debor009

A lot of actors say they are too self-conscious or too critical of their own performance to ever watch their own clips. I say watch your clips. More than that, develop a loving eye about how you look expressing the whole range of emotions. Why? Because it's freeing. The more comfortable you are with how you look on camera, the more you can let yourself be free to act and to have fun with your character. Starting out in this business, I think we all want to look as attractive as possible on film and in photos. Hollywood projects glamor, after all. American films and American television in particular reach for a certain standard of physical perfection. Even Jennifer Lawrence gets photoshopped in print to look thinner and have more hair! (Good grief!) The tendency is to be overly conscious of our imperfections. My eyes are a bit too close together, for example. My nose definitely has a "good side." My face in the throes of deep emotion has hundreds of little muscles that cre...

Actress Ingrid Bergman relates this exchange with director Alfred Hitchcock: “I said, "I don't think I can give you that kind of emotion." And he [Hitchcock] sat there and said, "Ingrid, fake it!" Well, that was the best advice I've had in my whole life, because in all the years to come there were many directors who gave me what I thought were quite impossible instructions and many difficult things to do, and just when I was on the verge of starting to argue with them, I heard his voice coming to me through the air saying, "Ingrid, fake it!" It saved a lot of unpleasant situations and waste of time.” Faking it has a lot to do with the "outside in" approach to acting favored by the British and Europeans, and the more experience I gain as an actress, the more I think there is something to it. Get the walk and the talk and the rest of it will come. In many situations, it does. Example: I was on set yesterday for a television episode in a sce...

There is a running debate among actors about Agents, Managers, and Publicists, and whether you need them outside of the New York/LA areas. Those who have them feel strongly that professionals can help push you to the front of the competition. Outside of NY/LA the sense is that there are fewer casting directors and that they tend to know their local talent and decide whom they are going to bring in for auditions (as opposed to publishing breakdowns and expecting submissions). An actor can get a manager without having an agent, and it’s the manager's job to guide your career and help you find agents in an entertainment world that has become very specialized (theater, film, TV, commercial). Ideally, your relationship should work like this: The manager helps you set a vision for what kind of work you would like to do as an actor and helps you build a portfolio. They then provide guidance on appropriate training, photos, and reel. The manager works to sign you with agents, researching t...

I saw an article at Backstage a few weeks ago ( 4 Sites You Need to Be on Now! ) about using social media. I think it gives good general information, but I also think it misses the real purpose (and benefit) of social media for actors. It's not about the world looking at you (as in a fan page), it's about YOU building goodwill and relationships with those in the industry. Many actors I know bypass FB fan pages, for example, and instead have two FB personal pages: one for family under their birth name and one for colleagues under their professional name. (Yes, FB doesn't like this, but if they enforced single pages for actors they'd be losing a LOT of big name stars.) Why is this important?  Because you can talk to family about politics and religion, but making such remarks to people in the business can cost you work and connections. Examples: I recently found myself waiting in a studio side room with an up-and-coming actor who is currently starring in an action/thriller...

From time to time people will ask me what I do to advance myself as an actress, or what do I do to get auditions, or how I organize my day to hit all the agency bases, or....whatever. The question "What do you do to......?" is the one that For non-linear thinkers, explanations  can be tough. causes absolute panic, because it asks for a linear explanation: "Well I wanted to achieve this so I did this, and then I did that, and then I did this other thing, and Voila! Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!" The problem is that in a world of largely linear thinkers, I am one who is not. My thoughts contain random bits of information that travel in totally unconnected orbits around my head. No one bit relates directly to any other bit, but from time to time they connect and make sense in the center....in my head....resulting in sudden insights that I couldn't possibly explain. People like me can have an intuitive understanding of a thing or process and yet be utter di...

You have to be an optimist to be an actor. You get great reviews in a play, or your film wins an award, and then for months you get nothing and begin to wonder if you're on anyone's radar. What keeps me going through the down times is the persistent belief that something wonderful is about to happen. Like now, for instance. For the past week I've been obsessed with organizing the house. Clearing out closets and attic storerooms. Hauling unused items to the thrift store, junk to the dump, trash to the curb. Cleaning out the basement and setting up a space to tape auditions. The last time I felt this obsessed with the nest I went into labor! So what else is about to pop? A few nights ago I had this dream. I can't remember most of it, only the end where I walk to a picture window, pull back the drapes, and gaze up at that hill that has the #Hollywood sign on it. Only in my dream, instead of "Hollywood" it has "2014" in great big numbers.  Not sure what...

News just in that Rob Raffety's political comedy series CapSouth  - which was shot over the summer with me in the role of Congresswoman Gracie Todd Englewright - has been named an official selection at this year's LAWeb Fest !  Naturally I'll be heading out to Los Angeles for the festivities and to connect with film industry friends in the area. The LAWebFest is the world oldest and largest web series festival in the world. Last year saw entries from 33 states and 19 foreign countries. Workshops, networking, lots of good times. The New Year is already looking up.