DEBBY GAUDET
OWNER OF DEBBY G AUDET’S SCREEN ACTORS STUDIO
Debby Gaudet can barely get through a sentence without stopping to look at a gallery wall in her acting studio. It’s covered with her students’ headshots, and she has stories about each of them.
“This kid,” she says, pointing to a photo of a young actor who just booked a lead role in the film Mono. “He is uh-mazing.”
She gushes about her other students, using adjectives like “so Disney” or “so Stand by Me.” She’s convinced any of them could be the next Elijah Wood or Dakota Fanning.
She’s not wrong. Whatever Gaudet is teaching her students, it’s working. Their IMDb pages list credits in projects like Stranger Things, Underground, Ender’s Game and Iron Fist.
Gaudet’s own IMDb page credits her as a writer, director and casting director. She remembers being an extra and the thrill of listening to conversations between directors and actors like Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Michael Keaton and Cate Blanchett.
“I felt like I was getting paid to go to film school,” she says. “I was absorbing everything around me like a sponge.”
These days her focus is imparting that knowledge on her 75 students. For some, it’s about preparing for that dream audition. For others—students with autism or learning disabilities, students who are shy or bullied—it’s about building confidence. And Gaudet is dedicated to them—so dedicated that the day her dad died, she put her personal devastation aside and kept a big meeting with a Sony Pictures casting agent because she couldn’t miss the opportunity for her students.
“I swear,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m the luckiest person in the world getting to work with these people. … Pinch me. I’m dreaming.” youngscreenactors.com
Click the thumbnails below to enlarge each photo in the gallery:
On the future of the local film industry:
“The buzz is that 2017 will be busy. If we can continue to invest in Louisiana’s infrastructure and develop local talent, we can compete with other big players from Hollywood to New York.”
On why Louisiana actors deserve a shot at bigger roles:
“It’s been a constant whisper behind the scenes that directors cast Los Angeles actors in projects that are filmed here. That is changing. … There’s no question, in my opinion, that Louisiana produces actors just as talented—if not more so—as those you find on any set across the country. The proof is with Louisiana actors like Joe Chrest, Andrea Frankle, Toby Nichols, Ann Mahoney, Peyton Wich and many more making careers in TV and film.”
HOW TO:
Ace an audition
1. Know your scene—and your character—like the back of your hand. In case the director asks you to improv, you’ll want to create a detailed backstory for the character that stays true to the script, time and place, Gaudet says.
2. Walk into the casting office well-rested and confident. Have fun.
3. Thank the casting director and move on. Don’t even think about the callbacks yet.
This article was originally published in the January 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
