Catching Up With…Acting Coach Tracey MoorePosted by Wilson Morales
January 30, 2015
Just recently, Lifetime TV aired the romantic drama “With This Ring,” which starred Regina Hall, Jill Scott, and Eve. The film did well with viewers as it was the highest rated cable program that evening.
For Eve, it’s been a long time since most had seen the rapper-turned-actress in a prominent role. From Barbershop to With This Ring, with numerous TV and film project in between, her acting has come a long way. Not just her, but there are a number of musical artists, athletes, and entertainment personalities who have made a successful transition to the acting world and a lot of them have credited acting coach Tracey Moore for helping them with their path.
Moore, who’s worn different hats in the entertainment industry for over 20 years from being a casting director, director, producer and acting coach, continues to mentor and guide artists of all sorts to the acting world. Some of her clients have included Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, Lala Anthony, Russell Hornsby, Kellita Smith, Faith Evans, Laz Alonso, Darius Rucker, and Terrence J.
Not a bad for someone who left San Francisco decades ago with the most expensive thing being her hopes and dreams. Through her company The Spirited Actor, Moore continues to bring and share her experience in the industry to those looking to thrive in another avenue.
Blackfilm.com recently caught up with Moore as she talked her career and what keeps her going.
What keeps you motivated to still do this work? Which of your different positions have you loved the most?
Tracey Moore: I feel that it’s challenging to single out which one I love the most. I love everything that I do and I’m blessed to have four careers in a lifetime. I think overall what I do is help people achieve their dreams as actors. What I love to do is make their dreams come true and becoming working actors, or going from extra work to day players, or day player to supporting, or supporting to lead. I love the whole process of the journey.
At what point in your journey did you know you had the confidence to teach others?
Moore: I was a casting director and I would write things on a piece of paper or a styrofoam and say that if I ever had the opportunity to teach actors, this is what I would do and this is how I would teach them. A pivotal moment for me was when directors in the casting room would not only ask my advice about the actor but they would ask about directing. I was a reader in my casting session and I love to read with the actors, so the directors would get more in-depth about the scene and have conversations. I felt that if directors are trusting me, actors will trust me. That’s when I felt I needed to make that transition into teaching acting.
What’s the challenge when you have musical artists?
Moore: I feel the challenge with musical artists is that they look at acting as a separate entity than from what they are doing and the truth is that it’s a natural transition. Specifically with musicians, they hear music in words and that actually helps with the transition because they hear what the words should sound like musically. For instance, they know how certain things should sound because they hear the music first. There’s music and rhythm in our conversation. The challenge is getting them to come outside their character and create another character. For me, there was Busta Rhymes in “Shaft” or Eve in “Barbershop.” Those were easy transition because those characters were pretty close to their character. Once we nailed those characters, it was easier for us to move into other roles because my belief is that when you know yourself, you can be someone else because an actor is not imitating or pretending or reenacting, an actor is totally embodying the truth of that character. If you know yourself and you know pain, when you play a character who’s been in pain, you have a reference to that. The challenge is for them to transition to other characters outside of themselves.
Rappers have to work harder to get respect in the industry. Do you believe that? What do you tell rappers about coming into this trade?
Moore: History tells us, from Elvis Presley to Dean Martin to Sammy Davis, Jr., that musical artists have always transitioned into actors, and I have been on panels and my challenge with that is for some reason, it’s rappers who are ostracized in a way. You have actors who don’t want to work with rappers. I also work with reality stars, and that’s more ostracized than music. I don’t think it’s something new. My emphasis with all my clients is to do the work. That’s what will build the confidence. They are already successful in one entity in their life. It’s also finding time. I’ve been blessed to work with major celebrities in different aspects and they have a certain devotion to what has brought them to where they are. It’s about finding that time and going the extra mile to put in that work. From working on that scene, working on that monologue, or schedule a session with me when they are in the studio, that’s their biggest challenge.
Is there anyone you’ve worked with that stood out a success story?
Moore: All of my clients have been successful in whatever they had done, but in terms of tracking, I can say the most current is Terrence J. I’ve been with him from his beginning at BET’s 106 & Park and then Rocsi Diaz. To watch both of them where she’s on Entertainment Tonight and he’s on E! News is great. Specifically with Terrence, I was with him every step of his acting. We went from “Stomp The Yard” to “Burlesque” to “The Game” to “Think Like a Man.” I was on that journey. The same goes with Eve. I was with them for six years on all of their projects. I wasn’t just their acting coach, but it was a very important strategy. When you do a movie like “Shaft,” what do you do next to keep the rhythm? All of these things are incorporated in me and I’m looking at things as well to see the overall career. The first thing I ask my client is “What’s your finish line?” My job is to drive you into that direction. There’s a plan in a lot of cases with my clients. Some people come to me to fine tune, or to prepare for an audition, but I have a lot of clients who are ongoing that I either Skype in Los Angeles and I’m a part of shaping their career.
My company is The Spirited Actor and for me, it’s about empowering the person inside the actor. A lot of refer to me as a life coach or spiritual guide. My teaching come from the fact that 31 years I left San Francisco, CA with $200, a one-way ticket, a trunk of all my belongings and I knew two people in New York. I had this dream from back then and continue to witness my dream. This is not a destination, it’s a journey; and everything about it is imperative to take with you and learn. From the challenges and rejections, all of that encompasses your journey. Who’s teaching the stamina of your spirit? Danny Danny DeVito said he auditioned 200 times before he landed taxi. Imagine if at 99, he would have said “Forget it,” or James Cameron taking 10 years to do “Avatar.” There’s something that drives us in anything that we do and we have to nurture that part of us. I’ve taken on the responsibility in my classes of not only giving the work of actor and all of those tools but also the work of the spirit. The work that will keep you enthusiastic and passion and driven.
When you are not coaching or teaching, what keeps you grounded?
Moore: My son was hit by a car on November 23, 2013 and he suffered a traumatic brain injury. The doctors told us that he was very semi-conscious and a vegetable for the rest of his life and they said I was delusional and too optimistic and to get a grip on reality. What grounds me are my children. That’s my life. My daughter Radiance is 30 and I have a granddaughter who is 2. At the end of the day, no one is going to remember any of my credits. They are going to remember the type of person I was and my contributions, not just to this industry, but to life in general has been to make this world a better place. I know that through acting I’ve been able to accomplish that and being a part of so many people’s careers since 1987 and Dave Chappelle was the first person I discovered in 1989 when I was at MTV. I have had the most incredible life of seeing people when others didn’t know their name. It’s inspiring. It’s motivating. What keeps me grounded in knowing the truth of how we manifest our dreams and how we use our words to communicate. Just like they said Miles was never going to walk, my son today is at Brandon Hall in Atlanta, GA. They treat brain injuries and he’s about 80% healed and he is graduating to get his high school diploma, which he was supposed to get last year in May. For 86 days, I slept in the hospital with my son and I watched God work. I listened to experts say no and I took my son home and said he’s going to walk; and so a year later for him to be where he is, faith keeps me grounded. My purpose in life is to help people and I’ve always wanted to do since I was young.
