Susan Heyward understood the Emotional Type Assignment
‘The Boys’ star, Susan Heyward turned her Emotional Type into a brand. A brand which ultimately became the story of her career.
There’s a reason she has been a series regular for nearly every show, she’s worked on. And it aint’ got nothing to do with dumb luck. It’s Emotional Type Branding & Strategy.
She doesn’t just play Sage, the smartest person on earth in Amazon’s hit show, “The Boys.”
She actually crafted her career around her Emotional Type. She let the industry know what she’s here for and required it follow the intention she was setting.
(Keep reading to learn what an Emotional Type is and why it’s a career game-changer)
What is an Emotional Type & why does it matter?
Your Emotional Type is your story. And the only safety in this business is to tell a story no one can ignore.
If residuals are disappearing, that means actors will have to constantly work just to survive.
For recurring or guest star roles, that means we will no longer be able to survive on a few jobs a year plus residuals.
Not too long ago, a top of show guest star could pay you 10K for an episode and you would continue to make that in residuals over the next 5 years. That's a living.
Now, on streaming platforms, the SAG minimum is so low, series regular actors on Emmy winning shows like OITNBO were waiting tables. Imagine a world without residuals.
What happens to actors in a world without residuals?
How do you stand out and make a living as an actor under these conditions?
As you age, your looks will change, so the limited physical types you once played will no longer support you.
Actors who build long, sustainable careers, consistently deliver complex performances because they are using the full range of their unique Emotional Type.
That’s why they can’t stop working.
The way you look will change each year.
But your Emotional Type is a constant that will help you create a long, lucrative and fulfilling career that no AI can replicate.
Your Emotional Type is your brand.
It's your unique story.
And the only safety
in this business is to
tell a story no one can ignore.
Meet the Instructor
April Yvette Thompson
is a Tony-winning producer/writer/actor working across media. Film/TV credits include BULL, Blue Caprice, Gotham, Blue Bloods, Babylon Fields, The Exonerated (w/Susan Sarandon & Delroy Lindo), Accidental Husband, Backwards, Law & Order & Third Watch, etc.
Broadway/Off Broadway credits include Clybourne Park, (Pulitzer & Tony); Vassar Voices (w/Meryl Streep), Good Bread Alley, Liberty CityThe Exonerated (w/Gabriel Byrne, Richard Dreyfuss), Medea, King Lear, Macbeth, Antigone & Light Raise the Roof.
As SimonSays Entertainment Director of Development, April produced Sundance features: Blue Caprice (w/Isaiah Washington), Mother of George (w/Danai Gurira), Gun Hill Road (w/Esai Morales). April was on the Tony-winning producing teams for 2017 Tony for Best Revival for August Wilson's Jitney directed by Ruben Santiago Hudson and 2012 Tony for Best Revival, Porgy & Bess starring Audra MacDonald (Tony).
April wrote, produced & starred in her Miami Trilogy of plays: Good Bread Alley and Liberty City (Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Lortel noms & Jeff Award) at New York Theatre Workshop.
Education: Vassar College & Rutgers University.
AprilYvetteThompson.com
You don’t need just any agent or manager. You need to a rep who gets you lots of auditions for roles in the center of your Emotional Type
If you plan on chasing roles like “mean girl blonde” or “sassy black girl ” or “ thug life #8” then that is what you’ll play forever.
Changing that dynamic requires that you learn what your emotional brand is and how to apply it to every aspect of your career from the collaborators you target to how you guide your team to find work that’s in the center of your Emotional Type
Free Emotional Type Class
Contrary to what we’re taught in acting programs, actors are not meant to squeeze themselves into small stereotypical roles to continue working.
Actors who work all the time , consistently deliver complex performances because they are using the full range of their Unique Emotional type.
That’s why they can’t stop working.
The way you look will change each year.
But your Emotional Type is a constant that will help you create a sustainable, lucrative and fulfilling career that no AI can duplicate.
Learn: How to Deliver high quality work quickly and cleanly using your Emotional Type
Finding and targeting CDs and Directors who do the kind of work that is a perfect fit for your emotional type.
Do you constantly compare yourself to other actors?
Do you decide that someone else is going to get the job before you even show up at the audition, so why bother?
Do you get in your own way when it comes to having a successful, lucrative acting career?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this video is for you... -
I discuss how to use the Emotional Type to to build confidence in the uniqueness of your work -
We learn how to do a personal inventory of your skills and gifts using the Emotional Type Exercise
Meet the Instructor
April Yvette Thompson
is a Tony-winning producer/writer/actor working across media. Film/TV credits include BULL, Blue Caprice, Gotham, Blue Bloods, Babylon Fields, The Exonerated (w/Susan Sarandon & Delroy Lindo), Accidental Husband, Backwards, Law & Order & Third Watch, etc.
Broadway/Off Broadway credits include Clybourne Park, (Pulitzer & Tony); Vassar Voices (w/Meryl Streep), Good Bread Alley, Liberty CityThe Exonerated (w/Gabriel Byrne, Richard Dreyfuss), Medea, King Lear, Macbeth, Antigone & Light Raise the Roof.
As SimonSays Entertainment Director of Development, April produced Sundance features: Blue Caprice (w/Isaiah Washington), Mother of George (w/Danai Gurira), Gun Hill Road (w/Esai Morales). April was on the Tony-winning producing teams for 2017 Tony for Best Revival for August Wilson's Jitney directed by Ruben Santiago Hudson and 2012 Tony for Best Revival, Porgy & Bess starring Audra MacDonald (Tony).
April wrote, produced & starred in her Miami Trilogy of plays: Good Bread Alley and Liberty City (Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Lortel noms & Jeff Award) at New York Theatre Workshop.
Education: Vassar College & Rutgers University.
AprilYvetteThompson.com