ONGOING
3-Part Private Training Series to “take the temperature” of your career and help you create a customized business plan.
A one-on-one, 3-session course where we take a deep dive into how you’re running your business. We will assess your goals, current business plan, and marketing materials. You’ll learn to take inventory of your network, track your auditions, and research your markets. You’ll finish with a sense of control and a customized plan to make sure you always stay on track.
This series of three personalized sessions will cover your marketing materials, casting platforms (e.g., Actors Access, Casting Networks, etc.), finding or changing representation, how to keep in touch with casting directors, building your network, researching projects in the pipeline that you’re right for, and using social media to color in the picture of you are.
It’s game-on from the moment you register! To prepare, you’ll complete a detailed career intake form and upload your materials to a shared folder.
The Deep Dive: This session focuses on where you are now. You will receive a Career Intake Pre-Form & course templates. We will review your materials & perform a complete assessment, with assignments to follow based on individual needs.
The Stats: This session focuses on tracking career events and quantifying your progress. You’ll learn how to properly track your auditions and network and see where adjustments are needed to align with your goals.
The Relationships: We’ll discuss cultivating & sustaining your business connections, managing your current relationships, and using research tools, trade publications & social media to build your dream network.
This series is for studio alumni of all experience levels who need to refocus and refresh their approach to the business side of their acting careers. This personalized 3-part series is designed to guide you towards lining up your industry materials and tactics to reflect who you really are.
Mathia’s series is good for:
This industry coaching series has a designed curriculum but is personalized to where you are in your journey.
Mathia Vargas is a born ‘n bred New Yorker, and first generation Dominican-American. She is bilingual, and, as an actress, has worked on stage, TV and indie film. Her latest film, EN EL SÉPTIMO DÍA, won the 2019 John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. In addition to acting, she has works as a business of acting coach, a volunteer staff member of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), as well as a facilitator for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion trainings for corporate clients.
HEIDI’S ENDORSEMENT
I’ve coached and worked with Mathia for many years now. It’s always a joy to watch an actor evolve and also emerge as a guide to others! Mathia is not only a generous human and passionate actor, but she is also incredibly strategic about building careers from a positive and empowered point of view. She builds from the belief that when you put the actor’s goals at the center of it all, the rest will follow. This is what I teach in acting classes, too! Her approach to building your foothold in the acting industry is in total synergy with my acting coaching approach: holistic and creative. I am so inspired by her ability to teach and guide other actors in such a way that they feel supported, encouraged, and emboldened to ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT. Let’s get it! x,Heidi
What was a difficult challenge for you as an actor?
It took quite a few years to learn to ask for what I wanted, and be very specific about how to market myself.
What was a crazy or silly moment on set?
I had to stand at the bottom of a 14ft deep pool for a scene in a film. In the dark!! It took some goggles, a safety scuba diver’s spare oxygen, and some deep fearlessness I didn’t know I had to pull it off.
What is the most important quality or skill for an actor in the audition room?
Lean into your authenticity with confidence. It is your biggest tool. It’s also what sets you apart from everyone else.
What is the main thing you wish you knew then but that you only understand now?
Whoa. This is deep because it has been a layered evolution. I wish I knew it would take time for the industry to be more inclusive. And wish I knew that I was enough as I was.
What frustrates you as an actor in the current climate of filmmaking or of the business at large? How has this affected you directly?
I am Afro-Latina, so for me it’s the lack of representation across the spectrum. It has taken more that just advocating for myself to find work. I have also had to become more of an activist. I am grateful for the strength I’ve gained in the process, but it’s exhausting! But I’m committed to fighting for more diversity in media, until films and shows look more like the world they are filmed in.
What moment or experience as an artist do you feel most proud of?
Being the lead in a pilot. It was all so sudden, and so daunting. Being #1 on the call sheet comes with a huge sense of responsibility. It takes a different kind of focus to stay present, calm, and emotionally available knowing that all eyes are on you all day. It was a beautiful challenge that I can’t wait to embrace again.
Who do you really look up to in your field and why?
My peers. Seriously, I am always in awe of the amazing pool of talent I get to work and interact with. I’m always learning from my colleagues! This is a really challenging industry, so I admire anyone that has the staying-power & passion to continue to work towards their dreams. We all took the path less travelled. I really admire that.
Why did you choose to coach actors?
I was a Human Biology major in college. So when I came back to NYC to act, I was so naïve about the industry as a business. The great thing is, I was never really told what NOT to do. So when I learned to treat my career like I would my own business, pitching myself, knocking on doors and sleuthing for work, it all seemed very practical. It wasn’t until I started coaching that I realized how much misinformation was out there, and how disempowered it was making actors. There is SO much you do have control over.
I wanted to let you know how invaluable Mathia has been to me in coaching me about the business and working to re-build my brand as an actor. She renewed my energy in proactively seeking out work. […] I am fortunate to have found her through your agency and would recommend her to other actors without hesitation; she’s a keeper.
I wanted to share that since coaching with Mathia, every single person I reached out to as part of my homework has responded with an opportunity. I take this as a sign that coaching was working.
I really appreciate how well you understood what I offer.
I’m so grateful and glad I chose to do this with you.
Full disclosure — please note that we do not guarantee that actors in these classes or workshops will be hired for any project that we might direct, produce, or cast. We teach and coach because we enjoy supporting and nurturing actors as you develop your personal process for auditioning, working and creating your own work.