Latest / Next Act with Jeff Ornstein / Eric Geynes - Actor, Performance Capture Artist & Certified Chubbuck Coach

Transcript

Eric Geynes - Actor, Performance Capture Artist & Certified Chubbuck Coach · Next Act with Jeff Ornstein

• 0:02
  Jeff Ornstein: Hi everyone, and welcome to Next Act with Jeff Orenstein.
• 0:05
  Jeff Ornstein: I am Jeff, and on this show we celebrate people on the cusp of greatness.
• 0:10
  Jeff Ornstein: Those building on past successes in some of the curious and inventive and sometimes unexpected ways they have achieved those, and stepping into moments that could define their legacy.
• 0:21
  Jeff Ornstein: We'll talk about current projects, lessons learned, and the extraordinary opportunities ahead.
• 0:26
  Jeff Ornstein: So the best is yet to come.
• 0:29
  Jeff Ornstein: Today's guest is Eric Gaines, a British-French actor, performance capture artist, voice actor, and certified Chubbak coach.
• 0:37
  Jeff Ornstein: From Emily in Paris to Karim to performance capture in Ethelion, Eric has built an international career spanning film, television, gaming, and theater.
• 0:47
  Jeff Ornstein: Eric, welcome.
• 0:49
  Eric Geynes: Thank you.
• 0:49
  Eric Geynes: I'm very glad to be here.
• 0:51
  Jeff Ornstein: Okay, so part of our podcast deals with people who have multiple life experiences and it leads them to where they are right now.
• 0:59
  Jeff Ornstein: Yeah.
• 0:59
  Jeff Ornstein: And a lot of our listeners take a lot from that to say, well, how do I put my experiences together or my experience enough?
• 1:06
  Jeff Ornstein: Or when do I know to jump off the cliff and just go for this?
• 1:09
  Jeff Ornstein: So I need to speak to you a little bit about your transition from elite swimming to acting.
• 1:16
  Jeff Ornstein: Can you share a little bit how that went down?
• 1:19
  Eric Geynes: I know.
• 1:19
  Eric Geynes: That's a little bit strange.
• 1:20
  Eric Geynes: So yeah, I mean, well, I I started I started swimming professionally.
• 1:25
  Eric Geynes: I mean, as professional as you can think.
• 1:27
  Eric Geynes: It's not a professional sport, but I was swimming five, six hours a day.
• 1:31
  Eric Geynes: I had my first contract when I was 15 years old.
• 1:34
  Eric Geynes: So everything was about swimming, just completely obsessed with it, as you would do with any sports.
• 1:40
  Eric Geynes: So I I was doing that, so nothing else mattered.
• 1:43
  Eric Geynes: I was in a special school, and then after that, when I graduated from school, it I kept on competing.
• 1:51
  Eric Geynes: And the Federation helped me as well to transition to get like a proper job.
• 1:57
  Eric Geynes: So they paid for a business school, which I absolutely hated.
• 2:02
  Eric Geynes: But it taught me a lot in terms of marketing, and I use it a lot now as an actor.
• 2:06
  Eric Geynes: So I did that for a while.
• 2:08
  Eric Geynes: I did quite a lot of different jobs.
• 2:09
  Eric Geynes: I worked in events, I worked behind the bar in restaurants.
• 2:13
  Eric Geynes: I didn't really know what I wanted to do with myself.
• 2:16
  Eric Geynes: I was swimming less and less, just competing whenever I wanted, but not training as much because I realized that you had other things in life than a swimming pool.
• 2:26
  Eric Geynes: And I had at the back of my head, I had acting.
• 2:28
  Eric Geynes: I've always wanted to act, but I never allowed myself to do it because I come from a very working-class background, and you have to be responsible.
• 2:37
  Eric Geynes: You'd have to do something which is going to be safe.
• 2:40
  Eric Geynes: So I put that at the on the back burner.
• 2:43
  Eric Geynes: And then at some point, I was in a pretty dark place.
• 2:47
  Eric Geynes: Didn't know what to do with myself.
• 2:49
  Eric Geynes: I was in London and I was working in an office managing people and a lot of pressure.
• 2:54
  Eric Geynes: I was having panic attacks.
• 2:56
  Eric Geynes: I was really unhappy.
• 2:57
  Eric Geynes: Um, and then I needed something to change to to think about something else.
• 3:02
  Eric Geynes: I started to do Amdram, then once a week, just like for fun.
• 3:07
  Eric Geynes: And then I was, oh my god, I absolutely love it.
• 3:09
  Eric Geynes: So the year after I did a bit more and a bit more, and then suddenly I was like, I have to do this because I've never been happier than when I'm doing that.
• 3:20
  Eric Geynes: As like I was thinking life is not having panic attacks and doing a job you don't like, even though it's safe and you can pay the rent.
• 3:27
  Eric Geynes: So when I turned 30, I auditioned for drama school.
• 3:31
  Eric Geynes: And uh, it's funny because I auditioned for the the main three-year theater course and the screen acting course, and I got offered a place on both of them.
• 3:44
  Eric Geynes: But then when I chatted with the course directors from both courses, they were saying, We think that you have the life's experience because of the swimming, because you're a bit older, that you can go directly onto the screen acting, which is more specific.
• 3:57
  Eric Geynes: And the other one is more when you need to experience life a little bit more.
• 4:02
  Eric Geynes: So, in a way, I've always wanted to do it, but it's sort of happened because of circumstances.
• 4:08
  Eric Geynes: And but one thing which is important is that since then, even though my situation is not as safe as actors are artists in general, cannot be like super safe financially.
• 4:19
  Eric Geynes: I've never been happier and I've never had a panic attack since.
• 4:23
  Eric Geynes: I'm not happy every day, but at least I have no doubt about my decisions.
• 4:29
  Jeff Ornstein: That's fantastic.
• 4:30
  Jeff Ornstein: And we had a guest on who said, you know, you have to ask yourself if there's anything else I could do that I get this much joy and happiness from, and not have the pressure of living day to day and job and the fear of rejection.
• 4:43
  Jeff Ornstein: He said, Then do it, because this is not a business for the faint of heart.
• 4:47
  Jeff Ornstein: And it seems like you are golden and set and you made your decision, you're not looking back.
• 4:53
  Eric Geynes: Absolutely, completely.
• 4:54
  Eric Geynes: And I do remember, I don't know if you know that quote from Michael Cain who said, acting is not a part-time job, it's not a full-time job, it's a full-time obsession.
• 5:03
  Eric Geynes: And that's really absolutely.
• 5:05
  Eric Geynes: And I coach, as you mentioned, uh using the Chubak technique.
• 5:08
  Eric Geynes: So I'm a certified coach in Ivana's technique.
• 5:12
  Eric Geynes: And I'm working with an actor who is really starting out, and we have conversations about that.
• 5:17
  Eric Geynes: And I'm saying it's like it's really tough.
• 5:20
  Eric Geynes: You cannot have any doubts about doing it because it is so tough.
• 5:25
  Eric Geynes: But if it is the right decision, you'll be super happy.
• 5:28
  Eric Geynes: And you and if you try it, you can feel it.
• 5:31
  Eric Geynes: It's like, as you said, I cannot do anything else.
• 5:34
  Eric Geynes: I cannot, I cannot see myself do anything else at all.
• 5:37
  Jeff Ornstein: Well, I want to talk to you about that Chubback technique because I did a little research on it, it's very impressive.
• 5:42
  Jeff Ornstein: And certainly the actors that have practice it are Academy Award winners, Brad Pitt and Shirley Slairzon and Jared Little.
• 5:50
  Jeff Ornstein: I mean, that's some pretty good references for a technique that works.
• 5:55
  Jeff Ornstein: I was not familiar with it before.
• 5:57
  Jeff Ornstein: Can you share a little bit about how it differs from Meisner or Stella and other method actors?
• 6:03
  Jeff Ornstein: Because it seems pretty intense.
• 6:04
  Eric Geynes: So it's based on the all the master's uh teaching.
• 6:07
  Eric Geynes: And but the main difference, I think, for me is that I've only managed to modernize modernize the technique, the previous techniques, into something very practical.
• 6:17
  Eric Geynes: It's 12 steps of script analysis, of making decisions.
• 6:22
  Eric Geynes: But it is modern in the way that it's very good for you, it's very good for the character, it's very good for the actor, because the character or the actor can never be a victim.
• 6:33
  Eric Geynes: So, whatever decision you make, it will always be about overcoming something.
• 6:39
  Eric Geynes: So we're gonna use our own experience, like most techniques, but we're gonna go to the places where we have to go, it's our job, it's not very enjoyable, but sometimes we have to go there.
• 6:51
  Eric Geynes: But then we always overcome them.
• 6:54
  Eric Geynes: And what happens is that it's more interesting for the audience when they watching the character's journey, because there's nothing more boring than having a character that is a victim and not trying to overcome that situation and circumstances.
• 7:08
  Eric Geynes: You get bored very quickly, it can be fun for a minute.
• 7:10
  Eric Geynes: You look at someone crying, and yeah, okay, fine.
• 7:13
  Eric Geynes: After 30 seconds, that's it.
• 7:15
  Eric Geynes: We want to see someone overcome their circumstances, and it is super safe for the actor as well, because we can work with some very dark material, but then we we feel better and it can be cathartic as well.
• 7:28
  Eric Geynes: So it's not a therapy, but it can be cathartic in a safe environment.
• 7:33
  Eric Geynes: And yeah, I find it very interesting because it's very structured and I like that.
• 7:38
  Eric Geynes: You can do a lot of homework and then you let go.
• 7:41
  Jeff Ornstein: Step 12 is to let go.
• 7:43
  Jeff Ornstein: Now, the founder is based in Los Angeles.
• 7:45
  Jeff Ornstein: Did you study in Los Angeles, or do we have do they have local teaching overseas?
• 7:51
  Jeff Ornstein: How did you pick up on her?
• 7:52
  Jeff Ornstein: Did you do it by teleacting?
• 7:55
  Jeff Ornstein: Tele, however, you think.
• 7:58
  Eric Geynes: Well, he's a friend of mine, Alex Devrient, who is a brilliant actor, whom I've known for years and years.
• 8:03
  Eric Geynes: I think I met him in one of my first auditions for The Little Prince, like years and years ago.
• 8:09
  Eric Geynes: He told me about the technique, and he said, I've worked with this Swedish coach.
• 8:14
  Eric Geynes: So she's a certified coach, Elizabeth Sevholt.
• 8:17
  Eric Geynes: And she was doing a workshop in Berlin.
• 8:19
  Eric Geynes: So I went and did the workshop for three days, I think.
• 8:23
  Eric Geynes: And I really liked it.
• 8:24
  Eric Geynes: I really loved it.
• 8:25
  Eric Geynes: I read the book and then I started using it more and more.
• 8:28
  Eric Geynes: I've worked with Elizabeth a little bit, and then I've worked as well online with Cameron McCormick, who's one of the coaches there, who is absolutely brilliant.
• 8:37
  Eric Geynes: And I did it more and more, and I loved the technique so much that I came to LA to work with Ivana for a while.
• 8:43
  Eric Geynes: And so that was amazing because obviously that's her technique.
• 8:48
  Eric Geynes: And of course, all the coaches really spread the word of her technique.
• 8:52
  Eric Geynes: But when you get it from Ivana, she's just like doing shortcuts, and your brain is like, What just happened?
• 8:59
  Eric Geynes: And then you have to unravel everything.
• 9:01
  Eric Geynes: So that was incredible.
• 9:03
  Eric Geynes: And then I went back to Europe and I worked more with Cameron, and then at some point, Cameron was saying, Have you ever thought of coaching?
• 9:11
  Eric Geynes: Because because I coach, but more like one-on-one and nothing specific, just my own training.
• 9:18
  Eric Geynes: And I was well, no, I haven't done it for that long.
• 9:21
  Eric Geynes: And I had a bit of the uh imposter syndrome, but she said, Well, have a look and think about it because you work in France, so you're certified for a specific area, a specific country.
• 9:31
  Eric Geynes: So I thought about it.
• 9:32
  Eric Geynes: I had a chat with Ivana, and she said, Yep, do the training.
• 9:36
  Eric Geynes: So I did the training three months, seven days a week, not just with Ivana, but with all the coaches in the studio.
• 9:43
  Eric Geynes: It was seven days a week because we also had some boot camps, which is a specific training that she does with people coming from abroad, and we had a Japanese boot camp and a boot camp from Atlanta.
• 9:55
  Eric Geynes: So it was added work for me, but I loved it.
• 9:58
  Eric Geynes: So you have you have to take part in some of the classes as a participant and also observe all the other classes so you see everyone's style, and that was insane, that was incredible, exhausting, but I absolutely loved it.
• 10:13
  Eric Geynes: It reminded me of the drama school when we can just dedicate 24-7 to your craft.
• 10:19
  Eric Geynes: So then I became, yeah, I became certified, and I still work with her tomorrow night.
• 10:23
  Eric Geynes: I will be no, actually, not tomorrow, tomorrow afternoon.
• 10:26
  Eric Geynes: I'll be seeing Ivana working with a group from France of actors coming for boot camp.
• 10:32
  Eric Geynes: And I'll be working with Ivana on Wednesday next week or in the week after.
• 10:37
  Eric Geynes: So yeah.
• 10:38
  Jeff Ornstein: It's not uncommon that we find people that are as passionate as you are also passionate about mentoring as well.
• 10:45
  Jeff Ornstein: That it really kind of goes hand in hand because you just want to, I guess you just got to share the love.
• 10:50
  Jeff Ornstein: It seems like but tell me, like you just described, some pretty grueling, lengthy sessions with the coaching.
• 10:57
  Jeff Ornstein: How do you have time to find to audition?
• 11:00
  Jeff Ornstein: And especially you're auditioning on both sides of the pod.
• 11:03
  Jeff Ornstein: I mean, that can't be easy.
• 11:06
  Eric Geynes: No, and no, and sometimes I find myself doing like callbacks at 3 a.m.
• 11:10
  Eric Geynes: or 4 a.m.
• 11:11
  Eric Geynes: That's a little bit weird.
• 11:12
  Eric Geynes: But the things that as we said before, it's just like I don't see myself doing anything else.
• 11:18
  Eric Geynes: And well, with time though, you have to make sure you have the right balance between your personal life and your mental health and the work, and because you can be obsessed by something, but me as well, coming from professional sport, sometimes I push it a little bit too far, and I don't see myself, I don't realize how tired I can be.
• 11:38
  Eric Geynes: And because I write as well, so I've got like so many plates spinning.
• 11:42
  Eric Geynes: But in in terms of like transmission, as you were saying, I love the coaching, I act a lot, and that's what I love.
• 11:50
  Eric Geynes: But I love the coaching, and at some point I wanted to give that back a little bit, not just with via coaching, but also I've been writing a book which hopefully should be out this year, and I hesitated because I was well, if you write a book and everything, it doesn't mean that you're really old in your career.
• 12:09
  Eric Geynes: I don't know about that, yeah.
• 12:12
  Eric Geynes: And it's like the coaching as well, is like, well, I don't just want to be a coach, but it's a fine balance, but it's about identity.
• 12:20
  Eric Geynes: But for me, it was very important to write something about feeling like an actor when you're not working, because 80 or 90 percent of the time we're actually not on set, but we're working, we're preparing, we we audition at 3 a.m.
• 12:34
  Eric Geynes: in the morning in our tiny places and stuff with lights and a ladder to hold the good camera if you're in a hotel or something or on location.
• 12:43
  Eric Geynes: But that's what we do, that's what we love.
• 12:46
  Eric Geynes: So I felt that from the beginning, like when I wasn't working, it was difficult, especially at the beginning of my career.
• 12:53
  Eric Geynes: Someone would ask you, What do you do?
• 12:55
  Eric Geynes: And you say, I'm an actor.
• 12:56
  Eric Geynes: Well, what have you been?
• 12:58
  Eric Geynes: You know, where have I seen you?
• 12:59
  Eric Geynes: And it's just like, oh, I don't know what to say.
• 13:01
  Eric Geynes: So there is that feeling which is important.
• 13:04
  Eric Geynes: It's not because you're not on set that you're not an actor.
• 13:07
  Eric Geynes: So I've created this series of 365 tiny exercises that you do once a day.
• 13:13
  Eric Geynes: It's called the constant actor.
• 13:15
  Eric Geynes: And it's really about a little bit of about acting technique, but a lot as well about the industry, a lot about mental health, a lot about your own identity.
• 13:26
  Eric Geynes: So every single day you feel like you're an actor.
• 13:30
  Jeff Ornstein: So we have had other guests on.
• 13:32
  Jeff Ornstein: They talk about the difference between New York and Los Angeles in terms of the kind of job auditions you'll go on, the kind of people you'll be surrounded with, and the kind of work you might be likely to nail and get out.
• 13:45
  unknown: Yeah.
• 13:46
  Jeff Ornstein: But now we've got a guess where I mean, you're in New York, you're in LA, you're in London, you're in France.
• 13:50
  Jeff Ornstein: Do you find if there's a a different approach or attitude when you audition for something in a different country like that?
• 13:58
  Eric Geynes: So there are bits and bobs which are different, but everything is sort of merging a little bit more, and people are a little bit more understanding, I would say.
• 14:06
  Eric Geynes: Something as simple as doing a slate is slightly different.
• 14:10
  Eric Geynes: The first time I auditioned for the US, the slates were I didn't realize that it was much simpler in the US than in Europe.
• 14:17
  Eric Geynes: In Europe, we talk about ourselves and just like working on this and that and the other.
• 14:21
  Eric Geynes: So it's to discover the person a little bit more.
• 14:24
  Eric Geynes: And we never say what character we audition for as well, because they transfer that slate, they could transfer that slate to another character.
• 14:32
  Eric Geynes: But in the US, very often, I mean, I don't do it, but I heard that very often people do.
• 14:37
  Eric Geynes: I'm gonna be reading for this character, for example.
• 14:40
  Eric Geynes: So you've got the main thing I would say is more about the attitude of the casting directors, which is quite different between Europe and the US.
• 14:50
  Eric Geynes: Unfortunately, in Europe, very often, in particular in France, a little bit less in the UK.
• 14:56
  Eric Geynes: And I I get that from casting directors I know, but the pressure is on them to create lists as opposed to seeing a lot of people.
• 15:04
  Eric Geynes: It's not so much the production company, but the distribution or the networks are going to say, I want to see this amount of people who have done this amount of show, you know, in this on this network, etc.
• 15:16
  Eric Geynes: etc.
• 15:16
  Eric Geynes: So it's they it's really much harder for them to discover new people.
• 15:21
  Eric Geynes: In the US, it's much different.
• 15:23
  Eric Geynes: It really feels like the casting directors want to find someone they haven't seen before.
• 15:28
  Eric Geynes: So people are much more open when I started.
• 15:31
  Eric Geynes: Well, of course, I had a body of work when I started in the US, which wasn't the case in Europe.
• 15:37
  Eric Geynes: But but people are very responsive to the material I send.
• 15:42
  Eric Geynes: So also I can see as well the number of people opening and checking when I said something on my reel, etc.
• 15:49
  Eric Geynes: And in the US, people are much more keen on watching and answering and creating a relationship than they are in Europe.
• 15:57
  Eric Geynes: But otherwise, the work itself, especially for TV, I mean quality TV, drama, that sort of thing, is pretty much the same.
• 16:06
  Jeff Ornstein: So you've been involved with Emily in Paris, which is, I think, everyone's favorite show.
• 16:11
  Jeff Ornstein: I've never met anyone who's seen it or didn't fall in love with it.
• 16:14
  Jeff Ornstein: Can you share any insight those stories you can share about that?
• 16:18
  Eric Geynes: Well, I was just a guest on that, but it's funny because in the US I get recognized because of that.
• 16:22
  Eric Geynes: And I'm not really I've done so much more work than just like guest on Emily in Paris.
• 16:28
  Eric Geynes: But I'm fine with it and it's fun.
• 16:29
  Eric Geynes: I think it's like a sweet thing.
• 16:31
  Eric Geynes: It's it's like a cake, like a sort of French cupcake.
• 16:35
  Eric Geynes: Um, an a paint au chocolat or something like that, or macaron.
• 16:40
  Eric Geynes: So, I mean, one thing I could say that the fitting, I've never had a fitting like that.
• 16:45
  Eric Geynes: Because you know the show, it's it's all about design and clothing and etc.
• 16:49
  Eric Geynes: And production design in general, but clothing is so important.
• 16:53
  Eric Geynes: And my character was representing this brand, Turner and Asket.
• 16:57
  Eric Geynes: So, you know, the guy has to be quite stylish and everything.
• 17:00
  Eric Geynes: And they booked me for the fitting for like five, six hours.
• 17:04
  Eric Geynes: I was like, what?
• 17:05
  Eric Geynes: I've never had like such a long fitting, and I went there, and then I understood why, because they made me try absolutely everything they had.
• 17:14
  Eric Geynes: The place was huge, and it was like a really nice hotel particulier, kind of fancy place, and they had shoes and clothing absolutely everywhere.
• 17:25
  Eric Geynes: We had drinks and strawberries and stuff.
• 17:27
  Eric Geynes: So that was really good fun.
• 17:29
  Eric Geynes: And then on sets, well, as I'm sure, it's always difficult when you're a guest on a show, you just arrive and it's like crashing a family party or something.
• 17:39
  Eric Geynes: But the feeling was really nice, that everyone was very welcoming, and it was interesting to work with Lily and because we uh we created some sort of little things which weren't in on paper, so that was very nice, and I could feel the fact that both of us have worked in the UK or in the US, there's something that we understand, and so that was lovely, I loved it.
• 18:03
  Jeff Ornstein: Okay, so with no disrespect to Emily in Paris, I am gonna do 180 here because you've been wanting or have been focused on telling stories centered on environmental and social justice issues.
• 18:16
  Jeff Ornstein: Slightly different than Pitty and Think.
• 18:20
  Eric Geynes: Although you can find some stuff inside, I'm sure.
• 18:22
  Eric Geynes: But yeah, the main thing.
• 18:23
  Eric Geynes: Yeah.
• 18:24
  Jeff Ornstein: Is there a particular cause right now that you really would love to get out there and represent as an actor in an actor's role?
• 18:30
  Eric Geynes: I mean, I try to, because I come from a working class background and I do coach, etc., but I do mentor as well.
• 18:37
  Eric Geynes: So I do mentoring.
• 18:39
  Eric Geynes: I'm following some younger filmmakers, not necessarily actors, but it's just like we we catch up on a regular basis and talk about the industry.
• 18:47
  Eric Geynes: So whenever I can, I sort of try to connect them to some industry professionals.
• 18:53
  Eric Geynes: I remember what Armand Lacroix, who is a young filmmaker, came with me to a festival where I was a jury member member of the jury, and he loved it.
• 19:02
  Eric Geynes: So it's sort of to build the confidence whenever they have questions, I can sort of answer those.
• 19:08
  Eric Geynes: Or if I don't have the answer, I will go and get the answer for them.
• 19:12
  Eric Geynes: So that's something so enjoyable.
• 19:15
  Eric Geynes: I absolutely love it.
• 19:16
  Eric Geynes: Love it.
• 19:16
  Eric Geynes: As I said, it sort of sort of makes me feel a little bit old, but it doesn't matter.
• 19:21
  Eric Geynes: It really feels like I can give something back.
• 19:25
  Jeff Ornstein: Yeah.
• 19:25
  Jeff Ornstein: So I'm I think that's wonderful.
• 19:27
  Jeff Ornstein: And the one of the things that really attracted me to when I started in theater and my studies was how community-oriented the theater profession truly is.
• 19:36
  Jeff Ornstein: So it doesn't, I think the more passionate you are about it, the maybe the more it makes sense that you're more committed to a community that thrives with support from one another.
• 19:46
  Jeff Ornstein: I mean, of course we've gone over time, which is my chatty self and your chatty self.
• 19:51
  Jeff Ornstein: I knew you'd be okay.
• 19:53
  Jeff Ornstein: So you've been in all different kinds of media, and your book and your writing and your mentoring, I mean you really got your hands in lots of different parts.
• 20:02
  Jeff Ornstein: First of all, is the book about the life of an actor, or is it about acting techniques?
• 20:08
  Jeff Ornstein: What will the book entail?
• 20:10
  Eric Geynes: So it's a it's a very practical book.
• 20:12
  Eric Geynes: So it's a series of 360 exercises.
• 20:16
  Eric Geynes: So each exercise is less than 10 minutes, or you can make it longer.
• 20:19
  Eric Geynes: But the the intention was to make sure that it fits in someone's busy life, whether you're on set, whether you're not working, and you've got like a side job, you have to be able to do it regularly because for me that's the key from the sport as well.
• 20:34
  Eric Geynes: It's like you have to do it every day, even if it's five to ten minutes.
• 20:37
  Eric Geynes: So the intro is a little bit, there is a little bit about my background and how I got there.
• 20:43
  Eric Geynes: But I think the journey, my journey, I will share it more on the side with a podcast or something like that.
• 20:50
  Eric Geynes: Because in the book, I wanted something to be super practical.
• 20:53
  Eric Geynes: Like you pick up the book, you open it, you can follow something, or you can just like pick and choose whatever you need on that day.
• 21:00
  Eric Geynes: So you do have sort of blocks and parts of it.
• 21:04
  Eric Geynes: So one is really acting technique.
• 21:06
  Eric Geynes: So some of the exercises you might know from drama school, and some of the others, I just make them up.
• 21:12
  Eric Geynes: And I've designed yeah, I've devised them when I was learning, and I was like, oh, that that works for me.
• 21:20
  Eric Geynes: Maybe that's gonna work for some somebody else.
• 21:22
  Eric Geynes: Some of the exercise as well is just to devise your own exercise and find what you need because not all shoes fit all.
• 21:30
  Eric Geynes: And another part is gonna be about the industry to make sure that you follow some casting directors or industry professionals where to find them, etc.
• 21:39
  Eric Geynes: etc.
• 21:39
  Eric Geynes: So it's a bit of everything.
• 21:42
  Eric Geynes: Obviously, you cannot go too much into detail in one thing, otherwise, it would be like a series of 10 books.
• 21:48
  Eric Geynes: What I get from the the publishers is that it sits in between different things, which is a space which doesn't exist yet.
• 21:56
  Eric Geynes: So it's not like just an acting technique book, and it's not just an industry book, for example, and it's not just mental health advice.
• 22:05
  Eric Geynes: It's a little bit of everything.
• 22:07
  Jeff Ornstein: Well, I think I have to say, I love that idea of 360 short little exercises that people can find time to take on, and then they will be with you, and you can reflect on that day, the next day, the next month, and all this is the culmination of all those little exercises that unveil or reveal to you different components as to who you are as an actor or who you how do you gonna get to where you want to be?
• 22:33
  Jeff Ornstein: I think that's a terrific idea.
• 22:34
  Jeff Ornstein: Yeah.
• 22:34
  Jeff Ornstein: I'm gonna want to read this book.
• 22:36
  Jeff Ornstein: So promise me after when your book is published, you'll call back up our producers and we'll be back on the show and we will talk about it a little bit further at up in my homework.
• 22:47
  Eric Geynes: Yeah, you've got it, as you say.
• 22:48
  Eric Geynes: We never say that, but I'll reach out.
• 22:51
  Jeff Ornstein: Please do.
• 22:52
  Jeff Ornstein: Eric, it was a pleasure having you on.
• 22:54
  Jeff Ornstein: I wish you all the best and good luck with that book, and definitely get back to us.
• 22:58
  Eric Geynes: Thank you very much.
• 22:59
  Eric Geynes: I enjoyed it very much.
• 23:00
  Jeff Ornstein: So long.
• 23:01
  Jeff Ornstein: Thanks for tuning in to Next Act with Jeff Orenstein.
• 23:05
  Jeff Ornstein: Follow, subscribe, and stay connected to your favorite socials at www.nextdackpodcast.com.
• 23:12
  Jeff Ornstein: Keep chasing your next act.
• 23:14
  Jeff Ornstein: The best is yet to come.