We were lucky to catch up with Maurice Turner Jr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maurice , thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I made sure I put in position to be in position if that makes sense (haha). from my very first acting class to my most recently completed project, when the idea sparks in my mind, I continue to chase it until it comes into fruition. So when I get bit by the bug, I googled my nearest theatre to learn about acting. actually for the first 4 or 5 years, I was doing theatre in the communities of Seoul and Busan to make sure I wasn’t bullshiting myself. to see if I was really serious about pursuing it.

I would do anything different. Every lesson came right when it was suppose to.

I think my networking skills are one of my best attributes. I love collaborating and creating. It drives my life forward. looking personally into the productions and projects I’ve been apart of, the people apart of it mostly made the project enjoyable and fulfilling. Also as an actor you definitely can’t do things alone. I already had the team concept down from playing sports, so I always made sure my part was done or whatever I brought to the table was essential. Being dangerously optimistic helps too (haha).

Usually the way I thought about situations would stop me from having a good experience or from learning something valuable. These days I really try not to let the things I don’t have outshine what I do have, so I try to stay curious and open to ideas.

Maurice , 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?

My very first acting class was in Memphis, Tennessee at the Playhouse on the Square. they were audition classes taught by Brian Fruits who now owns Saltbox Theatre Collective in Chicago. For the first class, we were instructed to prepare a monologue of our choice. I had no fucking idea what I was doing. I scanned my brain for the coolest actors I was influenced by or the coolest movies I saw myself in. I settled on Pulp Fictions Ezekiel 25:17 by Samuel L Jackson. the diner scene at the end.

I absolutely bombed it. I forgot 99% of it. I said the first few lines, maybe a few lines in the middle, and the last line (haha). I was just to raddled by my nerves. I don’t think Ive every been that nervous. I manage to get to the end without breaking character. When Brian gave me an applause, I was stunned. I knew what I did was shit. I thought he was joking haha. But He said something that still sticks to me to this day. He said “you got it. you didn’t give up.” It was so reassuring.Im glad he said that because I wouldn’t know how I would have responded if he gave me the brutal honest truth. From there, I knew I had to discover what this was about.

the train really started in the communities throughout South Korea in Seoul, Busan, and Daegu. During the first 4 or 5 years it was more of a test to see if I really loved acting. It was a good opportunity to put myself out there and adjust to whatever was thrown my way. I will forever give thanks to those communities. company’s Like Seoul Players, Seoul Shakespeare, House of Tease, The Collective,Busan Theatre Company, Liquid Arts were a safe zone for me to learn, make mistakes and grow. Im so grateful for those groups and the all of the talented people that keep it flowing.

By 2018, I was done with teaching English. I wanted to move back to the states and pursue acting in the states, but I heard that some actors that I was doing plays with had entertainment visas. I wasn’t really in a rush to leave Korea and since I spent most of my years teaching English, I felt like I didn’t give myself a real opportunity to see what Korea really was about. My life started to expand instantly.

I started doing commercial and modeling and gigs. I felt lucky because I basically was thrown in front of cameras and was getting paid. auditions would randomly pop up and I would just go in use what experience had from theatre. I appreciate theatre because it built my relentlessness. I was also able to seperate myself from actors who started in film and tv. I see why actors do theatre. After all that the subtly and detail, you need something that makes you feel alive. I was able to combine the live elements of theatre and with camera techniques. It also helped to have a vivid imagination lol.

Covid was a soul searching period. I was at home looking for inspiration anyway I could. I all the work that I using to validate myself as an actor was gone, it was just me. I have to applaud Korea for doing a good job on keeping the country safe as possible. I was still able to socialize, so walking around calling myself an actor in the middle of a pandemic was difficult and sometimes humiliating because I still getting use to calling myself an actor. I really had to believe that for myself and covid intensified that whole experience.

Work eventually started to flow again. I started gettin more auditions for acting gigs and actually landing them. some of them were really significant and required me to use as much talent as I had. I started to feel limited and one dimensional. Only a look and “natural talent”. I also keep America as a landmark for the future once I felt like it was time to move, so I knew I had to be prepared. Because of covid, acting studios began doing online classes since no one could really go anywhere. I was a bit reluctant, but I needed to keep an open mind because my options were very limited.

I asked a friend who live and acts in LA. She use to live in Korea and before she left she ran an acting class that attended. I trusted her opinion so I asked her for recommendations. She recommended a few studios so I researched them. Baron Brown studios stood out the most. they just had this no bullshit vibe about them haha. They also taught the Meisner technique, which getting loosely taught to me while I was doing theatre. I figure I’d log in with them.

that was a great experience professionally and personally. I learned to a have a deeper understanding of human condition and how to be a better listener. My self awareness and confidence as an actor has grown tremendously. Im still well connected in the communities Throughout South Korea, so while I still work in the industry, I have friends that I can create and have fun with to make life more fulfilling

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

being an artist and creative drives my life in ways that make it more purposeful. It gives me a sense a direction. its my compass. otherwise, it will just feeling like I’m moving in place.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I love creating with my friends. through community, I realized how important it is to have a support system. As cool as it is to have people around who are likeminded, I try to stay open to ideas that are different from mines. I want be continue to grow, and settling in comfort or being stagnant in my ways doesn’t get me too far. In the big picture, I think learning from those who think differently from the way we think can make things more cohesive and engaging.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: [email protected]
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9296714/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Image Credits
vito studio and Otis classic