Meet Laura Doman | Actor, On Camera Coach, Speaker & Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Doman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
Too many people have the idea that once you reach the age of retirement, your productive life is over and you immediately become less interesting … except perhaps to your adult children as a readily available babysitter..

Nonsense! You’re not dead yet, are you? As long as you have good health, energy, and a lively interest in the world around you, the best part of your life could still be ahead of you. Including spending time with your grandchildren, if you’re lucky enough to have them.

I know so many older people who are happier than ever before pursuing hobbies, travel … and new careers. People like me who are finding fulfillment as creative writers, entertainers, and artists later in life. Reinventing ourselves with new ventures born from interests we’ve had since childhood. Developing talents that had taken a back seat to more traditional careers and family obligations. Now, assuming that we have the freedom that good health and reasonable financial security provides, we can have fun exploring our talents and interests, and even provide new sources of income along the way.

The conventional idea that the rocking chair awaits the retiree is long gone. Today’s Boomers are more physically active than previous generations. We look and act younger than our parents and grandparents did at our age, we live longer, and our mindset is open to living post-retirement as merely the next stage in our lives. Certainly not as the final stop!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I wear a few hats as a creative! I’m a film, TV, and commercial on-camera actor, a voice actor, a communications coach, and an author and public speaker.

As a film, TV, and commercial actress, I play moms of all types, as well as a variety of authority figures. My “wheelhouse” is the caring, warm, but slightly irreverant type who’s not afraid to speak her mind. On occasion, I play the role of the villain, which most actors will tell you is truly the most fun! My most recent movie, “Falling for the Competition,” is currently showing on Amazon Prime.

It’s really never too late to begin a professional career! There are plenty of opportunities for older people, and the industry is clamoring for all types. The secret is … casting directors want to see YOUR unique take on a role, not what you think they want. Infuse the soul of your character with your real self. Listen and react in the moment to the people and events going on around you. Live the experience that your character is going through and focus on what the other characters are saying and doing, rather than just on trying to remember your lines.

The same thing goes for voice acting. In one way, it can be harder than acting for screen or stage because you only have your voice as an instrument. It’s still acting, though, and far, far more than just “reading the words on the page.” You have to inhabit the story and tell it from a particular point of view. This applies even to technical genres, like medical narration.

I enjoy all aspects of voice over, but because my previous career was in business, corporate narration, website and training videos, and especially animated explainers are near and dear to my heart. Commercials are always exciting – it’s amazing how much of a story is packed inside a 30 second spot – and I have an absolute ball voicing animated characters or off-camera roles for film and TV. There are so many avenues of voice work and new ones to explore; I’m looking forward to expanding into voiceover for video games and recording a gaming demo in 2024.

Actors everywhere are hoping that 2024 will be a terrific year. 2023 was a bit unique in that the entertainment industry was tied up for many months resolving both a writers’ (WGA) and actors’ (SAG-AFTRA) strike. I filled the considerable slow-down with two other creative pursuits: improv and on-camera coaching for business professionals.

I had actually begun studying improv long before, back in the 80s when I was living in Chicago. In the evenings after my corporate IT job, I trained with Second City. THE Second City. So exciting! I actually lived across the street from the theater and loved our between class assignments, which often tasked us with plucking a bizarre headline out of the National Enquirer, bringing it to class, and creating a wacky improv skit out of it on the spot. Years later when I moved to Atlanta, I studied with the former Highwire Comedy improv troupe and in 2023, I trained intensely with David Webster, the original founder of Whole World Improv in Midtown, and performed as a GrooveCats company member. Improv is excellent training and improves all types of acting – not to mention a great deal of fun.

I also developed another aspect of my business that I had quietly started the previous year: teaching non-actors how to become more comfortable and charismatic on camera themselves. Videos are everywhere, especially on social media, and entrepreneurs, business professionals, and corporate execs find themselves facing the camera lens as they appear in videos, present via Zoom, and participate in online interviews and appearances. For two years, I’ve been creating and sharing short and long-form videos on how to relax for the camera and use the media to your best advantage based on the best tips, tricks, and techniques I’ve learned in the acting world. All these videos and more are on my website and YouTube channel, and showcased each month via my LinkedIn newsletter.

I also moved into high gear as a public speaker talking about how to build On Camera Confidence at conferences and business meetings and on webinars and podcasts. I was also thrilled to be invited to co-author with 35 other marketing specialists worldwide, a collaborative book under the leadership of world-renowned marketing and branding expert (and best-selling author) Mark Schaefer. “The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever” was published in May and June 2023 in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook forms. My chapter offers … wait for it … practical ideas to leverage videos and YouTube.

Going forward into the new year, I look to be busy working as a creative in all these areas. Yes, sometimes it can be a jugging act, but you know what? It feeds my soul. I’ve met incredible, talented people through all these endeavors and – most interesting of all – I’ve found that creativity inspires more creativity. You never know where a new idea will lead you! Maybe into an exciting new adventure. Maybe – splat! – right into a wall. (It’s happened.) Either way, I’m keeping my wry sense of humor about it all. And my fingers crossed. I like to be prepared.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I were to become Atlanta Tour Guide Barbie and my guest had similar interests to my own, here’s where we’d go (in no particular order):

1. The Beltline – When I first flew into Atlanta many years ago, my initial reaction was, “Wow! A city in the trees.” So many wonderful natural spots. Even neighborhoods within the city limits, like mine, have parks, creeks, and nature trails. Sometimes even a small lake. The Beltline is a terrific place to start, whether we walk, bike, or run. No, scratch that. Never been much of a jogger.

2. The Chattahoochee River – Yes, I like nature. One of my first adventures as a new Atlanta resident was “shooting the Hooch” on a raft. Good times, though I’m more likely to enjoy a stroll alongside the river now.

3. The Atlanta Botanical Gardens, especially during the holidays! Garden Lights, Holiday Nights is absolutely spectacular and a must-see for anyone visiting Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve.

4. A historical tour of Atlanta, including the Margaret Mitchell house in Midtown, the Atlanta History Center, and of course, Stone Mountain (and the light show during the summer months). But wait, we have the MLK National Historical Site and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. How much time did you say you have?!

5. The tours in any decent visitor’s brochure: the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, CNN Studio Tours, and for the lovers of the arts, the High Museum of Art, the Fox Theatre, or any of our local theaters.

6. Favorite restaurants: Kyma for delicious Greek-style seafood, courtesy of the always terrific Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, and Cafe Sunflower for (in my opinion) the best vegan food on the planet. We’d also go to all sorts of ethnic restaurants that Atlanta has so many of and have fun checking out the best places for dessert in neighborhoods like Virginia-Highland. Hey, chocolate rules!

7. Peachtree Rd. Farmers Market – Looking for bars and clubs? Sorry! Those days are behind me, unless you’re talking about finding a really good chai tea latte, which is about my speed these days. Instead, I’d take my guest on Saturday mornings from March through December to the Peachtree Rd. Farmers Market, where we’d find delicious crepes, hot coffees, all sorts of great food and seasonings, and my favorite, The Chai Box, featuring authentic chai teas.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m going to dedicate my shoutout to my college-age daughter Rachel.

Like me, Rachel loves both the business and entertainment worlds. From age 6 to 11, she performed in children’s musical theater, culminating in the lead role as Oliver on a professional stage. When she ventured into film and TV, her agent took me on board as well, since I had previous acting training and professional experience on stage, film, and TV (I did so while working in my corporate IT sales career, pre-children) and wanted to get back into it. After all, why should my daughter have all the fun?!

Rachel has since gone on to study business and computer science in college, though as a proud mom I have to say that in high school she had a pivotal supporting role in one of the popular “Fear Street” movies and later became a successful, internationally award-winning writer of short screenplays. Thanks, Rachel, for being the impetus to launch me into this next phase of my life, which has expanded to include voice over, improv performance, and helping business folks become more confident on camera as a coach, author, and speaker. I was looking for what I really wanted to do in this third stage of life, and thanks to you, I realized that it had been there all along.

Website: https://www.LauraDoman.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura.v.doman

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauradoman

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lauradoman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laura.v.doman

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lauradoman

Other: I have an additional Instagram channel just focused on On Camera Confidence: https://www.instagram.com/learnoncameraconfidence I have a second YouTube channel dedicated to all things funny and inspirational about being a mom: https://www.youtube.com/@mymomisms