Meet Ron Weisberg | Acting Coach/Production Company

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

Hi Ron, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

Starting my own business was a wild idea I had about helping actors like no one else ever has. I always wondered why actors in universities focused on theater and not film. Then I realized the acting departments don’t have access to the film equipment, in most cases. Projects were being made for filmmakers, but actors still had to audition. Not anymore, actors at my studio are in the driver’s seat of their career as they invest in their own training. Story Quest Studios is a school for actors and a production company that creates original projects in house to empower the actor to be their own producers, getting their work into film festivals world–wide. Welcome to the new model of an acting studio, and anyone around the world can join.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

The way I see it, my art (and every art) boils down to powerful storytelling. Bringing scripts to life on the screen is a fantastic experience for all parties involved. My passion is the creative side, writing, acting, and directing. I also love teaching actors how to simplify their process and become powerful storytellers.

At the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020, I began teaching online and writing my book, The Discovery Technique for Actors and Storytellers. Writing this book transformed me as I realized the power of what I had been learning all my life. I now had a magical method of teaching acting, which also became a magical method of learning and creating anything. The Discovery Technique teaches us that we are in constant expansion and we can focus this expansion in any direction, to play a part in a story, or to rewrite any story in life or business.

The main lesson I have learned along the way is that no one is going to tell you that your dreams are possible because no one has made them happen. You have to discover the way for everything in life, there is no template for your life, you just need to be open to discover and learn from your mistakes. In improv, the audience leans in when mistakes happen because we want to see how the players bounce back. You’re going to get knocked down, in more ways than one, over and over. But there’s no situation where you can stay down.

As my granny Gloria always said, “If at once you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Although I have also learned to take ‘try’ out of my vocabulary. Granny also echoed Shakespeare, “Above all else, to thine own self be true.” This is hard in modern times with social media morphing our perception of self, so we’re all dealing with a mental health crisis having the need to be popular on a mass scale. This is why I’m making a TV series called “Influencea”, dealing with the twisted need for our youth to be influencers.

Our job as storytellers is to tell the most powerful stories possible, and we must make ourselves vulnerable to do it. This is dangerous. The brand I created has everything to do with the logo I created.

There is a feather embedded in a shield. The feminine and masculine married together for the purpose of keeping storytelling holy. The feather is actually a quill. The pen is mightier than the sword. We, the artists, are the main character in our own story. We must be brave and live the most powerful story. We cannot be perfect as people but we can create magnificent art that transcends time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Well, If I’m in LA, I want to spend as much time near the beach as possible. Venice skate park and Roof Top bars are a must. Then we’re going up the Gold Coast to Malibu and up the beach to Santa Barbara to hike in the mountains.

We’d have to go see some improv comedy at Groundlings and UCB, and other comedy spots around town. There’s live music in Hollywood and West Hollywood.

I’m also a foodie… I will take you to get all the best tacos, sushi, you name it. We’ll go on a coffee shop tour until you tell me to stop, starting with Cow’s End at the beach.

If you play soccer, we go to the pick-up games in Mar Vista every week day at 11am. In the evening people are dancing in the middle of Venice Beach like they’re free and playing drums and random instruments at sundown before the police send helicopters. I’ll bring the drums.

I’m not a drinker but if you’re visiting on vacation, I say we go to the secret speakeasy and dance at the club and after parties all night to work up the appetite for the taco trucks in the morning.

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?

I have a few shoutouts, I love this section! My studio would not exist without the amazing working artists that form the collective of instructors at Story Quest Studios. A huge shout out to Elizabeth Reeder Neubauer, who runs my Voiceover Acting department at the Studio. She has been in the VO biz for over 40 years and has been teaching for over 20 of them. She helps folks with all the training and the demos for a fraction of the price of what other studios charge, total impact for actors on any budget over 0. She is a riot, and has done everything from producing, directing, screenwriting, animation and Law!

Another team member whose support is so meaningful to my life, is a veteran LA Talent Manager, Brad Lemack. He teaches the Business of Acting at my studio and no-where else outside of Emerson where he’s been teaching for over 25 years. Brad writes for Backstage and has written 4 books on the business side of the acting industry. He helps all the students that take his class with on-going guidance via email and a genuine connection who inspires actors to discover more.

Of course, I have to also thank my co-creator Brent Peterson. With Brent, I made over 20 short films in 2022 and they all help launch and inspire actors to be their own producers. He helps me as a Cinematographer and Editor at the studio. Some shoots, it’s just us and the actors, and that’s all we need because he brings all his great gear to match mine and we knock every project out of the park.

There are more people on my team to thank, but there isn’t enough space on the internet to hold my love for my team. I’m forever grateful.

Website: www.StoryQuestStudios.com

Instagram: StoryQuestStudios

Linkedin: Ron Weisberg

Youtube: StoryQuestStudios