Meet Liv Kirby, Actor, Dancer, and Model

Liv Kirby was born in Queensland, Australia and was brought up in Sydney and Melbourne. Liv began acting classes at age 12 at the National Theatre in the heart of Melbourne.

From acting Liv then started exploring the world of dance, and by age 15 she was dancing professionally in renowned hip hop crews situated in Melbourne. In 2012 Liv received her Diploma of Modeling and Business of Modeling from the Model Academy and since has been involved in many photo shoots as well as had the opportunity to walk for L'Oreal.

In July 2012 Liv made the move to the United States to take part in the Hollywood Immersive program at Margie Haber Studios in L.A. She then found her love for New York and relocated there. Since her move, she has been undertaking training in Musical Theatre and will be graduating from New York Film Academy in February which will take her onto her next chapter.

1. How did you first become interested in acting?

I first began acting classes at age 12, and at that time what drew me to acting were films I had seen and actresses who were around my age, such as Dakota Fanning--I really admired her talent and career because she could give such influential performances at such a young age, which gave me insight that this could be something I could do. I wasn't really introduced to the theatre till I was around 14. So I enrolled in acting for film classes first and then later also enrolled in acting for the stage.

I found acting as a way to express myself. When I was younger, I was painfully shy. I wouldn't talk to family or friends, and people at my school would spend hours with me just to see if I could say "Hi." So it was quite surprising that I really enjoyed acting. I guess I felt like when I was portraying characters, I didn't have to be myself--when I was acting, I was somebody else, and that helped me through my shyness.

2. What do you see as the connections between acting and dance?

Both of them to me are ways to express yourself in a creative way. Both of them allow you to put yourself, your emotions, and your experiences into an art form. I was taught by one of my wonderful teachers that "Words don't matter; they don't mean anything." It's all about your reaction. I find this so true--the powerful moments in plays are the reactions from one another. This goes for dance as well because your reaction to the music is what makes a piece so beautiful--the audience can tell when you are just doing choreography or when you are really embracing the music you're dancing too.

Acting and dance go hand in hand for me. I've seen dancers dance without feeling, and I can be guilty of that, too, when you're so focused on picking up the choreography because you might be in a class that's moving along really fast, or in an audition and trying to remember everything they're throwing at you. But in the end it's up to you to bring the movement to life, and that's when acting comes into play.

3. How do you balance your work as a model, dancer, and actor?

Right now, I'm focusing on acting, dance, and singing. I'm training full-time and developing my skills to their fullest potential and then will start auditioning and working again early next year upon my graduation. I've found with balancing everything it's important to do the things that excite you. There's nothing worse then working on a project that you don't enjoy: it's like working a job you hate. I'm horrible at saying no to things, so I found at times I really had to step back and work out my priorities. I just have to make sure that the projects I put myself forward for are things that I will happily commit myself to 100%.

4. What prompted your move from Australia to the United States, and how has your career developed following the move?

In 2012 I got into an acting program called Hollywood Immersive which was in L.A. It was an intensive for 10 days. I planned to stay for three weeks and see L.A., travel to San Francisico for a few days, and end the trip with New York. What was meant to be three weeks quickly changed to three months, and in that time I had fallen in love with NYC. After that I caught a flight back to Australia, packed up my room, and moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan with two other housemates.

Since 2012 I have learned SO much about the industry and about how important networking and education is. I've taken these few years to work on develop my talents and explore the art of auditioning in New York, which really is a career in itself, haha. I've meet so many wonderful people from directors to agents to Broadway stars to composers who have all given me such great advice that I've taken with me to auditions and classes and have been able to apply to my work. Networking I have learned is definitely a big part of starting off in New York--more than most of the time it's about who you know, so I definitely feel I'm on the right path.

5. As you look ahead to the next year or so, what do you hope to accomplish?

Once I finish the current training program I'm in early next year, I'm looking to going back out and auditioning as much as I can and taking the experiences that come my way. I will still keep taking classes as I don't think you ever stop learning and bettering yourself and your skills, so that will always play a big part to me. I've given myself a goal, and that's that by the time I'm 27 I'll have had my first Broadway show. I'm almost 21, so I'm going to work hard and stay motivated and dedicated to the arts and strive to reach that goal and enjoy my journey there.

Thanks, Liv!

Meet Anna Elizabeth McGrath, Actor

Anna Elizabeth McGrath graduated from university in 2010 and began acting professionally in Dublin, Ireland immediately after this. She started out in theatre but has moved into television and film. She loves working in TV and film, even more so than the theatre because every day you are doing something different, and it is always fun and exciting.

1. As a known theatre actress in Ireland, what has the process been like for you to transition into TV and movie work?

When it comes to the transition itself, it has been very easy and enjoyable. I love the theatre and always saw myself as a theatre actress, but there is so much film and TV work out there these days that I eventually fell into working in front of the camera, almost by accident. It turns out I absolutely love film and television; I love being in front of the camera; I love doing something different all the time. I now consider myself a film and television actress rather than a theatre actress. What is strange about being known as a theatre actress is that I still get people coming up to me on the street in Dublin trying to work out where they know me from. I have a million films running through my head where they might have seen me, and then they exclaim, "Oh! You were in Hamlet!" or "Oh, you’re the girl from Savage In Limbo!". It is funny because I would have always assumed that it would be the exact opposite, that people would always be recognized for their film work and never for their stage work.

2. What are the benefits of making short films for actors, writers, and directors?

There are many benefits to making short films. They are a great training ground for making features, especially for writers and directors. You have exactly the same scenario including all the problems and complications that go with it on a micro-scale. From an actor's point of view, doing shorts has its pros and cons. A major pro is that you are doing something different all the time. If you do a succession of shorts, you are always working on a different character, in a different scenario. The downside is that you don't get nearly as much time to work on your character as you would with a feature as the turnaround is usually pretty quick with short films.

3. Would you tell us about the three short films you've recently completed?

I wrapped on three short films recently. The first was called Revenge, which is a film about someone who suffers at the hands of their noisy neighbor in an apartment block. It is all about the revenge that she wreaks upon the noisy neighbor. It was screamingly hilarious to shoot, and I think it will be fabulous when it finally comes out. The second one I did was Capturing Beauty, which is a mobile phone short, shot entirely on Android and iPhone devices. It was about how we capture absolutely everything that goes on around us in the world with our mobile/cellular devices, perhaps at the expense of living our lives. The last one was called Lucky Strike although the name may change. This one is about two female friends. One is down and out and has just lost her job. The other one (me) buys her a scratch card--a winning scratch card. The film is about how the dynamic in the relationship changes and what the etiquette is when someone buys you a winning ticket. I loved doing all three; the comedies in particular are always a lot of fun to shoot.

4. What's your character like in the new full-length film, The Smoker and the Dame Who Wore Red Shoes?

I play the lead villain in The Smoker and the Dame Who Wore Red Shoes. She was described by my director as a "replicant-like, humanoid creature." She is beautiful to the point of perfection, beautiful in a very plastic way. She is not a human being; she doesn’t experience emotion in the same way you would expect a human being to experience emotion. It's there, but emotion is something to be controlled and used. She is intent on destroying the protagonist of the film, but the further along the protagonist gets to his goal, the more her ability to control her emotional center starts to fail. It was a very different part to play. I often get cast as a villain, but I've never filmed anything like this before. I've always had a very human core to my character despite all the flaws. My director told me to take her up to 110%, and if it was over the top, he would scale me back. I just let it all out: I was worried it would be over the top, but he didn't need to scale me back. I loved it; it was such a different experience playing her.

5. What are you currently working on, and what are your goals as an actor for 2013 and beyond?

At the moment I am working on a script called The Burning of Bridget Cleary about a woman from County Tipperary in Ireland who was burnt alive by her husband in 1895 as he suspected that she was a faerie changeling. That is, he suspected that the faeries had stolen his wife and left a faerie in her place. It is a true story and absolutely blood-curdling. I can't wait to shoot it. I've also just been sent a script about an oppressed woman from the 60s in Ireland, also based on a true story. It's amazing how much society can screw people up. I can't really say anything more about it yet until it gets greenlighted, but I would die to play the role. So fingers crossed!

Thanks, Anna!