Episode 118: Keep Yourself Sharp! Interview with Katie Flahive
About Katie:
Katie matriculated from the Theater School at DePaul University with a BFA in Acting. She has lived and worked in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. She is an accomplished actor and singer working in theater TV, film, animation, audio books and commercials. Katie is also a company member of The Actors Center in NYC https://theactorscenter.org.
Katie recurs on the Hulu series The Looming Tower and the upcoming seventh season of Venture Brothers on Adult Swim. Her other recurring and guest role appearances include Law & Order: SVU, Chicago P.D, Glow, The Affair, Nurse Jackie Feed the Beast and Blue Bloods.
On stage, Flahive performed in Fidelis at the Public Theatre. She has also been seen on stage at Steppenwolf, Northlight Theater, Atlantic, Griffin Theater Company, Victory Gardens/Remy Bumpo and Theater on the Lake, among others.
As a teacher, Katie has taught at NYU (Atlantic Theater Company) (Stonestreet Studios) and guest lecturer at Juilliard. Currently, she is on faculty at Terry Knickerbocker Studio and has created the entire third year curriculum for Film and TV technique exclusively for the studio. Additionally, Katie maintains private workshops that meet every month in her own studio and continue now online. She has worked as an on-set coach in both LA and NYC.
“Teaching is just rehearsal, it is desensitizing the instrument, actor, the artist, to get them to come out to play.”
If you want to be in the major leagues, you gotta training with people who are on the level of the major leagues.
The importance of having a life.
Never stop training
Remain humble about where you are as an artist so you are constantly striving.
You can’t say that you’re done learning.
The key to staying sharp— read!
- Things not in the field
- Articles
- Newspapers
- Things in the field
- Be a researcher
If you’re not a reader and if you’re not someone who’s willing to say I don’t know how I learn as an adult, I know how I’m taught as a student until you figure out that switch, you have less power.
You have to find things that as an actor you are drawn to.
If you don’t know what you like, you are basically just prey to anyone telling you what to do.
Don’t be that actor who just shows up after all the words are written.
Two types of actors:
- That show up expecting to be given things
- Those that say, "I know what I want and what I like and now I have to find a way to meet you and your ideas with as much thought as my own"
If you can be clear and memorable and open and available then I will go toward you.
How to approach Co-star and Guest Star auditions.
