Check Out Sonya Macari’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonya Macari.

Sonya, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Dublin, Ireland to Italian parents, growing up I felt like I always lived in my imagination. I’ll never forget watching the wizard of Oz and thinking to myself I want to do that, it seemed so simple to me in my own head.

I started appearing in commercials at a very young age. My acting debut was on an Irish hit show “ The clinic” then I moved to New York at the age of 19, NYC was a huge awakening for me, I knew I loved acting but I had developed a real love & respect for the art and craft of acting, I started studying at the HB Studios, a really nice environment. Gosh, I miss NY so much, literally my favorite city!

After New York, I moved back to Dublin to work on a recurring role on Showtime’s ‘The Tudors,” for which I also appeared in the global print campaign. I remember seeing my face on a billboard on Sunset Blvd which was bizarre and amazing at the same time, and I believe the same one was up on Times Square. Recently I have had the pleasure to work on ” It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and a National commercial Spot for the U.S.

I have also worked on shows like “Chuck”,” Men Of A Certain Age”. “Glee”, “House” and the ten-time Oscar-nominated silent movie ‘The Artist’ to name a few.

I have narrated books for Penguin Random, I’m also the author of The Actors Passport, which is a go-to guide specifically geared for younger actors starting off In the business and just last October I launched Creative Acting Studios, an online community of well-known casting directors, coaches and agents from Los Angeles, providing personalized dynamic and intensive masterclasses, workshops and talks to Actors around the globe.

I live in LA with my wonderful husband, Colin Devlin, who is an incredible musician and also a Grammy-nominated songwriter, we have two amazing children, Evie and Leo. I have to say, I have been very blessed with all my experiences so far, I’m very excited to see what the future holds.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road, bloody hell no! As an actor, you have no control, virtually… That’s just the way it is, however, if you surrender to what you can control and that is putting your best work out there, that’s all you can do, your job is to create an interesting, compelling character that serves the text in the hope that the producers like it… So you try to make good choices and you try letting go of wanting the job, its tricky too, every actor desperately wants that job.

I have been so so close to roles that would have been a game changer, they would have changed my entire career trajectory, but you move on. You learn to deal with the disappointment, I seem to have gotten really good at it ( Sniggers). Getting back on the saddle after starting a family is also very challenging, both work and family are very gratifying to me, so hopefully many wonderful things to come, I have my amazing husband to thank for, he is the very definition of unconditional love and support, whatever challenges we face, we face together.

As I’m raising two young children I’m also running a business as well as being a wife and an actor, so yeah there are many challenges to say the least… it’s a lot, I won’t lie, however, once my kids go to bed happy, clean and fed that’s my main job done, ha! They are my priority of course and I’m forever grateful for them.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
One thing I know is that I love actors, always have. I think they’re amazing. And as an actor myself, I know we are continuously learning, pushing through boundaries and working on our craft to be better storytellers every day.

These are the reasons why I started Creative Actors Studios. It’s a platform dedicated for actors all over the globe, giving them access to masterclasses, workshops and talks with casting directors, agents, acting coaches and many other creatives from Los Angeles. They can gain that unique, personalized insight directly from renowned acting coaches living and working in the entertainment industry here in LA. I usually schedule the events on a Saturday at 10am which is 6/7pm in countries like Ireland, Italy, France and England. We have actors zooming in for classes from all over the world and of course from The U.S also.

A lot of time and effort goes into the setting up each class. The marketing and then the execution of each Masterclasses and Talks etc. But I love every minute of it. There’s so much satisfaction especially after each event, and the actors walk away feeling more confident, resilient, and in turn more free. They are inspired and their gifts are being embraced.

I’m lucky I have the privilege of making this one of my jobs and the way I see it is I’m giving actors an amazing opportunity to work with renowned creatives from the Industry in Los Angeles from the comfort of their own homes. I’m giving them the opportunity to grow as actors and at the same time I’m also getting to learn new things about this business myself, which I absolutely love.

The feedback thus far has been incredible and I’m forever grateful to all of the actors who have taken classes and of course to all the incredible coaches, casting directors and creatives that have collaborated with me on my platform. They are the reason my actors get guidance and the motivation to better themselves and feel inspired and grow as an actor.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
This industry keeps changing all the time, the pandemic has shifted things quite a bit. It’s mostly virtual now and I think it’s going to remain this way for a long time and thank god for Zoom!!! We have all been connecting on zoom since the pandemic started, imagine if we didn’t have it!

During the initial lockdown is how I came up with the idea of developing CAS. Since I launched I have been very selective with the creatives on my platform and those scheduled to work with CAS are also incredibly talented and hugely successful, they all being something different and unique and I know they can only benefit the actor, help them nourish their talent.

You know, I think It takes sheer force of will and relentless determination to be involved in this industry and at the same time if you are committed and love what you do you will find some level of success. This is what I tell the actors who take classes. The key is to find the positive in every negative, you may have a chance of staying sane in this crazy business. My advice is have fun in an industry that tries to defeat you lol…

I feel like in this business you have to create a mindset toward rejection, go for as many auditions as you can, and you might get one out of 60. You just have to go in and do your best, I always look at it as an opportunity to act, but obviously, you want the part. You deal with more rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime, so strive every day to be a better actor and opportunity will come your way, I promise! 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: www.creativeactingstudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativeactingstudios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativeactingstudios