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ALUMNI FEATURE: FROM BACKSTAGE TO ONSTAGE
From Backstage to Onstage GSW alumnus books speaking roles in three upcoming Hollywood productions
“I’d like to thank the professors in the Theatre and Communication department for giving me a nice foundation to build on and giving me the freedom to try my own things.”
By Sunni Zemblowski
The road to success can be long and winding, and it can lead you anywhere. For Jason R.A. Foster, his road to success led him to New Orleans and speaking roles in three upcoming Hollywood productions.
After graduating, Foster considered graduate school, but instead followed an opportunity to work the set of USA Network’s “White Collar” in New York as a production assistant. Foster only worked on the set for about six months, but he learned a lot, including where he wanted his road to continue. “My time up there was short but the things that I learned from being on set, talking to the different directors, seeing how prepared the actors and crew were everyday was a part of my decision to forgo grad school,” he said. “Working on ‘White Collar’ really was the springboard that started me on the independent track.” In 2011, Foster, David Bear, and three other colleagues started a film production company in New Orleans called FosterBear Films. FosterBear Films shoots music videos, short narrative and documentary films, commercials and promos. Projects include the short documentary “A
Conversation with John O’Neal.” O’Neal co-founded the Free Southern Theater and Junebug Productions. “Over the years we’ve evolved into more of a collective with David and I being the constants,” explained Foster. “There’s a strong and generous independent film community here in New Orleans so we’re always crossing paths, working on each other’s projects, borrowing equipment, etc.” In addition to creating FosterBear Films, Foster was breaking into professional acting through various extra roles. His first break was a Microsoft/Bing commercial and was sort of unintentional. A friend was auditioning for the role and the agency wanted people who were actually friends to come in and audition together. “I was just going there to help my friend out so I didn’t care if I got the role or not, until I got a callback and went in again after that, I was all about it. It was two days after the callback that I got the call from one of the agents telling me that I booked the role,” Foster remarked. “I really snuck in through the back door with the whole acting thing.” Since the Bing commercial, Foster has had numerous roles as an extra. In 2013, Foster landed his first speaking role on
Photo courtesy of Lawrence Turner.
Foster graduated from Georgia Southwestern in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in dramatic arts in communication with a minor in marketing. While at GSW, Foster served as the director of The Hurricane Watch and worked a summer internship at WALB, in Albany, Ga.
