Lights, Camera Action....And No Pay....BEWARE!

Acting is a craft, some say an art, but whichever you choose to call it, there is a learning and experience curve that any actor must go through (sort of a right of passage) before they can truly be called a professional actor. Professional, not only because they get paid, but of equal importance, professional, because of their skill and the way they conduct themselves in the business, both on and off the set.

When we were all beginning actors (i.e. some training, but no experience) the most accepted way to gain experience and credits was to audition for, and once cast, do rolls in "free" films.  These types of films are often student films or new filmaker's low to no budget films in which everyone (cast and crew) works for nothing.  An actor gains practical experience in preparing a role, being on the set, and performing for the camera.  It is good training and experience, and we all did several (if not more) free films as we were starting out as actors. When I teach an acting workshop I highly recommend that any actor without experience or credits do exactly this. In Seattle and in most areas of the country, there are various "anyone can post" online audition call boards that will help a new actor identify and submit themselves for these free film roles.

Once an actor has experience and credits, it is time to look for an agency to represent them.  Agencies can open doors that the actor cannot by themselves, insure that the actor receives decent, competitive pay for their work, that working conditions are solid, and professionally represent the actor for both non-union and union work.

Having read this far, actors may be saying to themselves, "Yeah, I know all that.  Where is all this leading?"

OK. Fair enough.  Free work, or very low paid work, (such as $100 per day or less) is still prevalent on many of the on-line un-monitored audition call boards, except many are looking for more than just new, inexperienced actors. They want experience.  They use come-on lines like "credit for your resume", "opening screen credit", "great experience", "award winning director", and other such enticements. These are not the student or beginning filmmaker projects I discussed earlier, but more ambitious, professional  projects looking for free or very low paid actors.  Example: The Discovery Channel was advertising for actors for $100 per day for a project they are shooting in Seattle.  That is shameful. Others, looking for a particular experience in an actor, have advertised a rate of $50 per day. Say what!

Can this practice be stopped or at least greatly reduced?  Yes it can, but it will take some discipline from actors. If you are an experienced actor, don't submit yourself for this type of free or low paid work. I know we all love to have a chance to act and I am no different than anyone else, but by taking roles in these low or no pay projects you are lowering the bar for us all and demeaning yourself as a actor.  If the Discovery Channel wants experienced actors, they should pay a competitive wage for them. If no actors take them up on their $100 offer, they will raise that offer, and no doubt go through reputable talent agencies to find qualified actors.

Are there ever any good acting jobs offered on craigslist, Performers Callboard, and other un-monitored acting call boards? My agent probably will not like me saying this, but yes.  Now comes the part he will like. While good paying jobs for actors can be found on these call boards, the odds of finding one is pretty much the same as coming upon a gold nugget, while walking across a farmer's field.  They are very, very rare.  There is a production company in Oregon that I found out about through their Performers Callboard notice several years ago.  I have appeared in two films for the US Department of Justice for them.  This production company pays well, is most professional, has great crews and directors, and I would gladly work for them again. I cannot stress too strongly, however, that finding this production company on Performers Callboard is a rare exception to the rule. If you run across one or two like this on un-monitored call boards in your entire acting career, you are fortunate.

So, I caution all experienced actors to steer clear of these no/low paying acting jobs, even in the slow times we all go through. If you are SAG-AFTRA you have no interest in these jobs.  However, if you are SAG-AFTRA financial core you might be tempted.  Even if you are still non union, your agency can do much better for you than this type of work.  If you have experience and no agency representation, do whatever you need to do to get an agency to represent you. They have a lot more established contacts than you do, and they know how the business works.

Water seeks its own level and as actors, we can raise that level.

I grew up in Texas, so I will leave you with a saying which I heard for years down there.  "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it."

More later....................

Auditions - The Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times.

Auditions....For any actor, be they film, TV, stage, or any other venue they are the first step to being cast (or not) in a specific role. It's the actor's version of a job interview, with a few notable exceptions. Job interviews for an office or middle management person might last from thirty minutes to two hours. Auditions typically run from five to ten minutes.

Actors look at auditions with a mixed bag of opinions, preconceived notions, and personal rules.

Yesterday I drove to Portland to audition for a role in the TV show Leverage. From my house near Seattle to the casting office in Portland is exactly 148 miles. I drove two and a half hours down and two and a half hours back for a five to six minute audition. To the non actor, this must sound quite weird. To most actors it is simply par for the course. Both the TV series Leverage and Grimm are shot in Portland, as well as some commercials and higher production films. The film and TV production industry is booming in Portland I am sure I will audition there again, as I have a number of times in the past.

Driving down I was rehearsing my lines for the audition. Coming back I had plenty of time on my hands and I begin to think about the audition process, and how it is viewed by myself and by other actors I know.

There is a female actor in the Seattle area who has two notable characteristics. One, she is an outstanding, bordering on being gifted, actor. I have seen her do roles that captured her character perfectly. The other characteristic is that she is deathly afraid of auditions, and is quite open about that. The two would not seem to go hand in hand, but we are all the sum of many parts. She has done well, but no doubt could do even better if she was not so frightened by auditions.

I will freely admit that auditions, at first glance, seem like a strange environment. To the actors reading this, you might as well skip to the next paragraph, as you know the drill. But for you non actors here is how the majority of auditions happen. First, you receive the sides (a small portion of the script) that has some of the dialogue and/or actions for your character. You usually receive these twenty four hours or less before the audition. For my recent audition in Portland, I received the sides twenty hours prior to the audition. At audition time, you go to the casting office, sign in, wait, and are then shown into the casting studio. There are always strangers in the room whom you have never met. You may know the casting director if you have auditioned at this casting agency before. After brief , "Hi, how are you?" introductions. You stand on a mark in front of the camera. You sometimes slate your name and then do the scene for this room full of mostly strangers. Someone there will read the part of the character you are playing against. When you have finished, they say thank you, you say thank you and you leave. There is rarely any feedback from anyone in the room. Experienced actors know it is tacky to ask for instant feedback, and expect none. If you agent tells you that you have been selected for a call-back (where the casting people again see the actors that most impressed them on the first go around), or tell you that you have been cast, that's great. You know you have not been cast if you hear nothing. As my agent is fond of saying, "No news is bad news," and he's absolutely right.

Most actors are either comfortable with auditions, knowing they are a vital part of the business, or simply endure them, as the actress I mentioned earlier does.

However, there is a third, if small, group of actors, with still a different take on auditions, and I fall into that group. I greatly enjoy auditions, and look forward to them. I once heard acting described as the willingness to get up in a room full of strangers and make a complete fool of yourself. I guess that is me. I have from my beginning acting days, never feared auditions. I was a professional jazz musician in my younger days and was quite used to performing in what essentially was a room full of strangers. I enjoy the challenge of an audition and feel that win, lose or draw, auditions can only make you a more experienced actor. Think of it, if you will, as a mini movie (auditions are filmed) in which you are the producer, director, and star.

I don't get nervous in auditions. When I auditioned for a role in The Office on NBC, it was by far, the biggest project for which I had ever auditioned. It was in Hollywood in a big studio, with guards and visitor passes and all such trappings. I knew and liked the casting director, having auditioned for her before. I went into her studio, auditioned for her and her assistant. She was one of the few casting directors who asked me to do it a second time. They thanked me, I thanked them, and I left. I enjoyed every minute of that audition, and ten days later was told I had been cast in the part. If I was not nervous for that audition, I doubt if I would be nervous for any audition.

To be perfectly honest, I have heard other actors who I have mentioned that I enjoy auditions to, call me an idiot, or at best say I'm very weird.

Auditions are a way of life for an actor, and depending on the actor, can truly be the best of times or the worst of times.

I'm off to LA in a week for another private session with my acting coach and another casting director showcase.

The Seattle Theater Readers are doing a staged reading of one of my short film screenplays at their May performance. I heard from them recently that they will be doing another screenplay of mine either this coming Fall or Winter.

Until next time.......

Why Do Actors Do What They Do?

Let's be honest....acting is a somewhat strange profession. It requires at least some talent, good training, much practice and dedication. When it is not going well it seems as if the actor is walking in molasses. When it does go well, it seems like the easiest thing in the world.

There is another aspect to acting that is not present in many other professions. Case in point: if you are a football, baseball, basketball, whatever player, (amateur or pro) you also need practice, dedication, good coaching and talent. However, in these endeavors, you are practicing for an already scheduled slate of games. You know when those games are going to happen. You have a season with a beginning, middle, and end.

Actors, other than what project they have been cast in next, have no schedule of upcoming events, and is fact, nearly all actors are always looking for their next job. Even successful actors in TV series are thinking about or preparing for their working life after that series is over. I have personal knowledge of one successful Hollywood series actor who is looking ahead and preparing now for when his highly successful series ends.

Forgive me as I use myself as an example to explain what I mean. I go to LA frequently for private sessions with my acting coach and to appear in showcases before Hollywood casting directors. This serves several needs of mine as an actor. One, I see steady progression as an actor due to my five year association with my acting coach. two, I get exposure to LA casting directors who are constantly looking for people to cast in network and cable series, and in upcoming films. Three, I gain confidence knowing I am moving in the proper acting circles in LA regarding being seen by the right people. Yet, (and here is what separates acting from so many other professions) I do this without any guarantee what-so-ever of future employment. I have no "next game" scheduled, and like most actors, I too am looking for my next job. I was in LA last December, again in February of this year, I will be going again in a week, and plan to also go in April, and May. The LA Summers I usually leave to the tourists, again resuming my trips there after Labor Day.

I am neither special, nor am I preparing any harder than any other serious actor. Why do we do this? Why do we spend our time, money and considerable effort to hone a craft in which jobs are usually of short duration (sometimes only a day or two), after which we have to jump back into the labor pool and start looking for our next job. Many of us have help in the form of a good agency and/or agent, but that search for the next job is always with us. I have been fortunate to be represented by the same excellent agency for the past five years, and I wouldn't think of changing. Still, actors can't rely on their agency, alone, to further their career. They must constantly study, market themselves to the industry, and do all the many things it takes to progress as an actor.

I believe I have an answer to why we do what we do in spite of the work required, the competition for roles, and the dedication required for success. At least it's an answer that works for me, and I am sure works for many other actors, as well. The answer is a model of simplicity. We do it because we have to. We have to, not because someone is forcing us, but because there is an inner need within us that can only be satisfied by acting. In essence, we really have no other choice.

Some might call acting an obsession, and perhaps it is. Many obsessions are unhealthy for a person, and so could acting if it blotted out everything else in your life. However, one can be dedicated and highly motivated in a positive way, as long as you allow time for the other important things in their life.

Thanks for letting me share this with you.

Until the next time..........