Meet Get Taped! | Audition Tapings, Classes & Workshops

We had the good fortune of connecting with Get Taped! and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brooke & Matt, why did you pursue a creative career?
We were both born with some sort of artistic tendency. Brooke had the performer gene from day 1, and I (Matt) discovered a talent for drawing as early as kindergarten. Then life tries to teach you to become responsible adults, but we both continued to cultivate our artistic talents. Brooke went to school for drama, and then spent time in New York and Orlando before settling in Atlanta in 2005. I decided to pick up a Masters Degree in Engineering at Georgia Tech, which is what brought me here in 2000. However, after graduation I quickly transitioned to the life of an actor. By the time Brooke and I started dating in 2007, we were both pursuing this craft full time. Then in 2010 when we got married, we started our audition-taping service, Get Taped, which has now grown to a point where we offer classes, workshops, and career counseling. But the “why” behind our passion for the arts, and specifically the TV and Film industry, is that we firmly believe that being a Storyteller is one of the most noble professions. At the core of the human condition is the desire to be known. We seek that comfort through relationships with each other, with God, and sometimes with substances or other addictions. Stories remind us we’re not alone, and can be powerful enough to save lives. Literally. And unlike a surgeon who can only save one life at a time, in the medium of TV and Film, countless lives can be touched and/or saved for years to come by a single story. In fact, I invite your readers to think back to a movie or TV show (or book, poem, song, etc.) that touched them deeply. It could be that The Goonies made you feel like you belonged as a kid, or maybe Black Panther inspired you to believe in what’s possible, or Glee made it okay to be a kid who is gay. Stories connect us, and in a world that becomes increasingly divided, stories are becoming more and more crucial to our culture. That’s what drives us…

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
At Get Taped, our mission statement is to dispel fear in others. This industry is so stressful for actors, and it’s easy to walk through this journey with a “lack” mindset. We know from experience. So over the years of our business, we’ve seeked to empower the actor by arming them with as much information as possible, and through training that builds on the actor’s confidence. As Christians, we also seek to lead with love, which is probably the reason why so many actors come back to us time and time again. While we don’t force our beliefs on anyone, that outward posture of love resonates with so many of our clients. They tell us that they “do their best work” or always “feel comfortable” in our space. Of course, our technical expertise helps, too. That said, this journey is not without its challenges. When you’re in the service industry (which essentially we are through our Get Taped business), it is easy to get spread thin. Complicate that with the fact that we are also full-time actors, and when we get our own opportunities it can be hard to find a balance with our personal careers and the needs of our business. Setting boundaries has been the biggest lesson we’ve learned. Not only in regards to our business and careers, but also how we navigate all of that AND our marriage.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We love Atlanta and all it has to offer. When someone is visiting or moves here, we recommend several different places of interest. For the beer lovers, there are so many great breweries like Monday Night or Sweetwater. For BBQ lovers, there is Sweet Auburn and Fox Bros. For the outdoorsy people, there is Stone Mountain or “Shootin’ the Hooch” (tubing down the Chattahoochee). And of course the Beltline, as it continues to expand, is becoming one of the top “destinations” for visitors and residents. No matter what interests you, there is such a variety here in Atlanta.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Both Brooke and I owe so much to the late Sam Christensen, and his business partner Ken Cortland. The Sam Christensen Image Process not only gave us the gift of understanding our own authenticity, image, and brand, but Sam himself gave us so much more. His passion for the arts was infectious, and he taught us that being storytellers was an essential part of the human existence. We learned so much from him and Ken, and are blessed to help carry on his legacy through facilitating his life-changing process for others.

Website: www.get-taped.com
Instagram: @gettaped
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetTaped/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/gettaped