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Where are they now: Giulia Abbondanza (OW 2023)
MCS Heads of School in 2023: Giulia Abbondanza and Tahmid Azam
From MCS to Los Angeles
Former Head of School Giulia Abbondanza (OW 2023) is now working full-time as an actor in Los Angeles. Giulia was an avid performer amongst MCS Drama productions, with highlights including Anything Goes (2022), The Hobbit (2023) and Birdland (2022). Initially studying a Biochemistry degree at the University College London, after being offered a scholarship to train as an actor in Los Angeles, Giulia made the life-changing decision to move abroad and pursue acting as a full-time career. Giulia catches up with the Waynflete Office to share more about her decision to pursue acting and what she gets up to.
What first sparked your interest in acting?
I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly where it first started, I feel like it was a passion that has always been there at the core of who I am and something that I always loved. The best way to describe it would be something that was always a guilty pleasure of mine, a dream that I knew I wanted and needed for the future but at the time didn’t have the space or time to follow properly.
I grew up in a very academic environment and was very academically (and sport) focused. However, I remember at age 14 sharing this dream of mine with my family and parents when I asked them to send a letter I had written to Steven Spielberg. In the letter, I pitched a film idea that I had (in which of course I played the lead) – still waiting for a response on that one! Jokes aside, this passion and drive have always been there bubbling away; however, it wasn’t until MCS where I was able to properly expand and fully live in this passion of mine.
How did your time at MCS contribute to your love of performing? Do you have a standout memory from MCS Drama?
MCS played an incredibly big and pivotal part of my journey. I remember the first audition I did at MCS; it was for Pirates of Penzance and the level of commitment and talent in the room really blew me away. It was then that I thought that in here, I can really be me and give it my all. There was a level of seriousness and dedication that just bred space for everyone’s passion to grow. The standout moment would have to be when Mr Thomas asked me to play my dream role of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. Anything Goes was the first musical I had ever seen when I was 10 and the first memory I have watching someone on stage or screen and thinking: “That’s who I want be” and that someone was the wonderful Reno Sweeney. To get the chance to live her story and bring her to life for our production was a real honour and massive dream come true.
In 2024, you moved to LA to train at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Method Acting. How did you find out about this course and make the decision to move abroad?
I was studying Biochemistry at UCL when an Academy from LA was holding a free workshop in London which I signed up for. I was then asked to audition and because I had top grades at school and at uni (4.0GPA equivalent) I was allowed to audition for free, and I would have had a partial scholarship to attend the school if I got in. So, I thought, “I’ll do it just for the experience.” And that experience, the workshop and audition day, changed my life. It was the most me and seen I had ever felt. I came out of it and immediately called my mum and cried saying, “This is what I have to do. This is where I belong.”
I didn’t think it was possible for me to go to LA, but once I did get accepted, I seriously started considering it. I did a tonne of research and looked into other schools to see how they were valued in the industry and different training courses. I was drawn to The Lee Strasberg Film and Theatre Institute, so I auditioned, got in there, then gave myself acute gastritis in the process of making the decision of whether to move or not. I ended up taking the jump and it was the best decision I have ever made. Since then, I have completed my degree in Method Acting and have been working in both stage and film in LA and am living my dream.
Can you tell us a bit about this course and method acting?
Method acting was something that I had heard of but in the misconceived way a lot of people seem to have heard of it. Method acting is not about never breaking the character’s reality, in fact that is very far from the truth. You have to be able to step in but also out of the reality you create. This is a balance and boundary we work hard to try and find in the training.
Explaining method acting is a big challenge – as cringey as it sounds, it’s not really something you can explain, more something you experience and grow into. The concept of it is “actors behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances” and “really experiencing and living through the reality of the character, not just imitating life on stage/camera.” The work we do at school is based on getting to know yourself and your instrument (your body) as intimately and openly as possible and training your concentration to be able to create and believe the imaginary circumstances you create for yourself. The method relies on using your own life experiences to connect with what the character is going through and create those circumstances to give the most honest and truthful rendition of reality possible, allowing for spontaneous and subconscious human behaviour.
Was method acting something you had done before moving to LA? Has it changed your approach to acting?
I was doing a lot of research on different acting techniques and something about the Strasberg method kept drawing me to it. I think it was the focus on getting to know yourself and drawing from both your expressed and, more impactfully, unexpressed experiences. I felt that approach would have really resonated with me and it very much does. Within the first week of training my perception of acting changed completely. The best way to describe the shift would be that it went from being an external thing in my head to an internal thing in my body. From performative to truthful. The concept of these shifts and the change in perspective of how I saw acting was very quick, however, then being able to implement these changes took a lot longer and a lot more training and discipline.
What does a typical week look like when you’re rehearsing or preparing for auditions?
While I was at Strasberg, I was in school Monday to Thursday with classes some days finishing as late as 9:30pm. Then on weekends and in times between classes it would be about auditioning as much as possible, self-submitting with audition tapes. And of course, prepping class projects, audition materials and outside projects. Prep and rehearsal times very much depend on the character and the project. Rehearsals are more common with theatre projects. My most time-consuming rehearsal process would be either the Actors Showcase (which I was a part of in April 2026) or the first show I did in LA which was The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. For the films I have done so far, it has all been chemistry/table read, minimal rehearsal and blocking straight to the first day of shooting. Theatre is very different to film, however, in terms of my own prep and character work there is no difference to the process I have created for myself, only slight variations in the depth of certain exercises depending on how much I resonate with the character and the scope of the project. In film you have to go in having already explored and played with all your choices and ideas – the prep is done and absorbed so you can be present in the moment. In theatre you have the rehearsal process to play with your castmates and see what you find and then it’s the same thing: trust your work and go in, live and experience.
What has been your biggest challenge in starting a career in acting? How does training compare to working in the industry?
That is what I am living through right now. It’s just about getting your foot in the door and every time you do, there’s a new door to aim for (so it is very important to enjoy the journey as you go). Right now, I am in the process of finding representation as, up until now, I was on a student visa so couldn’t be compensated for the work I did (and with no earnings, representation isn’t an option). Now I have a 1-year OTP (work visa) in which I can work freely in the US, so on top of self-submissions there will hopefully be agent/manager submissions which should elevate my career further.
Beyond that, it is an industry of connections; one job leads to another, and you just have to keep working on your craft and be ready so that when the opportunity does arise, you give it all you have. It is a great gift but also a great challenge because you never know when that may be or how that opportunity may arrive.
What are your ambitions for the next few years?
My ambitions would be to first and foremost be an established and working actor here in LA. That is my focus right now and I hope to really build myself up to be recognisable enough. Once I have achieved this, then I may wish to take a year in London to get representation there too. Once these two hubs have been established, then I would love to move back to Italy to live there in between projects.
Are there any particular productions that are on your dream list?
With the word production, I immediately think of directors. A massive goal for me would be Christopher Nolan… how could I not! He is a genius filmmaker, and it would be such an honour to work with him. Quentin Tarantino too has always been a dream of mine, being a part of his legacy would be phenomenal. Little me would say working with Steven Spielberg of course, and older me very much agrees!
What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing an acting career?
Commit, commit, commit. You have to do it. You have to make it happen. Being an actor is a lifestyle choice and something that you have to want with your whole soul. It is a career path filled with uncertainty even for the most established actors with lots of ups and downs, so it has to be something that you truly cannot live without. Just focus on your craft and put in the work. Put in enough work that you can trust it in yourself, and then trust that the rest will come. Test and perfect your process, practice your technique, always be open to learning and never stop growing. As David Strasberg says, “You are either growing or dying; don’t be the latter.”
“It is an industry of connections; one job leads to another, and you have just got to keep working on your craft and be ready so that when the opportunity does arise, you give it all you have.”
