Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Check Your E-Mail
OK, for those of you who took my "Business of the Business" class you'll remember how I'm always saying, "check your e-mail, check it -- CHECK IT!" Well, my commercial agents have started sending on camera auditions via e-mail, and I didn't check it until just now -- and boy howdy do I have to do some serious schedule shuffling right now to make tomorrow work. Just sayin' is all!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monkeys
OK. So yesterday I’m at this on-camera commercial audition, and I’m out in the waiting room and it seems to be moving really, really slowly. Then, when the group that had been auditioning finally comes out, they all look completely freaked out and frazzled. I peek in the audition room, and sure enough, there she is. The casting director. Let’s call her Claudette. I know her, and seeing that she’s running the session explains why it’s running so late and why everyone who comes out of the audition looks shell-shocked.
Claudette is nice enough, she has a certain flair, but she’s also very temperamental. And she really doesn’t care too much about time. At least not yours.
My group goes in. And Claudette is really, really directing us. Not the typical short, quick, “I want more this less of that,” kind of commercial directing -- oh, no. She’s digging in.
We do a take. She talks for about ten minutes, then we do another take. This goes on and on. The voices in my head start screaming all at once. I don’t know which is worse, Claudette talking about Orwell, Beckett and existentialism at an audition for a commercial, or the monkeys screaming in my brain.
Finally, I decide to take action in the only place I can. In my head. I silence the chatty voice in my mind that keeps saying, “Holy cow. Is she serious? Is she drunk? What the heck does she think this is?!” Then I silence the voice that keeps screeching, “There are probably 50 people out there right now wondering what is going on in here!” I even shut up the voice that is picking on me saying, “If you were any good she wouldn’t be directing you so hard.”
I give the monkeys bananas and I shut all those voices up.
And once I shut them up, I really concentrate on what the casting director is saying, and what she is trying to say. And I super-focus and hunker down and do exactly what she’s trying to get me to do. (Which I don’t totally agree with, but I’m the actor and she’s the director so I go with it. That’s my job, after all.)
And, once I stop the monkeys and focus I can tell she’s getting more of what she wants from me and we do take after take after take.
We spent at least 35 minutes on that commercial audition. I don’t know if I’ll get a callback, but at least I got a refresher course in commercial auditioning. And I also learned to quiet the brain monkeys. Now that’s something.
Claudette is nice enough, she has a certain flair, but she’s also very temperamental. And she really doesn’t care too much about time. At least not yours.
My group goes in. And Claudette is really, really directing us. Not the typical short, quick, “I want more this less of that,” kind of commercial directing -- oh, no. She’s digging in.
We do a take. She talks for about ten minutes, then we do another take. This goes on and on. The voices in my head start screaming all at once. I don’t know which is worse, Claudette talking about Orwell, Beckett and existentialism at an audition for a commercial, or the monkeys screaming in my brain.
Finally, I decide to take action in the only place I can. In my head. I silence the chatty voice in my mind that keeps saying, “Holy cow. Is she serious? Is she drunk? What the heck does she think this is?!” Then I silence the voice that keeps screeching, “There are probably 50 people out there right now wondering what is going on in here!” I even shut up the voice that is picking on me saying, “If you were any good she wouldn’t be directing you so hard.”
I give the monkeys bananas and I shut all those voices up.
And once I shut them up, I really concentrate on what the casting director is saying, and what she is trying to say. And I super-focus and hunker down and do exactly what she’s trying to get me to do. (Which I don’t totally agree with, but I’m the actor and she’s the director so I go with it. That’s my job, after all.)
And, once I stop the monkeys and focus I can tell she’s getting more of what she wants from me and we do take after take after take.
We spent at least 35 minutes on that commercial audition. I don’t know if I’ll get a callback, but at least I got a refresher course in commercial auditioning. And I also learned to quiet the brain monkeys. Now that’s something.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sand Art
It’s been so good to hear from so many of you lately! It’s great to know that you’re well and finding your own paths in this nutty world.
Some of you wrote about being shy or embarrassed because you didn’t dive immediately into the professional acting thing, or may have found great joy in a different field altogether. Folks, we all have our different roads to what it is we are meant to do. Training as an actor prepares you for ANYTHING. You don’t have to be acting to be an artist. I’d love to hear from you no matter what you’ve found, and I know we can all learn from what you are discovering.
Here’s what I’ve discovered lately acting in the grad student production of NO EXIT:
What we do, as actors or anything really, is a whole lot like being one of those Tibetan monks who make sand art.
We spend a spectacular amount of time crafting a wonderful story, or beautiful work – and then we open the window and let the wind blow it to smithereens.
Each project we accomplish, whether it be a show, a day at the office, or even a well-made cappuccino (yes, I was a barista before it was cool) – each endeavor shimmers in the moment before it passes and is consumed by time.
And then we start over.
Doing the craft is what is important. It’s not what we get from it. It’s doing the thing and staying in the moment while we create.
What do we get out of it? I don’t know. It changes. Sometimes it’s just the satisfaction that we’ve done it and finished it before we let our minds race forward to THE NEXT BIG THING.
For right now, I’m staying in the here and now. (For a change.) Talk to me after Sunday, when we show our work for the first and only time to observers who don’t know the story.
Then I’ll move on to the next thing, whatever that may be. For now – I’m doing my job, and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.
I hope you are all well.
Some of you wrote about being shy or embarrassed because you didn’t dive immediately into the professional acting thing, or may have found great joy in a different field altogether. Folks, we all have our different roads to what it is we are meant to do. Training as an actor prepares you for ANYTHING. You don’t have to be acting to be an artist. I’d love to hear from you no matter what you’ve found, and I know we can all learn from what you are discovering.
Here’s what I’ve discovered lately acting in the grad student production of NO EXIT:
What we do, as actors or anything really, is a whole lot like being one of those Tibetan monks who make sand art.
We spend a spectacular amount of time crafting a wonderful story, or beautiful work – and then we open the window and let the wind blow it to smithereens.
Each project we accomplish, whether it be a show, a day at the office, or even a well-made cappuccino (yes, I was a barista before it was cool) – each endeavor shimmers in the moment before it passes and is consumed by time.
And then we start over.
Doing the craft is what is important. It’s not what we get from it. It’s doing the thing and staying in the moment while we create.
What do we get out of it? I don’t know. It changes. Sometimes it’s just the satisfaction that we’ve done it and finished it before we let our minds race forward to THE NEXT BIG THING.
For right now, I’m staying in the here and now. (For a change.) Talk to me after Sunday, when we show our work for the first and only time to observers who don’t know the story.
Then I’ll move on to the next thing, whatever that may be. For now – I’m doing my job, and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.
I hope you are all well.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
No Exit Open Rehearsal
We're having an open rehearsal of No Exit at The New School this Thursday evening at 8pm in room 207. (April 10)
The New School is at 151 Bank St, near the old West Beth Theater, which is now the Bank St. Theater.
No lights, no costumes, just wooden blocks. It really is a rehearsal.
Right now run throughs are timing at about 1 hour and 35 minutes, we're hoping to take off 7 to 12 of those minutes.
If you can't make it, that's totally OK. Just wanted to let you know.
The New School is at 151 Bank St, near the old West Beth Theater, which is now the Bank St. Theater.
No lights, no costumes, just wooden blocks. It really is a rehearsal.
Right now run throughs are timing at about 1 hour and 35 minutes, we're hoping to take off 7 to 12 of those minutes.
If you can't make it, that's totally OK. Just wanted to let you know.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Oh, right. Process.
So I’ve been acting in this grad student project down at The New School. I posted about it a few weeks ago. At the time, I was really nervous about cramming all the lines into my head before we had to show it to the director’s class.
Since then I’ve had time to rehearse, study the script outside of rehearsal, and do the imagination work that one needs to do in order to fill out the character.
I’m getting really excited to do the gig, because now I’m enjoying the process. I can see things growing and changing and the picture is becoming clearer.
The first part of any project, writing, acting or otherwise -- the first part is always a mess. A big old chaotic, scary mess. For some reason I always forget this. I just dive in expecting results. But first you have to make a map. And that requires patience, time, and process. Beginning is a sticky process.
Once you get the initial work done, though, it starts to feel better. It might not be easier, but it feels better.
Funny how you learn some things again and again and again.
Since then I’ve had time to rehearse, study the script outside of rehearsal, and do the imagination work that one needs to do in order to fill out the character.
I’m getting really excited to do the gig, because now I’m enjoying the process. I can see things growing and changing and the picture is becoming clearer.
The first part of any project, writing, acting or otherwise -- the first part is always a mess. A big old chaotic, scary mess. For some reason I always forget this. I just dive in expecting results. But first you have to make a map. And that requires patience, time, and process. Beginning is a sticky process.
Once you get the initial work done, though, it starts to feel better. It might not be easier, but it feels better.
Funny how you learn some things again and again and again.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Be Seen
My question is how do we get in the door? With 400 other young non-equity girls at every audition, its a fight and struggle to be seen!
Yes, it is. But they key is to be seen. So, how do we do that?
1) You have to keep getting out there.
You have to get out there again and again and again. So much of this business is a matter of who can stay in and keep playing -- and we all know how frustrating that can be. But you have to get your butt up in the morning, make your bed, pay your bills, wash your dishes so you don’t get bugs and go out there and follow your dream.
It’s not always easy, often it’s hard. And sometimes it can be downright soul-busting.
But chances are, no one in your family is saying, “YOU HAVE TO BE AN ARTIST!” In fact, if your family is anything like my family they probably told you to pick something more “practical” or “easier.” Or said you should, “at least get a career to fall back on.”
My mother told me I’d make a great secretary. This was the 1980s. Then she asked me, “What are you going to do if you don’t make it as an actor?” At the time, Ronald Regan was president and John Paul the Second was Pope –- and both of them were former actors. So I told my mom if acting didn’t work out I’d be Pope or President.
You made the decision to work as an artist. Get up, get out there and keep doing it. You’ll be amazed at how determination and stick-to-it-ness can pay off.
2) You need to find/make opportunities to audition.
Audition as much as possible. Crack open that Backstage, read the audition boards at training programs, do the online casting sites -- get out there, do your auditions. Do audition seminars, take classes, participate in workshops, all that. Do it. You have to get good at auditioning. It’s all about auditions. A major casting director told me, “90% of actors don’t audition well.” Well, I don’t know about you, but if 90% of actors don’t audition well I’m going to put myself in the 10% range that kicks ass at auditions.
3) You need to perform.
Obviously practicing your auditioning can help you nab a gig. And if you’re lucky, that gig might allow you to ”really do your thing”, or maybe allow you to do something close to “your thing” – or maybe it’s just a job to put on your resume. Hey, a gig’s a gig.
But sometimes, you want people to see you the way you want them to see you. You have to show them what you do on your own terms.
You have to make your own show.
You have to pick material and pay for it, or write material, hire a director, rent rehearsal space, rent performance space, beg, borrow and steal your props and costumes and do a million other things you didn’t even know you had to do -- and then you put on a show! (Oh, and you have to get people to see the show.)
Sounds like a lot of work? It is! Doing your own show, especially if you’re developing your own material, is unbelievably challenging. It’s also immensely rewarding. It’s worth every second of hard work, because in the end you have created it. For better or worse, that show is your baby, your own little brain baby.
4) Maintain an online presence.
So many casting directors really love the computer -- they’ll ask, “are you on Youtube? I’ll check you out there.” I’m not kidding. So, as someone who needs to establish an online presence I say to you, “Uh, establish an online presence.” In all actuality I’m just shopping to get a website made. Oy.
5) Check your e-mail!
Cheese and crackers, check your e-mail every weekday at least once! And if you change your e-mail address you need to let people know! People can't see you if they can't find you.
6) Stay in there
Overall, you just need to stay in there. You won’t get in the door if you’re not knocking on it.
Yes, it is. But they key is to be seen. So, how do we do that?
1) You have to keep getting out there.
You have to get out there again and again and again. So much of this business is a matter of who can stay in and keep playing -- and we all know how frustrating that can be. But you have to get your butt up in the morning, make your bed, pay your bills, wash your dishes so you don’t get bugs and go out there and follow your dream.
It’s not always easy, often it’s hard. And sometimes it can be downright soul-busting.
But chances are, no one in your family is saying, “YOU HAVE TO BE AN ARTIST!” In fact, if your family is anything like my family they probably told you to pick something more “practical” or “easier.” Or said you should, “at least get a career to fall back on.”
My mother told me I’d make a great secretary. This was the 1980s. Then she asked me, “What are you going to do if you don’t make it as an actor?” At the time, Ronald Regan was president and John Paul the Second was Pope –- and both of them were former actors. So I told my mom if acting didn’t work out I’d be Pope or President.
You made the decision to work as an artist. Get up, get out there and keep doing it. You’ll be amazed at how determination and stick-to-it-ness can pay off.
2) You need to find/make opportunities to audition.
Audition as much as possible. Crack open that Backstage, read the audition boards at training programs, do the online casting sites -- get out there, do your auditions. Do audition seminars, take classes, participate in workshops, all that. Do it. You have to get good at auditioning. It’s all about auditions. A major casting director told me, “90% of actors don’t audition well.” Well, I don’t know about you, but if 90% of actors don’t audition well I’m going to put myself in the 10% range that kicks ass at auditions.
3) You need to perform.
Obviously practicing your auditioning can help you nab a gig. And if you’re lucky, that gig might allow you to ”really do your thing”, or maybe allow you to do something close to “your thing” – or maybe it’s just a job to put on your resume. Hey, a gig’s a gig.
But sometimes, you want people to see you the way you want them to see you. You have to show them what you do on your own terms.
You have to make your own show.
You have to pick material and pay for it, or write material, hire a director, rent rehearsal space, rent performance space, beg, borrow and steal your props and costumes and do a million other things you didn’t even know you had to do -- and then you put on a show! (Oh, and you have to get people to see the show.)
Sounds like a lot of work? It is! Doing your own show, especially if you’re developing your own material, is unbelievably challenging. It’s also immensely rewarding. It’s worth every second of hard work, because in the end you have created it. For better or worse, that show is your baby, your own little brain baby.
4) Maintain an online presence.
So many casting directors really love the computer -- they’ll ask, “are you on Youtube? I’ll check you out there.” I’m not kidding. So, as someone who needs to establish an online presence I say to you, “Uh, establish an online presence.” In all actuality I’m just shopping to get a website made. Oy.
5) Check your e-mail!
Cheese and crackers, check your e-mail every weekday at least once! And if you change your e-mail address you need to let people know! People can't see you if they can't find you.
6) Stay in there
Overall, you just need to stay in there. You won’t get in the door if you’re not knocking on it.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Mighty Wallkill River
Hey everybody! We had some wacky weather up at the house this past week -- flooding and such. And while the river didn’t come into the house (Nice river! Good river!) it does take a great deal of time to put the contents of your house up on cinder blocks and tie down items in your yard.
That said, I’m catching up on memorizing lines this week and doing my taxes. So, if you write in with questions or comments or observations I’ll be sure to get back to you toot sweet.
Otherwise I won’t be the posting queen, I’m just playing catch-up.
That said, I’m catching up on memorizing lines this week and doing my taxes. So, if you write in with questions or comments or observations I’ll be sure to get back to you toot sweet.
Otherwise I won’t be the posting queen, I’m just playing catch-up.
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