consultation & coaching
“Its a very powerful thing when someone sees you as the person you wish you were.” - R Thomas,Veronica Mars
To book a 1:1 consult:
• choose a teaching artist, click button
• request a day/time & receive a payment link
questions? email aws@arvold.com
Sekou Laidlow
Sekou is a working actor with over 25 years of experience and AWS teaching artist. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Drama and has worked in tv, film, regional theater, and on Broadway. His philosophy is based on the idea that the teaching artist-artist relationship is collaborative and co-creational. The teaching artist is a facilitator of growth and discovery, creating space for emerging ideas, critical input, and bold choices free of judgment. Are you an actor ready to take your career to the next level? Are you curious about how to navigate the business of acting? Are you wondering how to develop as an actor that can deliver? Or do you just want to work on your scene and bring out your best? Sekou has a point of view and looks forward to exploring those questions with as much detail as you desire. Let's explore and let's get some results. Full bio here.
email: sekou@arvold.com
Ellie Clark
Ellie is a working actor, teaching artist, movement enthusiast, and advocate. Originally from Kentucky, Ellie spent 10 years in New York City, and now resides full-time in Atlanta. Her professional acting career spans 25+ years and includes regional theatre, film, tv, and commercials. Ellie loves teaching and consulting and creates a space that is curious, brave, and collaborative, helping actors navigate auditioning, self-taping, or preparing a role with a focus on authenticity, specificity, and action driven choices. Ellie has an MFA in acting. She is trained in the Meisner Approach, Fitzmaurice Voicework, Shakespeare & Styles, and has trained extensively with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company in Viewpoints, Suzuki, and Composition. Ellie enjoys being the aunt of two beautiful boys, a cat mom, the partner of a fiercely talented actor, and an advocate for underrepresented voices through her work with Voices Amplified. Full bio here.
email: ellie@arvold.com
Evan Bergman
Evan is a working actor and teaching artist. He is trained in The Meisner Technique by renowned master teacher Maggie Flanigan in her two-year Conservatory (NYC), he holds an MFA in Acting from University of Virginia and has taught collegiately and at private acting studios for over 10 years. He is founder of the self-taping studio Actors Room Atlanta and has worked extensively with Atlanta talent, offering coaching and helping emerging talent navigate their early careers in the film and television industry. In the room, Evan tailors his teaching to the individual actor with the aim of creating a collaborative space where actors feel safe to take artistic risk in the hunt for authenticity. Oh yeah, Evan also enjoys cooking, being a cat dad, and getting lost in the great outdoors. Full bio here.
email: evan@arvold.com
Déjà Dee
Déjà Dee’s expertise lies in her wizardry with self-taping, physicality, and navigating the path from corporate to your passion career. Her experience in bringing one’s work ethic into agreement with one’s artistry is without peer, and is on full display in her own career path. Acting came into the mix in 1984, and working on her artistry has become a daily practice. After a career in corporate radio where she learned the finer points of building her brand, she made the leap full-time into her passion, and never looked back. Let Déjà show you how it can be done. Full bio here.
email: déjà@arvold.com
Justin Rossbacher
Justin’s abiding love of directing, production, and crisp writing shines through in nearly everything he does, and these are the specific areas his consulting work focuses on. With more than 20 years of experience in the field, his body of work is both broad and deep, with shorts, commercials, features, and screenplays in his repertoire. He’s also happy to discuss solo sports and all things having to do with dogs. Full bio here.
email: justin@arvold.com
Katy Wilson
Katy is a working actress, AWS teaching artist, opera singer, and voice coach who is passionate about helping actors fall in love with auditioning. Originally from Atlanta, she moved to NYC and spent four years performing Off-Broadway, on national tours, and regionally. In 2020, she returned to her old stomping grounds and can be seen in upcoming series on Netflix, STARZ, Paramount+, and Lifetime. Her specialties lie in audition coaching, self-taping, vocal training, or career consultations, particularly for actors looking to make the move to Atlanta! Her training includes the Accademia dell’Arte in Tuscany, Atlantic Theater Company, and a B.M. in Opera from Furman University. She’s so excited to work with you! Full bio here.
email: katy@arvold.com
Keisha Champagne
Keisha Keisha is an AWS teacher artist and acting coach who focuses on you, leveraging multiple tools and techniques to fit your individual needs. She also draws from her experience as a writer to explore what the scene/story needs. The combination results in you, confidently and consistently, turning in your best work that is authentically YOU and in the moment. All done in an atmosphere of play and creative freedom. For career consultations, Keisha is passionate about the business of acting with experience in transitioning from corporate to full-time actor. Having relocated to Atlanta in 2023, her expertise in entering a new market with immediate impact may be of particular interest. Let’s collaborate! Full bio here.
email: keisha@arvold.com
Matt Mercurio
is a high energy teacher and acting coach who curates an honest non-pretentious way into the work, using skills the performer already possess, combining them with his own experiences and tools while staying adaptable to the needs of the actor. Matt coaches acting for adults and works with all kinds of performers - from network TV series regulars to post-grad university theatre actors - to get the most organic, grounded and interesting performance that the artist can feel confident in standing behind. Full bio here.
email: matt@arvold.com
Richard Warner
Richard consults with actors working either on a recurring episodic role or a lead in a film. Ongoing consults with Richard will refine your craft, character, and creative instinct to create a solid body of work. Most recently, Richard served as the on-set acting coach for the Showtime series The Good Lord Bird (you don’t have to take our word on how brilliant Richard is, ask Ethan Hawke). For the last 35 years, Richard has helped artists map character arcs, break down challenging scenes, and keep a role sustained for a season or more. He is the secret ingredient of many outstanding performances. From 1986 to 2014, Richard was the creator and director of the MFA Acting Program at University of Virginia and helped launch the careers of Tina Fey, Ben McKenzie (The Hurt Unit, Gotham, The O.C.), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Chi, Farewell Amor), Sean Patrick Thomas (Till, Cruel Intentions, Barbershop), Jason George (Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19), Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy, Everwood), Emily Swallow (The Mandalorian, Supernatural, The Mentalist), and Catherine Haena Kim (The Company You Keep, Boyfriends of Christmas Past, FBI). Richard typically consults in multiple sessions. Full bio here.
Email aws@arvold.com to request a consult with Richard.
60 min ($250), 120 min ($300)
Erica Arvold
Erica has mentored and worked with actors, writers, creative producers and directors throughout her 30 year career in the film and television industry (Chicago, Los Angeles and now the Southeast US). Areas of expertise include: script envisioning (bouncing story around/cracking arcs open), screenplay feedback & notes, demo reel editing suggestions, and advanced actor direction. She loves collaborating with fellow artists and helping one identify their own sweet spot whether it be within the material they are creating, a character they are becoming, or the creative voice within their tru self. Full bio here.
Email aws@arvold.com to request a consult with Erica.
40 min ($250)
Common reasons for a consultation:
Review headshots, actors access profiles, clips, and other professional materials.
Assess artistic strengths and develop a career expanding game plan.
Mindset reframe. Sharing career conundrums with someone who’s navigated their own will help you proceed with more ease.
One-on-one coaching for a specific role or callback.
Ongoing coaching for a recurring role that requires arc building.
Script or deck feedback and production know-how.