Auditioning jitters

Jitters - try tremors!

Since I've been out here working for a few years now, my relationship to auditioning/performing has changed somewhat. At some point I crossed over from fearing them to actually really enjoying them. So, my empathy for how terrifying it can be was numbed somewhat.

Until one specific audition.

Read more: Auditioning Jitters | The NYC Actor

How to Succeed in the Entertainment Industry? D.I.Y!

I've been hearing some depressing facts from the industry, lately. So I thought I'd share them with you.

Apparently, if you are over the age of 28, whether female or male (but let's be honest, especially if you're a lady-friend), the current movie/TV/Theater industry couldn't be more over you.

The word on the street is that if you are over 28 and you haven't "cracked" it yet, then there must be something wrong with you. And, just to brighten your day it seems that agents, CD's and producers these days are only really looking for new tweens (Robert Patinson, Kristen Stewart, etc) to invest in - and only tweens.

Read more: How to Succeed in the Entertainment Industry? D.I.Y! | The NYC Actor

Ask Angela directly!! - Finding auditions/representation

I've started to get individual questions from some of my readers. I will post the questions with my answers when I can as I think they are fantastically helpful! If you have a question for me please feel free to email me or post it on the blog and I will get to it as soon as I can. NO QUESTION IS CONSIDERED TOO SMALL OR STUPID. You'd be amazed how much you can help by sharing.

Question: From Patty, New York

okay, so how do you find auditions/ management? Its a pretty basic question but I know there are a lot of scam artists out there, so where do you find legitimate agencies?

To read the answer and for more: Ask Me! Finding Auditions/representation? | The NYC Actor

Ask Angela directly!!

I've started to get individual questions from some of my readers. I will post the questions with my answers when I can as I think they are fantastically helpful! If you have a question for me please feel free to email me or post it on the blog and I will get to it as soon as I can. NO QUESTION IS CONSIDERED TOO SMALL OR STUPID. You'd be amazed how much you can help by sharing.

Question: From Tom. New York.

Two hours ago I got a call from an old improv friend saying his girlfriend's production company needed a Brit voice-over NOW.

I told 'em I was non-union, they said that was cool, and I went. It was for [high-end shoe company - sic]. Crazy. I think it's just a concept piece, because from what you told me, there's no way you could luck into a gig like that if it was for air. I was doing a cockney footballer voice.

So, great news! They were nice, and I'm very glad I did it. But what the fuck should I do? I didn't even ask about money (stupid, but I didn't want to mess up the opportunity). How would you handle this? Do you think I should broach the topic of money, or let this one slide as a relationship builder? How should I approach getting a copy of the tape for my reel? I want to follow up with them tomorrow and talk about my range, but I want to come off as professional etc.

So... yay! And.. help!?

To read the answer and for more: Ask Me! Asking for Money AFTER Booking the Job? | 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

Improv

In my opinion, improv is the key to feeling comfortable with yourself at auditions, on stage, on film sets or simply as an interactive part of a sprawling entertainment community like the one here in NYC.

One of the most frequent situations you will find the need for some improv in is at a commercial audition. The ability to stay on your toes and create/respond to something on the spot without fear in addition to handling the occasional, inevitable slip-up is crucial to being noticed in a casting. And these days, more and more, commercial copy is being created with the flexibility to allow the performers improv to be incorporated into the final spot. If you watch TV and actually pay attention to the commercials that are being made, they are littered with improv actors. Especially the weirder, quirkier ads - which are always the best ones!

Read more: Actors Doing Improv | The NYC Actor

Do I pick up that phone??

What do you do when you eventually start receiving phone calls (because it's going to happen - mark my words!) from agents and such regarding auditions and call-backs?

When I first got started in this industry, the pager was in. Eughh!! That makes me sound ancient. Most agents and casting directors would simply call it, leave a message on a voicemail system and you'd return their call to confirm. Simple.

Read more: Do I pick up that phone? | The NYC Actor

Actors casting/breakdown websites and services: Which ones?

There are a number of websites out there all vying for the attention and money of actors. They promise jobs and money in your pocket if only you pay their monthly/yearly fee. There are MANY to choose from but in my experience only a few that are worth the time and expense.

For a list of my favorites and to Read more: Actors casting/breakdown websites and services: Which ones? | The NYC Actor

Actors casting/breakdown websites and services: To Pay Or Not To Pay?

To Pay Or Not To Pay?

Well, it depends.

A friend recently asked me about a casting website for voiceovers in England. I didn't have any real feedback for her regarding that particular site but it made me think about the casting venues that I do know and that I use here in the US on a daily basis.

First off, let me dispel some myths.

Just because a website promises to book you work and put money in your pocket it doesn't guarantee anything. At best it will fill your email box with lists of the many auditions currently happening in the city and offer you a chance to submit yourself.

In some cases, for those of us who are currently without representation, it can get our foot in a door that may have previously been closed - for example perhaps an ad agency has exhausted its resources with agents and CD's and is looking for new talent beyond the pool they've already tapped. Actors Access and other such sites are a goldmine for them.

Read more:  Actor casting/breakdown websites and services: To Pay or not to Pay? | The NYC Actor

Hold your horses..

Don't celebrate until the check's in your hand and the spot's runnin'!

I don't know if you've seen Mad Men, but in an episode in Season 3 they illustrate this point brilliantly with the Patio commercial story-line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AgTnQok3RU

I cannot tell you the amount of jobs I have been hired or on-hold for that have fallen through. Just last week I was posing for the cover of The Wall Street Journal weekend edition and after an hour and a half of work the editors called the photographer and pulled the plug on the story...

Read more:  Hold Your Horses | The NYC Actor

Signing a SAG Ultra Low Budget Film Agreement

After all the auditions, the call-backs, the "holds", the stomach-churning excitement/nerves that lead up to booking a job comes the business of signing the contract. As with almost any other job in the world contracts have to be signed to ensure that all parties are on-board and will show up to see the project through to completion. This is true for the entertainment industry.

Yuck! I HATE this part.

Read more:  Signing a SAG Ultra Low Budget Film Agreement | The NYC Actor

What to wear? What to wear? - The Commercial Callback

I was just about to get started on the follow-up to What To Wear? What To Wear? and tell everyone what I've been told to wear to a call-back. But just before I did, I went to my very own callback and and had a bomb dropped on me.

Well... That's a tad more credit than the situation deserves. But... What's an acting blog without a little drama, right? (yuck - barf-bags are in the pocket of the seat-back in front of you).

Read more:  What To Wear? What To Wear? - The Commercial Callback | The NYC Actor

What to wear? What to wear? - Casual Dress

As with the headshot industry, what one wears to an audition is another changing landscape an actor strolls upon and should be a question revisited frequently. But, for our purposes today (August 27th, 2009) we'll focus on what's appropriate now.

I received a few calls this week for on-camera, commercial auditions. The character description - as per usual - was vague, vague, vague. What's more, the dress for said characters was noted as "casual". Oh, vague-ty! How I hate thee!! So, of course, being a bit of a fashion victim, a few of the many questions that popped into my head were these:

- Casual as in what I wear to hang around my house?

- Casual as in, what I'd wear on a third date (that's a little joke for UCB students who studied with Gill Ozeri) - whatever that means?

- Casual as in what I might wear to casual-day at work if I worked in a corporate environment?

- Casual as in the Gap or J Crew?

- Casual as in boring??

Read more:  What To Wear? What To Wear? - Casual Dress | 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

SAG (continued)

I just recorded 6 commercials. Some for radio and some for TV, all of them for the UK (although, it was cast here in NY).

Now, the agent who sent me in for the booking did not have any information on what I was doing at all. Meaning, they didn't know (a) what role/s I had booked, (b) how much I would be paid, (c) which union it was for, (d) and where it would be broadcast (locally, nationally or internationally).

Here’s what I learned:

Read more:  The Unions: SAG (continued) | The NYC Actor

The Unions: AFTRA

AFTRA

How do you join AFTRA? AFTRA is the only union that you can literally "buy" into. You can show up to their offices and simply hand over a hefty wad of cash and sign up there and then. How much does it cost to join AFTRA? As of today's date the initiation fee in NY is $1300 plus minimum dues of $63.90. Keep in mind, if you join just before the 2nd dues-cycle (as I did!) you will be required to pay another $63.90. A grand total of $1427.80. After one year, providing you have some AFTRA jobs under your belt..

Read more:  The Unions: AFTRA | The NYC Actor.