Hi! I'm Tracey Reynolds
Actor, Acting Coach, member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA, and owner of Tape With Tracey, Tampa Bay's #1 Audition Taping Service.
About Me
I started this website as a way to share what I've learned about the business of acting.
Truth? When I first started acting professionally in my twenties, I had no clue that I was a business. I just thought, I’ll move to NYC, audition a bunch, get work, and get famous. That was my plan.
Welp, that plan didn’t work out... because plans are only as good as the preparation and actions behind them. I wasn't at all prepared, and my actions were misguided. I spent my time doing what I thought I should: training, auditioning, mailing tons of resumes (yes, mailing with stamps and envelopes), booking sporadically. Most of the time I felt like a passenger in my own car with a driver who knew lots of roads but didn't know where we were going.
After 6 years of starts, stops and roundabouts, I quit. Not what you expected to hear?
Yep, I just quit. I took a safer, more navigable path... back home, back to college, and into teaching. Now, don't get me wrong. It wasn't a bad life. In fact, during that time, I raised two wonderful kids, taught many exceptional drama students, and built a successful real estate business. I felt happy. Yes, I felt happy... despite the deep and deserted hole that had been sucking bits of my soul down into it for years (what, I'm dramatic).
Then one day, while on a plane headed to Denver, it hit me like a ton of bricks, "Why did I give up on my dreams?!" I raised my kids to always follow their passions. I said things like, "Don't worry about money. Work hard on your dreams and the money will come." Now, with my oldest off to her first year in film school, and my youngest pursuing competitive MMA, I remembered someone else who really needed to hear my mom advice... ME!
And that was that. By the time that plane's wheels touched the tarmac, I was an actor in pursuit of her dreams again. I didn't know exactly how I'd begin, but I knew with certainty that I would never stop. This time, however, I would approach my acting career by applying everything I’d learned as a mom, teacher, and business owner. I made a plan, a real plan that I continue to follow daily. I set actionable goals. I researched the new industry norms and tech. I got back into training. I networked locally, then regionally, then nationally. I'll say it again, I continute to follow my business plan daily.
And guess what! I work – a lot. Way more than I did in my twenties. And boy, am I having WAY more fun doing it. Not only am I a working actor, but I'm also coaching other actors, and creating content with my daughter who is now an up and coming writer, filmmaker and recording artist. Yes, you can do and be all you want to in your life, and if you treat your dreams like a bonafide business, well, they won't be dreams anymore.
This site is my way of sharing with you what I’ve learned so far, and what I'm still learning as I continue my journey. I sincerely hope to help you in your creative journey. Feel free to contact me anytime with any of your questions.
In the words of the Spanish poet, Antonio Machado, The path is made by walking... So let's get moving!
Where Can You View My Work?
Follows case stories solved through forensics involving weather conditions that reveal vital evidence in solving murder crimes. Watch Storm of Suspicion on The Weather Channel.
One Second at a Time is a documentary about addiction and recovery, told through the story of Christine Ortoll, a young woman who fought, and ultimately lost, a ten-year battle with mental illness and substance use disorder via overdose.
Jenny a pageant queen shapes a bright future for herself despite her lower middle-class environment. But she is called to choose to run the family drug business while almost everyone is locked up.