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....................

You Want Me To Act Where?

(Revised September 30, 2011)
It's been awhile, but I have always promised that I will never write an entry to this blog unless I have something worthwhile to say.

A funny thing happened recently on the way to the audition. OK, not so, but I couldn't resist using that take-off on an old (very old) stand-up comedian line. Actually, nothing funny happened to me on the way to the audition, but something that hasn't happened in a long while did happen, as a result of the audition. Since my return from living in LA, all my work and most auditions have been in Portland, where as you know, two TV series ("Grim" and "Leverage") are now shot, as well as some major films. I had not worked, or for that matter had more than a few auditions in Seattle since my time in LA.

My recent audition (a week ago) was for a Microsoft X-Box commercial, mainly for use on the Internet and for trade shows..., and quite possibly, for an additional buyout, a TV commercial down the line. A few days after my audition, I was informed by my agent that I had been cast. My portion of the commercial was shot two days ago in Seattle on the 28th. It was a great experience with a wonderful director, a great cast to work with, and a very professional crew.

As many of you know, the state legislature in their infinite wisdom decided to close the state film office, leaving Washington as one of only six states without one. They ignored statistics which showed that three dollars came into the state for every one dollar spend in perks to film and TV companies. Oregon to the south and Vancouver BC, to the north, both offer attractive incentives which bring film and TV business to their areas, while Washington offers none. I shy away from discussing politics in this blog, but be you conservative, liberal, or none of the above, you should mention the harm that closing the film office has done to our state, anytime you have a reason to contact any of our state's elected officials.

Still, there is work in this state, just not nearly as much as there used to be.

I had a strange audition this past Monday for a photo shoot. The audition consisted of walking into the audition room, saying hi, and having five photos taken (three front, one side, one full length) and the photographer (a pleasant man) then saying "Thanks, that it." The process took maybe two minutes and was so fast that after my pictures were taken, the next person was in and out of their audition before I had finished gathering my jacket and headshot folder from the waiting room. Another unusual thing was that they did not need for you to give them a headshot. Of course, this is only the second photo shoot for which I have auditioned. The other was many years ago and I was cast in that one. Perhaps this is the way most photo shoot auditions work.

On the writing front, the Seattle Theater Readers will be doing two more public staged readings of my short film screenplays, one in November, and the other in December. One is a sort of "bad things come to those who deserve it" story, while the second script is science fiction.

Finally, I returned two weeks ago from a few days in LA where I had two lengthy lessons with my acting coach, Glenn Haines, and also participated in an acting showcase for the casting agency that casts "Chuck" and the new (still in production) "Dallas" series. It was a quick and very productive trip. I hope to take another such trip in late October/early November.

So, as the old saying goes, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." I'll talk with you again, the next time I have something new to say.

Until then............

A Tale Of Two Audiions

"Is was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Yes, I know....pure plagiarism, but so fitting for the tale I am about to tell you.

I recently had two auditions with the same casting office for a national TV show. Both were for parts that were not one or two liners, but had more substance to them. The two auditions could not have been more diverse, and again, I had a valuable lesson for actors driven home to me.

For the first audition, I worked many hours (I had not quite a week's notice), then did an hour Skype session with my acting coach in Hollywood on the role, and then followed that up with many more hours of preparation. I should have been well prepared for the audition, right? Oh I was and then some. I was so prepared that I was tight as a drum, and did the worst audition I have ever done for that casting office. In fact, it was probably the worst audition I have done in several years.

A few weeks later they had me back to audition for another role. This time I had less than 24 hours notice. I worked for about a hour and a half, felt I knew the part well, and took off for the audition. At the audition, I was loose, having fun and the audition went quite well. It was in fact the best audition I have ever done for that casting office. Did I get cast? No, I did not. However, I learned long ago that there are many layers of reasons why an actor does or does not get cast in a particular role. All the actor can do is control how he or she handles the audition. All the other parameters such as you don't look like what we had in mind, you're too short, too tall, too heavy, too thin, too old, too young, and all the rest are out of your hands. If you can walk away from an audition knowing you did a good job, that is the best you can ask for, and I left that audition feeling quite good about it.

The lesson learned? Too little preparation for an audition is a recipe for disaster, but so is too much preparation, which is exactly what I did for the first audition. To use a phrase from my professional music days, I left my best performance on the rehearsal room floor.

I will continue to work with my Hollywood acting coach via Skype for future auditions (time permitting), but that, and a little tune up will be it. I will never again run it into the ground and tie myself in knots before an audition. Doing so removes all spontaneity from your audition performance.

A few weeks ago the Seattle Theater Readers did a staged reading of one of my shot film screenplays, at a theater in Seattle as part of their monthly program. They did an excellent job and it was great fun to watch and hear. They will be doing two more of my short film screenplays this coming Fall.

I have now completed the organization and setup for designing and producing demo reels and and/or websites for actors. Pardon the thinly disguised commercial (or perhaps not disguised at all), but should you know anyone who might benefit from such services, they can contact me at afareelsandweb@gmail.com for a free fact sheet via email, containing info, references, fee schedules, etc.

Thanks for reading and I'll talk with you later..............

Branching out

I have always felt we are all more than one thing to both ourselves and to others. By that I mean we each have talents in more than one area, and if we are fortunate, we get to exercise those talents in concert with each other from time to time. I think the main reason I was always a big fan of Steve Allen was because he could do so many things so well.

But first, on the acting front....I recently did a film for the US Department of Justice, in which I played a prison medical director. The film was done through a media company in Portland. This company is quite professional, their shoots run very well, and they are always a joy to work for. This was the second role I have done for this media company and I look forward to working with them again. I have also had an increase in auditions this year, as compared to last, and that's always a good sign.

I spent two rewarding private lesson sessions with my acting coach in Hollywood, Glenn Haines, in early April and am planning another such trip to LA in late May. There is no such thing as too much good study and training for an actor.

Acting is, of course, my main focus, has been for many years, and will remain so. However, I'm now delving into other areas related to acting, some of which I have been involved in before and some of which I have not.

Last year I conducted a couple of cold reading workshops for the students of a Seattle area acting coach. In the next couple of months I will be doing four more such workshops for students of that same acting coach. I greatly enjoy coaching other actors, as it's rewarding, and every time I conduct a workshop, I come away having learned something myself.

Prior to entering acting a number of years ago, I spent more than a decade as a computer programmer and systems analyst. I have maintained many of those skills over the years, as being computer literate and being able to function in that environment is highly important to actors and non actors alike. I believe actors need an economical path to having a good website and/or demo reel created. I also believe that any actor who does not have both, with the demo reel being available through their website is at a disadvantage. So, I will soon be offering both services to actors. I'm doing the set-up work for that now and will have more about that in future posts.

In June the Seattle Theater Readers will be doing a staged reading of one of my short film screen plays at their monthly show in the Jewel Box Theater in Seattle. It's a private eye farce and runs some 15 minutes.

Finally, please grant me a personal note. Last evening my wife and I attended a concert by the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (SRJO). This is a wonderfully talented group of musicians. If you live in the Seattle area, do yourself a favor by looking them up on the Internet and attending one of their future concerts. You'll be glad you did.

That's all for now. More later...........

Actors Must Be crazy

If you are wondering why I have not posted to this blog in two months (you were wondering, weren't you?), read on.

I know a very respected casting director who said, "I have no idea why anyone would want to be an actor." Some days I can find nothing in that statement with which to disagree. Don't get me wrong, as I love being an actor. Like most actors, it gives me something which I need, and can find no place else. Still, actors have to be a little bit crazy since acting is an occupation where even the very successful fail (auditions) more times than they succeed, you are always looking for that next job, you must continually study, even when you have no definite future project to study for, and when jobs (castings) do occur they fall in a very uneven pace. When I was living in LA, my best two jobs fell within four days of each other after several months of no work. Some days that casting director is right.

Since moving back to the Seattle area from LA, I find the Seattle film industry to be almost nonexistent. Before I went to LA, Seattle wasn't the liveliest film center around, but it was in far better shape than it is today. I believe one reason lies both to the north and south of Seattle in the form of Portland, OR and Vancouver BC, both of which (with government support) are actively courting film and TV productions. Seattle seemingly has no interest in doing what is necessary to attract major film and TV. Of course, Vancouver is way ahead of Portland, but Portland is working hard to become a film and TV center. Since my return from LA I have had exactly one job. It was a great role with a wonderful production company. It was also in Portland and not in Seattle.

So, my reason for not posting to this blog is quite simply, I have had no acting news to report.

As I said, an actor must continue to study under any and all circumstances, and that is what I am doing. With the dearth of work in Washington, I feel somewhat like a football player practicing for a game, which is yet to be scheduled, but study I must and study I will. Towards that end I am scheduling trips to LA in August and October for private lessons with my acting coach in Hollywood and for casting director workshops.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I have conducted two cold reading workshops since returning from LA, and I hope to do more. We'll see.

Finally, a swipe at something that has been on my mind for quite a while, that being reality shows. Even in LA, much less the rest of the country, reality shows cause less dramas and comedies to be filmed, with the result being less work for actors. On top of that, reality shows are incredibly boring. I really don't care what some bounty hunter or a pawn shop operator is up to, nor am I interested in a group on an island working to survive some contrived contest, while trying to make us believe they are alone, when they are surrounded by a large film crew and support staff. I am equally not interested in how fast people can race around the world or lose weight. Yes, losing weight is an admirable goal, but I don't need to see it. Because I am an actor, this opinion may seem very self serving, but I have a long standing rule of not watching reality shows because they are boring (to me) and deny actors the chance to work. Oh wow, I feel so much better for having said that.

Well folks, to use an old Texas phrase from my youth, "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it."

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

A Tale of Two Auditions

Auditions are to actors what job interviews are to the rest of the working world. Of course there are differences, as auditions usually only last five to ten minutes, and there are many more each year (hopefully) than there are job interviews for workers in other fields. In essence, actors are always looking for their next job, even if they are currently working in film, television, or commercials. It is the nature of what we do.

Some actors literally loath auditions as they make them feel uncomfortable, while others neither hate or love auditions, and just figure they are a vital part of the business they are in. A third, and admittedly smaller, groups of actors actually like and enjoy auditions. I fall into that last group and freely admit there are other actors who look at me like I am a Martian when I say that, and I might as well have just told them I enjoy root canals. Still, love them or hate them, auditions are a part of being an actor.

There are many things an actor can control during an audition, but also there are a number of things totally out of an actors control. Knowledgeable people in the business say you should worry about what you can control, and not the rest. Fairly good advice for life, too, I suppose.

Recently I had two auditions with quite different results, even though both auditions went well. When an actor leaves an audition, they know if they did well.

First, I auditioned for a corporate/industrial film in Portland. The audition went longer than most (some 15 minutes) and I handled everything they threw at me well. Since then I also auditioned for another corporate/industrial film in Seattle, and again, the audition went well. I was equally pleased with both auditions.

I was cast in the film in Portland, but not the one in Seattle. I have been around in acting long enough to know that I will probably never actually now why I was not cast in one, and cast in the other. I have learned to accept the fact that I will probably never learn this and subscribe to the wise saying about worrying only about what you can control.

In both cases, I could have been cast or not cast because I did or did not have just the right look for which they were looking. Other than good grooming, we have no control over how we look. Perhaps I wasn't cast in the Seattle film because, as well as I did in the audition, another actor had an even better audition. If you can run the hundred yard dash in 9.8 seconds, you will win a lot of races until you go up against a runner who can run it in 9.7. That's life. Perhaps I reminded the audition person of someone they didn't like. That very thing once happened to an old acting coach of mine who reminded the film's director so much of his ex mother in law, he didn't want to be in the same room with her.

My point is this. If you can walk away from an audition feeling good about how you did, that is the very best result you can hope for. When that happens you have controlled all you could about the audition. What should an actor do after an audition regardless of how they think it went. If you learned something in the audition that will help you in future auditions, that's great. Otherwise forget it and move on. If they are interested in you they know where to find you or your agent. That audition is over and it is time for the actor to look forward, not backward.

I'm off this afternoon for LA for a series of casting director workshops and private lesson. I'll talk with you when I return.............

Put Me In, Coach

I have always maintained that most of us should and do wear more than one hat, and should not think of ourselves as being defined by a single skill, talent, or activity. An accountant is more than an accountant, as he or she may also be a writer, or a gardener, or a volunteer for any number of activities, or an expert on a particular subject not associated with accounting, or may possess any number of talents at either an amateur or professional level. Past that, and never to take a back seat in our lives, all of us are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and so forth. We all are the sum of all these parts, and I am no different there than anyone else.

In the course of my life I have worked as a professional jazz musician, a computer programmer, a systems analyst, a hospital department head, a technical field salesperson, and for the past fourteen years, an actor. Additionally, I have been a writer for years, writing short film screenplays, articles, essays, short stories, and two radio dramas which have been performed nationally on commercial radio. All of this has played a part in who I am.

I have given a lot to acting in time, money (private lessons, classes, workshops), and dedication and acting in turn, has given a lot to me. It has been and continues to be a good professional marriage.

This past couple of weeks, I opened a new chapter in the book known as "Who I Am". I taught and conducted two cold reading workshops for actors. The first workshop was for intermediate actors, the second was for a group of advanced actors. These workshops were scene study workshops (two person scenes), which gave each actor a few minutes to prepare a scene with their assigned acting partner, and then do their scene, and re-work that scene in front of the entire group. I subscribe to the simple, yet important premise of famed acting coach Tony Barr, who said, "Actors should act." All private lessons, workshops, and classes that I attended while in LA were designed that way....scene study, scene study, scene study. Both workshops went well, and I found that assuming the role as an acting coach was almost immediately comfortable for me.

While, like all of you I am the sum of many parts, after family I am still an actor first, with any acting coaching, writing, etc. coming after that. Still, I found I greatly enjoyed the workshops I conducted. I believe I do have something to pass on to other actors, and I look forward to holding more workshops in the future.

Otherwise, it's going to auditions which either my agent finds, or that I find, and continuing my own studies as an actor. Towards that end I will be spending a few days in LA in the first half of April, attending three casting director workshops (including casting directors who currently cast Criminal Minds, Leverage, and Modern Family), and (schedule permitting) a long private lesson from my Hollywood based acting coach.

I cannot stress too strongly my belief that any actor can benefit from spending a year or two in LA. I now have contacts there which I never could have formed any other way. Living and working in LA will change the way you look at acting, and it will change the way the acting profession looks at you. However, obligations being what they are, I understand that many either cannot or will not make that move. It's a highly individual decision to move to LA, but to all serious actors....if you can, you should.

Here's a fact about actors. Most actors have a built in and pesky self critic, which tells them (the intermediates) you are not good enough to find work, or (the advanced actors) sure you can work in the Northwest, but you are not good enough to work in LA. From what I observed in the two recent workshops I conducted, nothing could be farther from the truth. All the intermediate actors I worked with are good enough to work in the Northwest, and all the advanced actors I worked with would have just as good a chance in LA as any other new actor. Perception is half the battle, and it's the old story of if you think you can't, you can't, and if you think you can, you can. I am no better an actor than any other Northwest actor, and certainly not as talented as some. However, I went to LA convinced I could find work, and I did.

Now that I'm back in the Pacific Northwest, the cold facts are that there are not as many gigs for actors here as in LA, which I'm sure, comes as no surprise to anyone. However, there are good opportunities for actors in both Seattle and Portland, with Portland currently holding a slight edge. I have not yet really investigated the Vancouver BC market for American actors.

So, life goes on, auditions happen, actors get cast, films and commercials get shot, actors classes and workshops get held, and it all happens in one of the most beautiful places in the country, the Pacific Northwest. "Ain't" life grand?

Home Again, Home Again, Jigity Jig

Somewhere in my childhood, I heard the nursery rhyme phrase "Home again, home again Jigity Jig", and for some reason I still remember it. I have absolutely no idea what it means. I've also heard most of my adult life, that "You can't go home again." I'm sure ninety nine times out of a hundred that is probably true, as the place you left is usually not as you remembered it when you return. Still, that leaves the one time out of a hundred when it is true, and fortunately, that one time applies to my return to the Seattle area from LA.

We left on January 25th from LA, with bad weather having been the norm up and down the entire west coast. The week before I left LA we had four days of rain which made the rain in the Pacific Northwest look like a spit bath by comparison. Sometimes you just get lucky. We left LA in the sunshine and remained in sunshine for the entire two and a half day trip, and with the exception of a one hour long hard rain just north of Fresno, California, all mountain passes were bare and dry, with the sun shining brightly.

Once home again, I quickly settled into Northwest living, both as a resident and as an actor. I had lunch with my Seattle area agent just before attending the first day of the "Leverage" (TNT) workshop in Portland. I next had an audition in Seattle, followed by an audition in Portland. The one in Portland bore fruit and I was cast as a prison medical director in a film for the U.S. Prison system. That film was shot in Portland just last weekend (Not so lucky with the weather on that one, with rain all the way down and most of the way back....oh, well). And yes, my wife and I really did stay in a Holiday Inn Express the night before the shoot, which means I can legitimately say, "I'm not a real medical director, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night."

The film shoot itself was great fun, and the Portland media production company that was running the show was first rate and quite professional all the way around. For the film I had to learn thirty one lines in two days. Then, on the second day there were a few revisions of my lines, as well as the lines of others. This was a challenge which I welcomed, and is not an uncommon occurrence, as shooting scripts are usually in a semi-liquid state for most productions, right up until the camera begins to roll. The shoot went well with a good group of actors to work with, great crew, and a wonderful catered lunch. We had a ten hour shooting day before we wrapped, coming in only 30 minutes over schedule.

Now it's March 2nd and already I am planning my first return trip to LA, where I will be attending several casting director workshops and taking a private lesson from my acting coach in Hollywood. That is planned for the first half of April.

Other irons in the fire? I'd like to do some teaching, as I feel I have some worthwhile techniques to pass on to other actors in the Northwest. I am just doing some preliminary work to look into that.

Also, while I have written a number of short film screenplays, I have my sights set on something bigger. I have the first 27 pages of a feature length script written. It's been on the shelf for awhile and I want to get back to working on it. If you think getting work as an actor is hard, that's easy compared to selling a feature length script. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, while an overused phrase, is still true.

I'm still determined to check out the acting scene in Vancouver BC, and now that the Olympics are over, I will need to get serious about that before very long. I will either find out that there is work for U.S actors in Vancouver, and how to go about it, or I will find there is not a possibility of work there and why. Either way, I'll pass on my findings in a later entry in this blog.

So, in my case, you can go home again, and I sum up my year in LA this way. I'm glad I went, and I highly recommend it for all serious actors. Even if, as I did, you decide to leave LA at some point, you will have made contacts that will serve you well, long after you have gone. I'm also quite glad I have returned to the Pacific Northwest, and I am happy to be back.

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