Archive | March, 2010

Good Little Soldier

22 Mar

Last year I took an on-camera commercial audition workshop. It was kind of a fluke that I got into it, but I benefited from it greatly nonetheless. I gained an awesome friend who is now helping me with the producing of ShortLived, but I also took away some great tidbits– not necessarily just for commercial auditions, but all auditions in general. One of those tidbits was: be a good little soldier.

Josh Rappaport, the workshop instructor and working casting director, gave this piece of advice to the class the very first day and it stuck. Our jobs as actors is to wait outside, be quiet, obedient and patient until the moment we are called in. Then we do the best work we possibly can, say thanks and leave. We are not to cause any drama, any problems or any trouble. It’s true… we can complain all we want about the inefficiency of an audition process, the crapiness of the sides, or whatever but is that going to change anything? No. It just shows you got a shitty attitude and who wants to work with that? We can use other arenas to vent (a blog, our best friend, our boyfriend, our actor friends), but not the casting office itself!

This really came into play today when I was waiting at CAZT for an indie-feature audition yesterday. The girl who was two spots ahead of me started talking to all of us who were waiting outside of the casting room about how she’d been waiting there for over an hour, how it’s so ridiculous and she’s so sick and tired of these non-union projects disrespecting actors, not valuing her time, abusing their privileges etc etc. My time is precious, she said. It’s not fair.

She’s right. It’s not fair. I’ve had those complaints myself. But I would never voice these rants outside of the room I’m about to step into for the audition! It’s bad vibes for the waiting room. It’s bad karma for you. And it’s just bad manners. We just need to show up, do good work and leave. Then we can let it all out!

Just Breathe

19 Mar

So I missed a day. It was bound to happen. But I’ve been such a stress case lately that the whole day went by without realizing that I didn’t write a post! In fact, I was so scatter-brained that even forgot about a rehearsal for MY OWN SHOW! How does that happen??? I totally thought I had some time to myself yesterday, feeling a moment of calm thinking about the nice things I would do in my little spare time, when I get a text from one of my scene partners regarding the rehearsal– I immediately go into a panic. Rehearsal? What rehear– oh my god I have rehearsal. Holy shit. What day is it. How could I forget. I’m such an idiot. It’s my own show. Shit, now I have no time. I wont even make it there with enough time left in the rehearsal for the drive to be worth it.

This anxiety rolled right into the rest of my day. And today.

Now, at 10:30 at night I’m going into another anxiety attack thinking… it’s late, I still need to finish up some work, I need money after all, if I ever want to get out of the valley, but I also need to tend to some actin related correspondence and that’s my career after all but right now I need to get to bed to be up early and not tired in the morning to make it to call time to do a run thru and then to perform a show and then to go to an audition and to nail the audition and then to read a screenplay for a table read and then to

Yeah. I know. Just Breathe!

What a simple little thing to remember but how easily I forget. This week is the prime example of how not keeping yourself in check can let your mind get out of control. And feeling that anxiousness affects the other aspects of your career. The more grounded you feel, the better your work, your performance, your focus on your goal. So, as I gear up for this busy weekend I am going to tell myself… I am grateful for the acting opportunities I have this weekend, I am prepared for them and therefor I don’t have to worry about a thing.

The 7 Month Itch

17 Mar

I have been in and out of various different acting classes since the first time I laid foot on a stage. That was exactly 10 years ago. I’ve realized, over this past decade, that I can only go a certain period of time without a class. Usually, it’s around 7 months. Then I start getting this itch to get back into a studio. The reason I don’t stay in a studio all the way through is because I usually reach a point where I feel like I’m not gaining anything. It’s like I’m not really listening anymore. I need a break. (As does my bank account!) And I think it’s good to take breaks! It’s a good reminder to not get caught up in just the studying of acting but to follow the actual pursuit of acting. Of course, it’s also good to be able to do both. Stay in class, work on your craft while simultaneously going out in the real world, auditioning, making projects of your own, doing theater, etc.

It feels about that time. I’m itching to delve into some serious scene study. However, not sure if my current schedule will allow it. I’m going to slowly look into some classes and will post what happens with that!

Is Rehearsing All It’s Cracked Up To Be?

16 Mar

I’m rehearsing for two different one-acts for two different shows.  One’s a comedy, the other’s a drama. They both open within about a week from each other.

It’s been really interesting working on these two opposing pieces with two opposing rehearsal processes. The comedy opens later, but began rehearsals earlier and the drama opens sooner but began rehearsals later. So basically one feels well worked on and the other, more or less thrown together. The cool thing about a shorter rehearsal process is it forces you into gear. No chance to procrastinate, no chance to worry about memorizing lines. You just have to figure it out. You have no choice. This immediacy also informs the performance. It gets you out of your head, which works out nicely because I typically get more in my head with dramas anyway. It puts you more in the moment. No time to really second guess your choices.

Of course, I’d prefer a longer rehearsal process. A decent amount of time to prepare, but there is something to gain from the thrown together shows. I never thought I’d say that, but got used to it with my theater company up North. It’s how things have been run up there for the most part. But now we are finally, slowly, steering away from that towards a planned out rehearsal process.  Much like that of the comedic one-act I’m doing. It’s been really fun having all the time I need with a comedic piece because I usually don’t get a chance to work on comedies. Those are the ones that are almost always put together last minute. I’ve always been of the belief that comedy comes out of playing out the ridiculous situation with all sincerity and reality.  Diving in to this “out there” comedy, the characters, the background, etc. has made my performance and the piece a lot stronger.

Ideally, yes, more rehearsals is best. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a positive experience and learn a thing or two with just a couple of run throughs.

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