JANUARY 2022

OCSA may not have taught Acting Conservatory graduate Tisha Custodio (‘19) how to play basketball, but it did give her the right moves to land a role in Big Shot, the comedy-drama series streaming on Disney +.  

The show stars long-time actor John Stamos as a basketball coach who gets a second chance for redemption at a private girls’ high school.  

Custodio took some time courtside to answer questions for our Alumni Acting Newsletter. 

Q: What was the audition process like for Big Shot? 

A: I initially auditioned for a different character, but the casting director called me in again for Mouse. Two weeks later, I came back in person for a basketball tryout and a screen test. 

Q: Where did you learn to play basketball?

A: They hired a basketball coordinator to teach us the fundamentals, and we practiced in the gym they built on set for us.

Q: What is the show about? 

A: The show is about a temperamental basketball coach who finds himself teaching a bunch of high school girls. 

Q: What is it like working with John Stamos? 

A: Working with him has been incredible. He's a super sweet and generous guy on and off set. He's one of those people who knows he's in a place of privilege and finds ways to share the cool experiences with the people around him. We bonded over our love for classic rock music and instruments so much that he let me play his guitar with the Beach Boys while they were on tour. He always gets me to jam with him whenever we have the chance. So, when we were at the Beach Boys concert, he asked if I wanted to play, and, of course, I said “yes!”

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The El-Erian Family Acting Conservatory heralded the return of much loved teacher Colin Martin as Captain Ahab when it produced Moby-Dick Rehearsed at Santa Ana College in December. He is now teaching again in the Acting Conservatory!

The Alumni Newsletter took a few moments to catch up with Martin.  

Q: How did you get involved in acting?

A: I was born into an acting family. My parents were very young, and when I was a young child, they would take me to rehearsals. My mother breastfed me in the greenroom during intermissions for You Can't Take It With You. I have a very strong memory of being a little toddler, and watching my parents from the audience during a dress rehearsal of Man of La Mancha. After the curtain call, they called me down to the stage, I guess as a reward for being well behaved during the rehearsal. The actors were still in costume and dripping with sweat from the boisterous final number, and when I climbed onto the stage, it was like walking into my favorite cartoon. Truly, a “through-the-looking-glass” moment. All the actors were smiling down at me, and saying sweet things to me while they were still panting from exertion. Then, the actress who played Dulcinea (whom I had a little toddler-sized crush on), asked me to sit on her lap as the other actors stood around and filled me up with their energy. I was completely intoxicated, and from that moment, I knew that there was no hope for me to be anything in life other than an actor. (continued)

After the difficulties of the past two years, OCSA teacher and director, Brenda Smith, wanted to direct a play with positive messages about hope, love, endurance, and family. “After Covid, I felt we needed a soft place to land,” she said.  So, Smith and her daughter, fellow OCSA teacher and alumni, Issy Leustig ('15), selected Little Women.  

Little Women is the classic story by Louisa May Alcott about a family in Massachusetts during the Civil War in 1860. The story follows the struggles and joys of a mother and her four daughters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. “We see how they support and love each other while their father is away, serving as chaplain in the civil war,” said Smith.

“Though this play is set in the past and times have changed, love and family are a constant. The dynamic between siblings, illness, and hard times are timeless. The story of Little Women is still relevant today,” Smith said. “It is heartfelt, touching and relatable.”  

As a director, “The challenge of this play is bringing these iconic characters to life and filling the holes in the script without making it sappy,” Smith said. (continued)