The Acting School Teaching Vertical Drama
An interview with D’Arcy Smith
While much of the conversation recently has focused on studios, streamers, and celebrities entering the space, a quieter shift is happening upstream. In acting education to be exact. One of the earliest adopters is D’Arcy Smith, an actor, director, and professor at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he now runs a vertical drama acting program embedded directly into the school’s BFA conservatory training. One of the productions is now also nominated for a Vertical Drama Love Fan Award.
But first, this week’s vertical drama news and some more ideas from our matchmaking trial. If you are interested in connecting with the writers, just hit reply and Behind the Verticals will put you in touch.
👀 Spotted
MIP London 2026: microdramas overtake streamers in mobile engagement.
Berlinale 2026 just confirmed what indie filmmakers already know.
Taye Diggs on vertical drama and CandyJar.
Former NBA champs launch unscripted microdrama with Hidden Empire Film Group.
Microdrama apps stand out on mobile: Here’s what the numbers say.
Germany’s Constantin Entertainment’s vertical drama plans and some Berlin International Film Festival takeaways.
Veteran vertical actor Buzz Leer has a vertical drama podcast.
Vertical drama was mentioned in mainstream British media & vertical drama in the UK webinar recap.
Behind the Verticals will be a guest on two podcast recordings this week.
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🤝 “Matchmaking Service”
Evidence Left Behind
Logline: When a meticulous crime-scene cleaner discovers a piece of evidence the police missed, keeping it puts her and her small crew into a deadly cat-and-mouse between a ruthless killer and the lead detective obsessed with solving the case.
Bound to the Person I Hate
Logline: After a reckless Ouija ritual meant to bury their guilt over the death of someone they both loved, Anna is magically bound to Leo, the man she hates most, and who hates her back. If they move more than ten meters apart, their bodies shut down. Forced to live side by side, the curse escalates with every lie and accusation, turning survival into an exercise in unwanted intimacy. To break the spell, Anna must uncover the truth of the night that made them enemies, and learn to trust the last person she ever wanted to need.
Blood Moon Heiress
Logline: She’s half wolf, raised in the wild and hunted by the crown. He’s the cursed prince of Paradise End, forbidden to love her. Under the blood moon, their forbidden love could break an ancient curse and reveal a secret that could ignite war… or unite a kingdom.
🎙️ Interview with D’Arcy Smith
The change didn’t come from trend-chasing. It came from students.
About a year ago, D’Arcy Smith met with recent graduates in Los Angeles and asked how auditions were going. Their answer surprised him: nearly all of their auditions were now for vertical projects. At the time, Smith admits he barely understood the format. But once he began reading sides and watching the content, the need for formal training became obvious.
Vertical drama, Smith says, isn’t simply traditional acting reframed. The phone-sized image compresses physicality, intensifies emotion, and demands immediate clarity. Pacing is faster, scenes are shorter, and cliffhangers are essential.
“Even just switching from landscape to vertical changes performance,” Smith explains. “It changes how emotion reads, how bodies exist in the frame, everything.”
Read the full interview below.
