It’s showtime. I’m wickedly nervous as I prepare to deliver my monologue in my very first acting class. I’ve been rehearsing relentlessly and memorizing my script so that I don’t forget any of my character’s dialogue.

I begin. And not two minutes into it, my teacher Peter stops me.

What he says next changes me–not just as an actor, but as a speaker, storyteller, and communicator.

He tells me, “Kymberlee, I want you to live in the line you are in. Don’t worry about what’s going to happen. Good acting is when you risk losing the next line.”

Whoa.

What if we all lived in the line we’re in during conversations with loved ones at home or associates in everyday life? As a voiceover artist and actress, my special guest this week, Kate Marley, does this in spades. And in this episode, she’s here to talk all about it and answer questions like:

What can anyone bring into a story character to give it life? How powerfully do shared stories affect you emotionally, both inside and outside of a community?

• Why purpose is such an essential storytelling element
• How story and art help you reconnect to your authentic self
• How shared stories shift previously-stuck perspectives and help others

Kate Marley is a full-time artist in visual art, acting, and photography in Los Angeles, California. She graduated and obtained her degree from Ithaca College’s Musical Theatre program and is a proud member of the Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA.

Despite her musical days feeling far away, she still has a lifelong goal of telling stories and communicating with various audiences in her current fields of work. Currently, Kate spends most of her time acting and directing in voiceover and selling her artwork locally, always meeting new people and sharing new stories in the process. You can connect with her and find her work through her websites, Kate Marley and Jungmisul.