We were lucky to catch up with Raquel Gardner recently and have shared our conversation below.

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

When I was 5 years old, I would tell my parents that when I turned 18, I was moving to Hollywood. And I did!!! When I was 19 I moved to Los Angeles. And not just to pursue a career in acting but also because I was being drawn to LA for reasons I didn’t understand at the time. But I sure do now! :) The best thing you can do for yourself is follow all of your dreams and not to just see them come true but because following your dreams will lead you to the life you are meant to live.

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.

I’ve been acting for the last 30 years, and I think I will always first call myself an actor. But if you know, actors, most of us venture into other areas of the business. For me I wanted to dabble in all of it. I believe that if you want to be the best at something you should know everything you can about it. In 2010 I was going on a lot of commercial auditions but I wasn’t booking. I wanted to know why, so I went to my commercial agent and ask them if I could work as an agent to understand that side of the industry and get to know the casting directors from a different point of view. Of course he said yes. So I spent the next six months going into the agency everyday and learning what agents do, and I became a commercial/ theatrical agent for the next 2 1/2 years. It was interesting for me because I realized that the commercial side of our business is so different than the theatrical side. Especially how the agents handle their business. I learned so much to take with me as an actor and I started booking commercial after commercial, because I started to understand how to build my online profiles for success, what wardrobe to wear when they said business casual and I understood the commercial side of my business so much more.

In 2014 I started coaching actors, I felt that I owed the next generation of young actors a deeper understanding of the industry through the knowledge that I have gained from being on the inside for over 30 years. I’ve studied with multiple acting coaches for over the years- The Groundlings, Bernard Hiller, Stella Adler, Howard, Fine, Ivana Chubbuck, Playhouse West. I put together a technique from everything that I learned over the years and I wanted to be able to help Actors do the same for themselves.
I’ve been coaching for the last nine years, and I have helped hundreds of actors understand how to find their true essence of who they are and what they want to be in their life and in this industry. I help them gain the confidence to go after the career that they want, and feel worthy to be in this industry. And if that isn’t enough two years ago, I was approached by a friend to direct a pilot which I did, and had the most amazing experience. And in doing that I realized that directing was another avenue that I wanted to explore. So now I have a few projects in the works that I have produced and I will be directing my first film this summer.
Now, I know that sounds like an awful lot but it was extremely necessary to truly understand this business on all levels.

My advice to any new artist out there is don’t pigeonhole yourself into one thing. Follow your what heart is telling you when it comes to your life’s work and trust in it and trust in the messages that are coming to you and even though it may not be your ideal dream, your real true dream might transition out of just moving towards what makes you feel good.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think the biggest struggle non creatives have is about actors that are working is because you see us on tv, we are living the dream, making millions of dollars and wanted by all. It is not all rainbows and butterflies people. lol There are times in my life where I am so blessed and the money is flowing and I am working nonstop but, there are also time where I have to sustain myself until the next job comes. And sometimes it may be 3-6 months in-between jobs.
I think it is very smart for artists to understand how to handle their finances and how to save money and be smart about their spending. If you can get a handle on that and maybe find a way to make some passive income, trust me you’ll be much happier when you have those waiting periods.
No one wants to hire a desperate actor.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I started acting back in 1989 and back then we didn’t have any online platforms to help us with our careers. There were very few casting directors and very few agents and managers. So for an actor starting their journey today they have so much at their disposal to work with to really help them take their career into their own hands. If you’re a new actor and you’re just getting started the first thing I suggest you do is definitely take classes because you’re going to get the opportunities if you’re putting the energy out there and you definitely want to be ready for the opportunities. I also suggest if you’re a theatrical actor to subscribe to actors access, and create a powerful profile. If you are an actor and you want to start auditioning, you absolutely have to have a reel. If you don’t have any work behind your belt, you can film a really amazing monologue in a self tape situation or just do a really great self tape scene with a friend. Casting Networks is another great site to get started on. And if you need help, I have an online acting course that you can take that will help walk you through each and every step of the start of your career.

As far as books, I always recommend The Six Pillars of Self Esteem by Nathanial Brandon because I feel if you want to be the best actor, you absolutely must believe in yourself and have a positive self image.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.raquelgardner.com / www.theactorsmark.com
• Instagram: @raquelgardnerofficial / @theactorsmark
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raquel.gardner.5 / https://www.facebook.com/theactorsmark/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-gardner-/
• Twitter: @raquelgardner1 / @theactorsmark
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RaquelGardnerOfficial / https://www.youtube.com/@theactorsmark
• Yelp: The Actors Mark
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theactorsmark
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