May 2008 Archives

I had my first monologue audition at The Actors Alliance last night with the head a New York City Film & Television Casting Agency. My first real professional audition (The Actors Alliance is a member's only meet-and-greet studio; They're known mostly by word-of-mouth: I first heard about them in How to be a Working Actor, 5th Edition: The Insider's Guide to Finding Jobs in Theater, Film, & Television by Mari Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers).

I have been having trouble with my monologues lately -- so I've been working with Deborah Carlson/Word of Mouth Studios to hammer out my difficulties, and the difficulties, for me, have always been in starting.

Like most beginning actors (I'm assuming), I thought of auditions as a separate "thing" or "state" I needed to enter into before I started, i.e., in an audition, there's usually a brief introduction, and the auditor asks what you'll be doing. You tell them, and they say something like "whenever you're ready."

At this point, the pressure, naturally enough, steps up, and -- sometimes (actually, a lot of the time) I would just go blank: there was no internal motivation to start the monologue, i.e., no "reason" to start talking other than the auditor is waiting for me to start. This is absolutely the worst place to start from as any beginning or seasoned actor can attest.

Deborah, however, give me some good advice, and -- more importantly -- showed me how she starts an audition. Acting, for me, is in large part, learned by watching others who know what they're doing. It's hard to explain, but "I get it" (more times than not) when I see and hear something done well.

Basically, she said the critical moment before needs to be quite simple and it should come out of the "place" you're in just before the auditor says "whenever you're ready." Don't think you have to somehow undergo a rapid and radical transformation, or psychically teleport yourself, somehow, to some imaginary place. That (for me) is working to hard and trying to do to much. My beginning still need a lot of work, but I'm making progress.

I (somehow) last night did just what Deborah told me to do -- and showed me how to do: I don't know how I did it -- but I did it, and it was the best I've done so far under pressure:

"Headshot" -- sounds violent, e.g., 24's Agent Jack Bauer says "I've got a head shot -- I'm gonna take it!!"

Well, headshots aren't violent, but they are critical.

I've posted before about headshots (How to take a Great Headshot) -- and it's turned out to be one of this blogs most popular posts. This episode of Jeff Mitchell's podcast is with Headshot Photographer Melissa Hamburg, It's a great follow up to that earlier post: it's a terrific discussion (and -- at times -- rant) about what headshot are, what they're suppose to be, and why most of them aren't. Some highlights:

On March 7, 2008, Jeff Buckley’s version of Cohen's “Hallelujah”, went to number 1 on the iTunes chart after being performed by Jason Castro on the seventh season of the television series American Idol.

A few days later, Cohen was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in recognition of his status among the highest and most influential echelon of songwriters:

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Last week I posted my thoughts on the various resources in NYC that facilitate agent and casting director "Meet-and-Greets:" Hopes and Dreams and Goals. Auditioning at The Actors Alliance.

Like most beginning actors, those who are trying to find professional opportunities with the initial goal of creating a professional network of casting agents and directors who know, like, and support you, I felt (and still feel) surprisingly lost, but -- the best way to get past that lost (and sometimes even "stuck" [I'm not going anywhere] feeling) is to just start moving forward and believe you'll find your way as you go along.

And -- follow the leaders! Find people who are successful at doing what you want to do, and 1) ask their advice and 2) do what they're doing. This is a terrific tried-and-true strategy, and it makes me feel less scared and unsure about just simply starting. Auditioning and gaining membership with The Actors Alliance and One-on-One is part of this strategy.

Another component of my strategy has been to ask advice from people who are doing what I want to do, so I contacted Christopher Stadulis, a part time contributor to this blog, and I asked him this:

I wanted to ask your advice about meet and greets, i.e., meeting casting directors and agents, at places like actors connection. I know many actors who do not believe in paying to meet casting director's and agents, or they just don't know how to evaluate the opportunity. I do believe in the value of these meet and greets, but I confess I've had cold feet because I'm not sure how to take advantage of the opportunity they offer. I guess the basic question I have is: how do I best prepare myself? I know my audition skills have to be good, and I continually work on those, but beyond that, is their anything else. The meet and greets do cost some $$, so I want to make sure my time and $$ (as well as the casting director's agent's time) are well spent.

He wrote back with some great advice about "Meet-and-Greets" in general, how to approach them, and how to audition:

This whole exercise of writing down your goals? -- it really seems to work!!!

Quite a while ago, I wrote down that I wanted to work in The 13th Street Repertory Company's production of Line, New York's longest running off-Off-Broadway show, and -- it happened! I auditioned today, and I got cast!

and my audition? . . . well . . . it was terrible!!! :)