Meet Leslie & Stephanie Steele & Carter (respectively | Dallas Film Circle Co-Founder & Actresses

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leslie & Stephanie Steele & Carter (respectively and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leslie & Stephanie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Before the pandemic, we used to see our friends and colleagues at auditions, in classes, and at events. After the pandemic, everything went virtual and we saw no one. I quickly realized that this not only made me feel stir-crazy and disconnected but it also affected my career and mental health. During this time, I developed a deeper relationship with my friend and fellow actress, Stephanie Carter, and, to no surprise, she felt the same way.

We decided to do something about it and we just started simple. We thought we’d put on a mixer for our film community–something that hadn’t happened since Covid. It was SOOO great seeing everyone and we were encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive and grateful feedback from our friends. “Thank you guys for putting this on!” “I needed this!” “I missed this!” “Let’s do more of this!” “This is awesome!” So, we decided that we would do mixers twice a year. But then we thought, “Well, what about educational events too?” We knew we had a ton of acting-related pursuits we wanted to embark upon (workshops, special skills, informational meetings, etc.), and we figured other actors would too! We realized that there wasn’t really one centralized place where actors could go for a variety of topical events, resources, and training that met all of their needs as an actor. So, we decided to add education and enrichment events to our mixers in an effort to serve and cultivate the artistry, business savvy and well-being of the actor and film professional.

Long story, short, we wanted a one-stop shop that could serve the actor holistically. And we did that by having ongoing, diverse, and alluring but low pressure opportunities to engage in socializing, networking, professional development and education as well as opportunities to gain a sense of community, personal enrichment and overall well-being, all in an effort to create happier, more informed and equipped actor-humans. And thus, the Dallas Film Circle was born.

What should our readers know about your business?
We are an organization that is for actors, by actors. We aren’t serving a community we know nothing about; we ARE that community. So we are qualified to choose the topics and speakers of the events, but we also greatly value our community’s feedback and input. It’s wonderful because it really brings everyone closer, in a time when seeing others is rare and especially on so many different levels. We basically are just becoming a tighter knit, stronger film community here in Dallas/Fort Worth, and that creates a stronger local industry. And that’s just plain awesome.

Furthermore, we don’t just serve veteran actors or actors who already have experience. We’re interested in serving the newbie actor, the kid who wants to act but her parents have no idea how to find a legitimate film class, and the background actor looking to go to the next level.

And, we do this all for free. We donate our time, our talents, our connections and our efforts to help serve our community at large. Speaking of, we have “Giving Back” days on our roster as well, where actors can read stories to kids or serve homeless people in soup kitchens. We’re just doing what we can to make the world a better place.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people we could thank. We have been immeasurably blessed by great friends, family and colleagues, and truly, it is all those people that inspired us and allowed us to create the Dallas Film Circle. Specific people who most recently made strong impacts in our lives include our husbands, Glenn Morshower (actor and our acting coach), Tony Robbins, (who we would love to be our Life Coach LOL) and to be honest, each other. We have both raised each other up, challenged each other, held each other accountable and so much more. It is our friendship that caused us to grow in who we were as individuals and as friends, and without us being a dynamic duo, the Dallas Film Circle never would have happened.

Instagram: @dallasfilmcircle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1655980701462849

Other: Leslie Steele Actor website- www.Leslie-Steele.com Stephanie Carter Realtor website – www.TheMonarchTeam.com