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..........

LA Bound

Tomorrow, I am off to LA for a couple of lengthy private lessons with my acting coach, Glenn Haines, and also to present a prepared short scene for an LA casting director in a showcase she is holding on Saturday, the 3rd. Glenn thinks that I should do one or two casting director showcases or workshops (the end result is the same, but the format is different) each time I come to LA. I respect Glenn greatly, but when he first said this, my thought was, why would a casting director be interested in an actor from the Seattle area when good actors are so available in LA? Still, when I was there in September I did a scene in a showcase for a casting director from one of the many good casting agencies in LA, and lo and behold, ten days later I received a call to audition for a role in the new "Dallas" series that will soon be on TNT. The turn around time to get to LA for the audition was so short that I couldn't make it, but it proved, as usual, that Glenn was right about my doing these showcases. Besides that, they are great fun to do.

Week before last, The Seattle Theater Readers did a staged reading of one of my short film screenplays. It went well, and it is always fun to see good actors bring one of your screenplays to life. They are doing another of my screenplays at their monthly performance in December.

Finally, it is my intention to start conducting cold reading workshops, beginning next year. Not sure of the location yet, but probably somewhere between Renton to Federal Way, Washington. The first one will be free, and all workshops will be limited to ten attendees. I've done a few in the past and they went well, so I have decided to do more. I'll have more information about them very early next year.

I hope each of you has a wonderful holiday season, and as I have said before, when I have something to say, I'll be in touch with you again.

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

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...........

The Name Of The Game

Last time we talked I was on my way to LA to study with my acting coach in Hollywood, Glenn Haines. The trip has come and gone and it was a wonderful success. I had two lessons with Glenn (two hours Monday and two more hours on Tuesday), and both went extremely well. Those are Glenn's words, not mine, and those of you who know him also know he does not throw compliments around lightly. In looking at the DVD of the two lessons, I must admit that it was some of the better work I have done with Glenn. As all actors know, it's wonderful when it goes well, and something like walking in wet concrete when it does not.

I also attended a workshop on Sunday afternoon held by casting director Craig Campobasso. Those are quite lively, with anywhere from fifteen to twenty people in attendance, and it's always nice to work with LA actors once again.

This coming Saturday I will be in Portland, playing the role of a doctor in a film for the US Department of Justice. This will actually be the fifth film in which I have played a doctor (as Mr. Rogers might say, "Can you say typecasting?"). Not to worry, as it's a good role and I long ago ceased to worry about the fact that I play a lot of doctors, ministers (or priests), lawyers, and judges. It's honest work doing what I love to do and that's what matters to me. Besides, I've had the occasional roles of a crime lord, hit man, tough guard, corporate CEO, and psychiatrist just to spice things up.

This Saturday, I will be working for a media group which I have had the pleasure of working for before. They are quite professional, fun to work with, and make the set a very enjoyable place to be.

There is a group of actors in Seattle known as The Seattle Theater Readers. They do staged readings of short film scripts once a month at the JewelBox Theater in Seattle. They have accepted one of my short film scripts (a comedy private eye spoof) and will include it on their program this coming June.

I classify myself as an actor first, and a writer second. While that is an accurate statement, I do enjoy writing a great deal and look forward to having one of my screenplays presented in that manner.

Finally, I will be returning to LA sometime in April for more lessons with Glenn, as well as attending a casting director workshop (not sure which one, yet). I'm waiting on Glenn to let me know what openings he has in his schedule for that month before scheduling the trip.

So, actors....the name of the game is to keep studying....work when you can...and keep moving forward....works for me!

We'll talk later........................

Put Me In, Coach

The life of a backup quarterback in the NFL is a lonely one. He must practice just as long and hard during the week, as the rest of the team, yet his chances of playing in the upcoming game are slim to none. And, if by some chance he does play, his notification time is usually nonexistent, as he is suddenly thrust into the game. Here's a question. What is worse than practicing, being ready to play, and then not playing? To me the answer is simple. What's worse is getting to play and not being ready.

Last year was not a very good year for me as an actor. Call it bad economy, fate, whatever, or all three, but it was not a good year. I felt like the backup quarterback sitting on the bench.

Feeling that being ready is the first prerequisite for an actor, I will be making my first trip of the year back to LA and Hollywood in early February. I hope to make four or five such trips this year. I have scheduled two long private lessons with Glenn Haines, my acting coach in Hollywood, and will also be in at least one, and possibly two (one already scheduled and one pending) casting director workshops. The workshops are a wonderful way to do scenes with working LA actors under the sharp eye of a known LA casting director. I have worked with this casting director before, and his workshops are great fun, as well as being a good learning experience.

Working with Glenn is always a joy and a chore at the same time, as he demands nothing but the best from a student, and is quick to point out to you when you don't give it. He tells you why it wasn't up to par and you do it again until it is. He is a tough and talented acting coach, and that's why I continue to study with him.

I guess, like the backup quarterback, my worst fear is getting to play and not being ready. I have always thought that when you audition for a casting director, you are there with a twofold purpose. One, of course, is to land the role for which you are auditioning, and the other is to do a job which is good enough to earn the right to come back before that same casting director to audition for another role.

When I auditioned for "The Office" it was not my first time before that casting director. Five months earlier, I had auditioned for a small role in "Parks And Recreation" on NBC. I wasn't cast in that show, but was called back by that same casting director to audition for "The Office", in which I was cast. Every audition can serve as a building block to the next audition.

So it's off to LA I go in a few weeks to study and to see some welcome familiar faces. After that...."Put me in, coach."

Later.............

Easy Come....Easy Go.

A few days ago I wrote a rather cryptic blog entry. In it I said "There is indeed work for actors in Seattle after all, and if the actor doesn't go to Hollywood....sometimes Hollywood comes to the actor"

Here now is the story behind that.

Last Monday I auditioned for a role in a vignette. The vignette was four short sketches for an un-named company, charity, organization, whatever (more about that later). The role was choice, the writing was excellent, the audition went well, and two and a half hours after the audition, I received a call from the production company for the project telling me I had been cast in the role. The pay for the role, by Seattle standards, was quite generous

The final script approval had not yet been received and had to come from China, London, and Seattle. To what degree each location had in the script approval, I have no idea. We were not told the name of the organization at the audition.

The production company (which has a lot of good work under its belt) seemed very professional, and very friendly towards actors, and I was looking forward to working with them on the project, which was to have a half day of rehearsal and a full day of shooting next week. "Was looking forward to" is the key phrase, as I received a call this afternoon from the production company telling me that sadly, the shoot had either been postponed or cancelled. The client wasn't sure at this point which it would be. The production company has a long successful history with this client and perhaps the production will live again some day....perhaps not. We'll see.

I have been in this business for awhile and know that things like this happen. It fact it happened to me once before when I was cast in a role and then the plug was pulled on the project before it could start, and another time when the plug was pulled on a film after we had already completed two days of shooting.

As an actor, how do you deal with something like this.? You simply roll with it and move on. In The Office episode I was in, my character had eight lines, all of which were cut (along with the lines of other actors) in post production. Fortunately I still had a good deal of screen time in the episode, just no lines. Again, roll with it and move on. Regardless of the missing lines, I thought my short stint on "The Office" was great fun.

My Point? Actors must be flexible and ready for anything, because in an acting career, "everything" will eventually happen. Best to just enjoy the ride and all the things that ride will bring you. A seasoned actor once told me not to get too high emotionally when things go well, and not too low when they don't. That's good advice.

Auditions in the Seattle area have picked up noticeably in the last six weeks or so, and that is good for everyone in the business in the Northwest.

OK, that takes care of the first half of my cryptic blog entry, but what about the last half about Hollywood coming to the actor.

Before moving to LA, and even more so after moving there, I have been quite fortunate to be a student of acting coach Glenn Haines. Glenn does most of his coaching from his studio in Hollywood, but on rare occasions, still comes to Seattle. He is doing so this weekend and I have a long private lesson scheduled with him. Of course I still make periodic pilgrimages to LA to study with Glenn, and to attend various casting director workshops. Even though I will be seeing Glenn this weekend, I also plan to take my next trip to LA in a few weeks. So, with Glenn, a little bit of Hollywood is coming here. It will be good to work with him again.

Be good to one another and I'll talk with you again as soon as I have something I think is worth saying...........

The Teaser

Network and cable television is great for what is known as the teaser, where by they show you just the right few seconds of an upcoming show, which in turn makes you think, "Wow, what is that all about?"

Think of this incredibly short blog entry (Its been awhile hasn't it?), as my teaser. Ready? Here is is:

There is indeed work for actors in Seattle after all, and if the actor doesn't go to Hollywood....sometimes Hollywood comes to the actor.

Curious? More quite soon.................