Headshots: The Shoot

If you're like me, you HATE having your picture taken! So the headshot session can be intimidating. The best shots I've ever had came about in an environment where I felt most comfortable. But even the shots I use today were a challenge to get as there are many variables that can make or break a shoot. Here's a check list of things to keep in mind to help make your shoot a success and minimize those variables:

Read more at the new, improved The NYC Actor website

Ask Me!: Light on the resume, should I wait to network?

Anonymous asked

So I wanna get out there an network and go to seminars but all I have to my resume is 2 jobs doing extra work and non sag membership, should I get more credits and a membership or go to those seminars regardless?

Continued: Ask Me!: Light on the resume, should I wait to network? | The NYC Actor

Learn to Ignore First Refusals!

One day I hope to be at a point in my carreer where a “First Refusal” for a job has zero impact on my day. It’s very exciting to get any kind of positive feedback for an audition - especially if it’s for a big job - but it’s imperative for your sanity to keep your feet on the ground.

What is a First Refusal?

Continued: Learn to Ignore First Refusals! | The NYC Actor

Anecdotes on the job: Break-neck Speed!

I just had to record a VO audition from home.

The direction was “young, animated and under 22 secs.” Fine, right? Well, sure.. unless the text you’re reading is technically 30 secs in length at best and not one of those hi-speed legalese tags. No, I’m still responsible for sounding like a normal human being.

Continued: Anecdotes on the Job: Break-neck Speed! | The NYC Actor

Advice for the week: Scheduling

So much of our success as actors comes down to time-management. Casting Directors and other industry professionals take in to account your ability to be where you’re meant to be WHEN you’re meant to be there.

Continued: Advice for the Week: Scheduling | The NYC Actor

Ask Me!: A Moral Dilema?

What do you do if you get an audition/job for something you fundamentally disagree with? Morally speaking?
For example I once went out for a Malboro commercial. I didn't want to support the tobacco industry and didn't give my best performance in the callback because I didn't want to book it. The money would have been really good, but I just couldn't stomach the karma of it. Is that crazy?

Anonymous

Continued: Ask Me!: A Moral Dilema? | The NYC Actor

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Building the Perfect Website

These days an actor website is a MUST-HAVE. It's really important. Primarily because the industry that is not connected through your agent (if you have one) is online. There are so many casting websites that an actor should be linked up to and one thing you'll find you need is a link to a website.

There are many ways to do this and many of the casting websites out there offer you hosting and a page on their site. However you do it, if you have a website on your resume and/or business cards you are making it THAT much easier for a prospective employer to see your work - which'll make getting hired easier.

Read more: Building the Perfect Website | The NYC Actor

An Actors Toolkit

As an actor who wants to be taken seriously in the professional world (aka entertainment industry, y'all!!) there are a few things you should have handy. Here is a basic checklist if you're just starting out:

HEADSHOT

RESUME

WORKING PHONE WITH VOICEMAIL

EMAIL ADDRESS

WEBSITE

MONOLOGUES

REEL

AUDIO DEMO (IF DOING VOICEOVERS)

ACCOUNTS WITH ONLINE CASTING SERVICES

APPROPRIATE WARDROBE

POSTCARDS FOR SHOWS

PENS

BUSINESS CARDS

For a detailed breakdown and to read more: An Actors Toolkit | The NYC Actor

Book out!

For those of you who don't yet know, "booking out" is when you alert your agent of an upcoming conflict in your schedule that would inhibit you from going out for an audition, etc.

For example, I am shooting a film in Memphis at the end of September. This will take me out of commission for roughly a week as far as auditioning is concerned. So it is important that when it gets closer to the date, I let ALL my representation and other ongoing industry employers (eg: producers/directors who hire me consistently) know that I will not be here.

Read more:  Book Out! | The NYC Actor

VO Agents Won't Sign Foreigners

I was just given some fascinating information about representation as a foreign voiceover artist.

I currently freelance with a few different agencies in the city and after booking a number of "big" spots was curious why no one was signing me. Then, thanks to the insight and wisdom of my new voiceover coach, Peter Rofé, I learned something that I've never heard before:

Voiceover agents won't sign foreigners!

Why? As a foreign VO artist I am considered "specialty" talent and due to the rarity of available work in this field most agencies will refrain from entering into a contractual relationship with me - avoiding the contention that will undoubtedly arise when there aren't any jobs to send me on and I start harassing them about their "obligation" to me, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.

Pretty straight forward, I suppose.

Read more:  VO Agents Won't Sign Foreigners | The NYC Actor

VoiceOver Home/Portable Studio

I've been making a modest living in voiceovers for the past two years. And recently I have been getting more and more requests to get my home studio together. As someone who travels frequently and who has nearly lost a couple of bookings by being out of town, I thought it would be wise to make sure I could take my home booth on the road, too. But, considering I'm not exactly making house-buying money yet, I can't quite afford the industry standard equipment. So, with the aid of a fantastic book "Voice for Hire" by Randy Thomas and Peter Rofé and some solid, online research I have come up with a low-budget option that is so far proving to be quite effective.

Read more:  Voiceover Home/Portable Booth | The NYC Actor

Headshots: Do Your Research

Here are some pointers I've learned from personal experience that may help you the next time you are in the position to get a new pic:

Do your research!

Don't just go with the first photographer you see. Or the one with a celebrity on his/her website. That doesn't mean anything. Look at your friends photos. If you see one you like, ask your friend about their experience. This is important. Primarily because someone can have a pretty good shot, but it took 4-hours to get and the photographer was distracted and unprofessional.

Read more:  Headshots: Do Your Research | The NYC Actor

Headshots

Ahhh. This is an interesting element to being an actor.

Knowing what a good headshot is is like knowing when to shelve those high-waisted mom-jeans. It is a trend that is as changeable as any you read about in fashion magazines. Black and white shots? Or color? Horizontal framing? Or traditional vertical/portraiture framing? Full-body shot? Or 3/4? OR tight in at the face? Glossy printing or Matte? Border or no? Name on the front?, etc., etc.

Read more:  Headshots | The NYC Actor

From Angela's Ashes - some helpful insights (I hope!)

Hello there,

Welcome to a blog designed purely for actors. I am very green at this whole blog thing so firstly I really have to prepare you for the fact that I am not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. But I am passionate about sharing information with you, so I will do my best to be clear and concise.

As an actor living in New York, I have begun to work more and more on higher-paying jobs, and auditioning/meeting with some of the biggest hitters in the industry. What I have realized is that there is very little information out there to assist a conscientious actor in their quest to become a truly successful business person in the field. There are tonnes of books and websites on how to be a good artist, which is brilliant, but what happens when you find yourself on the front-lines, as it were, of this gigantic and new business world? How do you make the right steps? What are the right steps, even? What do I need to be prepared for? What does a professional actor need to have to get their foot in the right doors? How do I get, and keep a good agent? What type am I? How do I write a cover letter? What should my headshot/resume look like? And so on and so forth.

My goal here is to answer as many of those question as possible in the most straight-forward way I can so that you as an actor can glide into success with grace - rather than fumble around blindly hoping and praying that you don't screw up and piss off the wrong person or team of people, etc., etc.

By sharing with you my experiences as they happen, you'll be able to sift through the ashes of my successes and failures and hopefully find your self a couple of diamonds to help you on your way.

And, as I mention in my title's intro at the top of the page, this is not the Holy Grail, "be-all, end-all" of the industry. It's just one woman's guide. Hopefully, this can be a place where people will share their experiences; correct me when I'm wrong; offer alternate approaches; or just offer their opinions/agreements/disagreements in the comments sections.

Ultimately, Francis Bacon said it best: Knowledge is Power. So here is a little knowledge from me to you. I hope you enjoy! Good luck in your life as an actor!