Search

A well-dressed tourist walks up to a street vendor on 52^nd and Seventh in NYC and asks him “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The vendor looks up and says “Practice.”

It’s an old joke, to be sure, but the concept is timeless. The more you practice your craft, the better you’ll be at it. Auditioning is no exception. When most actors come to Los Angeles they have taken Acting classes, Dance classes, singing classes, and a host of other workshops trying to hone their craft. What they don’t realize is that in order to get a job to actually use that craft, they first have to audition – a separate craft unto itself. The only way to figure out that craft is to experience the audition process and figure out how best you can negotiate those waters. What specific skills, what tools, what exercises an actor needs to book the job. Read the rest of this entry »

Acting is acting.  That is the general rule, but there are subtle differences that cannot be ignored.  It’s therefore interesting that there are many different styles of acting, and different styles of auditions to go with them.  But they’re all fairly subtle by the type of medium or the kind of project.

In each case, the kind of project you are auditioning for should be carefully investigated and you should prepare accordingly, in dress, in attitude, and in acting style. Read the rest of this entry »

It is very important to look at your career as a marathon race and not a sprint.  It is something you invest in and nurture, something that takes patience and hard work.
Beth Maitland and I have written a great deal about having yourself set up to weather your first year in Hollywood.  Good planning will take care of most problems. Read the rest of this entry »

There are as many types of acting techniques as there are actors, and the best course of action is to learn several approaches and find the one that works for you, or take bits and pieces of several and apply them to your own style. The same applies to auditioning style. Find what works and stick to it.

In preparing an audition, you should first get as much information as you can about the project you’ll audition for. Look online for production information, especially if it is an existing television series, for example. Look up on IMDB the names of producers and directors to see what other projects they have done and to show you their basic styles of material. Any information you can get from your agent, or the casting assistant, or the break down service will be helpful in making decisions while you prepare your scene. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a new actor to Hollywood and you have no agency affiliation and want a job, what do you do?  You have to be seen in order to be considered.  An odd concept, but let me say it again:  In order to be seen (interviewed, given a meeting) at an agency or management, you need to be seen in some sort of performance capacity.  Sometimes it is a theatre workshop, sometimes acting schools have scene showcases, sometimes it is through doing student films, sometimes it is as simple as meeting someone at a party or on the street and so impressing them with your personality that they recommend you to someone they know.  It can be as random as that. Read the rest of this entry »

In many other articles, Beth Maitland and I have addressed the subject of how an actor looks.  We have advised actors to always look like their photos, and to dress for the part they are going to audition for.
We’ve written about the “type” you think you are and to be realistic about that, and to try to keep fit in order to address whatever challenge a script might give you.
We encourage any actor coming to Hollywood to keep up whatever fitness regime they had or to start one before you get here.  Firstly, you, as an actor, are judged on how you look.  If you are going for an acting audition for a Soap Opera it will be especially important.  Beth Maitland has been on a soap for many, many years and writes about this in many other articles already published.  It is entirely appearance driven.   A lot of the business is. Read the rest of this entry »