OK, I couldn't resist The title of this post is a play on the old stand-up comic line of "A funny thing happened on the way to....." In this case, that happens to not be entirely accurate. Actually, a funny thing happened at the audition.
While casting directors vary somewhat in their methods, the audition process itself is fairly standard in LA, Seattle or in any other location. For the non actors among you, here's how it works. You are either sent the sides (a small portion of the script) via email, or you are told that it is a cold reading, and you will get the sides a few minutes before the audition (the email option is much more in vogue now). If you received the sides by email, you study them, make choices as to how you will play the character, and in general, prepare for the audition. If it's a true cold read, you and all the other actors must do this same process in ten to fifteen minutes before you audition.
This past Monday, I had an audition, for which I was sent the sides in advance. What happened when I arrived is when the structure of the audition varied greatly from the norm. Traditionally, when you arrive at an audition, you sign in, and take a seat in the waiting room. One of the casting assistants checks the sign in sheet frequently and calls you, one at a time, to enter a separate room for the audition. Next, you audition, you thank them, and you leave. As I said, that is fairly standard in the business.
For this audition, however, there was no waiting room, and the room to which you entered was the same room were all the actors waited and auditioned. This meant you were able to see the auditions of all the actors who came before you on the sign in sheet. This is highly unusual
I was amazed at the lack of preparation of some of the actors. One punctuated his audition with maniacal laughs, even though the script mentioned nothing about the character exhibiting that sort of behavior. Another spoke in a monotone, even though the script did indicate that the character was somewhat animated. One drew the dialogue out so that it took twice as long as normal. One actor gave quite a good audition, and was obviously prepared.
How did I do? They say the desired result for an audition is to walk away feeling good about your performance; feeling that you captured the character as the script indicated. That is the best you can hope for, and that is what I did. I was also prepared, had a good audition, and walking back to my car, I felt good about how it had gone. Will, I get cast? There are so many variables in an audition, that is impossible to answer. First, I only saw a small segment of the actors who auditioned for the role. Secondly, there are intangibles that are totally out of the control of an actor at an audition, yet often have a direct bearing on who is cast. These include your look, and how all the other actors did in their auditions for the same role. Still, walking away from an audition feeling good about how you did is the desired result, and being able to watch other actors audition for the same role is a rare bonus.
The process of acting in LA continues, as I have a theatrical audition (film) in Burbank this afternoon, and a private lesson with my Hollywood Hills acting coach, tomorrow.
Being a new actor in Hollywood is a work in progress. I attended an acting seminar this past Saturday, and with two audition and an acting lesson this week, that's pretty much par for the course.
Until next time..........
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Into The Great Postal Void
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog may remember me talking about something I call Phase II. Phase II has two parts....first a mailing of headshots, resume, and a short cover letter to talent agencies, and secondly, doing the same with casting directors.
Part one of phase two had the result of my signing for commercial representation with a very well respected LA agency. I am still seeking theatrical (film & TV) representation.
Now for part two....yesterday I sent out mailers, again with headshot, resume, and a short cover letter to twenty-one casting directors who are currently casting films. The same organization that puts out the Casting Directors Guide every two months, also has a web version which is far more up to date. Since the Casting Directors Guide costs $13 every two months and the on-line version costs $5 per month, signing up for the online version was pretty much a no brainer, as it is less expensive and updated weekly instead of every two months.
What will be the result of those twenty-one mailers to casting directors? In truth, I have no idea, as this is virgin territory for me. As the title of this blog entry says, these mailers went into the great postal void. Maybe I will get no responses, or maybe I will get three or four responses. Still, for an unknown actor, it is market or perish in LA, so sending mailers to casting directors is a must. Also sending mailers to casting directors is somewhat of an on-going process, as in a week or two I will do the research to find out what new productions are casting and send mailers to those casting directors. A week or two later I will do the same, and so on. By the way, these mailers went (and will go in the future) only to theatrical casting directors, as the very nice lady who is my agent with my commercial agency informed me in a recent phone conversation, that commercial casting directors rarely, if ever, even bother to look at mailers sent to them from actors.
There have been a few developments in union status desirability in the LA market, particularly on the television side. It is still quite desirable for an actor to first become SAG eligible, and then at the proper time join SAG. However, because of the recent uncertainty as to what the SAG membership was going to do about a new contract (and the length of time this deliberation went on) many national TV shows have switched from being SAG affiliated to being aligned with AFTRA. This has several ramifications for actors, casting directors, producers, etc. AFTRA has no eligibility or waiting period. To join AFTRA you simply visit their office, tell them you want to join, pay the fees, and presto!, you are a member of AFTRA.
The Taft-Hartley law says that within 31 days after you do your first AFTRA job you must join AFTRA, or as I said in the paragraph above, prior to doing your first AFTRA sanctioned job you may join any time you wish.
Now, one correction to something I said in an earlier blog entry about contacting talent agencies. I said some require you to drop off your headshot and resume in person. That was in error. Although a very few will still allow you to drop by and leave these items in person, none that I have found require you to do so. The mail is still the method of choice for contacting most talent agencies, with some accepting electronic submissions.
Tomorrow I have a private lesson with my downtown Hollywood acting coach. It's always an intense one hour workout with him, and one that I look forward to and enjoy a great deal. Whether it goes well (which some have), doesn't go well (which others have) or is somewhere in between, I always leave my lesson feeling I am a better actor than I was when I arrived.
The same holds true with lessons from my Hollywood Hills acting coach, and that is, of course, why I continue to take private lessons from both gentlemen.
We'll talk again, soon......................
Part one of phase two had the result of my signing for commercial representation with a very well respected LA agency. I am still seeking theatrical (film & TV) representation.
Now for part two....yesterday I sent out mailers, again with headshot, resume, and a short cover letter to twenty-one casting directors who are currently casting films. The same organization that puts out the Casting Directors Guide every two months, also has a web version which is far more up to date. Since the Casting Directors Guide costs $13 every two months and the on-line version costs $5 per month, signing up for the online version was pretty much a no brainer, as it is less expensive and updated weekly instead of every two months.
What will be the result of those twenty-one mailers to casting directors? In truth, I have no idea, as this is virgin territory for me. As the title of this blog entry says, these mailers went into the great postal void. Maybe I will get no responses, or maybe I will get three or four responses. Still, for an unknown actor, it is market or perish in LA, so sending mailers to casting directors is a must. Also sending mailers to casting directors is somewhat of an on-going process, as in a week or two I will do the research to find out what new productions are casting and send mailers to those casting directors. A week or two later I will do the same, and so on. By the way, these mailers went (and will go in the future) only to theatrical casting directors, as the very nice lady who is my agent with my commercial agency informed me in a recent phone conversation, that commercial casting directors rarely, if ever, even bother to look at mailers sent to them from actors.
There have been a few developments in union status desirability in the LA market, particularly on the television side. It is still quite desirable for an actor to first become SAG eligible, and then at the proper time join SAG. However, because of the recent uncertainty as to what the SAG membership was going to do about a new contract (and the length of time this deliberation went on) many national TV shows have switched from being SAG affiliated to being aligned with AFTRA. This has several ramifications for actors, casting directors, producers, etc. AFTRA has no eligibility or waiting period. To join AFTRA you simply visit their office, tell them you want to join, pay the fees, and presto!, you are a member of AFTRA.
The Taft-Hartley law says that within 31 days after you do your first AFTRA job you must join AFTRA, or as I said in the paragraph above, prior to doing your first AFTRA sanctioned job you may join any time you wish.
Now, one correction to something I said in an earlier blog entry about contacting talent agencies. I said some require you to drop off your headshot and resume in person. That was in error. Although a very few will still allow you to drop by and leave these items in person, none that I have found require you to do so. The mail is still the method of choice for contacting most talent agencies, with some accepting electronic submissions.
Tomorrow I have a private lesson with my downtown Hollywood acting coach. It's always an intense one hour workout with him, and one that I look forward to and enjoy a great deal. Whether it goes well (which some have), doesn't go well (which others have) or is somewhere in between, I always leave my lesson feeling I am a better actor than I was when I arrived.
The same holds true with lessons from my Hollywood Hills acting coach, and that is, of course, why I continue to take private lessons from both gentlemen.
We'll talk again, soon......................
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A Wise Saying Comes Home to Roost
Before becoming an actor, I had a long stretch of making my living, first as a computer programmer, then as a systems analyst, and finally in computer system sales. Just a few weeks into my information systems career I took my first course called Introduction to Data Processing (the term information systems came along a few years later) at the IBM education center in San Francisco. What does this have to do with acting, you ask? Stay with me and I think you'll see where I'm going.
In that first class, I met a young man (we were all young men back then) named Marty Dupont. Marty and his family owned a rental car agency in Hawaii, and Marty had been given the task of running the data processing end of their business. Marty and I had dinner and drinks a few times during the week long course, and I liked him right away. The instructor was a "take no prisoners" type of guy who spewed out information a mile a minute, as we all struggled to keep up with him. Somewhere along the middle of the second day of the class, the instructor stopped long enough to ask if there were any questions. What happened next has stayed with me over the years, as Marty raised his hand and when called upon said, "I'm not sure I understand everything I know."
I never saw Marty again after that class, but I remember him to this day because of that remark.
That remark (which I have come to view as one of life's wise sayings) certainly applies to my acting studies in LA. There is a great deal more urgency in the approach to private acting lessons in LA, both from the acting coach and the actor. There are roles out there (a lot of roles) in which actors are going to be cast, and both the acting coach and the actor are doing everything in their power to prepare the actor, as quickly as possible, to be one of the people who are cast in those roles, be they theatrical or commercial.
The pace is faster, and you are given an increasing work load by your acting coaches, with frequent (often daily) exercises to do. I have two excellent acting coaches, one in downtown Hollywood, and the other in the Hollywood Hills. Both are tremendously personable, as well as quite demanding, and the actor has to sift quickly through various methods, and procedures designed to make a role or character you are doing, natural, believable, and real. When getting into a role is not working, it is an extremely difficult process, yet when it is working, it seems as easy as a walk in the park.
Sometimes I think back to what Marty said about not understanding everything you know. The understanding does come, but sometimes it's a few days or even the next lesson before it all falls into place.
I had a lesson, today with my acting coach in the Hollywood Hills. It was quite productive, I learned, I applied what I learned, and took another small step on the way to where I want and need to be as an actor equipped to compete in the LA market. Next week, I have a lesson with my downtown Hollywood acting coach, and the week after that it's back for a lesson in the Hollywood Hills.
If I fail, it won't be because I did not listen to and learn from these two men and give it everything I have. If I succeed, it will be because I did.
Finally, LA weather may be great most of the year but not this month in the San Fernando Valley where I live. It is supposed to around a 100 (plus or minus a degree or two) for the next 4 or 5 days, and after that who knows. I can hear my friend in Phoenix (and you know who you are) laughing as she probably thinks a temperature around 100 is a cold snap. They say the winters are nice in Southern California and I can't wait to find out.
Until next time.............
In that first class, I met a young man (we were all young men back then) named Marty Dupont. Marty and his family owned a rental car agency in Hawaii, and Marty had been given the task of running the data processing end of their business. Marty and I had dinner and drinks a few times during the week long course, and I liked him right away. The instructor was a "take no prisoners" type of guy who spewed out information a mile a minute, as we all struggled to keep up with him. Somewhere along the middle of the second day of the class, the instructor stopped long enough to ask if there were any questions. What happened next has stayed with me over the years, as Marty raised his hand and when called upon said, "I'm not sure I understand everything I know."
I never saw Marty again after that class, but I remember him to this day because of that remark.
That remark (which I have come to view as one of life's wise sayings) certainly applies to my acting studies in LA. There is a great deal more urgency in the approach to private acting lessons in LA, both from the acting coach and the actor. There are roles out there (a lot of roles) in which actors are going to be cast, and both the acting coach and the actor are doing everything in their power to prepare the actor, as quickly as possible, to be one of the people who are cast in those roles, be they theatrical or commercial.
The pace is faster, and you are given an increasing work load by your acting coaches, with frequent (often daily) exercises to do. I have two excellent acting coaches, one in downtown Hollywood, and the other in the Hollywood Hills. Both are tremendously personable, as well as quite demanding, and the actor has to sift quickly through various methods, and procedures designed to make a role or character you are doing, natural, believable, and real. When getting into a role is not working, it is an extremely difficult process, yet when it is working, it seems as easy as a walk in the park.
Sometimes I think back to what Marty said about not understanding everything you know. The understanding does come, but sometimes it's a few days or even the next lesson before it all falls into place.
I had a lesson, today with my acting coach in the Hollywood Hills. It was quite productive, I learned, I applied what I learned, and took another small step on the way to where I want and need to be as an actor equipped to compete in the LA market. Next week, I have a lesson with my downtown Hollywood acting coach, and the week after that it's back for a lesson in the Hollywood Hills.
If I fail, it won't be because I did not listen to and learn from these two men and give it everything I have. If I succeed, it will be because I did.
Finally, LA weather may be great most of the year but not this month in the San Fernando Valley where I live. It is supposed to around a 100 (plus or minus a degree or two) for the next 4 or 5 days, and after that who knows. I can hear my friend in Phoenix (and you know who you are) laughing as she probably thinks a temperature around 100 is a cold snap. They say the winters are nice in Southern California and I can't wait to find out.
Until next time.............
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Sign Here, Please
There are milestones in every endeavor....a baseball pitcher's first win, a sales person's first sale, a boy or girl's first date, The birth of your first child. Each of these by nature of being the first will never happen again. To be sure the pitcher will savor each win thereafter, the sales person will celebrate all their future sales, the parent will love the rest of their children just as much, but etched deeply into all their minds will be the memory of their first.
And so it was today, when I sat down in the conference room of my commercial agency and signed all the necessary contracts and forms. I am now officially represented by my first Los Angeles talent agency. Sure they have already sent me on two auditions, but never the less, if I said I didn't enjoy today, I would be lying. It felt great.
It was a milestone in my LA acting quest. This is a top flight agency and I feel quite fortunate they agreed to represent me. However, in the overall picture it is but one of a succession of necessary milestones if I am to have any success. This agency will get me auditions, but I have to do well in them, and book some of the roles for which I audition. Not all of them of course, as no actor, even well known actors do that, but I have to have some hits when called upon to bat.
I still need a theatrical agency to represent me. I need my SAG card. I may need to join AFTRA (which, unlike SAG, one may join anytime they wish) There are so many more milestones to reach, but forgive me if I enjoy this one at least for the rest of today.
This past Wednesday, I returned to the studio of my downtown Hollywood acting coach to try and alleviate the bad showing I had two weeks ago. I was partially successful in that, while I was vastly improved on the same copy on which I stumbled badly two weeks ago, I still have some improvement to do with it.
Next week, I have my second lesson with my Hollywood Hills commercial acting coach. He gave me daily exercises, which I have been doing, and we'll see how that goes.
So life goes on, one milestone, one audition, and one acting lesson at a time.
We'll talk again soon.......
And so it was today, when I sat down in the conference room of my commercial agency and signed all the necessary contracts and forms. I am now officially represented by my first Los Angeles talent agency. Sure they have already sent me on two auditions, but never the less, if I said I didn't enjoy today, I would be lying. It felt great.
It was a milestone in my LA acting quest. This is a top flight agency and I feel quite fortunate they agreed to represent me. However, in the overall picture it is but one of a succession of necessary milestones if I am to have any success. This agency will get me auditions, but I have to do well in them, and book some of the roles for which I audition. Not all of them of course, as no actor, even well known actors do that, but I have to have some hits when called upon to bat.
I still need a theatrical agency to represent me. I need my SAG card. I may need to join AFTRA (which, unlike SAG, one may join anytime they wish) There are so many more milestones to reach, but forgive me if I enjoy this one at least for the rest of today.
This past Wednesday, I returned to the studio of my downtown Hollywood acting coach to try and alleviate the bad showing I had two weeks ago. I was partially successful in that, while I was vastly improved on the same copy on which I stumbled badly two weeks ago, I still have some improvement to do with it.
Next week, I have my second lesson with my Hollywood Hills commercial acting coach. He gave me daily exercises, which I have been doing, and we'll see how that goes.
So life goes on, one milestone, one audition, and one acting lesson at a time.
We'll talk again soon.......
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Pursuing Acting On The Side Of A Mountain
Today, I had another acting lesson, but not with my usual Hollywood acting coach.
My new agency, which represents me commercially, has a favorite coach for commercial acting to which they send most of their adult clients (They also represent child actors in a number of areas). After one lesson with him, I see why he is their favorite. He has successfully done commercials and taught for years and knows exactly what it takes to get callbacks and to get bookings. Let me be very clear about one thing. Studying with this new acting coach is not, by any means, instead of studying with my other acting coach, who I have mentioned numerous times in this blog, but is in addition to studying with my long time coach.
The new coach, Like my other coach, is very personable, but brutally honest and direct in his approach. He gets right to the point of what, how, why, and when. This is Hollywood. This is the big leagues. These are big league acting coaches, and I listen to every word both men have to say about acting in general and my acting in particular. I would be a fool not to.
The truth is, they both know what it takes to work in this town, and they both know how to impart that knowledge to their students. Like money, you can never have too many quality acting coaches. I now feel very fortunate that I have found two.
My long time acting coach has a studio in a building in downtown Hollywood. My new acting coach also teaches in Hollywood, but far from downtown. He teaches in a studio in his home, which is perched half way up the mountain on which sits the Hollywood sign. His house is on a winding narrow, often one lane road (due to cars parked on the side). There are houses on both sides of the road and at times, around blind curves, you must drive no more than five miles per hour in case you meet someone coming the other way. If that happens, one car has to give ground so the other car may pass. It's a very adventurous road.
The lesson today showed areas where I need work. I welcome the challenge and know that I am up to it. I have daily homework which I will, of course, do. I have a lesson scheduled with my long time acting coach next week, and one again with my new acting coach the week after that.
For the cherry on top of the cake, I received an email shortly after my lesson concluded, which informed me of an audition I have early tomorrow afternoon. This audition is for a commercial and came through my new agency.
So acting lessons and auditions continue, and hopefully sprinkled in among those will be some bookings. Of course I haven't forgotten that I still need to find a quality theatrical agency to represent me in that area. How will it all shake out? We'll find out together.
Stay tuned.........
My new agency, which represents me commercially, has a favorite coach for commercial acting to which they send most of their adult clients (They also represent child actors in a number of areas). After one lesson with him, I see why he is their favorite. He has successfully done commercials and taught for years and knows exactly what it takes to get callbacks and to get bookings. Let me be very clear about one thing. Studying with this new acting coach is not, by any means, instead of studying with my other acting coach, who I have mentioned numerous times in this blog, but is in addition to studying with my long time coach.
The new coach, Like my other coach, is very personable, but brutally honest and direct in his approach. He gets right to the point of what, how, why, and when. This is Hollywood. This is the big leagues. These are big league acting coaches, and I listen to every word both men have to say about acting in general and my acting in particular. I would be a fool not to.
The truth is, they both know what it takes to work in this town, and they both know how to impart that knowledge to their students. Like money, you can never have too many quality acting coaches. I now feel very fortunate that I have found two.
My long time acting coach has a studio in a building in downtown Hollywood. My new acting coach also teaches in Hollywood, but far from downtown. He teaches in a studio in his home, which is perched half way up the mountain on which sits the Hollywood sign. His house is on a winding narrow, often one lane road (due to cars parked on the side). There are houses on both sides of the road and at times, around blind curves, you must drive no more than five miles per hour in case you meet someone coming the other way. If that happens, one car has to give ground so the other car may pass. It's a very adventurous road.
The lesson today showed areas where I need work. I welcome the challenge and know that I am up to it. I have daily homework which I will, of course, do. I have a lesson scheduled with my long time acting coach next week, and one again with my new acting coach the week after that.
For the cherry on top of the cake, I received an email shortly after my lesson concluded, which informed me of an audition I have early tomorrow afternoon. This audition is for a commercial and came through my new agency.
So acting lessons and auditions continue, and hopefully sprinkled in among those will be some bookings. Of course I haven't forgotten that I still need to find a quality theatrical agency to represent me in that area. How will it all shake out? We'll find out together.
Stay tuned.........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)