Mastering The Audition Technique with Greg Poppleton

In this episode, we explore the journey of embracing craft, community, and authenticity in acting — especially as a late bloomer. Greg Poppleton shares his unique story, blending jazz, acting, and lifelong learning, offering practical advice for actors at any stage of their career.

Key topics:

• How diverse life experiences become your greatest acting asset
• The importance of responding versus performing and the value of authenticity
• The role of community and consistent practice in acting growth
• Minimalist self-taping techniques and trusting storytelling over technical perfection
• Transitioning between stage and camera: distinguishing performance from living the character
• Embracing lifelong learning and staying curious regardless of age
• Using small exercises and micro-challenges to stay sharp between gigs
• The significance of technical skills, but prioritizing natural response and ideas
• Why variety in training methods enriches your craft, not limits it
• The power of attitude: showing up prepared, easy to work with, and authentic

Resources & Links:

• Greg Poppleton - The Authentic Jazz Singer
• The Audition Technique
• StageMilk
• Castability
• WeAudition

Connect with Greg Poppleton:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram

Final thoughts:

 This episode urges late bloomers and seasoned actors alike to stay curious, practice consistently, and remain authentic. Your lifetime of experience is not a hindrance but an asset — a reservoir from which rich, truthful performances flow. Keep learning, keep storytelling, and never stop playing.

Transcript

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David John Clark (00:00)

Good afternoon, everybody. This is the Late Bloomer Actor aka David John Clark. You know that, of course. And we're coming back for another wonderful episode of the Late Bloomer Actor podcast. Please excuse if I come across tired. I'm got a bit of jet lag. I've just got back from the States today. Well, yes, today. Today. There you go. See, that's a jet lag coming in. But we have in the room today

a friend and fellow actor that I've met in The Audition Technique that we talked about last month and we'll go in that into a minute, Mr. Greg Poppleton. His movie debut was in Moulin Rouge in 2001 in scenes with Nicole Kidman that we used in the trailer. His TV credits include Caper Crew from ABC, Mother and Son Season Two ABC, Baron's ABC, obviously the ABC love him, and many more. On stage, Greg played Joe Keller and Arthur Miller's All My Sons, the Greek philosopher

Soptoros and John Stark, that's Scott Joplin's manager in a one man show. A one man show, that is awesome with Ragtime Orchestra. He is Australia's only authentic 1920s and 30s singer and is an award winning national jazz broadcaster with over 40 years on the air. That's jazz music. We're going to talk a lot about that, and I'm really excited to talk about that. Greg grew up in Sydney, which is where he is now,

was an engineering consultant and has an honors degree in chemical engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He's also a graduate diploma in communications from the University of Technology, Sydney, which is a big segue into why he's on the show as a fellow late bloomer. Greg, welcome to the show.

Greg Poppleton (01:31)

Thank you, David, for having me on your podcast. And let's see whether that graduate diploma in communications is actually effective.

David John Clark (01:39)

I had Trudy Ager on the show last month and I wanted to chat to Yeah, and I wanted to bring on a couple of fellow Taters. Now we explained the term Tater to everyone last month, but for those that didn't listen to it, Tater is a member of The Audition Technique. Greg Apps, casting director out of Sydney, has The Audition Technique, which is where our paths have crossed. Isn't that correct?

Greg Poppleton (01:43)

Yes, I saw it. It was good.

Yeah, that's right. The Audition Technique that Greg Apps runs is an excellent online program for actors who want to develop their self-tape skills and also their character creating skills with input from a casting director who's been in the business for decades. He knows what he's looking for, so you're really getting hot tips. Everything that he says is gold.

But they're not acting lessons. Yeah.

David John Clark (02:34)

Definitely.

Because we can all act. Everyone can act. It's about bringing it to the screen. And that's what we're going to talk about a lot here today. But before we go into it, and I've did giving you a little bit of intro, but can you just tell our viewers and everyone watching or listening how you got into the world of acting and do you consider yourself a late bloomer?

Greg Poppleton (02:39)

Ha ha ha.

Well, I've never considered myself a late bloomer. Like I've never actually used that term, but I've certainly been aware that I didn't start acting until I was thirty five. That's when I got my first job. How did I start acting?

David John Clark (03:02)

Mm-hmm.

Greg Poppleton (03:12)

I have this theory and I've applied it to my own kids and it's been successful. So there's one data point in my theory. And I reflect back on my own life to develop this theory because I've been very blessed in that I'm one of those people that actually has very clear memories of earliest childhood. So I'm talking from the age of eight months to four years. Most people don't have memory of that.

David John Clark (03:40)

I don't have memory from yesterday. I don't have memory from yesterday. But that's old age, I suppose.

Greg Poppleton (03:40)

So I understand how kids sorry?

All right.

So I understand how the the world looks to children of that age and and how the brain works. And one of the things that I have concluded, whether it's true or not, but I think it's applicable, is that whatever a child does in earliest childhood.

And I think that's before the age of three years old is really what they should be doing as an adult. So in earliest childhood, I was making up stories, I was performing, I was imagining that I was on TV, I was imagining that I was on the radio, I was watching my sister do ballet. I wanted to perform.

Not that I thought that I was going to be famous or anything like that. It was just innate. However, I grew up in a family where there was, apart from my sister doing ballet, but she did that until about 16, and then she was hauled off to secretarial school and then to become a bus conductor. I was brought up in a family that had otherwise no connection to the arts whatsoever. And was very much of the view that you're either a doctor, a lawyer.

an engineer or a failure. And my father basically wanted me to become an engineer. And I thought, well, I have no way of knowing how to get into acting or into the arts or anything like that, even though

I read, I wrote, I drew. So I thought, the creative outlet is engineering. And chemical engineering excited me. And you know, in many ways it still does. In fact, just the other day, I was looking at the School of Chemical Engineering LinkedIn page for the University of New South Wales, and there was a story about a recent graduate, and I thought, ⁓ wow, that is absolutely fantastic.

She's doing all this research. This is really, really exciting. And then I caught myself and thought, nah, I've been there. And it wasn't for me because unfortunately in Australia with our small manufacturing industry and mostly dominated by transnationals, most engineers are essentially glorified clerks or managers. So there's really not much creativity there for for you to do.

David John Clark (06:00)

Too late to go back.

Greg Poppleton (06:21)

So I fortunately grew up at a time where community radio was burgeoning.

And there was a network of radio stations around Australia called Radio for the Print Handicap. You got one in Adelaide. And it just started in Sydney, 2 RPH. And I happened to be fiddling around with the radio because I listened to a lot of radio as a teenager, a lot of shortwave radio, which is how you connected with the world before the internet. And I heard the close down for 2 RPH. And

Before the close down, there was a bit of reading and from newspapers, which is what they did. And I thought, hmm, you know, that's interesting. And then I heard the announcer closing down, and he was terrible. But the closing announcement was: if you want to be a volunteer, get in touch. So I went to the phone and I rang, as you did in those days. And six months later, I got an Audition that was run by a very smarmy

Actor. And I failed the Audition because I hadn't read out loud in years and years and years. So I couldn't, I couldn't tell a story reading from a newspaper, which is a hard thing to do because newspapers are written to be read in the head, not to be read aloud. But anyhow, I didn't want to be a reader. What I wanted to be was behind the panel. I wanted to be the announcer. I wanted to be the guy that said.

David John Clark (07:45)

yeah. Mm.

Greg Poppleton (07:59)

You've just heard a rebroadcast. That's all I wanted to do. And that's what I got. So I learned the technical skills. And because 2RPH had just started up, I ended up combined with working as an engineer in the day. I calculated I was doing 23 hours a week of volunteering, writing scripts, performing characters, doing all kinds of shows.

Plus panel operating and and also doing their closedown. So I was their closedown voice because at that time the station only operated a few hours a day. And then that led me to another community radio station called 2SER, where I still am, where I do broadcast The Phantom Dancer, which is now networked around Australia. Your nonstop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s to 1960s radio and TV.

David John Clark (08:31)

Mm.

yeah.

Greg Poppleton (08:57)

And I started writing scripts there. I had a quiz program called Word Sports, and I ran that for two years. And I also ran that at a local pub called the Harold Park Hotel, which was a literary hub at the time. It was one of the three main literary venues around the world. If you were a big writer, you read at the Harold Park Hotel.

David John Clark (09:19)

Wow.

Greg Poppleton (09:23)

And I was the MC. And every three months I'd have a big Word Sports Cup where there would be a team from the ABC, a team from a few of the local papers. I think there was a team from Triple J, and they would compete against each other on stage. I was the host for Word Sports. And then from that, I started doing the Poetry Cup for the Sydney Riders Festival.

David John Clark (09:45)

Right.

Greg Poppleton (09:50)

And so I was building up a body of work. Plus, I was also the first English language broadcaster on SBS radio, where by that time I was working professionally. Professionally. So community radio had allowed me to leave engineering, which is what I wanted to do by the age of 28 after I'd become a consultant. And I was working at SBS as a panel operator. And the first SBS voice in Darwin. Hey, there's a niche.

David John Clark (10:17)

Nice.

Greg Poppleton (10:19)

With that body of work, working at 2 RPH and teaching someone panel operating one night, this person who was from the ABC said, there's a cattle call for a children's show. And I think you should go for it. And I'd never been to an Audition before. So I went to this cattle call. There were hundreds of people there for a children's show.

I was there for two hours or so, three hours maybe, just for the first round. Everybody had I think it was about a minute in front of the camera where they had two tasks to do. That was the first thing. Well, I was eliminated in the first round, but I got and heard it. I I heard everybody. And it was fascinating, you know, for a children's show, there were six people out of those hundreds who said how much they hated kids.

David John Clark (11:11)

At an Audition. Jeez.

Greg Poppleton (11:12)

Yeah. At an

Audition. But the guy who got it, I remember his Audition clearly because he was entirely different from everybody else. He was not only personable, but he was also obviously someone who didn't think inside the square. He he he I won't say what it is that he said, but he did say something.

David John Clark (11:36)

Nice.

Greg Poppleton (11:42)

That had to do with a performance that he'd recently been at in Western Australia or performed at. And the comment that he made about that performance was so outside the political niche at that time, but delivered with such natural empathy that even I in the in the back rows was thinking

yeah, this guy is interesting. And this guy ended up getting the gig. And the gig was the afternoon show on the ABC, and the person was that wonderful broadcaster, the late James Valentine. But following that

David John Clark (12:24)

only recently

l we only and we only just recently lost him didn't we?

Greg Poppleton (12:27)

That's right, we did, which was which was very sad. He's a really wonderful person and a great loss. A great loss. And also an excellent jazz tenor saxophonist, which and it was good that he continued with jazz after his rock career and while he was still a broadcaster. After that, I was pointed to a newspaper ad for another Cattle Call.

David John Clark (12:34)

Mm, definitely. Definitely.

Greg Poppleton (12:55)

And this was in the early nineties, about the time, let's see. The World Wide Web had been established. You know, the internet's been around for decades and decades, but the World Wide Web, where we can do what we're doing now, really only started around 1992 when HTML was written. And very few people were on the World Wide Web. But

Some of the some of the big broadcasters were starting to think, there's some opportunities here. And a fellow called Simon Townsend, who did a very important children's show called Wonderworld, was auditioning for an interactive kids show on Channel 7. And I went for that.

There were also hundreds of people there, but this time I got into the final round. I got into the final 20. And for the males, that's as far as they went because they ran out of time. But I got a call from the producer and she said, We like what you did. You got a good face for radio, get an agent. And I was so naive, I was so naive that I still remember waiting for a booking at SBS Radio. So in the studio, waiting for the next broadcaster to come to record them.

David John Clark (13:53)

Nice.

Greg Poppleton (14:16)

Picking up the phone and talking to ringing one of the top agents of the time, Hilary Lindstead, who was very nice. I just found her out of the Yellow Pages. I wouldn't have known who she was from Adam, and said, This is what the producer said. I'm looking for an agent. And she very kindly, very patiently told me how to go about it. And eventually I did find an agent. And unusually, I found an agent.

Before I had even learnt to act. And that was the age at 34, and I booked my first job a year later. I really needed to learn how to act. So I did do some acting classes at the suggestion of a casting consultant because you would go

As a recently hired client of a casting agent, you would be sent off for go see. And go see's were where you personally would meet the casting consultant. And the casting consultant would give you a script. In fact, I met Greg Apps that way, would give you a script, and you would go through the script. Some casting consultants would just look at you and say, Yep.

You're good. That was one casting consultant. She ended up giving me lots of work. And but this particular casting consultant said to me, Hmm, you have an interesting face. You have a depth in your eyes. I like what you did, but you need to learn to act and you need to do yoga. Yoga. Yeah. For movement, for movement. So yeah, yeah, yeah. So I ended up taking the acting lessons, which which really helped.

David John Clark (15:53)

Yoga.

That's the Okay, fair enough.

Greg Poppleton (16:04)

And I did a few weeks of yoga, but I found it made me really tense and clenching my jaw. So I I stopped that. So there we go. There's about a quarter of your podcast done. There's there's the story. But the essential essence of that story is, and I say this to to medical students, I say this to

David John Clark (16:15)

I love it.

Greg Poppleton (16:28)

Legal students who have gone through their degrees and they've said, I don't know if this is for me. My advice is complete your degree because that's how you learn a certain way of thinking. For chemical engineers, we learn how to work things out from first principles. It's very, very logical and very, very handy. Learn those techniques and then reflect on what is it that you

really wanted to do in earliest childhood, what's your natural ability? And to lead a happy life, you've got to do what you are good at, because then you will want to grow, you will enjoy it, and you will be useful to yourself and to the people around you.

David John Clark (17:16)

Love that. I love that. Now now Greg, you haven't touched on it yet. I've I've I'm gonna go into a question that sort of brings both your jazz background and acting together. But you've I've been reading online and and if in answering this question you can give us a bit of a an intro into your jazz side of things and and how and why you do that. But in both your music and your acting.

You've stated that you lean heavily into raw simplicity. So for your nineteen twenties jazz albums you use minimal editing and single vintage microphone and for your self tapes you've mentioned keeping it simple by using just a phone, a microphone, stand and natural light. So a lot of late bloomers often think they need thousands of dollars in studio equipment or high tech lighting setups to be taken seriously by casting directors. What did your training with Greg Apps and any other training teach you about why the industry values this raw, this

imaginative storytelling over expensive technical production.

Greg Poppleton (18:11)

Because the art that we are in, or the art that we are creating, is is it's it's all about storytelling. That's that's that's the simple answer.

David John Clark (18:23)

Mm.

Greg Poppleton (18:27)

It kind of depends on the room that you have for self-taping when we get technical. If you if you have sufficient natural light, like I've got a big window over this side and I put on the overhead light here, you're fine. I don't have a screen. That yellow wall is fine. This is postage stamp size. This is where I do the self-tape. There are some limitations to it, but I've gotten work here. I have to take this this bookcase down.

David John Clark (18:31)

Course.

Greg Poppleton (18:53)

There's a lot of shifting around for me before I can actually do a self-tape. I personally, because I've read for well about 1300 or so people now over the past few years, mostly actors in America. And I find no difference between those who have impressive technical setups and those who just have

David John Clark (19:04)

Wow.

Greg Poppleton (19:19)

non-distracting background with sufficient light. In fact, my prejudice is that sometimes people with very big setups are less comfortable in front of camera than those people that can just quickly throw something up because they're so involved in the technical aspects where really

The only technical aspect they I think that they need to be involved in is storytelling and the frame. And that's it. The other thing I'll just very, very quickly say, and it's it's easier said than done, but it's certainly a mantra that I have. It's not about how good your setup is, but you don't want your setup to be distracting, so long as it works for you.

David John Clark (19:52)

Mm, definitely.

Greg Poppleton (20:15)

Branding is ridiculous. It's an absolute nonsense. It's all about the quality of the work. If you present self-tapes that help the casting consultant, that make the casting consultant look good by telling the story, and this also supports your agent, if you do that, if you're on set and you're a nice person.

And you're efficient. There's no attitude. When you're told to stand on your mark, you stand on your mark. There's no wandering off, all that sort of thing. If you make life easy for the crew who are lugging heavy equipment and working long days, often in under stressful conditions, as far as heat and cold and wind and rain and

David John Clark (21:08)

Mm-hmm.

Greg Poppleton (21:14)

If you make life easy for everybody, then I think you increase the likelihood of being asked to create another character to populate a movie or a TV series because people want to work with you.

David John Clark (21:33)

That's perfectly said. It's almost like I'm talking to Greg Apps himself. I can see where that has affected your your decisions and your processes for acting. So do you do you say that with your acting now that everything that you've got professionally and where you're going and I know your journey is really moving forward is as a background of Greg Apps or is it a

encompasses so much more as well. How much do you lean on what you've taken away from Greg Apps and the The Audition Technique? Because I know myself, I call Greg a mentor because that's he started on my journey. I think it was one of the first rooms I walked into when I started acting and I've just moved on from there and there and just done everything. And I I know you've probably followed the similar journey. What do you think of that?

Greg Poppleton (22:19)

Well, David, I say that you're very fortunate that Greg Apps appeared in your journey very, very early on. Because it means then that you learned good techniques and it means that you didn't have to unlearn bad habits. Greg Apps and The Audition Technique, his self-taping school and creating compelling characters has been.

David John Clark (22:26)

Mm, thank you.

Greg Poppleton (22:45)

Fundamental. It it's made a a a big change in I suppose, you know, my score rate. And and look, let's be honest, I am a jobbing actor, right? I'm not somebody who is the star in TV series. I'm the and I'm not the fifty word, I'm not the fifty-worder or the background guy. I'm the the guy that comes on as a character and

does a couple of scenes and a tv series.

I'd be the you know fifty worder in a in a movie and I do TV commercials and also I do the improvisational, you know, paid work. So I'm very fortunate in that I'm able to do sufficient acting that I'm able to make a living. So that's that's you know, so I'm very, very fortunate. And Greg Aps and his

David John Clark (23:21)

Nice.

Nice. Nice. Hmm.

Greg Poppleton (23:41)

insights have just very much helped in freeing my imagination. Because not only does he describe the you know some gives feedback as far as technical technical issues with regards to self-taping and framing and options about what you can do and moving in the frame and so forth. But these

things are freeing, and they're freeing in two ways. Number one, we actually know from a very, very successful casting consultant what it is that they're looking for. So actors do tend to talk amongst themselves and create rules. Well, a lot of these rules are really a nonsense.

David John Clark (24:33)

I love it.

Greg Poppleton (24:34)

And the other thing is that now that you know that you can move in the frame, but that the movement has to tell the story. It's not movement for just because I feel like it. It has to tell the story. So now that you know that you can do that, now that you know that you can look in any direction, that you don't have to freeze.

David John Clark (24:43)

Definitely.

Greg Poppleton (24:58)

That you know, creating a character is not about putting on a funny moustache or all that sort of thing, but just sufficient to suggest whatever it is, the social class, the age of the character, the location of the character, or you know, all these, all these things. I've found that well, I I think the results are that I have been getting more work, but most importantly.

For me, you know, because you gotta eat, most importantly for me, is that I'm actually enjoying what I'm doing. I don't find it a chore. I find it it's almost become like play. Even though even though there is a certain amount of anxiety and tension because you think, ⁓ I'd really like to do this job and I and and that horrible thing which

David John Clark (25:31)

Course.

Greg Poppleton (25:57)

artists shouldn't be thinking, and that is, I hope they like it. See, that's death. You've got to do it for hey, this is what I think the character is. You don't in a humble way, not in an arrogant way. This is who this is who the character is.

David John Clark (26:04)

Definitely.

Greg Poppleton (26:18)

I present this. Take it or leave it, but I've done my best. I've done my best for you. Right? So you know that I have prepared. You know that I have studied the script. I've studied the character. I've thought about the background. I've thought about what it is that I want, all those technical things. I haven't just slovenly put something together.

And I've presented something that if it passes muster, then you can pass on to a producer and it makes you look good. I said thank you, casting director, for showing me this tape. This actor's interesting. We'll call him back.

David John Clark (27:00)

I love it. I love it. Now when you're on stage as in your role as a jazz singer and that, I've I did do some reading that you are yourself when you're on stage and you're presenting. And then your acting is is playing characters and you don't like the two to mold. Now, Greg Apps once told me, he says, David, I don't want to see David Clark the actor. I wanna see David Clark, but playing the character. How do you

Greg Poppleton (27:10)

Mm.

David John Clark (27:27)

How do you mold or if you do or you don't, your your jazz singing approach, which is artistic and it's presenting and it's staging? And I did read that you were there. It's a very improv can be an improvisation thing too, that back in the twenties they used to change it according to what the audience wants. So do you see that crossing over into your acting world? Or is it two different artistic approaches? Mm-hmm.

Greg Poppleton (27:50)

It's two different artistic approaches.

Performing on stage as a singer with a band is performance. Performance on stage as an actor or in front of a camera is death.

You don't perform in front of a camera, I believe. You don't perform in the theater on stage. You tell the story, you live the character, you stay in the moment. Performing is an entirely different kettle of fish. Performing is a relationship between you and the audience, which is heightened. Now, of course, in theater, there is a relationship

between you and the audience. The audience has to be drawn in. On stage, of course, the audience has to be drawn in, but you have to create a persona, you have to create an energy, not

Loud it depends on the genre of music, but actually being quiet is very, very successful, draws people in. But you have to do that to create a show. And look, jazz shows are one of these drop-in kind of affairs. A jazz gig often goes for three hours. That's long, you know. So, you know, people drop in, drop out.

David John Clark (29:19)

Yes.

Greg Poppleton (29:25)

People might be there for for the whole three hours. It all depends. So you've got to be, as you know, American jazz people say, you've got to be on. So I suppose in your question, there's a bit of a trick of language there in how I describe myself as being myself on stage when I sing the swing and jazz of the 1920s and 1930s. I avoid saying that I play a character because I deliberately don't play a character.

Character. But what I do is I bring out a part of myself that loves, you know, that music. And the thing that is unique about the way that I sing, which is why I call myself Australia's only authentic 1920s and 30s swing and jazz singer, is that, and this is related to acting, it's the music that I've been listening to since earliest childhood. When I first saw Lewis Armstrong on TV at the age of three, I can remember it.

David John Clark (30:18)

Nice.

Greg Poppleton (30:23)

And that's when I started listening to this music. And so I've absorbed it over the years. When I sing it, I can't help sounding like a 20s and 30s singer. As many people over the decades have said, usually these people come to see whether I use some kind of filter on the mic or something like that. But no, I sing in an Australian accent, I sing in the style authentically, and

David John Clark (30:43)

Wow.

Greg Poppleton (30:52)

that in itself creates a character. So here's a question for you. And that is, or a question to for me also to think about. And that is then, well.

Is that then creating a character? Well, I think it is. Because, in my view,

If a character has a purpose

If a character has a heart, if a character has a certain way of thinking, if a character has certain principles, if a character has certain ways of singing, certain ways of talking, certain ways of moving, certain ways of addressing the audience, certain ways of subverting the politeness and and and niceness that might be expected in old jazz and revealing

how it actually was in the twenties and thirties, not through lecturing, but just saying, hey, you know, people had fun on stage. They weren't all stiff black and white phototypes. Then I think I've created a character. Unfortunately, for advertising purposes, I have to keep things simple. I that's a very convoluted answer, but anyway, make of it as you will.

David John Clark (32:05)

No, no, I

I like that. And you know, it's interesting. We all bring different things into our acting, you know, and we have to draw on different experiences. And as my podcast, from my point of view, being a late bloomer actor, and I've spoken spoken to a lot of late bloomer actors, and we've done some comparisons between young actors who are studying at university now about what you can bring to this role or a role.

Greg Poppleton (32:16)

Hm.

David John Clark (32:34)

Now it's really would be really hard in my opinion and from what I've seen for a twenty three year old actor straight out of university to bring the depth of emotion to a character that's suffering love or l or or death or so those strong emotions th that older actors like ourselves, regardless of a background, regardless of whether you're nineteen twenties jazz singer or an engineer or in my case, you know,

thirty-four year veteran in the public service. We have different experiences. We've gone through things. Do you see that difference between young and older actors? And obviously in the Audition Technique we have fellow younger actors on there. Do you feel that would be true? Or as Greg puts it, he can mould us all into that ability to deliver the character?

Greg Poppleton (33:22)

That's a that's a very, very good question. I see it as that we I see it that we come from different starting points. The advantage of starting young, particularly if you start really young, say if you start from the age of six, is that the mind is still plastic, you still have that ability to imagine and play, and you don't have the inhibitions to play what you perceive to be a grandmother.

David John Clark (33:25)

Thank you.

Greg Poppleton (33:52)

Or to play what you might perceive to be a coal miner, or play what you perceive to be a doctor. You know, you would just do it. And you would do it through imagination and observation, which is what acting should be. Those people who start very young, if they manage to survive the training and the auditioning and the process of acting

through their teenage years, I think by and large become very good natural actors if they wish to pursue it. And certainly those people who then go on to formal training, well then they're in an even better position because they are learning the craft. And like any profession,

Well, it's a profession, right? And it's a profession that you have to learn.

Acting there's a certain natural ability, but there are like in sport, like in any skill that uses the mind and the body, there must be training. And training to improve so and this refers to what Greg was saying about anyone can play anything, if I understood what you were

saying or I'm paraphrasing that, broadening your range. Craft broadens your range. Now, for people like us who started acting later in life,

we do bring a lot of experience. Absolutely. Experience that younger people don't have. And that makes it easier for us to play things like fathers and managers and lawyers and judges and and so forth. But it doesn't mean that younger people can't do that. But what older people

David John Clark (35:56)

Of course.

Greg Poppleton (35:59)

really need is craft and good acting lessons. And good acting lessons are very, very thin on the ground. So I do think that the younger, I think the younger people have the range. Absolutely I do. But back in my day, but look, it all does come down to range and the quality of work. And

David John Clark (36:17)

Yeah, yeah, it's

Back in my day,

Greg Poppleton (36:29)

For both, it also comes down to practicing every day. Simple as that. You've got to practice every day. And the technology now allows us to do that. So you can get a monologue and you can study it every day and you can put it in front of your computer. You can film yourself, you know, on on quick time, or you can use your camera and you can look at it back critically. Yeah. Or yeah. sorry.

David John Clark (36:52)

Definitely. Yeah. Yeah, and

I was just gonna say there, because there's I know he hasn't done it for a little while, but Greg's used to have the weekly character challenges, which you've you've you did regularly and you played anything from political prisoner to abstract roles. A lot of late bloomers only act when they get an official Audition, which leaves them feeling rusty. And that's probably not just that late bloomers, a lot of actors do that. How important do you think how

Greg Poppleton (37:16)

Yeah.

David John Clark (37:18)

it has been for your growth to use these sixty second micro challenges as a safe gym to an experiment, fail, and to keep your acting muscles warm between these professional gigs. That's what you were sort of leaning into there about having doing something regular, not as a training purpose, but doing the do, so to speak. Mm.

Greg Poppleton (37:36)

That's right. Well, see, they're

good because they keep you accountable. It means that you avoid self indulgence. It means that if there's any habits creeping in, bad habits creeping in, that they can be spotted by a professional eye and you can be reminded. Because one of the unusual things about the arts is we can rattle off all the things that you're supposed to do. But when it actually comes to doing it, it's naturally human

to do whatever is easiest. So therefore, we may find that we may not do all the things that we know that we are supposed to do because at that particular time, it kind of feels good to do this. So it is good to have that professional feedback. However, that's not enough. I think if you have actually have a good acting teacher, you are lucky. One of the red flags for an acting school.

If you're an acting class and you go up and do a scene and at the end of the scene everybody goes

Leave it. That's a joke. Right? Acting classes is not about therapy. It's not about ego stroking. It's like a gym. Acting classes, you're there to fail. That's what you're there to do, because you can only learn by failing. Likewise, ideally, like I do this with singing, I do my scales every day, and I do

some aspect of acting every day. Every day. Could be learning a monologue, could be analyzing a scene, could be doing Chekhov exercises, movement, right? Any of these things. Because you never know when the phone is going to call. And we're in a such a small industry, David. Yeah, it's it's not like that we'd be doing you know films and and TV and and on set doing ads.

And and doing like in America, where they may be doing five or six auditions a week, we don't have that here. Right? So you've got to be ready. And as Michael Cain said, he said, somebody had questioned him, you know, why do you do so many bad films? Words to that effect. And and he said, Well, while I'm doing those films.

I'm developing my skills. Because on the last good film I was on, when I see those actors again come back on set, they are so rusty.

So you don't wanna be rusty. You gotta be ready when opportunity arrives.

David John Clark (40:26)

And I suppose in your singing career you would see that as well if you took would there be a period of time where you you would know that I've lost a little bit there? ⁓ because it's

Greg Poppleton (40:35)

absolutely. Absolutely.

You've got to practice every day. You you've got

David John Clark (40:39)

It's a like the American

accent, isn't it? You might have it down pat, but if you're not practicing that over and over, you take six weeks off and then you get that call for an Audition, you're it's almost like you're starting again, isn't it?

Greg Poppleton (40:47)

Mm.

That's a very, very good point because I am my American accent is terrible. And

David John Clark (40:56)

I'm glad there's another person that could join the club with me. I like to

say I'm tone deaf. I just can't get it. But again it comes down to I don't think I spend enough time doing it. Hmm.

Greg Poppleton (41:04)

Exactly. I

look, I I haven't spent enough time doing it. I I I did do months and months and months of of online training. I did for for All My Sons go to a professional accent coach and and learn an accent, but I stupidly did not keep that that accent up. So that really goes back to how you have to train every day and

David John Clark (41:23)

Okay.

Greg Poppleton (41:32)

With regards to language, whether it's an accent or learning a new accent or or learning a new language.

You have to you have to speak out loud. There's no other way of learning it.

David John Clark (41:46)

We can't learn to sing in your head can you? Hm.

Greg Poppleton (41:48)

No, a

and likewise you can't learn to act in your head either. You can read as many books as you like, but and that's good. Acting books, that's fine. But it's passive. You have to put it on your feet. Now, the other thing, just harking back to something that you just a point in your last question, and that is with regards to American accent. Yeah, it's all very well listening to some tape and repeating it.

But without accountability, without somebody checking and going, you know, that's not that's not right, well, you're learning bad habits. And this is one of the problems about practicing at home, whether it's singing or whether it's acting, you can still develop bad habits. So you still need, I believe, you still need to practice plus, plus, go to acting classes. Reputable, good acting classes.

Where you can put what you've practiced on your feet and get feedback. Because what you could end up doing if you just practice in your bedroom by your own on your own is

basically learn bad habits because we will go down the the common human pathway and that is to take the easiest path. Hm.

David John Clark (43:05)

Yeah.

Now do you think obviously we've got time constraints and money constraints and everything like that. With your acting classes and then Audition training that like Greg gets, which one do you think we should be doing both of them all the time or just acting classes to build that base up and then come back to it every now and then, or do you think you should always be doing acting training and then always be doing Audition training, whether that's

your own self tapes and stuff like that.

Greg Poppleton (43:31)

Yeah, I think you should always be doing acting training and you should always be doing Audition training. As far, I mean, and as you say, it comes down to monetary constraints. But in an ideal world, you should at least be doing one acting class a week. And when you can, you should be putting yourself up online for an Audition challenge. And and you certainly

David John Clark (43:41)

Course.

Greg Poppleton (43:55)

should be becoming a member of the Audition Technique and listen to Greg's monthly podcasts, like his last one about the eight points about auditions is fantastic.

David John Clark (44:06)

Definitely.

Mm, definitely. I I'd actually jumped in on online with that. I was over I was in in the States but I was traveling, so I got maybe ten minutes of it. But it is about being part of that community and and Greg Apps is it is that community. Yes, you've got to pay for it. You've got to pay for everything. You know, people don't do these things for free. COVID's gone. No one's doing anything for free anymore. But it's about finding it and it's not necessarily you don't have to join Greg Apps community. There is plenty of other similar.

Greg Poppleton (44:27)

Exactly.

David John Clark (44:38)

Stagemilk is one that I've done, you know. That same environment where you get that face-to-face feedback. I'm with Castability over in the States now where you can submit self-tapes and there's casting directors actually rating them in like an Audition simulator sense. So you're actually getting feedback back, but it's about putting something to tape. And not only you're seeing your response, but you're getting someone else's feedback. Because I don't know if you've

You probably agree with me, but we saw it along is it the voice or one of the the voice or Australian Idol, one of those ones where they they do those open casting calls and people just off the street, they haven't been auditioned it yet. They just let anyone come on and they think they can sing. You know, those ones that come up, they're just you say, my god, you're embarrassing yourself. But a lot of them actually think they can sing because their mum and their grandma and and their brothers and sisters have said you you're a great singer. And that's sad.

And I worry about that sometimes with my acting, going, is everyone just telling me that I'm okay or I'm good or I'm or do I suck? And that's why it's good to have that feedback from professionals like Greg or Stage Milk or Castability, whatever your method is. So I love that you've really focused on that. Thank you.

Greg Poppleton (45:44)

Good.

Yeah, there's a blues singer that I first did singing lessons with called Kate Dunbar, and she said, never believe the hype, never believe the publicity. And that's true. And with regards to those people that you know believe they have good voices and they go and Audition for all these T V programs, well, there's not much difference between them and us.

Or there's not much difference between them and me, anyhow, which is why I feel it's so important to continue training, to continue going to that gym. Because we can we can delude ourselves. I know that's a harsh word, and think that we've reached a certain peak, a certain level, because in other acting classes people have gone

And the acting teacher who wants your money for the next course has gone, that's really good, Greg. That's really, really good. But going to Greg Apps and Stage Milk and Castability, which I've done, is very, very instructive. Greg Apps is Greg Apps, because he gives specific feedback, I think is is is much more useful. Castability

Ranks your Audition, but the ranking is honest because with regards to being deluded. I have sent in self tapes to Castability and thought, this is really good. You know, I put prep, I prepared, I put a lot of work into it, right? And I sent it off, thought this is really good. And I've come back with the lowest score. Hmm. Interesting. But I keep those on, I keep those on file.

And I usually look at them once about six months later because time is the best editor. And I can see why it was a one. And those that I get a five for, which is the highest, when I look back six months later, I go, yeah, yeah, yeah, I can see that. There's a certain quality. And the quality is that the performance draws you in.

David John Clark (47:47)

Definitely.

Mm. well that's that's nice. Mm-hmm.

Definitely. And the good thing with the Castability as well is that you can actually see the person that won. So you get to compare what what that the person and we're not saying there's a big difference is they might have won by one or two points. So which is what auditions are. We lose most of our auditions not because we suck, but because they needed someone with blue eyes. Or you might be slightly too tall to go with the wife that they're putting you with on the scene. It's not about your acting. So that's also a good aspect to see that side of things. I love that.

Greg Poppleton (48:14)

Yeah.

The other thing very very quickly with that kind of a self-assessment and accountability through say Castability is that what you learn is how important it is not to show the Technique. And that's hard right? And not to show your preparation, not to show all the work that you've done right just to throw it all away and be in the moment opposite your reader.

David John Clark (48:52)

Definitely. Hm.

Hmm. Hmm. Awesome. And as we wind up, I wanted to quickly ask you in relation to things like, you know, some of the the technical aspects of of learning lines. As a singer, you've got to learn lines. I mean, once you mostly with music, once you know your songs, you know your songs. But is there a similar Technique into learning a new song to learning a script? Or d is it is it completely different? Because one is just learning the I mean songs, songs have got emotion and character and storylines, same as a script.

Greg Poppleton (49:16)

Mm.

Yeah, see songs have a constraint in them because well with jazz and swing anyway, you have a melody in which you are contained. So you've just got to be careful or aware, but it's the same with acting, not to let the emotion overblow story, destroy the melody. Because scripts have a music in them too.

And if you go about forcing the emotion, if you go about stressing words and huffing and puffing and doing those Hollywood sighs, well, you destroy the music. So there is there is a similarity. With regards to learning lines, I personally find it really hard. It's a hard grind. And I just have to go over and go over and go over. I use my imagination to see images. That that helps. I

understand the story. I do things like paraphrasing the story, but often I find

getting that script down. It doesn't have to be word perfect, but it's gotta be for an Audition. But you don't want to lose the meaning. I think it's preferable to be word perfect. I mean, if you make a mistake in the Audition, that's fine, but you must respect the writer. The writer has put all those words and punctuation in for a reason. Then they're not

David John Clark (51:03)

We don't

change it we don't change the words of a song. No one does. We all learn a song rote, don't we? So why would you even consider doing that for script?

Greg Poppleton (51:11)

That's right. But if but if for some reason you forget some of the words, if you know the story well enough, you can make them up and the words will will fit in the story. But you've always got to respect the the writer. So yeah, I I find for me it's a case of repetition, repetition, repetition. I have tried other tricks which are based on on neurology, such as

David John Clark (51:32)

Yeah.

Greg Poppleton (51:39)

how to put it simply, increasing the amount of endorphin in the brain after a bout of learning so that the neural pathways in that learning process become fixed. So you might do that by doing you know, push-ups or some quick high-intensity exercise. The human body is conditioned for this sort of thing. If you want to teach somebody something,

David John Clark (51:53)

Interesting.

Greg Poppleton (52:05)

in an oral society, then what would usually happen is some kind of initiation and that pain would cement the idea.

David John Clark (52:16)

Hmm. I think it's also about it's about making finding a way to once you start to learn those lines about delivering them while you're doing something else as well. That's how that to get that learning out and to make it natural. Jeff Seymour aka The Real Life Actor, he has a Technique where he says once you've got the lines pretty much in your head, then you've got to go and do your scene or or do your monologue while getting a a a shuffled pair of cards and putting them all in order. So you're

Greg Poppleton (52:25)

Mm.

David John Clark (52:43)

sitting there putting them in order, but delivering your lines. And it's the same thing as if you're going for a run or weightlifting, trying to deliver that. Another Technique is we all get into a routine of delivering our lines at one pace, the way I'm talking now. But if I want to talk really fast, I can talk really fast and it comes out natural. But are you able to do that with your script? Because you might get on set and they all of a sudden say, We've changed the tone of this whole story. You are now angry or we want this fast pace. So you'd now the

need to be able to switch on a dime with that as well. They're they're all little techniques as well. Hmm. Hmm.

Greg Poppleton (53:15)

And they are all good techniques,

but I think there is a trap to them in in how they're thought about. I think they're good for tests. And I certainly think tests as in to discover how well you know the dialogue. But I really don't believe that they are a way to learn because they are tricks. The great actors, say for example, Alec Guinness.

David John Clark (53:19)

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Okay, that makes sense.

Greg Poppleton (53:43)

Judy Dench, they have photographic memories. And the key is that they can access the dialogue so naturally, so quickly, that if you gave them a deck of cards, they they would they would shuffle and be able to rattle off the lines. You you you sort of you sort of see the difference. If you make the focus, I believe, I've got to learn the lines while shuffling cards, well, then.

David John Clark (53:46)

Yeah.

Greg Poppleton (54:11)

You've made it all about the lines. But we're not I believe dialogue is not about the lines, it's about the ideas.

David John Clark (54:24)

To having that broader, overarching understanding of the scene and the the character that you're in, then learn the lines and let the lines mold into that understanding and it should then come out naturally, like me and you were talking now. I love that.

Greg Poppleton (54:37)

Yeah, because certainly, you know, when I'll practice a monologue and when I first start learning a monologue, yeah, it's pretty constipated. But then I might leave it and go on to something else, and then I'm walking along the street and it comes to mind and I you know, I'll go through it and I think, well, that's really natural. And I've found real I and I found new things. Oh so that's why.

David John Clark (54:46)

Yeah. It's a good word for it. Hmm.

Greg Poppleton (55:03)

They use that word here to describe this here. I missed that idea. And it comes down then to see, it's all about ideas. And theater actors will say this all the time. They'll say, with every performance, I learned something new. And some great theater actors have said, for some of their most iconic characters, I never got into it. As in, I never fully understood. I wasn't satisfied. I was searching and finding and searching and finding every night.

Again, when it comes to all these tricks to learning lines, sure. Fine, they're good, right? But you've got to keep in mind they're tricks. They're tests. They're not a means to an end.

David John Clark (55:50)

Mm. And and everything works differently for everyone. And that's why I talked with my son who's studying at the moment, acting, and it's about building your toolbox up and people giving you access to these tools and then working out what works for you, throw out the ones that don't work for you and having that quorum out. This one's gonna work for this, but it won't work for this situation, and and knowing what what's good for you, isn't it? And and what's one good thing that's for you might not be good for me. So that makes perfect sense. Mm.

Greg Poppleton (56:11)

Developing your craft.

Exactly. And very briefly

on that point, I really dislike the battle of the acting gurus. I do Meisner Technique, I do practical aesthetics, I do this, I do that. To hell with it. It's all a nonsense. What you gotta do is tell the story. Now, as you say, if a particular Technique helps you to tell that story, that's good. But if I'm acting opposite some Meisner person, right, and they're in their head

David John Clark (56:20)

Mm.

Greg Poppleton (56:47)

that it's all about shaping a scene rather than being in the moment. Well, it's hard work.

David John Clark (56:55)

I love that. Mm. Yeah. Finding your niche, finding your way to deliver. And hey, if Meisner does it for you, that's fine. But you need to be able to know that you can pull something else out of the toolbox when that doesn't work. But

Greg Poppleton (57:09)

Because it's

because it's not about you, it's about the other actor. It's about the other character and it's about the story.

David John Clark (57:18)

I love that. Thank you very much, Greg, as we wind up. We've just gone over an hour. But I think we've pretty much touched on everything that I wanted to, especially about that that that craft of acting and having that community that we're involved with, you know, from Greg Apps and the Audition Technique to keep your acting journey.

going forward. So is there anything else that we haven't touched on that you would like to to touch on before we wind up?

Greg Poppleton (57:43)

Yeah, just to to add to what you've just said, which I think is really, really good.

It's all about recognizing that we're, and this is the term that I believe you created: late bloomers, that we are late bloomers, but it is never too old to learn. You're never too old to learn. And life is a process of learning. A happy life is where.

You continually learn. So never ever limit yourself because you think, I'm becoming too old, my hair's gone gray, I'm going wrinkly, people don't like booking old people. Don't do that. Keep on going. Because yeah, if if you're someone who's seeking fame, well, by this age, you'd be out of the business. Right?

David John Clark (58:31)

Yeah. Yeah.

Greg Poppleton (58:32)

But if you're someone who does it for the love of acting, the love of the craft, the love of imagination, the love of storytelling, you know, meeting you know wonderful people such as yourself, David, and and and and everyone who works in the industry, both in front of and behind the camera, in front of the curtain and behind the curtain, going to wonderful places that you otherwise would never have gone before, both

David John Clark (58:45)

Thank you.

Greg Poppleton (58:59)

in your imagination and also physically, you know, visiting mansions and castles and whatever else that and huge sound stages where these places are set. Well, you know, open yourself up to it.

David John Clark (59:13)

It's beautiful. And that's what we that's what I teach on this podcast. And I say it pretty much every episode, the moment you stop having fun doing this, go and find something else to do.

Greg Poppleton (59:23)

Exactly. You you're no you're no use to yourself or anyone. I the moment I stopped having fun being an engineer, it was time to go.

David John Clark (59:30)

Move on. Awesome. Well, Greg, thank you very much. Now I have a tradition on the show that I've been doing for a few years now. I like to ask my guests what is their t shirt quote? So something that they would like to put on a t shirt. I've got Top Gun at the moment 'cause I've just come back from San Diego. I was very fortunate to go to the Top Gun Cafe where the great balls of fire scene was filmed. So I've got the wonderful shirt. And if I turn around, everyone can see. ⁓

Greg Poppleton (59:42)

Yeah.

wonderful. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David John Clark (59:56)

So wanted

to wear that 'cause I just got back. But what would your T shirt quote be? Doesn't have to be acting related, doesn't have to be movie related or or your singing related. It has to be something that you'd be willing to put on a shirt that had a message that you wanted to put out there.

Greg Poppleton (1:00:10)

Well, Dave, I don't want to sound a bit of a downer, but I don't like any logos on t-shirts. The re now What I mean is I don't like wearing t-shirts with logos. I have no problem with people wearing t-shirts with logos. But the reason why I but the reason why my t-shirt would be blank is that I'm not interested

David John Clark (1:00:23)

Fair enough. Mm-hmm.

Good. I'll put that back up.

Greg Poppleton (1:00:39)

in carrying other people's ideas or advertising other people's ideas or businesses. I don't want some quote from another person to be the first impression that defines who I am.

David John Clark (1:01:00)

Nice. And you know what? That that in itself answers the question because that that's what I'm it's it's that t shirt quote is it's not necessary meaning we're putting on a t-shirt, but it's something that you want to tell people and you've just done that. And I love it. So thank you very much, Greg. This has been an absolute pleasure. It's great to to chat to fellow taters again. If you don't know what it is, look it up. If you haven't joined

Greg Poppleton (1:01:00)

That's mm.

It does.

Yes.

David John Clark (1:01:29)

or checked out the Audition Technique, we can attest it is a absolutely brilliant process to go through. You learn the basics of technical setup, technical acting, Audition Technique, as well as enhancing your craft and meeting great people.

Greg Poppleton (1:01:44)

It's got me more gigs, absolutely. Hmm.

David John Clark (1:01:47)

Definitely. So Greg,

thank you very much. It's been an absolute pleasure to have you on the show. Apologies for my drooping eyes or the jet lag that's come in, but it was great for you to be able to jump on with me and

Greg Poppleton (1:01:56)

⁓ David, you look

as bright and chipper and handsome as always. But thank you very much for having me on your podcast. It's been a a great pleasure talking to you.

David John Clark (1:02:00)

Thank you.

Thank you.

And it's been a pleasure to have you on board and I wish you well in your continuing career. Thank you very much.

David John Clark (1:02:16)

Wow, that was just an incredible conversation with Greg and thank you very much Greg for coming on the show. It was an absolute pleasure to have another fellow Tater on the show. As we wrap up today's episode, I'm sitting here looking at my notes and I want to highlight three major lessons that every single late blooming actor, or any actor really, listening right now needs to take into the audition room next time. First, your life is your script.

Greg reminds us that we aren't starting late, we are starting experience. Whether your background is in chemical engineering, trade work, or corporate management, that unique human history is a direct asset. Casting directors aren't looking for textbook perfection. They want a distinct, lived-in human flavor. And as late bloomers, we have that. But if you're not a late bloomer, you get that from your training and learn to draw on your experience. And as you grow with every role, every

scene every monologue that you do, you build on that ability to draw on something. So just grab that and harness it. The second point is stop performing. Start responding.

Taking a page right out of Greg's work with the Greg Apps and The Audition Technique, we throw out the pressure to give a massive over-rehearsed performance. You know, so many people I hear from, especially now doing self-tapes in your self-tape room, they do, you know, 10, 15. I've heard as high as 35 takes to get a take to send in. And you're only allowed to send in one or two. So don't do that. Don't over-rehehearse.

Walk onto the self-tape or or onto a set in the room if you're fortunate to get into the room and ground yourself. Focus entirely on the instinctual human response and deliver the scene. Get it done. Get out. And finally, find your micro gym. Don't wait around for an agent to hand you a professional job before you practice your craft. Use weekly character challenges, micro tapes, and simple home gear to keep your muscles warm. Experiment and stay match fit.

and we've mentioned The Audition Technique, Castability, StageMilk, WeAudition, so many communities where you can do this. Just find your micro gym and do it and do it regularly and make it work.

David John Clark (1:04:35)

You don't need a formal drama degree or an expensive studio set up to make an impact. If you've got that's great. It's another tool in your toolbox, so to speak. You just need your unique ear, your intuition and the courage to show up exactly who you are. A massive thank you to Greg for sharing his incredible journey with us today. It's so great to have a fellow Tater on. That's why it's nice to that's why my podcast is about reaching out to people that have

cross my paths and Greg's part of a community that I love and treasure and that makes me such a better actor and we talked about that. So that's why you need to find out your community. We talk about all the time on my show. Reach out to me if you want links or help in deciding which one you want. But it's community. It's about having a place to practice and play all the time. If today's episode gives you the push you needed to trust your path, then

hit that subscribe button, leave us a review and share this with a fellow actor who's carving out their own timeline. I'll leave all the links for Greg in the show notes. If you want to check him out, that would be appreciated. I'm sure he would. I hope you really got something out of it. So guys, until next time, keep booking, keep playing, and trust your timing. Guys, I'll see you on set. Cheers.