Beyond her work as an actress and coach, Gayla Goehl is a director, writer and filmmaker, including over fifty short films produced under her own banner, Goehl Force Wins Productions.
On directing actors
As a working actress myself my first experience on set was not good. The director yelled at me for not knowing certain on-set techniques that traditional acting classes weren’t teaching me. I struggled to pivot from professional theater space to a seamless on-screen acting craft. That is why it’s important that I make the job information, educational, fun and professional. Directing allows me to work and teach a the same.
“Everyone I direct, I want them to feel completely committed and completely relaxed, so that they can think, feel and speak like their character.” Gayla Goehl
“It’s important that actors are not puppets. Actors should be excited to use their acting craft as a facet along with the other artists also working on the project like the director, writer and production. Everyone is telling the story together.” Gayla Goehl
Writer and director
Goehl has written and directed close to fifty short films, including Ticonderoga, A Little Scary, Just Say It, Skip Day, Camp Oz, The Influenced, Acting Human, Acting Human 2, The Daylights, The Wanderer, Bad Little Fairies, Man, I’m Dead, The Followers of Truth, Twelve, Whoops!, Best Friend Wanted, The Probability of Love, Kid’s Court, School Dance, Crushed, Z-Town, The Acting Academy, The Wishing Hour, Scream For Your Life, Real Is The New Rich, Paranormal Playground and more.
The complete filmography — every Goehl Force Wins title she wrote, directed and produced — is listed on her IMDb page.
Festival work
Dozens of my films have been selected into festivals like Dances With Film, Kids First!, Dead in Decatur and more. I am extemely proud of the short film Undebatable — a story of a sixth-grader with cerebral palsy campaigning for class president, starring Julia Illy — was an official selection of the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, praised for its handling of voting, disability and sexism, and for casting an actress who genuinely has cerebral palsy in the lead role.
Television, film and stage
Goehl wrote and directed the one-hour drama pilot Dreamtown @Large Productions / Brewing Imaginations, directed and wrote David and Juni , Assassins Web and Less Than Human produced by Paris 3000 Productions. She directed the film Surprising Merrily for Walk The Road Productions..
Additinally, and wrote the play Tectonics, whose script won the 2018 Genni Award for Best Short Script from Woman In Media (CA) and the 2017 Woman Film Festival’s Best Short Script award.
In New York she directed the stage productions Nice People Dancing To Good Country Music, Hurlyburly, and It’s Called The Sugar Plum for the 4 West Theater Ensemble. She also directed The Wizard of Oh No! for the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Reels, live events and sketch
I produced, write and direct hundreds of original actor demo reels for working Hollywood actors. I produced and direct also live industry events. As well as the sketch comedy troupe Very, Very Sketchy.
Why this matters to the actors she coaches
As an actor I can understand all the emotional strength and commitment it takes to book all types of jobs. As a private coach I understand the stress of making choices and decisions with little knowledge of the project and or time constraints. As a teacher I understand multiple acting techniques that work as well as have innovative new concepts when those techniques fail. And as a director I have a keen eye to tell you what will actually be cut together in editing. What a director is looking for in a take, repeated takes, camera angels, why a performance that plays beautifully in the room dies on camera, and what happens to your work in an edit after you go home.
I teach, coach and direct or edit actors everyday. My notes will be specific to every project rather than encouraging or general.
Enquiries
For coaching, or for filmmaking and production enquiries, email gaylaactingcoach@gmail.com.