EDUCATOR
Jay is a highly experienced professional who has dedicated his career to helping students develop their skills and talent in the entertainment industry. With a focus on acting and directing, Jay has led classes, workshops, and courses in Australia, the UK, and the EU. His expertise and passion for the craft make him an invaluable resource for anyone to pursue a career in film, theatre, or performance.
Between 2015 to 2022, Jay collaborated with Irish casting director Gillian Reynolds (Becoming Jane, Saving Private Ryan) at the Dublin Central School of Acting. In his first year there, Jay developed with Gillian, the Get Into Acting Course for Newcomers. This course has become a popular option at the Dublin Central School of Acting. Jay's modules, included Making a Commercial from Scratch and Making a Short Film, which provided students with the opportunity to work in various production roles and create multiple short films in a single day.
As a guest teacher, Jay has taught for a number of performing art schools, acting institutions and further education centres such as Sydney Film School and the US/UK based Identity School of Acting, whose alumni include Regé-Jean Page, Letitia Wright and John Boyega.
Between 2005 and 2013, Jay taught at two of Australia top talent agencies, Matrics Management and Sydney Talent Company. During his time there, he helped actors prepare for castings, directed plays and showreels, and assisted casting departments in finding talent for various projects. Sydney Talent Agency has had a proven track record of launching successful careers for many Australian actors, including Joel Edgerton and Rebel Wilson. Matrics Management has had L.A talent manager Mitchell Gossett, manage their clients. Mitchell managed some of Hollywood's biggest names such as Jennifer Lawrence, Grant Gustin, Darren Kriss and Miley Cyrus, to name a few.
TEACHING JOURNEY
One of the earliest times Jay was an educator, delivering a seminar on the topic of Theatre-Making, during which he was an undergraduate student at the University of New South Wales. Jay started out as an acting teacher in performing arts schools.
Jump to the 2010s
Jay as an acting teacher with Sydney Talent Company
Jay with Madhatters Theatre Club in London.
Jump to the 2020s
Teaching at the Dublin Central School of Acting, Ireland
SAMPLES OF JAY'S DIRECTION IN STUDENT-ORIENTED ENVIRONMENTS
A one-shot student scene Jay directed at Raindance Film School in London with graduates of Guildford School of Acting and LAMDA.
Screen Test workshop for Matrics Management in Sydney.
Scene work with graduates of Irish Film Academy in Dublin.
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Jay founded The Actors Point in Ireland, which offered weekly classes in Cork, Limerick, and Dublin. Over time, it grew to specialize in courses and workshops for students at the further education level.
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The Actors Point made history in 2016 by launching the first professional-oriented course in acting for stage, screen, and voiceover for animation as one course in the Munster region. Titled The Actors Portfolio, the 4-month intensive program collaborated with local entertainment services such as Open Door Studios, Dance Limerick, and LSA Casting. The course covered actor training and education, showreel and voiceover reel projects, an improvisation component and a masterclass with casting umbrella Spotlight in Dublin, led by Alison Crosbie.
A variety of other courses for actors looking to improve their skills were offered. Among them were Shooting Shakespeare, which introduces the filming of scenes from Shakespeare's plays, The Editor's Cut, a technical course for agency-represented actors, and Getting Into Character, which focused on creating roles using techniques from Laban, Viewpoints, and Bresson. The courses were designed to help actors hone their craft and succeed in the industry.
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In 2019, Jay organised masterclass workshops with IFTA nominated actress Leslie Conroy, and UK/Ireland casting director Emma Gunnery. Attendees had the opportunity to learn from these industry professionals and gain valuable insights into the world of acting and casting.
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The ACTORS POINT's course 'Screen Actors Central' organised masterclasses with IFTA nominated actress Lesley Conroy
and casting director Emma Gunnery pictured here with some of the students.
SAMPLES From THE ACTORS POINT's Course 'The Actors Portfolio'
As part of the course, students made a number of scenes for their showreel.
Students participated in doing sound recording, continuity and costume design.
Set design, lighting design, camera filming and directing by Jay Finocchiaro
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