Today we’d like to introduce you to Marco DiGeorge.
Hi Marco, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From a young age, artwork ranging from music to film to comics have always had a tremendous impact on me. I would connect with a song or a character so deeply that it altered my perception, which in some cases ultimately changed the course of my life. However, during my middle school and high school years, I was much too shy to get involved with acting, so I found myself pursuing the physical arts instead (drawing, sculpting, painting, etc.)
As I went through my college years, I continued to discover my passion for the arts and helping others. While my major was a business degree, I minored in communication and studied psychology. The main thing I learned was that underneath it all, we are not that different. Plus, with better communication skills, we can break down barriers that often divide us as human beings. When I graduated college, I left the arts behind to enter the corporate world. This was a choice based in what I thought I had to do. My perception at the time was that art was a hobby and not a career (which is a common misconception). I spent over a decade in the corporate world in marketing. While I was not actively working on my art during those years, it never left me. It continued to be my underlying passion. The defining moment that brought me back to the arts was the death of my father. He developed a rare form of cancer that was a result from working with Agent Orange in the Vietnam War (he was an airplane mechanic in the Air Force).
At the time, they thought it to be harmless, but later discovered to have cancerous effects. Unfortunately, when he developed a tumor from this cancer, it infected his pancreas, and from the time of detection, had only six months to live. I initially didn’t want to believe it was possible that my father could be taken from me. I mean, he was my hero and bigger than life. But, as the months went on, it became more of a reality. At a certain point, Hospice was called in and that’s when I knew we were approaching the end. During those final weeks, my father and I talked about everything – we didn’t leave anything unsaid. We typically had a difficult time talking about our feelings with each other, but when faced with this sort of finality, we were able to push through it. It was a gift that we had the time to do this and I felt grateful that we could communicate so deeply during the time we had.
One of the things my father said to me was that he saw how I worked so hard to make others happy, but he felt I didn’t take enough time for myself. So, he made me promise him that I would start living life by my own rules and do the things in life that I ultimately wanted to do. He died on a Tuesday in early November. We had the funeral that weekend. On Monday, when I returned to work, the first thing I did was give my notice. It was time for a change, and I wanted to start the new year on my terms, just like I promised him I would. I started getting back into acting – taking classes, auditioning, and simply getting back involved with the artistic community. This eventually led to getting involved with filmmaking, directing and producing. It’s amazing how one thing leads to another, and when you follow your passion, one desire leads to another.
My acting led me to producing films, which led me to partner in a production company, Doctrine Creative. This allowed me to connect with other amazing and creative people, which led me into teaching. I started Truthful Acting Studios with my longtime friend Robb Maus, and when we began our venture, we simply wanted to give back to the community and pass on what we learned. Today, Truthful Acting Studios is now a deep-level acting conservatory. The universe kept aligning for me, and I met the love of my life, Samantha, who now works with me in all our creative endeavors. In 2016, we started a live theatre company called Theater On The Edge, where we produce plays in a hyper-realistic way (Sam is the Artistic Designer). Currently, I am a full-time teacher at Truthful Acting Studios, the Artistic Director for Theater On The Edge, Adjunct Professor at University of Central Florida (in the Film Department), Producer for Doctrine Creative, husband to my amazing wife Sam, and father of five.
In all my endeavors, my main motivation is to teach or create art that would touch someone’s life. I want to contribute to the pool of art that has already touched mine. This is my purpose. To best describe what I’m trying to say, let me refer to a quote from acclaimed acting coach Larry Moss: “When you [create art], you can affect people in ways you may not ever imagine or know about…That’s what our work can do: we remind people that things can change, that wounds can heal, that people can be forgiven, and that closed hearts can open again.” I share Larry’s sentiment, and I want to produce art that will have that type of affect on others. And I want to help anyone out there that’s trying to reach the same goals. Simply, I want to make a difference.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I would say the biggest struggle along the way has been faith. Not faith as in spiritual or religious, but rather the faith in myself and artistic journey. It was difficult coming from the corporate and business world where everything is so structured and planned out, and diving into the artistic world where you need to adjust quite often to the adaptive environment. I remember when I had an epiphany moment about this – it was one day early on during my rejuvenated artistic journey. I was stressing over money and where it would come from over the next few months. I was watching the Oprah Winfrey Show and Oprah was talking about her journey and need for faith early on in her career. She talked about her struggles and how many people around her didn’t believe that she could make it in the industry. She mentioned a quote that I’ve heard before, but this time it really hit me a different way. She said, “If you do what you love, the money will follow. You just need to have faith that it will.” And that was the moment I made the decision to believe in my artistic path – to put everything into it and allow it to guide me. And it has… over and over! For two decades, I have followed this advice and it has helped me overcome the obstacles that I’ve faced. There have been many obstacles (logistical, financial, personal), but taking a deep breath and believing that the universe will guide me where I need to be (so long as I deep doing passionate work) has paid off every time. 🙂
As you know, we’re big fans of Truthful Acting Studios. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I run two main businesses: Truthful Acting Studios and Theater On The Edge. They are sister companies – Truthful Acting Studios focuses on actor training, and Theater On The Edge is a non-profit community theater company. Truthful Acting Studios specializes is professional actor training, providing deep-level training for all types of actors (film, television, theatre, commercial, etc.). Our philosophy is to teach skills, psychology, and philosophy that will not only benefit the artist, but also the human being. Our approach to acting is to guide the student out of their own self-consciousness and into the present moment. This is where the truth of acting lives – in the moment-to-moment experience. But in order to do this, the students must first learn to trust themselves, and then in-turn, allow themselves to be fully present and seen by others.
Acting is a very self-conscious art-form, and we believe that it takes careful and delicate guidance of the student to give them permission to take the risks necessary to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. If you would like to read more in-depth about our philosophy at Truthful Acting, you can find it on our website at: https://truthfulacting.com/our-philosophy/ Theater On The Edge is a live theater company that is focused on deep-level acting and performances. Above all else, we want our acting to be at the highest level. In addition, we are a small capacity theater (holding approximately 30 guests), so we can provide a very intimate experience. Our goal is to give our patrons a Cinematic Theater Experience – which is the realism and truth of film combined with the spontaneity and action of live theater. Essentially, we have combined the artistic design and structure for both film and theater and combined them into a single experience. The goal is for the audience think they are watching a film live on stage! We have been very successful and have received much acclaim for our work, and my wife Samantha is our Set Designer and is spectacular with her hyper-realistic designs. Our website for Theater On The Edge can be found at: https://theaterontheedge.org We have been dark since the pandemic hit last March and we will most likely be dark all of 2020, but we are looking forward to putting up new shows once again when it’s safe for all to attend!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I believe that risk taking is essential to living a full and happy life. In fact, it’s a big part of what I teach (both at Truthful Acting Studios, but also at the University of Central Florida, where I am an adjunct professor in the film program). “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” – Thomas Jefferson To be an actor (or any artist) requires one to step into the unknown – to push yourself into vulnerable areas that many people are afraid to venture into. This requires incredible risk taking.
At our studio, we have as part of our homework for the students to reward themselves for the risks that they take. Essentially, we want them to create a risk/reward system for themselves so become more encouraged to take risks. Plus, in acting, it’s really all about the attempt and not about the result. I want all my students to give themselves permission to attempt the work fully without regard to how it turns out (at least in the learning process). I’ve taken many major risks in my life, and I’ve never been disappointed. Moving on from the corporate world was a major risk. Opening Truthful Acting Studios was a major risk. Starting a non-profit community theater company was a major risk. But I truly believe that we only regret the risks we don’t take – so we might as well attempt it 🙂 Also, as an actor, each and every time we step on stage or in front of the camera, we are taking a risk – and it’s worth it each and every time!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@truthfulacting.com
- Website: https://truthfulacting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthfulacting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truthfulacting/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/truthfulacting/
Image Credits
All images courtesy of Truthful Acting Studios
