We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leesa Csolak a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Leesa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Shirley Temple was my early inspiration as I recall being a preschooler singing and dancing with Temple’s movies and music. By the time I was in grade school I was producing and directing garage variety shows dragging my friends or neighbors into the wonderful world of story telling and performance. Dance class, vocal lessons, and acting classes were considered recreational and kept my high energy tendencies busy between academia and religious study. In junior and senior high school I was performing regularly in every option possible. I continued to have opportunities to audition and perform thrown at me from all angles. Influenced by a small circle of adults who had no knowledge of the performance arts world, auditions in New York City or the consideration of a degree in the arts was simply out of the question. With no information highway in the 1960’s and ’70’s, an aspiring dancer, singer, actor living in rural areas of the Garden State with two highly academic parents had little to no detailed information necessary to even remotely get the parental support for such a thing. I headed into higher education as an engineering/bio double major.

Leesa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

College felt like an extension of High School. On a daily basis, I couldn’t wait to get out of class to explore other opportunities. I sought out dance and voice training from top New York City pros. I would sneak into the city to dance at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway and to take voice lessons at the Metropolitan Opera. During school I took every opportunity to direct and produce which connected me to working with and for the Miss America circuit. I graduated with an additional certificate in education.

Getting my degree felt like a distraction yet following graduation, now with parental financial support, I opened a large and very successful performing arts school. Being only one hour from NYC, I was able to bring in young professionals to teach and collaborate.

At age twenty-five I was married and had started a family. I began helping my talented but struggling staff members to obtain professional representation. I was good at it. They came, they taught, and they left…for NY, LA and beyond and I loved this. I was producing and directing and helping young talented passionate performers find their way starting by connecting them to industry professionals for training and ultimately getting them signed with top agents and managers.

At age ten, my oldest son asked, ‘why can’t I be on the cover of a magazine like Lindsey?’ As any parent would I wanted to give the boys every opportunity possible and this was my world so I made the calls, sent the pictures, and ‘all that jazz’. The boys received an offer from two very prestigious modeling and commercial agencies in NYC, Ford and Gilla Roos. We signed with Gilla Roos. After about eighteen months I had to get back to business at the two studio locations. The boys continued in dance, voice and acting while also participating in various sports.

At age ten and fifteen, my youngest two wanted back into the business. This time if I was going to go back in with them it was going to be with a two-hundred percent attitude. And things took off for them; Broadway, Film, TV, Commercial Work, Voice Over and more. Through my experiences with the boys, I was able to learn all the details of being in the performance industry with a minor. I was able to increase my network as I navigated all aspects of their careers and had professional opportunities with major artists and players myself along the way. From these life experiences my in-person seminar, ‘Professional Kids & Teens 101: A Primer for Parents’ was born.

Today I can boast having helped hundreds of children, teens and adults break into the performing arts business, landing top representation, and having successful careers in the arts.

This industry is very closed door with many gate keepers and sadly the average person’s perception of the performance industry is influenced by isolated elaborate negative stories from the press. And due to the lack of credible information those who do find success tend to keep the information close to the chest.

My goal is to pull back the curtain, open the door, and teach the inner workings so parents and adult talent alike can make educated decisions about who to train with, how to spend their time, and what to say yes to. How to create a portfolio/package palatable to top agents and managers, and ultimately how to gain professional representation is the goal. All this will enable these passionate and talented artists to get into top auditions for stage, including Broadway, for film and television, for commercials, for voice over, and so much more.

LBC Talent’s Makin’ It Happen: A Career in the Performing Arts offers insider information to do all of that. There are two Complete Online Courses, Professional Kids & Teens 101: A Primer for Parents and Professional Biz 201: Adults, College Students & Grads. Both of these courses take you step by step through the execution of all that you need to create a portfolio/package that sits in the top one-five percent of what casting offices and agents see. Go to LBCTalent.com.

The Complete Online Course include 7 detailed Modules with over one-hundred lessons, 7 How-To Videos & Guides that dive deep into the details you need to create your assets, 9 Checklists & Templates, as well as 9 Tip Sheets, Listings & Guides.

There are options for clients to work with me One-On-One to help guide and ensure the execution of everything they need. I share my network for training and support as clients create the assets they need. I also hold monthly Q&A meetings where I answer questions and help clients stay informed.

What sets this course and my programs apart from anything else online or in-person is that I do not hold back information, I tell it like it is; I share details, and I am quick and to the point. I do not drag this process out. Because I have lived it. And time is of the essence.

Most importantly I explain the ‘why’ of all that I teach giving people a better understanding so they can make smart and educated decisions as they navigate their careers. I take the time to explain what other players in the hierarchy do. This gives clients perspective and nurtures a healthy mental attitude which fosters longevity.

I am insanely proud of my track record. My sons are presently on Broadway performing. Both Kurt & Kevin have had long lasting careers in feature films (check out Kevin is Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story movie), in multiple Broadway Shows (Kurt – Funny Girl, The Great Gatsby and Kevin- How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Mean Girls, West Side Story, The Tony Award- winning Best Musical: The Outsiders & now, as Tulsa in the much anticipated Gypsy on Broadway), in Commercial work, Commercial dance with Justin Timberlake, Hayley Kiyoko, DojaCat, Ayodele Casal, and Voice Over Animation (Kurt as Speed in Speed Racer: The Next Generation).

My clients have done stage performances all over the world, national and international tours, regional theatre and Broadway. They have been in major feature films, done national commercials, modeled for major brands on runways and in magazines. My clients have had prolific careers and are kind, wonderful human beings that any director or producer would welcome into their project. They learned to navigate their careers correctly and without negativity.

With over forty years in the industry, I have vowed to help talented, hardworking, passionate individuals create and navigate a career most only dream about.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal has always been to lift people; to give them the confidence to believe in themselves, that they can be successful pursuing a career that many do not consider viable, a career in the arts.

My drive comes from my personal experience not having the information, the connections, the support to seek out the career my soul ached to be a part of. Many professionals I crossed paths with insisted I move in the direction of performance, however, my direct influence and guidance came from adults and family who were unfamiliar with the industry and saw it as disrespected, flamboyant, frivolous, and definitely not the path to a good life.

I have spent my entire life searching, connecting, studying, and living how this industry works. I choose to teach, guide and encourage artists of all ages by sharing everything, by pulling the curtain aside, opening the doors, and removing the gate-keeper mentality. This in an effort to help and encourage more parents to support their children, teens, and adults to give them the chance to pursue a career that aligns with their talent and passion.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes of course and there are many.

‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie is a book I tell every one of my clients to read. I gave it to my children when they were in Junior High. I also gave it to many of my employees over the years. Everyone should read it.

Inside my Courses I have a book list for suggested reading. Here are some of my top picks:

‘How to Talk to Anyone’ by Leil Lowndes

‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear

‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen R. Covey
There is a teen version I would strongly suggest as well.

For teachers and coaches, ‘The Talent Code’ by Daniel Coyle is an interesting and quick read.

‘The 80/20 Principle’ by Richard Koch

‘The Brand Called You’ by Peter Montoya (Author) with Tim Vandehey (Contributor)

‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lbctalent.com
• Instagram: leesacsolak_lbctalent
• Facebook: Leesa Csolak
• Linkedin: Leesa Csolak
• Twitter: LeesaCsolak
• Youtube: @makinithappenwithleesacsolak

Image Credits

not applicable