Paid Actor interviews Extras Casting Director Lee Henry Jordan about extras casing, type and diversity in the industry. Tune in Monday, July 30th for the relaunch of our show and the launch of our fourth season. Lee Henry Jordan, Owner and Operator of Jordan Extras Casting, has worked in the industry well over 18 years. Previously, he worked as an actor and model. He works diligently to help advance projects and continues to help educate actors on ways they can advance in their acting careers.

Actor and Host, Trena Bolden Fields, interviews the talented Tonia Jackson who talks more about your journey as an actor and how actors can move beyond obstacles in their own careers. Tune in on Monday, July 11th at 2:30 pm CST to listen in.

After ten years playing the bumbling Bart Biederbicke in the long-running NBC soap opera Days Of Our Lives, Steve Blackwood resided in Michigan for six years.  Now he lives in Newburyport, MA — teaching acting classes, performing in concerts and creating a new acting company called the MASTERCLASS COMPANY. He has appeared in many other television shows and films including Judging Amy, Ed Gein, the Michigan-based Cedar Rapids, Machine Gun Preacher and Mooz-lum. Onstage, Mr. Blackwood appeared in the Meadow Brook Theatre hit Boeing Boeing while living in Michigan. He also appeared in the sequel Ding Dong, which opened at Meadow Brook in March of 2011 and was nominated for two Wilde Awards, in the categories of Best Ensemble and Best Comedy. An accomplished jazz singer with two national releases  out, Steve has sung in nightclubs across the country, on network television, and has even performed the National Anthem for the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.

Trena Bolden Fields is an actor, writer, life coach, speaker and radio show host who utilizes her creative abilities, knowledge of theatre and career counseling background to help people learn life skills and create personal success. Trena has a strong passion for the arts and believes in encouragement, empowerment and transformation. Her performance career includes Cheryl in A Time to Kill at Arena Stage, Ruby inSeven Guitars at Penumbra Theatre, Blonde Buppie in No Distance Between Usat Illusion Theater, Cordelia in King Lear at Cromulent Shakespeare Company, Jennifer in The Rats at Lyric Arts, and Ole Rit in Dreaming Harriet Tubman at Stages Theatre Company. She has also performed in commercials, industrials, feature and independent film.  Trena Bolden Fields is currently touring a one woman show Daring to Think, Move and Speak which features key leaders and supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. This one hour show continues to help educate people about individuals who gave themselves to help create equality for all while changing our country and our world. She continues to share her skills as a performer, teaching artist, author and speaker. Trena received her life coaching certification from the Adler Graduate School and is working on an MFA in Creative Writing at Augsburg College. Trena is also a member of Actor’s Equity, SAG-AFTRA and Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide.

Paid Actor welcomes Shelli Place to the show! Shelli Place returned to acting after a decade of producing/directing Business Theater, corporate awards/fashion shows and red carpet events.  She made her Minnesota debut in the 2013 Fringe Festival encore show A Certain Age. A long time member of AEA/SAG/AFTRA, her theater credits include King Lear (Regan), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Mae), Mary Stuart (Mary), Twelfth Night (Viola), The Importance of Being Earnest (Gwendolyn) and musicals How to Succeed… (Rosemary) Fiorello (Dora) Company (Kathy) and Gerogette in Golddiggers of 1633 (a musical of Moliere’s School for Wives.) Tours include Closer than Ever, A My Name is Alice (Asia Tours), Man of La Mancha, Play it again Sam, George M, and Room Service. TV and film credits include 3rd Rock from the Sun, Miyasaki’s Animated Classic – The Crimson Pig (English Version) and the cult horror film Party Line. Shelli has just completed the MN produced film Carrot Cake, now playing in various film festivals in the US.

Paid Actor Radio host, Trena Bolden Fields, talks with Zach Curtis about his career and working within two mediums. Zach Curtis is a professional actor and director in the Twin Cities, with close to 200 productions to his credit.  He is currently entering his ninth season as Artistic Director of the Paul Bunyan Playhouse (Bemidji, MN), Minnesota's longest running summer stock theater.  He has performed with the Guthrie Theater, Park Square, Mixed Blood, Illusion, Ten Thousand Things, Theatre Latte Da, Torch, Theatre Pro Rata, and numerous other companies.  He is currently appearing as Charlie in the Walking Shadow area premiere of The Whale.  He is a proud 14-year member of Actors Equity Association.

Paul Barry is a Los Angeles-based Australian actor, director, writer, and acting teacher. Clients of his have secured representation with WME, CAA, UTA, Abrams, Gersh, ICM, Paradigm, and management by United Management, Principal Entertainment, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Untitled Management, having worked at: MGM, CBS, NBC, 20th Century Fox, Disney, Starz, MTV, ABC, and many more. Barry runs regular on-camera classes at the Actors Key West.

Paid Actor and host, Trena Bolden Fields, welcomes Kristoffer Diaz to the show.  Kristoffer Diaz is a playwright and educator living and working in Brooklyn. Full-length titles include The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Welcome to Arroyo’s, The Upstairs Concierge, and The Unfortunates. Awards: 2011 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award; finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; winner, 2011 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play; winner, 2011 OBIE Award, Best New American Play; and the inaugural Gail Merrifield Papp Fellowship from The Public Theater (2011). His work has been produced, commissioned, and developed at The Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Geffen Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, The Goodman, Second Stage, Victory Gardens, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Theater Company, The Atlantic, InterAct, Mixed Blood, The Orchard Project, Hip-Hop Theater Festival, The Lark, Summer Play Festival, Donmar Warehouse, and South Coast Repertory, among many others. He has written short work for the 24 Hour Musicals and the 24 Hour Plays on Broadway. Kristoffer was one of the creators of Brink!, the apprentice anthology show at the 2009 Humana Festival of New American Plays. He is a playwright-in-residence at Teatro Vista; a resident playwright at New Dramatists; a co-founder of the Unit Collective (Minneapolis); the creator of the #freescenes project; and a recipient of the Jerome Fellowship, the Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant and the Van Lier Fellowship (New Dramatists). Kristoffer holds a BA from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, an MFA from NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing, and an MFA from Brooklyn College’s Performing Arts Management program.

Host Trena Bolden Fields shares a story of a friend who took action and ways one can begin to build an international career. Trena Bolden Fields is an actor, writer, life coach, speaker and radio show host who utilizes her creative abilities, knowledge of theatre and career counseling to help artists learn life skills and create personal success. Trena has a strong passion for the arts and believes in encouragement, empowerment and transformation. Her performance career includes Cheryl in A Time to Kill at Arena Stage, Ruby in Seven Guitars at Penumbra Theatre, Blonde Buppie in No Distance Between Us at Illusion Theater, Cordelia in King Lear at Cromulent Shakespeare Company, and Ole Rit in Dreaming Harriet Tubman at Stages Theatre Company. She has also performed in commercials, industrials, feature and independent film. To learn more about Trena's work coaching actors visit www.paidactor.com.

Trena Bolden Fields interiews Tracey Birdsall Tracey Birdsall is an American actress who has appeared in several TV series, TV movies and films. She co-wrote, produced, and starred in the movie short Tick Tock. She appeared in the soap opera Loving, hosted Million Dollar Showcase of Homes and was a special news reported for CNBC. Her latest movie Dawn of the Crescent Moon won many awards at the recent Action on Film Festival.