even the hard times mean something and bring such joy to get to live out a childhood dream. As a mentor, it is rewarding to watch the work be put in from someone you are helping and to see the joy in their eyes, and hear the pride in their voice. To know that they believe in themselves, but to also know that you helped them get there, that your knowledge isn’t going unused and that you are making a difference in someones life for the better. As a creative or choreographer the biggest reward is seeing it all come together. From the pre production, to the planning, to the audition, to the costuming, to the rehearsals, to the changes on set, to post and the final product. You made something that people will see, hear, and feel, and respond to. That is incredible to think about. And at the end of the day, it never feels like work cause you are living a passion of your own!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I still am working on building an audience on social media, it has been consistent and I focus a lot on the engagement of those that are currently following me and how they respond to my posts! At the end of the day, social media has become more than just posting for yourself, but posting for all those in entertainment. It is our virtual resume, it is how brands decide if they want to work with you or not. It is how some choreographers are booking dancers on these life-changing jobs! Finding a system and a plan to your posting is first and foremost. Post a photo, then a reel, and then photo again. So when a client comes to your page, they have consistency in what to expect. First photo could be a professional and then switch it up with something lifestyle, or everyday routine, to pull them into your personal life. Your reels can be trendy songs that will bring people to your page, or a dance video that might change styles every time to post to show your versatility. The pinning feature on Instagram and TikTok can keep your most popular posts at the top for them to see right away, and keeping something on your story at all times in important too! Always show engagement, respond to your followers and comments and show them that you are a real human being. Social Media can showcase all the good, and then get a different reaction when they meet you in person.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
gagewayne.com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/gagewayne_/ - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/gage.roark/ - Linkedin: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/gage-wayne/ - Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/channel/UC0m2- 4UHpxVvKjl5RFxkQiw - Other: Business Instagram Profile : https://www.instagram.com/
stayengaged_/
Image Credits
Robert Riese Photography, Paul Ditullio and Desiree Reed