May 2007
by Forrest Glenn Spencer --- Phoenix Downtown Magazine
| In
her latest film, The Governor, Valley actor Laura Durant co-stars as Madison
Orville, a matter-of-fact "conflict resolution specialist" (or simply,
a hit-woman) with a penchant for problem solving. Obvious differences aside, Laura's
life off-camera operates using the same unwavering focus as an individual with
a solid reputation for problem-solving in the local commerce of the performing
arts. Since 2001, Durant Communications - or under its familiar moniker, "DurantCom" - has been an integral part of the Valley arts community as a publicity and network portal for theater and film producers, actors and educators. At its center is Founder and President Laura Durant. |
DurantCom's core clientele has included a long list of recognizable names: Herberger Theater, Phoenix Theatre, Black Theatre Troupe, Nearly Naked Theatre, Phoenix College, and Stray Cat Theatre. Phoenix Downtown Magazine readers will recognize her byline as a long-time contributing arts and entertainment writer.
Laura's success behind DurantCom is the sum of years of collective experiences. Her story is a typical one: a college graduate fleeing the hometown recessions of Pennsylvania in the mid-1980's to seek a new life in then-boomtown Phoenix. Over the next dozen years Laura worked in radio and television production while making the rounds through theaters in the Valley. In fact, she met her then-future husband, musician Doug Durant, in her first Valley production of Company. As she continued to build her stage performance résumé, Laura was also filling-up her little black book with theatrical producers who increasingly sought her out her help as a publicist.
"This is when my performing and technical skills started to blur," Durant recalled. "At first, I was promoting the shows I was performing in by shooting publicity photos, building a press contact list and learning how to layout fliers and playbills in a revolutionary new way - with a computer." Other theater companies saw her value and also began tapping her to help promote their shows. This sparked an idea: while there was a growing number of emerging theater companies producing spectacular shows, they still were not to the level where they could afford their own publicity staff. One of the keys of her success has been the longtime associations with arts outlets that have proliferated into a network of contacts. "When I moved to Phoenix from San Francisco, it took a while to really understand the quirky way the theatre community operated here in the Valley," said John |
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Thanks to the digital and internet revolutions, Laura saw how she could fill this void in the marketplace, one that could combine her artistic and technical skills to create affordable theatrical promotions. Like a good actor, she understood the audience. She was among the pioneers to use the Internet for press publicity distribution by creating an online pressroom of downloadable releases and photos - very innovative for its time. In short order, newspaper editors and reporters began adding her domain link to their Favorites list and relying on her ever-expanding and reliable rolodex for actor contacts. Theatrical clients soon began asking her to distribute audition notices, which lead to her weekly newsletter that reports on casting calls and regular deals on show tickets known as the Starving Actor Discount SM program. Amongst Laura's other services to the community, she teaches an actor marketing toolbox that encourages young actors to focus not only being artists but art managers as well. This concept, in fact, has been woven into her class lectures as a faculty member at Scottsdale Community College.
"In my Actor's Toolbox SM seminars, I not only share some insights to choices I've made during the course of my career, but I also am candid about what I wish I would have done, such as taken some basic business courses - even at the high school level. That would've definitely helped my learning curve when I was first working as an actor and later starting my own company." Laura is also an accomplished photographer. She originally started shooting publicity stills for client press packages but now has expanded to include actor-headshots and corporate events. "I can attribute my art of composition in still photography to all the on-camera acting classes I've taken over the years," she said. "It's all about framing the shot and capturing the moment. The only difference is now I do it one frame at a time."
Laura's approach to her career is like a stock portfolio: a variety of skills bound together that support the bottom line. Her daily schedule is testament to that: through the course of her day, Laura could be attending an audition booked by her agent, The Ford Robert Black Agency; recording a voice-over session; on a photography assignment; preparing for a film shoot; editing publicity photos; attending a client's TV news interview taping; preparing publicity material for a client; meeting with community arts associations; co-hosting a taping of Screen Wars, which is now in its second season on KAZ-TV; or enjoying coffee with an associate or a new client. However, her core objective remained the same: the acting.
"At the foundation, I remain an actor," Durant said. "I started DurantCom because I know that an actor also has to be a business person. If you want a place to play, you need to pitch in and help build the playground. I've never been good at sitting still, hoping that opportunities will find me." As an actor Laura has expanded beyond the stage to include commercials, industrial videos, and in recent years - independent cinema. Her growing list of credits includes films directed and produced by some of the Valley's talented filmmakers. Last year, she co-starred in the award-winning short film Little Victim with Hollywood legend Robert Wagner and Lori Singer. Recently, she was seen in three films at the 2007 Phoenix Film Festival: the feature-film The Governor, which had its premiere at the festival; the short film, Stabbing Stupidity; and Netherbeast Incorporated.
"Laura Durant is a consummate performance professional," said Bob Dolan, writer/producer and co-star of The Governor. "Her work in the Valley has given her the well-deserved reputation as one of premier talents in the Phoenix market. She brought a quiet confidence and air of refinement to the role as Madison Orville."
The revival of the local film industry has created a new generation of actors who are taking control of their careers. "I am constantly reminding my students that today's working actor must be both studied in their craft as well as self-sufficient business people. They know the techniques of character development, but what I'm talking about instead is their own personal character empowerment."
There is no one clue to Laura's success, and why no single competitor has been able duplicate the same services to the same audience. For Laura, it's not about introspection but about what comes next.
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