We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shelby Busey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Shelby thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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.
Originally, I allowed fear to keep me from auditioning for anything since childhood. I was absolutely crippled with the thought that I would be ‘bad’ since I didn’t have experience. However, keeping the promise to a friend that I would audition for the next production at my college is what got me across that threshold into my first audition. So, I auditioned for my first theatre production, “Little Women” at 20 years old. I was so incredibly nervous! I was absolutely shocked when I learned I had been cast, but not just cast, cast in my dream role of Jo March! How could that be!?! That casting changed my life. From there my heart was absolutely lit on fire for acting! The following semester I auditioned for my first musical and was over the moon to be cast in the small supporting role of Maud Dunlop in “The Music Man”.
I continued in theatre until after college and then did the craziest thing. I bought a one way ticket to live in Los Angeles! I had never been and, ironically enough, I ended up crashing on the couch of that same friend I had kept that initial promise to that landed me that first role.
Once in LA I enrolled at Bang Comedy Theatre & Institute where I later graduated at the master level in improv. It was another fear I wanted to overcome-improv. Performing improv live on a team with 7 other talented people was the most insane roller coaster of nerves, fear, joy, fun and letting go. That season of my life at Bang Comedy Theatre encompasses some of the best times of my entire life.
Many classes came in the the years that followed; scene study, audition technique, Meisner, the business side of acting, and so on. It’s hard to say what classes hold the most weight. They have all culminated into where I am now. Giving advice to those wanting to take the leap into acting I would say that you absolutely need improv, a technique such as Meisner and scene study. But one thing that new actors really overlook is understanding the business side. Knowing how to brand yourself to agents and casting is as crucial as learning the craft of acting itself. It is called ‘show BUSINESS’ after all. The Hollywood Winners Circle is where I learned the business side of acting-another choice that changed me life.
As far as obstacles, my biggest obstacle has been myself…my insecurities, my fears, and struggles with perfectionism. All of those things culminated in me to putting off my dreams. If I could go back I would’ve taken the leap sooner, but I’m grateful to be here now. Finances were another tough obstacle. Often I would make financial sacrifices just to make sure I could be in no less than one class per month. I understood that the best actors never stop training and I didn’t want any excuses to keep me from my dreams. To this day I am involved in ongoing training. And to this day it is still a financial sacrifice I choose to make. I just don’t want to look back on my life with regret wondering “what if”.
Shelby, 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?
I can hardly believe that all of these years later I now get to teach actors at my studio, The Class Acting Studios in Summerville! I never dreamed of having a studio. But here we are! And I absolutely love it! I get to provide private audition coaching where I aid in actors’ self tape auditions for film, television and commercial projects. Myself along with an incredible team of writers and directors write and direct students in scenes tailored specifically to them in our Scene Study class! So whether someone is brand new to acting or a veteran to the craft, scenes written for them reflect exactly where they are in their acting journey while challenging them forward at the same time. In our Scene Study class students can not only act but try their hand at writing and directing as well!
We’ve also partnered with MUVIFilms Productions to film our students’ scenes, as well as, Chris Lonsberry Media for headshots. Our goal is to get actors working, so within 3 months of joining our studio they can have their package of 3 filmed scenes, headshots and training to launch them into submitting for roles! I wanted to give actors what I wish I had when I first started my journey; clear direction. I was so lost when I first struck out on my own in LA. There was no roadmap then, at least not one that I ever found. I don’t want actors to feel as lost as I did, so I created a program accelerating what took me nearly 20 years to learn into a program that takes far less time.
In addition, we’ve recently added the Meisner Technique to our lineup. Notable students of this technique include Sandra Bullock, Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson and Chadwick Boseman. This technique teaches actors to hone their instincts to tap into authentic emotion. It’s great!
We will also be adding kids, youth and teen classes in January 2024, a full improv program early next year and will continue our kids’ acting Summer camp this upcoming Summer! We are also in talks to add online classes!
Beyond our programs, our students have revealed that one of their favorite things they’ve gained from joining The Class is the community. They have gained friends, advice, direction and support from their fellow actors and instructors. In addition, that community is now in works to create their own films together in the upcoming year! My heart is to empower students to create their own opportunities in addition to pursuing outside ones. We are so fortunate in this day and age to be able to forge our own paths in ways that were much more difficult to do previously.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
As an acting coach the most rewarding part is getting to celebrate my incredible student’s victories. Whether it’s giving them a note on a scene and that bringing breakthrough or getting the news that they booked a role, getting to celebrate alongside of them is absolutely the most fulfilling aspect. And there’s nothing like cheering them on and believing in them until they believe in themselves the way I do. All actors that I know have struggled deeply with insecurity or fear at one time or another, and being able to pour knowledge and encouragement in to help quell those away is really incredible. What an incredible honor I have in being entrusted to be their coach.
As an actor, the most rewarding aspect is finally being able to see the fruit of so many years of hard work and training paying off. So much can happen behind closed doors; training, wrestling with self doubt, pushing away the insecurities that come a knockin’, watching weeks turn into years, giving up vacations to put that money into classes, headshots, workshops, more training and even more training. Pursuing acting requires immense sacrifice. Onlookers see the glitz of the payoff but the actor sees the darkness before the light that leads to that beautiful outcome of a long held dream fulfilled. But I think that all of that struggle and sacrifice, all of those years of hard work, makes that mountain top appear that much more beautiful once reached.
The reality is that most in pursuit of the mountaintop will quit long before they see it. The journey is long and tough and the actor can start to doubt if this is the path they should really be on. I encourage my students to throw away timelines and to embrace this as a lifelong journey. Yes, it can be hard but it can also be beyond worth it. The friends, memories, milestones you reach along the way make the road more bearable. Do it together. Don’t do it alone. Then, when you get to the top, no matter how long that takes, you have a family of fellow creatives to celebrate with you that have been there for you all along.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Seeing all of the acting opportunities through Craigslist all of those years ago proved to compound my drive to move out to LA. Nowadays I know that Craigslist isn’t the way to find those opportunities, but as a bright eyed, young girl with dreams I knew that there were far more opportunities out there in LA than in little ole’ Charleston, SC. So, I did it. I placed my resignation on my boss’ desk, a job I’d held for 9 years, informing him that I’d bought a one way ticket to LA to pursue my dreams. He thought I was joking. I wasn’t.
It was June of 2009. I moved with a couple of bags to this big city I had never even visited. To be honest, there wasn’t much of a plan. The plan was: move to LA, make the dreams happen. There were no specifics as to how the latter part of that was going to happen. I moved into this apartment with no air conditioning on Venice Blvd with a girl I had never met(subletting from her roommates). Venice Blvd sounds glamorous if you haven’t been there but it wasn’t. I was assured there was a job lined up for me, but after arriving the manager of the burger joint informed me she wasn’t hiring me. So there I was, in this big city, prior to GPS being on phones, only to find out that my job wasn’t actually there. I had one week to secure a job or I’d have to move home. I spent 8 hours per day applying to practically everything. I mean, jobs I definitely didn’t want, but there was a recession and I was desperate. After hours and hours, and a week of submitting applications, I got two part time jobs, one a Starbucks and the other at this boujee grocery store that delivered groceries to wealthy people. Well, the grocery store fired me after a month without telling me why. I was honestly crushed. I had been working doubles at both jobs and had really been trying to do well. I was just so grateful that Starbucks agreed to bring me on full time-that saved me.
I’m going to be honest. I cried nearly every day of those first 6 months. I had no friends, the girl I was living with didn’t seem to like me and I had absolutely no direction. By some miracle two girls I knew back home decided to move out to LA and we all moved into an apartment together.
Those next, nearly 4 years, were filled with some tough times. I remember taking the expired Starbucks fruit and cheese trays home to live on. That and a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter everyday. I didn’t realize it then but I probably should’ve been on food stamps, and I also should’ve told my friends and family how tight money was. But I didn’t want them to worry about me. I really believed I’d figure it out eventually. And I did. I did figure it out.
I got invited, by one of the girls that moved out to LA, to see the very first taping of “Good Luck, Charlie” but as it turned out, while waiting to go in, we were told we could change over to catch an episode of “Sonny with a Chance” if we wanted. We jumped on the opportunity! I mean, Demi Lovato! I was seated next to the dj in the back of the audience. Somehow I ended up telling him about trying to find my feet as an actor and he told me that the audience warm up guys(yes, that’s a thing) actually taught at an improv studio. Myself, and the girls I came with, approached them after the taping, and that encounter inevitably landed me a Bang Comedy Theatre and Institute. And that’s where it all started to look up for me. I joined class(they gave me a discount because they were so merciful and I was so broke). I started making friends! And my days started filling up with class, then improv shows and nights out at Canter’s, the Jewish deli down the street from the studio. I found a great church and made more friends. It made those first 6 months filled with tears and feeling alone 100% worth it. I’m so glad I didn’t give up and go home. I would’ve forfeit some of the best years, and memories, of my life. Not to mention meeting one of my now best friends through Craigslist. But that’s a story for another day:)
Contact Info:
- Website: theclass.my.canva.site
- Instagram: @shelbybuseyofficial
- Other: https://linktr.ee/ShelbyBusey
Image Credits
First Headshot for the story: Cameron Radice Photography Second Headshot with glasses: Emily Lambert Photography -Me looking out over LA: That’s my photo -Little Women still shot: Director Christine Williams -Performing Live at Bang Comedy Theatre with fellow alum, Hope Goldstein: Samrod Shenassa -My Scene Study Students having fun during class: my photo -Red Carpet Premiere of Spider-Man: The Dark Age: Brian T. Shirley -The Class Acting Studios Student, Christopher Cook being celebrated for his film debut!: My photo -On Set for sci-fi thriller, “The Light”: my photo -Behind the scenes photo with MUVIFilms Productions: My photo.