Our Actors work in Major Film + Television Projects in LA

Susan Chung

“With Nancy at First Take you can become that authentic actor…”

One of Nancy Berwid’s and First Take’s motto is “you are enough”. The first time I heard that I was in shocking disbelief. How in the world could I be enough?! It sounded completely ludicrous that I was unique and different and the magic of who I was could get me work. Then she said, “Embrace the sucking.” And I thought, “impossible!” I could never be okay with failure, I tried to avoid it like the plague my whole life! But suffice it to say, she was right about it all. Nancy and First Take has helped someone who only had one emotion, anger, and a heart of stone turn into a human being. Acting takes a lot of work; building imagination muscles, being vulnerable, being yourself where you’re at, being okay with people seeing the ugly parts of your heart, and playing all go into becoming an authentic actor. And with Nancy at First Take you can become that authentic actor.

Take it from someone who, at first, only wanted to act because I didn’t value myself and believed if I got famous I would finally feel worthy to be alive, and also believed that I had natural talent and didn’t need training and that acting would come easy. It doesn’t come easy! But when you start loving the process, which Nancy also preaches, it is the most exciting and fun part of acting. All great atheletes have coaches and trainers, so if you want to be a great actor, get a great coach in Nancy and First Take. Sometimes I can’t believe I get to pursue acting, it’s such a luxury. And I am super thankful for a safe training ground.