Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Busey Jennings
Hi Shelby, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Wow! If you had told me three years ago that I’d be making movies and training actors at my own film and television-based acting studio, I never would’ve believed you—but here we are! This unexpected journey has arguably been the biggest plot twist of my entire life. I didn’t graduate from film school or find my way onto big movie sets as a PA. Honestly, I was just a girl who wanted to act. I felt so small in a big world, dreaming of bringing stories to life through acting. But it all felt incredibly scary. The thought of pursuing such a monumental endeavor was overwhelmingly daunting, and I allowed fear to hold me back from acting for years. That is, until I finally auditioned for my first play in college, Little Women, and no one was more shocked than I was when I was cast as the bold Jo March. In no small way, this casting absolutely changed my life. I fell in love with the stage and went on to be cast in several more plays and a musical.
But it was the day I spent on the set of Dear John, with Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, that pushed me to transition into film and television acting. That entire day felt like I was living someone else’s life—sharing a trailer with the leads as we all got our hair and makeup done, working on a handful of scenes all day with these household names. What?! Little me got to spend the day acting with Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried?! It was unreal. I had no agent, no manager, had no idea what I was doing, and found myself on set after finding out where the casting office was. I nervously walked in unannounced with my modest headshot and slim resume. I figured I had absolutely nothing to lose. It turns out, I was right.
Fast forward, and I’d love to tell you that my life was an inspirational fairytale after that, and maybe it will be eventually, but I spent many more years struggling. I boldly purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles about six months after Dear John. All I knew was that that’s where the opportunities were. I was 25, had never even been to LA, and had just enough money to survive. That was good enough for me. I landed, the job that I thought I had secured fell through, and I had one week to find work or I’d have to fly home. I spent 8 hours a day, during the 2009 recession, applying for every job you could probably think of—me and everyone else desperate for work. In the 11th hour, I landed a part-time job at Starbucks and another at a grocery store. I was subletting in an apartment with no air conditioning, and to be honest, I should’ve been on food stamps, but I made it work. I took home ‘expired’ food from my Starbucks job and ate peanut butter from a jar two meals per day.
I eventually found myself at Bang Comedy Theatre and Institute in an improv program. I was honest about my financial struggles, and someone working there secretly gave me access to classes at a discounted rate. To this day, I am forever grateful for that person. They are the reason I was able to graduate. After four years of living in LA, finally making friends and great memories, I decided to come back to Charleston. It was just so expensive in LA, and I felt trapped in this cycle of “needing a great resume to get an agent and needing an agent to get a great resume.” The industry as a whole felt so elusive, so I decided to go back home, where there was less competition, and try to break into the industry there. After all, it was less expensive to live in South Carolina.
The next nine years, I pivoted completely. Perhaps I was pretty jaded from “not making it” in LA. I landed a job working with children with autism, utilizing my psychology minor from college. I found the job fulfilling and challenging. The pay was modest, but I felt like I was making a difference. However, the voice calling me back to acting never left me. I eventually fell in love, got married, and continued working low-paying therapy jobs with an array of special-needs children. One day, I remember praying that if it was God’s will for me to go back into acting, I would have an undeniable urge to return. About a week later, I was absolutely overcome with this wave of wanting to go back into acting. That very day, I signed up for The Hollywood Winners Circle program—another life-changing decision.
From that point on, I took all of the classes I could afford. I put my head down and dedicated much of my time to honing my skills as an actor. About two years into training, I auditioned for a feature film that caught my interest. Still no agent or manager, I submitted for the opportunity on my own. To my surprise, I was invited to audition. It was for a dramatic role in a sci-fi pilot, a concept being sent over to HBO for consideration. I landed the role and was on set a few months later.
Sean Morgan, who cast me in that role, approached me over a year later and asked me to teach an acting class on “whatever I wanted.” I love teaching and immediately agreed. I set out to teach a class that I wish existed when I was first trying to figure it all out years ago, when the industry was so elusive. I wasn’t even sure if anyone would sign up, but that first month, in January of 2023, we had seven students. The next month, those students came back. It has been two years, and we now have six classes per week, two locations, private lessons, have filmed three short films, and are now mid-production on our first student-led feature film, set to premiere this December! I cannot believe it! This plot twist of creating films and training actors was nowhere in my sights, but sometimes you say “yes” to the unexpected, and it pays off in a way you never expected.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I guess there would be no good story without the bumpy road that created it.
As many startups do, we’ve faced tons of struggles building an acting studio from the ground up.
Since starting The Class Acting Studios, we’ve had slower months with almost no revenue, lost our studio space unexpectedly, launched programs that didn’t stick and had to reevaluate, leaned on the good graces of others to help us stay afloat, worked multiple side jobs while building the studio, and overcome an array of additional challenges that come with starting a business from nothing. I specifically remember having no idea how to create a website and not having the funds to pay someone, so I looked up videos online to teach myself how to do it. The first iteration was honestly awful, but people still signed up—thank goodness.
Honestly, my whole life, I’ve just fallen forward. My overwhelming ambition helped drown out the fear as I’ve navigated just one step at a time. What else can you do? I couldn’t predict the future, but I also didn’t want to waste time trying to figure it all out when I could just be living it already—or at least trying to. The main thing is that I didn’t want to live a life with regret. I didn’t want to look back at 80, if I live that long, and wish I would’ve just said “yes” to acting and “yes” to the opportunity to teach actors(perhaps my favorite part). I’m not sure how much time I have, but I know I want to spend it doing what I absolutely love!
Saying the first “yes” has led to a life I never could’ve dreamed up. I’m writing and directing movies! I’m acting, training, and training others. I can’t believe it, but I’m a full-fledged filmmaker now, and it’s fulfilling on a level I never could’ve imagined. I was just hoping to act, but discovering a deep love for writing and directing after saying “yes” to teaching has, I believe, completely altered the trajectory of my life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am the very proud owner of The Class Acting Studios.
My whole vision has been to try and give actors what I so desperately wish had existed when I was feebly attempting to navigate breaking into the industry. There’s so much noise out there, and aspiring actors often feel overwhelmed and confused about where to go and what to do. My mission has been to create a very clear and simple path to follow, where aspiring actors can easily build their acting careers. In addition, I want to recognize each actor as an individual with their own specific dreams and ambitions, so we tailor our programming to each student specifically. All of our scripts have, and continue to be, created by our in-house writing team. This gives students custom scripts, where they have the opportunity to work with material that grows in complexity as their skills expand as actors. This is HUGE. I believe students need to have material that eases them into acting without being overly complex beyond their current ability. I’ve never trained at any other studio that offers this kind of tailored programming. In addition, we offer a Writers and Directors Program that opens creatives up to testing out their scripts with our student actors to test their film concepts prior to production. This program gives any student the ability to learn writing and directing—even if they are brand new. That’s my heart—reaching those that have absolutely no experience, whether actors or writers and directors. Everyone starts somewhere. We are building a full-service studio experience, not only offering the main classes needed to build a reputable acting resume, but directly giving students acting opportunities on set with IMDb credit. Furthermore, once they’ve built up a great package, we can assist them in signing with a reputable talent agent. This all-inclusive experience is what sets us apart from other acting schools. Instead of creating films and then casting them, we train the actors and then CREATE the opportunities specifically for them to act on screen. We help them build impeccable acting packages over the course of their program because that’s what they’ll need to go beyond indie work and land network television and film opportunities.
Even though I am so very proud of the studio and the incredible, supportive community we are building, I am most proud of my hardworking students. Their hard work is more than paying off, with some students landing lead roles in films within only months of starting our program. It has been absolutely incredible to watch their progress from month to month. They are so talented, and most of them started classes having never had a single acting class prior. It takes courage to sign up for your first class, but—wow! The payoff has been incredible for them!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
The imposter syndrome is real! It has felt so humbling and scary to set out to teach. Saying “yes” to teaching that very first class was, I’d say, a risk. I’m also still an acting student myself, and always will be. I’m building my resume while I’m helping them build theirs.
I’m also in production on our very first studio feature film, as a first-time director. I’ve never had any formal training as a director. I’m learning while falling forward. We are also filming a documentary about the making of this first film. I wanted to be honest about our experience creating this feature film as a group of creatives fueled by passion and vision, and perhaps a lot less formal training. Perhaps the blind confidence is what propels me forward most days. I just believe in the studio, what we are doing, the students, this film, and our product so incredibly much. I truly believe that this first film is going to be incredible. We are just a small group of people who believe in what we are doing—with the common thread of figuring it all out along the way. I don’t believe you need a degree under your belt to become great at something. Experience is an incredible teacher. I’m saying “yes” to what I believe in and not allowing fear to keep me from accomplishing things that sometimes feel “too big” for me. That’s what I want to inspire others to do as well.
My perspective about risk? Well, in this case I’d say it has been more than worth it. You have one life. Don’t waste it.
Pricing:
- We offer classes for bundle rates.
- You can purchase classes for the year to secure your spot as classes sell out.
- Siblings of youth students receive an $100/month discount.
- Filmed scenes with our partnered, award winning production company are discounted for enrolled students.
- We offer Scene Classes, Meisner Technique Classes, Youth Classes, A Writers and Directors Program as well as Improv launching in the Spring!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theclass.my.canva.site/
- Instagram: @theclassactingstudios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15og8sbyZR/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: theclassactingstudios@gmail.com
