Lynnese Page's Production Notes

Notes from a rising acting star

Lynnese on set, Photography by Gareth Smit

So frequently we place emphasis on directors, writers, and producers, but rarely do we hear about production from an actor’s perspective.

The hurdles they have to navigate are very different, and in many ways their process is foreign to me. I’ve been candid about the fact that acting is often something I think about last during the production process, something I’m actively trying to change. Actors are the main vehicle through which the story is told, and without them, we have no mirror.

This week’s Production Notes features one of my best friends from college, Lynnese Page. I don’t say this lightly: Lynnese will be the next Daniel Day-Lewis, Isabelle Huppert, and Viola Davis of our generation. Period.

A classically trained theater actress and native New Yorker, she got her start at the Harlem School of the Arts. She’s performed in productions at The Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Rogue Players Theatre, and trained under Alfred Preisser, Susan Batson, and David Deblinger. She’s a 2022 graduate of Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad program and has been featured in global fashion campaigns for Levi’s.

Lynnese also has a deeply multifaceted story.

Shortly after graduating college, she became a caregiver for her mother for 11 years, an experience that inspired her to attend nursing school. Through these experiences, she’s witnessed so many different personalities, emotions, and circumstances that she’s been able to channel into her acting. She’s fierce about not being typecast and always gravitates toward complex characters that allow her to explore the full range of human emotion and experience. She can literally become anyone. It’s actually quite scary.

In graduate school I cast Lynnese as the lead in my short film. After I screened the film, my professor pulled me aside and said, “That actress, who is she? I’ve never seen anyone like her before. She is transcendent.”

When you view her work below, I think you’ll feel the same.

(*She also just joined Substack! You can find The Actor’s Corner, here. )

Lynnese’s Production Notes

• Acting is hard. 85% of the time you’ll be ignored or told ‘no.’

• There’s this expectation that you always have to do good work, but sometimes it’s just a paycheck. Not everything is going to be an arthouse production.

• There have been many times in my life when I’ve tried to step away from acting. I wanted a predictable, safe, corporate life — but I couldn’t. That’s how you know you’re an actor: when you keep going back.

• Acting can be isolating, especially between projects. Find your community.

• I don’t like every character I play, but there’s something inside of them that’s inside of me, too.

• Be patient. Acting isn’t an overnight thing. It’s a game of luck — the right people, the right place, the right time.

• I applaud people who can be the producer, the actor, the writer — but I know what my purpose is, and it’s to act. And that’s okay. You don’t always need to be the multi-hyphenate.

• If you can, get to know the director before a production so you can pick their brain. It helps you understand what kind of filmmaker or theatre director you’ll be working with.

• When working with difficult theater directors, I used to do this thing where I would co-sign and agree with whatever they said. But when the lights go up, I’m in charge!

• Approach an audition as if you’ve already booked the project. This helps take the fear out of the process.

• Before a performance, self-isolate. Avoid speaking to anyone the day before the production.

• The work starts before the stage.

• You can learn something from every project — even the shittiest ones.