debor009

Actors Access , the casting section of Breakdown Services , has an important new feature for actors that is likely to fundamentally change the tools we make available for casting. Each headshot on your Actors Access profile can now include a 7-second clip of you slating to camera and in effect creating a "moving picture" of you for casting purposes. Another option, however, and one that I've taken instead, is to take a 7-second clip from a past film and simply slate it on screen in print. You can actually grab quite a bit of dialogue and convey what you really look like in different roles and from moody interiors to sunny exteriors. If you have a profile at Actors Access you should take advantage of this. They charge $5 per clip (first one is free) but you can upload but yourself, which is a big improvement over their arduous process for reels.  (My Final Cut Pro X editing software is again proving invaluable.) I wonder if the broader pool of actors available because of v...

I'm a great fan of old radio shows (the acting is wonderful!) and sometimes I hear someone who's so good it makes me think "Whatever happened to......?" Such was actress Patricia Bright, who I heard for the second time yesterday on a January 12, 1941 broadcast of a show called Behind the Mike . She was only 19 at the time, and an up-and-coming actress with stars in her eyes. The bit for the show was an audition for two well-known talent scouts. She presented a dramatic monologue and then did a very funny routine demonstrating how to play ladies of different nationalities, using the appropriate accents – English Cockney, Scottish, Russian, etc. She was terrific and, not surprisingly, the talent scouts praised her performance and said they would have no problem submitting her for work. Patricia Bright's "Oscar" I always wondered what happened to her. She was so talented. But there is little beyond her IMDb listing of a few roles in early TV (and a couple ...

I'm one of those actors who never sees much benefit from audition classes....probably because I've never understood the phrase "make bold choices."  Like what the heck is that? But watching top-level actors auditioning for roles they got (or maybe didn't get) is gold free for the mining.  I've figured out more about auditioning from that than anything else. YouTube has a lot of audition tapes and other tapes can be found at various sites online. Below is Steve Carell auditioning for The Office, and here's a link to more.

I don't often just repost an email, but David Patrick Green  of HackHollywood.com , has a particularly wise piece of advice this week that I'd like to share. For actors, dealing with career anxiety comes with the territory ( Here is a very funny spin on that at Buzzfeed ).  We are frequently told to keep ready headshots, business cards, a change of clothes, etc. and to be prepared to jump on a set at a moment's notice. When we don't, this is typical: One anxious actor wrote to Green that he'd "made a mistake last night. A personal manager of one of the biggest A-listers asked if I had a headshot and resume on me so he could have it for possible future opportunities. I did not have one on me!!! I usually do, but I did not last night. Mistake, yes. Career ending mistake, no, but possible missed opportunity." Here's how Green responded: "I actually think the fact you didn't have your headshot on you is a good thing. First, anything is good if yo...

Taped the Season 1 finale of CapSouth , the web series about the antics of Congressional staff, i.e. those who really run Washington. Since yours truly plays their nemesis,  Congresswoman Gracie Todd Englewright , and we taped in a popular DC pub, it required me to essentially be "in-character" through the four hours it took to shoot my scenes. Whew!  Pretty tiring. The series has a fine cast though and it was a lot of fun. As I tweeted earlier today, I'm an introvert and a non-drinker (well, a rare drinker) and the scene involved me giving a nearly 5 minute speech to a big crowd in the pub announcing my intention to run for re-election - oh, and it had to be funny. I was feeling a little pressure. Here I am with the principal cast. (L to R) R. Michael Oliver, Kathryn Browning, Andrew Heaton, and Naomi Brockwell   

My husband and I were up last night watching director Shona Auerbach's 2004 film Dear Frankie for about the 20th time. This is a brilliant and moving film, beautifully shot, and incredibly her first attempt at a feature, having made a slew of commercials and one short prior. (It is quite possibly the best role ever for Gerard Butler , who plays The Stranger.) Written by Andrea Gibb, produced by Caroline Wood, a lyrical score by Alex Heffes (composer on the just released Escape Plan ), the film won raves at the Cannes International Film Festival , BAFTA and London Film Critics nominations, and a slew of film festival wins from Bulgaria to L.A. I have searched the Web repeatedly over the years for word of her and any follow-on projects.  Nothing. I had this sinking feeling that something terrible had happened to this incredible talent, because she had seemingly vanished. Last night while watching Dear Frankie I got out my laptop and gave it another try. And there she was!  Sh...

Technology is playing a larger and larger role in our lives as actors. Not only do we share our demo reels and send taped auditions via the Internet but we also – after we’ve gotten that coveted role – use the Internet to grab our performance clips off of the films and television shows in which we appear. Uploading and Sharing Video Taping an audition, as I’ll be doing later today for an HBO series, typically means shooting a big HD file and then creating a smaller size or different type of video file that can be uploaded to the Internet and then pulled down by your agent and the casting director. Here are some low cost/no cost options for creating and sharing smaller files: 1. Try  Mpeg Streamclip , which is a free program that you can learn about here and download here  in versions for Mac and Windows and others. I use this and find it super easy to create smaller files of sufficient quality to share with agents and casting. 2. Open a free account at Vimeo.com or Wist...