Advanced On-Camera Commercial Audition class 1

Part of my master plan of making my living as an actor includes the highly lucrative arena of commercial film acting, so I've signed up for an Advanced On-Camera Commercial Audition class at Weist Barron. This summer it's being taught by two great highly experienced and successful commercial actors, Jerry Coyleand Batt Johnson. Simultaneously, I'm working my way through How to Audition for TV Commercials: From the Ad Agency Point of View, which I'll review in another post.

Thank goodness it's fun, because it's not as easy as it looks -- not at all. Far from it. And it's highly competitive, but to handle that "worry," I'll just instead focus on the fun and my own growth. Towards this end. This is what I've learned, so far . . .

Class #1 (Jerry Coyle)

Always slate my full name with confidence. If I'm uncomfortable doing that -- practice until I'm not.
Breathe to the camera
Don't pull back -- remember what to do if I ever feel foolish.

What to do when I get the copy:

Reading Comprehension: understand the story. It's just like Shakespeare -- the text is all. Adjectives are discovery/insight. Nouns help to build the physical environment. Take every noun and make it real, concrete, specific -- create pictures in my head.

Use of language -- mean it, mean what I say, and the energy and color/contrast will happen by itself.

What's my point of view -- how I feel, my feelings. Breathe deep, go slow, and connect with the text, and everything will happen by itself. This is the most critical component of the audition, of the read.