Welcome back to Showcase Saturday here at MAX Agency —  a successful Toronto acting agency representing men, women and children.

This week we’ll be showcasing a uniquely talented member of our roster –Taniya S!

Who she is

I am a Canadian based artist with an undergraduate degree in Humanities. I graduated from Lakehead University where I specialized in English and visual arts. This is where I began to push my own limitations as an artist. Coming from a very artistic family, I was enrolled in voice lessons, visual arts and instrumental classes which lead me to choose the form of art that I wanted to focus on over the course of my young adulthood. As visual arts became my predominant form of artistic expression, it wasn’t until I graduated university that I decided to transition into modelling and established interest in acting. For a long time I kept modelling as a side project, and focused on my career in graphic design and architecture. Continuing to work with independent artists, I always knew that I’d eventually like to focus on the arts entirely.

“How did you get into modelling/acting?”

Acting for me is a remarkable skill to have. I enjoy the manipulation of emotions, and the ability to be able to bring out genuine reactions from viewers. Using life’s lessons, downfalls, achievements and obstacles as inspiration in acting is my escape from mundane moments of reality.  Establishing a character, and being able to represent it in the most authentic manner has always been of interest to me. Instead of painting a picture to represent ideas, I look at acting as a visual display of chosen expression through movement and the human body.

His Experience with MAX Agency

My experience with MAX has been great! Everyone is very friendly and professional! I am gaining useful tools to be able to bring forth in auditions and future roles. I love the extra educational classes that MAX offered, and the bonds that I have been able to make with other actors/models within MAX. Not to mention – the entire team, from my agent to marketing and promotions is extremely fluid. You can count on them to set you up for success.

Extracurriculars 

When I am not at the gym, or in meditation/practicing yoga, you can find me at a coffee shop sipping on latte’s (no sugar) and working on poetry/art. I maintain an extremely healthy lifestyle; I am working towards a bikini competition and am constantly under supervision by my bikini prep coach. I am blessed to have a team of coaches to prep me for upcoming roles, acting jobs, modelling jobs and fitness appearances.

Her Dream Role

My dream role is any role that I can break down in order to bring out the rawest emotions that are suitable for that character. I am merely a mask that can morph into anything!

“Best advice for someone looking to get into the industry? or best advice you’ve received?”

The best advice that I have received was from my acting coach: To take note of the characters that are around you, notice everything from posture, to voice tone, to mannerisms, accents and hand placement/movement. All of these attributes define a character. When altering into a character – you are no longer you.

Extra

What’s interesting is that we often feel impatient in our own skin when trying to achieve our goals, especially in acting and modelling. What I realized is this – LIFE is preparing you to be the best actor ever. Taking note of behaviour, attributes, and all of the characters that you will encounter in your journey is priceless information! Finding humour and what makes a moment so pure will help to reach the pinnacle of your career.