For Chapter 3, Episode 2 of the TAOS podcast, hosts Lauren Bailey and Nick Cain are joined by acclaimed actor and acting coach Julia Grace (Offspring, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Steppenwolf Theatre) as they explore how fear, doubt, and resistance can shape the creative journey.
Julia has been working as an actor, coach and teacher for over 15 years. Her approach blends real-world experience with deep empathy, guiding actors to embrace vulnerability, overcome resistance, and rediscover the joy in their craft. Through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s “refusal of the call” Julia, Lauren and Nick unpack the challenges and opportunities of self-taping, the importance of community and feedback on creativity and how curiosity can help in overcoming artistic hurdles.
In This Episode We Talk About:
- Facing resistance
- Embracing vulnerability
- Distinguishing between uncomfortable and unsafe
- When to say “no”
- Imaginative exercises for decision-making
- Finding joy and confidence in the creative process
- Conundrum time - Dismantling the “struggling artist”
- Nick & Lauren’s thoughts and reflections
- What’s coming up next
Resources:
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This episode was edited by audio editor, Brandon Bourke, our interview with Julia was filmed and recorded by videographer and audio Engineer, Simon Holt at Visual Culture, and the chats between Nick and Lauren at Wisecast Studio, Sydney, with theme music expertly crafted by Jared McFarlin, inspired by the sounds of Anita Quayle from Chapters 1 and 2 of The Act of Storytelling. A big thank you to throwback guest and good friend of TAOS, Shash Lall, our Chapter 1 Podcast 19 throwback guest and good friend of TAOS, and of course to Julia Grace for her time, wisdom and inspiring us all to tackle the next moment of hesitation.
In TAOS Chapter 3, Nick & Lauren connect to a bunch of great artists at different phases of their artistic journey, and unpacking some wisdom and tangible tools during each episode, ultimately inspiring us all to tell better stories.
Each episode features a catch up with our hosts, interviews with diverse creatives, throwback to wisdom from previous guests, a conundrum about the industry or the pursuit of storytelling, reflections on the creative journey and inspiration. Season guests include: Esther Anatolitis, Dr.Simon Longstaff, Andrea Denholm, Matt Zeremes, Guy Edmonds, Madeleine Dyer and more.
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This podcast was recorded across the lands of the Awabakal and Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and the Wurundjeri, Woi-wurrung and Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We wish to pay our respects to Elders past and present. For over 60,000 years this land has been a place of storytelling, learning and community and we are privileged to continue that tradition on these unceded lands today.