I f**king hate bios.

And that's the truth. I love being behind the scenes and so, at times like this where I feel nudged to step to the front of the stage, to write where I have been and what I have done or whom I have worked with I always feel slightly fraudulent. Like I am describing someone else's life.

But if I follow the advice I give my Actors, to not get stuck in Resistance, to Accept instead and see what lies on the horizon, I can say with complete clarity, that I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful that I have been a part of Actors' lives and their process for almost thirty years so far.

I collaborate not just with actors but with writers, directors, producers; talented people so confident in their own craft that they willingly welcome an opinion not their own. 

Untitled_Artwork 210.png

So. Me. Okay. Let's see... Texas childhood, New York (the Eighties! awesome!) then L.A.

My career actually took off in L.A. In New York I'd begun to suspect there was a growing gap between the training being offered for the Actor and Practical Application. I saw some teachers practising age-old techniques whose effectiveness I questioned for the actual workplace.

I decided I would make it my life's goal to take any and all training and turn it into a productive skill for the Actor. Practical and Clear.

Now, in order to accomplish this, I had to find my way to the Actor's workplace, the highest concentration here in Los Angeles, being The Set. If I were going to tell Actors what to do then I had better know what the hell was being asked of them and what the hell I was talking about.

Many television shows and films and plays later, I am proud to say I did what I set out to do.

Though I have experienced this hundreds of times in my career, I still question. How can I describe to you the feeling of watching an Actor lift up from their preparation to float in a truth so pure there is not a dry eye to be found anywhere on the soundstage. I don't think I can communicate how it feels to be pounded by waves of laughter from an audience responding to a bit that the Actor and I dreamt up that afternoon. I can't.

I ask nothing of my students that I don't ask myself.

I push myself every year to continue to grow as a teacher just as I push my Actors to continue evolving as Artists till their last breath. And sometimes that means doing more, sometimes it means doing less, but always specific, always telling The Story through all means of communication. Dialogue, behavior, emotion, the endless pursuit of that lovely Balance between Entertainment and Truth.

My Actors and I laugh! We have a respect for the craft, yes, but more importantly a respect for each other, a respect for our industry, our time and how we choose to spend it, there is an understanding that we are in this thing, together.

That said, I am not for everyone.

I am tough, not cruel. I am sensible, not irrational. I am dedicated. And you had better be dedicated as well or you may get your ass kicked for not caring enough.

Yeah, something like that.

Is that a bio?

Check out COLLABORATORS to see what Leigh has been a part of.