debor009

I've just come across an online post defining the different schools/approaches to acting.  It is as succinct as I've seen (original here ) in outlining the basic themes, explaining that.... Adler is built upon Imagination Meisner is built upon Immediate Experience Strasberg  (Method) is built upon Sense Memory British is built upon Observation "The Meisner system seems to produce actors that pay attention to their partner better. Some of the basic Meisner exercises include the YES/NO and various repetition and back-and-forth exercises that tend to 'bond' the actors together. "Acting is living life truthfully under imaginary circumstances". "The emotional life of a scene is a river and the words are the boats". "The Strasberg system or METHOD system tends to produce actors that are a bit more tightly wound. The system is based on SENSE MEMORY, which is the process of recalling all of the attributes of an object, and EMOTIONAL MEMORY which...

I feel like I’m struggling.  Getting a fair number of film auditions, but not nailing as many roles as I should. Actors get a lot of advice when this happens, most of it vague and unhelpful. You need to make bold choices (whatever that means). Don’t rush your lines (but, on the other hand, avoid melodrama). Just react (even if your scene reader is giving you dead lines). Be the most interesting version of yourself (even if you got into acting because you don’t think you’re all that interesting). Do it large (the director can ramp you down). Don't do it large (they'll take you for a stage actor). And (least valuable of all) if you didn’t get the part it’s not your fault; it’s because of a whole laundry list of reasons unrelated to how you did. A film audition typically involves the barest summary of the story line and where your character fits.  The sides you’re sent to read could be satire, drama, farce….the words themselves don’t necessarily tell you. If you’re auditioning fo...

Taped an episode yesterday of "Lights, Camera, Action!," a local arts & entertainment discussion program hosted by actress Allison Howard .  It was great fun and an "As herself" credit for IMDb.  Also appearing on the program were actors James Bacon and Firas Natour. I've lightened my hair (We all become blondes eventually, right ladies?) and this is the first time I've gotten a good look at the new shade.  I think I'm beginning to like it, although in going from almost black to a light honey brown I had to totally rethink my wardrobe and the colors that look good on me. Anyway, the episode will air on local cable in three weeks and I'll be posting highlights. Post taping (L-R): actor James Bacon, me, actor Firas Natour, and show host Allison Howard

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...