Archive | March, 2010

Getting Out of Your Head

29 Mar

Yesterday I filmed some more scenes for an upcoming webseries. If it were any other day I would’ve been really excited about it, thinking about what to wear, my scenes, etc. But this weekend and this past week in general have been SO busy and I’ve been So exhausted. This Friday the show I’ve been working on and producing for the past month and a half opens! Kinda crazy. Anyway, by the time I got to shooting Sunday I was a stress case– having just come off an 11AM show at Theatre of NOTE and about to go to my tech rehearsal for ShortLived at the Asylum. Not to mention I was going off like 5 hours sleep because I was up all night the night before trying to memorize my lines for the scenes last minute.

I don’t recommend this as a method, per say. But, the level of exhaustion and stress actually contributed to me being very much IN the moment during the filming. I was too tired to be second guessing choices or being all in my head about beating myself up over a flub of a line or anything. I was just IN it.

Key is to be able to do this with a sufficient amount of sleep and no stress, too, of course. But I thought it was really interesting that being in that tired out of my mind state, my acting improved because I was, in fact, out of my head.

The Real Deal on The Demo Reel

26 Mar

I’m in the beginning stages of putting together my new and improved demo reel, so Bonnie Gillespie’s latest post in her 5-part critiquing series proved very helpful. I’m glad it went up while I’m putting my reel together and not after!

See her critiques here.

Nothing Surprises Me Anymore

25 Mar

Today, I had what I like to call my Talk Show material. These are the experiences that will give me great stories to tell when I’ve finally made it and I’m sitting on Oprah’s or Conan’s sofa. These are the experiences that will earn me that right.  So, I’ve been going on a steady number of auditions lately. Maybe it’s the new headshots? Anyway, today I had one that said it was a student film. I’m always wary of student films, but they sent the script for the short and it was very funny, stylized and well-written. Kinda rare considering the shear volume of projects out there. I’ve got my sides and the address, ready to go. I pass a building that sys ‘1730’ but I think, this can’t be right. I check the address on my phone again. Yup, that’s what I wrote down. I check the building again. Yes, that’s what it says on that building… which is a church… which is a school… which is a HIGH SCHOOL. That’s ok, I’ve auditioned at a school before. It was an elementary school in fact that rented their spiffy media building to hold auditions for a sag ultra low budg short. So, it could happen. Nothing really surprises me anymore. I do another drive by and see a sign posted for the project. This is, in fact, the right place. Well, what else do I got going on a Thursday afternoon? I’m already here. Might as well go in…

I’m greeted by a kid who could not have been older than 10, but seeing as how this is a high school, I guess he was 14? How old are you in high school anyway. He very politely and professionally asks me to sign in and wait in the waiting area…. which just so happened to be the hallway between classrooms and the gym. I go in, see a couple people sitting in the only chairs in this area. They were obviously actors, equally as confused as I was. I look around awkwardly, while a few 15-year olds? in white polos and grey pleated miniskirts rush by, and notice a bench. I really wanted to sit, so I pushed aside the 20 or so Jansports that were all carelessly thrown on to the bench and waited my turn.

I am finally called into the audition, to my relief by an adult, and like any other audition, hand them my headshot and resume, slate my name and perform the sides. Only difference is, the person on the other side of the casting table covered in headshots was none other than a 16 year old girl with pimples and a uniform.

But you know what? Other than the fact this was a high school, everything else was pretty normal. In fact, they were more organized, nicer, more professional and efficient than half of the “real” auditions I’ve been on lately! Oh the joys of being an actor in LA…

Actual Tools for the Actor

23 Mar

We talk about online tools, audition tools, but how about real physical tools? What are the necessities and the would-be-nice-to haves for the working actor?

Paper Cutter

(to cut all those pesky 8 1/2 x 11 resumes to size!)

Stapler

(I was amazed at the number of people who auditioned for ShortLived and didn’t have their headshot and resume stapled together)

GPS

(we all know LA is big and it’s got traffic- you need to know how to get around and the quickest alternate

routes, which brings me to the next item on the list…)

Car

(may seem obvious but there are a lot of people who come to this town thinking they will get by on bikes and

busses… it’s possible, but difficult)

Smart Phone

(instant email access is key to all those last minute auditions or callbacks)

Highlighter

(for all those scripts you got to memorize!)

Binder or Folder

(to hold your sides, directions and headshot/resumes)