Destiny Washington has been an actress for almost 20 years and now she’s sharing everything she’s learned with other actors.
Washington, who most recently starred in the movie Trap Soldiers and will have three other films coming out before the end of this year, is also the owner of Taped Studios, a video production service company in Dallas. She decided to start Taped after doing several audition tapings for friends, realizing that she wanted to help fellow actors and add to her skill set in the acting world. Taped has been a popular spot for auditions for the past three years. Washington says it has been a blessing to help others, especially in ways that she wishes she would have been helped coming up as an actress.
Taped serves local actors as well as those from other areas of the country. Agents have sent actors from California to have auditions shot there. People like singer/actress Latoya Luckett count themselves as regulars.
Washington sees self-taping as a permanent fixture in the acting world: “self-taping isn’t going to go anywhere.” She says even as we adjust to life after the height of the pandemic, self-taping is still an important tool.
Washington sees trivializing the self-tape process as a mistake. You can’t just set up a smart phone and expect to produce a quality audition video- sound, lighting, and other technical aspects are important. In addition, character-development is paramount. She says some actors make the mistake of foregoing important preparation like reading the casting directors’ directions. Another mistake she often sees is actors only focusing on their own lines instead of reading the script and learning more about their character and the scene. Not preparing means that you miss important directives or the nuances of your character. People often forget to do research on the director or writer of a production. That information can be important.
To help actors avoid auditioning mistakes, Washington has started a class. She’s offering Taped 101, a class that provides guidance on how to create a great self-tape. She says by the end of the course, actors should have the tools for an excellent self-tape, from technical aspects to performance.
Washington is a busy person and because the theme of several of my recent posts have been about avoiding burnout, I asked her how she remains productive while maintaining balance. She responded “your peace is everything” and said it’s important to listen to your body and to remember that everything you’re doing is part of a journey. It’s also important to “be kind to ourselves.” She says that personally, she loves being productive, but if she’s tired, she will take a nap. We all know the difference between laziness and just getting rest, she says. She reiterated we are all on a journey and it isn’t a sprint to a finish line. “We’ll all get there.”
Interested in taking a class with Destiny Washington or getting your audition shot at Taped? https://www.igottaped.com
If you want to catch her onscreen, check out Unfavorable Odds, in theaters September 9th.
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