#FADRoundtables Webseries #BehindTheScenes

I recently launched a new project I'm so excited about, the #FADRoundtables Webseries. It's something I have been dreaming about and planning for quite a while now and I am so excited to finally have the first two webisodes live and up on YouTube!

The heart behind the series, is to both inform and inspire those who aim to enter and succeed in the entertainment/arts industries, as well as those who are already working hard to build careers following their passions.

Each webisode takes the form of a one hour interview with 5 industry professionals who are at the top of their respective fields, having a dialogue about the South African arts industries and their personal experiences in it.

For the first webisode of the #FADRoundtables - namely The Actresses, I had the honour of chatting to five gorgeous and highly accomplished ladies in the industry: Fiona Ramsay, Mary-Anne Barlow, Bianca Le Grange, Bertha Le Roux and Cindy Swanepoel.

Watch us chat about how they got started, what they think about nudity, auditions, age and the tough times..... here.


The second webisode #FADRoundtables was - The Actors, 5 crazy talented and high-profile gentlemen at the top of their fields who spent an hour with me chatting about the industry, auditioning, embarrassing moments and what keeps them motivated: Andre Schwartz, Neels Clasen, Jacques Bessenger, Emmanuel Castis and Desmond Dube. 

What a great pleasure to have spoken to these passionate guys, each sharing their experiences and insights. Watch the full video.... here.


We had the best team 'behind the scenes'. We were so blessed to be hosted by the wonderful Live Arts Little Theatre in Boksburg with Louw Breytenbach and Rehal Knoetze. The excellent photographs taken of our VIP guests (seen above) were taken by the lovely Clarice Pieterse from Iris.Grace Photography. The FADRoundtables logo was designed especially for us by Anzel Liebenberg from Fire Cherry Designs. The beautiful wooden FADRoundtables and other gift broaches by Stiki were just perfect and a great hit with the guests. The magic team of make-up and hair stylists from 'Follicle-on-the-move' made sure we were all beautifully transformed and camera-ready. And finally our great footage was captured by Ferdinand Gernandt and Hermann Winter-Greyling (also our brilliant editor) and assisted by Roelien Prinsloo.

Thanks so much for all your support! Please go ahead like and share the YouTube videos with those who need a little inspiration!

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Chat soon!

Fiona 'Speakeasy' Ramsay #FanClub

I think it is safe to say that Fiona Ramsay is one of the actresses on my top list of acting icons, equal to the likes of Meryl and Judi.

Fiona's experience, credits and list of achievements is awe-inspiring and surely speaks for itself.
Only a few of her credits include...

On Screen: Homeland, Dominion, Black Sails, The Bang Bang Club, In My Country.

On Stage: Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Streets of Gold, Delirium, Sailing Somewhere, The Old and The Beautiful.

As a language, accent and dialogue coach, (her company is called Speakeasy Vocal Training) Fiona has been commissioned on several local and international film and stage productions. Notably she acted as dialogue or language coach for Stander, Hotel Rwanda, Winnie Mandela, Material and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom coaching actor Idris Elba who portrayed Madiba in the feature. In 2014 she worked as dialogue and dialect coach on The Salvation and also did work on the Charlize Theron and Sean Penn feature The Last Face that filmed in Cape Town.
Check her out on IMDb.

In December last year a few of my FADCreationS Mentorship students and I watched Fiona Ramsay in the two-hander 'The Old and The Beautiful' at the POPArt Theatre in Maboneng.


It was so great to see Fi in an intimate theatrical piece like this alongside Tony Bentel, showcasing her phenomenal skill, incredible diversity and emotional depth engaging the audience from beginning to end. The outing with my students reminded me to remain in touch with my own student spirit and Fiona reminded me to stay inspired, to use what personally moves me in my work and projects and to keep learning from the greats. 
 

How lucky am I to have had the privilege to work with her in my career (Thoroughly Modern Millie 2006) and I honestly hope that I get to do so again in the future!

I know that she is planning to bring the production Doubt to the stage soon, and will keep you posted when I find out about upcoming production venue and dates! Also, soon I will be launching the first episode of the FAD Roundtables - The Actresses online, where Fiona is one of 5 other actresses in a one hour interview chatting about our industry and their career experiences in it. I can't wait to share it with you all!!!

Stay inspired peeps!