Interview: Maggie Bera of ACTOR AESTHETIC Talks Building Community in the Arts and Growing in Your Craft During COVID-19 Pandemic

In a time where we are all craving community and the chance to create and share in art, actor, Maggie Bera is finding a way to do just that and more.

In March, as theatre around the world shuttered as a result of the global pandemic, Bera, creator of Actor Aesthetic-a theatre-based blog, podcast, and online learning community designed to educate, inspire, and prepare artists for a career in the theatre industry-took this time to grow her business further, as well as develop a space for actors and artists alike to come together, create, and learn within the confines of everyone's homes via zoom.

Through Actor Aesthetic, Bera offers four online courses: "Build Your Musical Theatre Audition Book," "The Ultimate Guide to Preparing For Musical Theatre College Auditions (IN 5 STEPS!)," "How To Successfully Submit to Casting Directors (With or Without An Agent or Manager)," and just released "The Essential Guide To Instagram For Actors." Actors can also find audition song recommendations for all genres and voice types, templates for resumes and cover letters, various coaching offerings, and more on the website. Whether you are just breaking into the 'biz, or a seasoned pro in the theatre community, Actor Aesthetic is your one-stop shop for all actor needs.

Bera is a New York City-based actress with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Texas State University. She is a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. Regionally, Maggie appeared as Aquata, u/s Ariel in The Little Mermaid and u/s Christine Daae in Phantom at the Fireside Theatre, as Lucy Van Pelt in The World According to Snoopy at Theatre Under The Stars choreographed by Adam Cates (Gentleman's Guide, Anastasia), Les Miserables at Connecticut Repertory Theatre directed by Broadway legend and Tony-nominated Terrence Mann, and as Wendy in Peter Pan starring Riley Costello (Wicked, Bye Bye Birdie, 13!) and Terrence Mann (Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, Pippin). She has also appeared in numerous television, print and radio ads.

To find out how and why Bera started Actor Aesthetic, what she's been up to in quarantine, how you can join in on the fun and better your craft during this time, and much more fun, check out the Q&A below!

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Let's start at the beginning. What inspired you to start Actor Aesthetic, and what dreams did you have for it then versus now?

So, in 2017, that's the first year I began my blog. It was a requirement for a course I was taking senior year of college. I was looking to take a couple of extra credits since I was pretty much done with all of my required classes. So, I took a digital and online media course, and it was a requirement of the course. I enjoyed creating it so much that, of course, went above and beyond with it. I wanted to create something that would continue well after I graduated. I created a couple of social media accounts to go with it, and shortly after, I found my audience by connecting with other actors through social media. So I began creating for them.

When I began it in 2017 though, my intention-and it still is today-was to bridge this informational gap, because somewhere between schools and training programs and the real world, actors are left to fend for themselves. They learn through doing, and sometimes it's the hard way. And this is at no fault to training programs. I went to one myself, and I highly suggest going to one if you want to have a career in theater or musical theater. So, when I began pursuing a career in the theater industry professionally, I often found myself scouring the internet for information. I never came across a blog that understood me or information that I trusted. So that's how Actor Aesthetic really came to be. It grew into something I could have never anticipated through conversations with Broadway actors and creatives and endless nights of research and personal lessons learned. I really hope to bring education and inspiration and comfort to aspiring performers. I really do believe it takes a village, especially in this industry.

And on the topic of social media, you recently released a new online course, "The Essential Guide to Instagram for Actors." Can you talk a little bit about that and what you're hoping students get from the course and your idea behind it?

I only began creating courses last year. This is going to be my fourth digital course that I have available. My other ones are on building your audition book, submitting to casting directors, and college auditions. But for this one specifically, this has become a labor of love for me because social media has been the prime reason why I've been able to connect with so many artists across the world and create material that serves them. This course is one of the only digital courses for actors that gives authentic, up to date advice on mastering Instagram. It talks all about learning how to define your brand on Instagram and social media, creating high-quality content, how to increase engagement, and ultimately build a loyal following on Instagram.

I was looking at the breakdown of the course before this, and if this existed when I was an actor, I would have been all over this. It's amazing.

I think with the boom of the online learning community-especially now with the coronavirus pandemic still being a really big concern-there are a lot of courses online, surprisingly. But this was one of the only ones that I could, again, find on the internet that has to do with artists and how artists can use social media to their advantage as opposed to just a generalized social media course.

In talking about being in quarantine and the pandemic, there's loads of time for creative ideas to flow and come to fruition. Is there something that you've created, done, or are partaking in during this time that you're particularly proud of?

Because the coronavirus has shuttered virtually every performance opportunity, or most performance opportunities for actors-which is what I consider myself primarily to be-I found myself devoting all of my energy to my business. But one of the things that has really come to fruition during this time for Actor Aesthetic has been what we like to call Virtual Play Time. It's so fun! It's just a group of what I like to call displaced actors from all over the world. We meet over Zoom, and we just get together and read aloud a different play every week. It's not a performance. It's not anything like that. It's simply to connect with others during this time over some really good pieces of literature. And I have learned a lot coming from a background where I primarily studied musical theater. This has been a really educational time for me to get to know some more plays and playwrights. So, I'm really, really proud of that. I think that has been a highlight of my week. We do it every Monday night, and it's definitely brought me a lot of joy over this time.

With Virtual Play Time, what made you decide this was something that needed to exist right now, and you were going to be the one to do it?

I initially wanted it to be a place where writers could workshop their new work. When the pandemic happened, I had this weird feeling that there was going to be a lot of creativity that came out of it. A lot of writers are going to have a lot of time now to get their work done, have new ideas, and want to workshop it. So I initially started the group because I thought, "Well, maybe we should get a group of actors together and see what comes of it." And it's been interesting because it came out of a conversation that I had with my younger sister, who is also in the musical theater industry. She just suggested, "Well, let's start small and just advertise it on social media and see who would be interested."

Now we have a group of... I think the email list is 150 people or so, and people come and go as they please. But it's become something that is way more than that because it began as something where I wanted to have a space where writers could workshop their pieces, and in turn, it's become an incredibly educational outlet. It's a way to stay creative and to engage that part of your brain as an actor when you can't perform on stage and still connect with others. So I think it has become something, again, I could have never anticipated, but it's been really, really wonderful.

Also, I think what's so spectacular about it is that we're not casting these shows. They're not performances. We're not casting the shows beforehand. We're not advertising. We don't have an audience. We're simply getting together to read these plays, but anyone can play anyone. We spin a wheel. You could be playing a completely different gender or someone from a different background. I mean, the possibilities are endless, so it's been really entertaining to get to see people stretch beyond their comfort zones, and just enjoy the writing.

And to tie it all up, what are five things that you'd recommend for actors and creatives alike to be doing in this time?

I really think that it's important first and foremost to check in on your mental health. This is such a fragile, unexpected time for everyone. Especially for artists because our work is so few and far between. I'll go on to list some things that you can do as an actor to stay on top of your game when it comes to training, but it really first and foremost needs to be your mental health, your well-being, your physical health, and more importantly to check in on others. What I love so much about Actor Aesthetic is it's created a community where we look out for each other. It is more than just a competitive business. It's become a community.

Number two, if you do want to stay on top of your training, I think it's important to coach your material. Continue coaching material, find a coach that you really love. And I know it's not ideal to be working on material over video, but you can get a lot done. It's a viable option for actors and artists at home. It'll help you keep fresh on your material, keep that skill working, especially since you can't be performing and auditioning in person for so long. Theatre will come back, and it'll be bigger and stronger than ever. So, you want to be setting yourself up for success when that returns.

If you want to continue broadening your horizons, I highly suggest continuing to read some new plays. There's some great lists of plays that are out there. If you look for award-winning plays, the Obie Awards, the Lucille Lortel Awards, the Outer Critics Circle, you can find hundreds of plays that are really fantastic, and this is a great time to start reading.

You can also find those on your blog!

Yeah! I've listed a couple of different articles recently. Now again, this is because a lot of stuff that I post on my blog comes out of my own research, my own education. I want to learn, and what I learn, I like to contribute in a blog post to my blog. I've done a couple of articles on plays that I think are really important that you should read: plays written by African American Playwrights, plays that are really important written by LGBTQ+ artists, plays that need to be read. And this is the perfect time to get on top of that.

Of course, listen to theatre podcasts! The Actor Aesthetic podcast is a great recommendation. (Laughs) I have some favorites. I love "The Ensemblist." I love the "Why I'll Never Make It" podcast. There are a ton, but those are some of my favorites.

And then five, this is a great time to revamp and redo some of your material. If you're an actor and you were auditioning right up until the pandemic, maybe it's time to revamp the resume or redo your audition book. Because by the time theater comes back, you're going to want material that really serves you well. And again, it's a great time to just get ahead of the game and start filling holes in your audition book or revamping your resume. Those are just a couple!

If actors are looking for places to start because they're thinking, "This sounds great, but I don't know where to start," it's all on your blog. You have courses, song recommendations, and you also do coaching, and have various blog posts that are steeped in resourceful information.

I actually have an article that I wrote at the very beginning of this pandemic on March 16. So right when it all started, called "10 Things Student Actors Can Do During COVID-19 School Closures." I wrote this because programs were starting to close, and students were afraid that they would no longer be able to take performance classes in-person, and this might very well be the case in the fall. So, it's definitely a good resource. I highly recommend it regardless if you're a student actor. I definitely suggest checking it out.

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To keep up with Maggie and all things Actor Aesthetic, visit https://www.actoraesthetic.com/ and follow her on Instagram @actoraesthetic.

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