Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

Puzzling Preparation

I have an exciting audition on Tuesday which, for reasons I can't reveal just yet, I need to nail.  I already have an outline of the script which is amazing in and of itself, so there is really no excuse to be unprepared.  Or is there...

Much to my surprise, the outline of the script is just that, an outline.  The audition on Tuesday will be an improvised group audition based on the character descriptions and scenarios described.  Why do I hate improvised auditions so much?  Past failures (See previous blog).  Bad partners.  All around awkwardness.  The pressure to come up with funny lines.  Competing with actor egos for face time.  The list could go on and on.  I've taken improv classes and I'm usually pigeon-holed into "funny girl," but I'm not auditioning for a writing gig.  Give me some lines and I'll improvise around them.  Give me no lines, and my fear of sinking into a rotten tomato abyss becomes overwhelming.  I'm already stressing and the audition is a whole 4 1/2 days away!

I'm an actor who often over prepares, so I'm at a loss.  All I can do is flesh out the characters in my mind and on paper, and really delve into what makes them tick, so that I can improvise based on those choices.  I need to create a solid base and then take whatever comes my way and trust that the work will be there.

Of course, there are four characters in my age range, so in addition to preparing the one I have my heart set on, I need to flesh out the other three "just in case" I'm asked to switch gears mid-audition.   Basically, the weekend will be spent doing a lot of work based on the hope that I won't completely bite it in the room or audition with a bum group or ruin my professional credibility in front of an important group of people.

Will I sink or swim?  I just don't know.

--Stacey Jackson

Stop the Insanity. Stop the Machine.

Before the explosion of online gossip sites, I was clueless when it came to celebrity gossip.  I had no idea who was hot or not, who wore what to where, and who was fucking whom.  I had stopped being a regular consumer of magazines some time in high school when it finally donned on me that I was paying for albums of advertisements brainwashing me to become some insecure product-whore with an addiction problem.  (Why women feel the need to spend hundreds of dollars on a dozen different moisturizers, one for each part of our bodies, is a mystery to me.)  So while I admit, I would flip through pages of People or some other tabloid in any given waiting room, I never paid for them or read them regularly.

But now? 

I really hate to admit this, but I too click onto those gossip sites.  I had my first taste when a friend of mine who works security at a popular celebrity hot spot here in the city sent me a link to an article.  He was written up in this gossip column for being among the first to refuse Paris Hilton entry.  (And he received more than a few thank-you e-mails from people around the world.)  Lately, I have caught myself checking these gossip sites more frequently.  Every time I get my fix, I snap out of it and try to pry myself away from that life sucking machine I call my laptop.  And I hate myself for it. 

In my defense - as weak as it is - originally, my business and marketing mind was genuinely curious.  I wanted to see if I could decipher how much of this gossip was contrived or masterminded by some PR agent, and how it would play out in consequent record or ticket sales.  How were they able to tweak someone's image or "reinvent" them or stage a comeback.  But then I think around the time Paris was gettin' locked up, and then again when British Britney was being hauled away on a stretcher, I found myself becoming a regular consumer.  Or more accurately, addicted to the celebricrack.

As I watch the sad news coverage about the death of Heath Ledger, I find myself moving from curiosity, to deep sadness, to shame, to anger, to disgust, and then back to curiosity.  Why the hell are we so damn curious?  Whatever it is that fuels our need to witness these people's private lives, it's making somebody serious shitloads of money, which is driving these paparazzi to the point where they are easily willing to risk lives in order to get their money shot and lose any ability to practice some basic human decency and respect another human being enough to let them grieve in peace. 

I know we can't help but put celebrities up on pedestals.  There's billions of dollars spent trying to get us to do just that.  But at the end of the day, ultimately they are just like you and me.  They are not gods and goddesses.  They are human beings.  I realize there's the argument that they've stepped into the public eye when they decided to become actors and being exposed to the world comes with the territory.  But I also believe that everyone should have the right to some privacy.  This technological explosion has turned the rumor mill into a gossip monster like a cancerous tumor as massive as a tsunami and of equal force.  The worldwide irreversible spread of the details of our private lives - true or false - make each of us just as vulnerable as well.  I don't know about you, but that freaks me out.  Of course, there are millions of My Space and Facebook users who would likely vehemently disagree.

I've never met Ledger. I am surprised at how sad I feel.  He was just so young, so immensely talented, and just at the beginning of creating an incredible body of work as an artist.  But ultimately, he was a 28-year-old guy who was somebody's son, brother, nephew, lover, best friend, and father.

If your neighbor was coming back home after learning about their loved one's death, would you stand outside their door with a camera and take a picture of their face so you could show the world evidence of their suffering?  Would you go huddle around an ambulance so you could catch a glimpse of someone's dead body being taken away in a body bag?  Would you wait outside a funeral home waiting to see the family members of this dead person?  Why?  Why?  WHY?????

It's just so strange and disturbing.  And I even hate myself for even writing this blog about it, except that I am perplexed.  I am perplexed by our collective hunger for celebrity gossip and why millions and millions of people in the world feel the need to either build people up to knock them down, or obsess about their personal lives to escape our own, or convince ourselves they are no different from us, and why there aren't more of us who realize that our collective insatiable hunger for more attention and more money is a major detriment to us all and that true wealth and happiness isn't something we will find outside of ourselves.

I chose to be an actor for reasons that I would like to believe have nothing to do with all this other bullshit that comes with enormous success.  Of course, there were times in my life when I thought being super famous and having shitloads of money would be....well, a dream come true.  Being slightly older and wiser, it makes me reconsider pursuing an acting career.  At the very least, how I want to pursue it.  How much does doing commercials and working in television contribute to this machine/disease that I don't want to contribute to?  It's a huge question that I am not sure I can figure out the answer to right now.  In the meantime, I think I'll go cold turkey and abstain from clicking onto those gossip sites.  And if you're on the celebricrack, I hope you might consider doing the same.

--Ming Ming

Shout-out to Unscripted!

As a representative of Back Stage, it's my pleasure to announce that 'Back Stage Unscripted' is one of three finalists for a Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for Best Blog.  The winner for this category will be announced on March 14th at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.   

Given out by American Business Media, the award recognizes "editorial excellence in business media publications."  Unscripted is listed under the niche publication field -- with less than 100,000 unique readers per month.

All praise belongs to the many regular and guest writers on Unscripted, who open up the details of their lives every day to our readers with intelligence, warmth, and good humor.  Their quality work deserves recognition.

Congratulations!

Tom Penketh
Managing Editor, BackStage.com

Combined Auditions, Etc.

There seems to be a recent wellspring of pay-to-be-seen venues.  While I'm obviously not completely against this premise – as I do use them from time to time – I am skeptical of these new additions to the ever-growing list.  I have no legitimate reason to feel this way, I guess… it's probably just a fear that this is becoming what will be expected of actors, and not just something we do for a little shot in the arm every now and again.

With that being said, a promotional email I got from one such new company caught my eye.  They're organizing a group (combined) theatre audition where actors will be seen by various off and off-off Broadway companies all at once.  Of course there is a fee, but that's not unheard of with these auditions – Strawhats, NETC, New Jersey Theatre Alliance, etc. – and being seen by ten companies (at least – I don't know the actual number, but we've been asked to bring 20 photos) in two minutes definitely sounds like a time and money saver.

So, I'm doing it.  Tomorrow, in fact.  And I'm a weensy bit excited, too.  In a good way.

The monologue classes I've taken (and am so in love with I wish I could marry them) have not only taught me how to search for, pick, direct and play a monologue, but also how to audition as a whole – from the moment I enter the room, until the moment I am out of their sight.  Such thorough and disciplined instruction has given me a lot of confidence and I now trust that I know what I'm doing.  However, I'd become perhaps a little too cock-sure and forgot what an asset it is to have a class full of people (or even just one person) to tell you what they are seeing from the outside.

After struggling with the simple question, "Is this too much movement or not enough?" for about an hour and a half the other night, I finally realized that I don't have to make this decision alone – I can ask for help.  Duh.  So last night I rented a studio for an hour to rehearse my monologue with a friend.  And I have to say it was an enormous help. 

So, I've tucked away a little mental post-it note reminding myself that anytime I pick a new monologue, I should run it by a pal before throwing it against the wall in a real-live audition to see if it stinks… er, I mean sticks.

Oh, also last night after work (5PM) I managed to eek into another Equity audition.  I was the very last person to be seen, but I got in!  So I just want to reiterate to all the other non-union peeps who try and try and try to get into the EPAs that, from my experience, it's always easier to get into the ones not taking place at the AEA Center.

Oh, and if I don't get in I always make sure to drop off a headshot with a cover letter specific to the project stapled to it (so it can't get lost or stuck to other pictures in the stack).   Break legs.

--Susan Atwood

I see, You See, Go-See!

I have to say when I get sent out on one of those I have to bite my tongue and say 'Yes, I'm available'. I felt good about this one coz I was told I had to be there between 1:15 and 1:30 no later or earlier. Okay, seemed like I'd be in and out, and I planned my day accordingly.

Reality check - I was there for about 45 minutes, before I was 'in and out' - literally, 'click - close up; click - mid shot; click- long shot; thank you very much.'

What makes these calls fun sometimes is when a whole bunch of South Asians are around as well - you've either come to know them coz you've worked with them, waited in the audition room with them, or have been introduced to them as a fellow South Asian actor, and on some rare occasions even hung out with them - And when you meet, you invariably haven't seen each other in a while and so a whole lot of catching up is in order and before you know it, your number is called - (yes I was a number) and you're 'in and out'. No one there is preparing a scene or a monologue in the head or wondering why you are auditioning as well, so its very casual and not too much pretense. Everyone is dressed appropriately (which, in this case, was business attire) and happens to look so alike to every other brown face in that room.

I guess in the end, a 'Go-see' does sound more sophisticated than a 'Cattle call'!

-- Farah Bala

Pop Quiz

Pop Quiz...

You visit a friend's apartment in New York City and see he appears to be in cardiac arrest, unresponsive.

Do you:

a.)  Dial 911

b.)  Perform CPR

c.) a & b

d.) Call an Olsen Twin in California

e.) Call Uncle Jessie

--Jim Todd

Considered

Well, it apparently looks as though I'm being seriously considered for that role I last wrote about... However, it also looks like because it travels out of the country and the budget is so small they're probably not going to shoot it union.

Well, let me be honest here...

A: I don't do non-union work. I believe in the strength behind the solidarity of actors in unions.

B: Flying to a foreign country, riding horses, doing some stunt work are just three reasons I'd like to be a little more protected. Last time I did a movie I was on a horse, I got bucked at a gallop the day before principle shooting, and after shooting the movie, fighting and riding for a month, found out I had broken the radial head of my arm, and tore up soft cartilage my shoulder and my wrist... Being in a production that had all the insurances it needed, paid for the doctor and physical therapy for months to come afterwards.

C: I'm looking to step up my game... And while the role would definitely be a step up... The western had a 1.7 million dollar budget, the horror I just got off had a 2.5 million dollar budget... And both of those barely came in on budget... So, how anyone could do a bigger, more ambitious film, for only200 k, out of the country, I've no idea.

But, I do love playing, I do love acting, I do love opportunity, I do enjoy my friend... So until they make the final decision about union or non-union I'm in the game... And, as always, it's in my best interest to do my best... At the very least it's something to blog about.

Last night I finished a new draft of my newest script... A Fantasy/Action story... You want to talk about budgets... Man, I can't even begin to get my mind around how much this one would cost... But then again, CGI can be done on laptops these days... So who knows.

-- Quiching Care Of Bizness, Myself, And My Career ~ Tom Kiesche

PS. Congrats all you fellow bloggers...

Under The Weather

I 'm a little under the weather today – physically, emotionally, etc. 

I was invited to a screening of an indie film yesterday, directed by a guy I worked with years ago.  And I really wanted to go.  Not only because I like this guy, but also because I think maybe I need to "network" more. 

See, I feel like I'm damning my career every time I see a fundraiser or mixer or something and end up not going – for whatever the reason – and this feeling was compounded recently when I read an article by a 22 year-old successful actress whose sole advice to struggling schmucks like me is to "Network, network, network!"  So, here was a "networking" opportunity where I actually KNEW the guy organizing it, which is so much better than being all alone in a sea of strangers trying to start conversations. 

Except all day yesterday I felt crappy – the signs of a cold/sinus infection clearly in progress.   But I so badly wanted to go to the screening, I even went to the gym and worked out – hoping maybe it would boost my energy.  Then I went to a callback… which… see below.

Anyway, I went to these things, totally meaning to stick it out… but by the time I left the callback I was so wiped I knew I wouldn't last until the 9:30PM start time.  So I headed home  (in fact, I was so out of sorts I actually got off at the wrong train station and ended up catching the bus home) where I crawled into bed with a book and tried to talk myself out of feeling like a loser who just ruined her career (what there is of it).

This callback, tangentially, was for that Coward play and was the third callback (only my first).  This man has dedicated three days to his callbacks.  And he didn't have anyone's photos with him.  I had to tell him my name three times before he scribbled it in a memo pad along with my number.

It's just so damn frustrating.  I KNEW this was a fiasco of an audition from the very get-go, but I told myself not to pre-judge; to just go anyway because you never know what will happen or who you will meet, etc.  BLAH BLAH BLAH.

But the thing is – I did know.  I was right.  And I have been many, many, many times in the past.  So what's the lesson?  Do I spare my time or miss out on potentially good opportunities?  Do I trust my gut and protect myself emotionally, or remain optimistic despite all evidence otherwise, by building  up hope on the slim chance it might work (and suffer being crushed when everything withers in my grasp)?

In an effort to end things more positively, I will tell you that I had an audition the night before where I learned a little Irish step dancing.  Totally fun.  I think every audition should teach you something new as you wait.  Maybe crocheting or trading stocks online or something.  Think of how much smarter we'd all be.

--Susan Atwood

Drip Drop BUT Don't Let The Rain Make You Stop!

Came home wet. Ran through the rain tonight--carrying groceries. Picking up new headshots tomorrow. Finally finished organizing my home office. Getting some opinions on my freshly cut demo reel this week. Wishing Bon Voyage to me mum as she heads back to Indiana early in the morn. (She--and another friend-- helped me transform my house in the last two weeks!) Preparing to start my daughter in a Montessori School tomorrow as well. Working out for an hour every day...keep those endorphins rushing around!!!

Looking forward to throwing my first party in this apartment soon! Just a small gathering with some close friends...wine and cheese and all that...but I'm excited about it nonetheless. Thoroughly enjoying my life. Business is booming. A new branch of Pilates Studio City is opening up in Porter Ranch and I'm picking up a couple of shifts there. Moving forward on plans to learn new stunt-stuff. Spending time with people I like.

I'm in a Spiritual 'Bootcamp' at my church right now and it's also really helping me to clean house mentally. I can't talk about that because: What is Said in the Sacred Circle, stays in the Sacred Circle. However, I have realized that taking life too seriously can not be good for anyone. Watching my daughter grab life with her two little hands and just jump down the hallway is an exact example of what we should all be doing.

Hug a monkey, Jump off a cliff, Have lots of sex, Learn a new skill.... or pick your own thing...Anyone remember those books where you could choose a different ending? I always thought those were cool and I always read them all. Have your cake and eat it too...

Yum Yum...
Cheers,
--Eve White

Question -- Opinion

This question is from a friend of mine, who reads my blog. And I figured I'd post my "answer" here, so that maybe others could maybe...

Ah whatever.

"Hey- so quick question since you write about this stuff in blogs and all---if i still don't have enough for a great reel--what would you suggest doing? Seems lame to do one of those actors access slates--not really into that idea personally. Isn't it better to wait and have a reel with kick ass scenes than a mediocre one where I'm not featured as well or the quality of the film is so-so? -- That was a bit long-winded."

Love the question... I'm not sure I'll give you the answer you'll want to hear, because as you know everything is subjective in this business. Everything... And this is just an opinion.

Here's a quick story before I start...

In New York I had several friends that studied and sang opera... They all had "good" voices, some had better natural gifts than others, some had more technique then others, but most were out there auditioning. Even some with "small, but ugly voices." Whether or not they were auditioning before their time, I'm not sure, and who's to say really... But this story is about one particular friend who had a very large voice... Beautiful voice.... A very open voice... She had been training for years before I met her... Went to college for voice... Had voice teacher after voice teacher... All the time I lived down the block from her... She studied... She was never "ready" to audition... She had to develop... Had to build... Had to something or learn something... Now, she would sing for friends at the drop of a hat... Called herself an opera singer... Wanted a career in opera as a singer... But she never auditioned... She was never "ready." I moved out of New York City... She continued to train... Eventually she got married... Had a child... Moved a thousand miles away from New York... All the while... TRAINING... I don't talk to her too often any more as life gets busy, and distance creates distance... But, I believe she's still tripping to NYC several times a year for lessons, as well as training locally. And I believe she still believes she's not "ready." Maybe she's right... But as she ages her voice changes... As she ages her looks change... And as she ages... She's still not singing opera professionally.

I would imagine most of us jump the gun some times, I know I did with singing a decade ago in New York it beat me up and spit me out, and I know I've tanked a few auditions in a few rooms, where the people casting will never see me again for any acting part... But that happens... Hey there's that whole Clint Eastwood and Burt Renolds story right?

This from IMDB... "He (Clint Eastwood) was a contract player at Universal International. He and another young actor named Burt Reynolds were released from their contracts and left the studio on the same day. They were both fired by the same director. Eastwood was fired when the director didn't want to use him in a movie because "his Adam's Apple was too big." Reynolds, who was serving as a stunt man, was fired after he shoved the director into a water tank during an argument over how to do a stunt fall."

The truth is for 95% of us, our reels can always be better or more current... 95% of us could say "it's not good enough" or "we need to keep training" for the rest of our lives. At some point we have to say... "This is what I have done." "This is my voice." "This is my work."

The other truth is... People wanted to see my reel only when I had nothing on my resume... Once I got guest star credit after guest star credit on my resume... NO ONE seemed to care to see my reel any longer. It's like once they know you have "good" tape, they stop asking for it.

To answer your question, as I suppose Agents looking at new talent need to see something... And getting them to a play is ridiculous, and having them sit there for 120 minutes to see you do one character, isn't really a "good" usage of their "free" time.

So, here's my advice... Have someone who knows how to edit decide if the material is usable or not... A good editor may be able to make a CO-star role shine, or cut a crappy scene in a crappy student film into a solid scene by creatively using what's already there. I edited someone's reel a few weeks ago, and while she had some okay stuff, we both believe I was able to make it much, much more solid.

Now if your material are all one liners... Or you're on camera for half of each line you say...  Or it's mostly out of focus... Yeah, that might not show you off very well, and you should wait.

One solution is of course doing MORE films, MORE freebies... Another solution is what a few friends of mine have done and that's SHOOTING mini-scenes... Either with other friends or with classes or with these little production companies that offer such services.... However, my advice on those mini-scenes... Make them look and sound like actually movies... And not like they've been shot for the purposes of a reel... They're just like the middle of a scene that really has no beginning or end to it.

This whole one minute reel thing is a semi-blessing for someone like you... If you have 30 guest star roles, you can only cut so many parts in that 60 seconds. And you can only hold on one scene for at most 60 seconds... And if you want to show some "range..." Four clips at 15 seconds each... Three clips of 20 seconds each... The days of the 5 minute reel are LONG GONE...

Well, if you look at your stuff again, or get someone that "knows" what can be cut and how, you might very well find 3 twenty second clips of "good" usable material. And you just have that, then you just have that.

-- Just My Quichepinon ~ Tom Kiesche

P(h)ew!

What is the difference between these two pictures?

 

One is clearly a cat, and the other a potentially stinky foe.  Imagine my surprise when I came across the latter sleeping against my door when I returned home from class last night and I mistook if for my cat.  Why I thought my indoor cat had escaped, I don't know, but logic doesn't always prevail at 11 pm.  My friendly neighborhood skunk, and I'm not joking, moved toward me and then quickly turned its tail in my direction.  I was less than three feet and a prayer from spending my evening in a tomato bath.  I sprinted down the stairs in record time only to find my neighbors rushing to defend me against an attacker off my ridiculous scream fit.  I'm an idiot.  But I smell good today.

I had my third of four sessions last night of the audition technique class I'm taking this month, and I finally got my butt kicked.  I had been swimming along and tearing through the material, wondering if, once again, I had picked a class that wasn't challenging enough.  But today, I'm still mulling over the notes I received last night and processing everything I learned, which is great because I know I'm being stretched.  If I'm not constantly analyzing a scene and digging deeper and questioning my performance,  I'm probably not doing my best work.

I had hopes that this class would strengthen my professional relationship and credibility with my casting director teacher and it seems that it has!  She asked me on the sly to look at a script last evening for a short that a well-known executive producer had written and wanted to film for his director's reel.  It's no pay...yet...and she apologized profusely for it saying that it isn't something she would normally do, but she said that there will be more opportunities down the road.  Why wouldn't I say yes to the audition?   It's an opportunity to be seen by new people, to potentially build my reel, and to strengthen my relationship with this casting director.  And there isn't a whole lot going on during this strike anyway.  Obviously, nothing is confirmed, but I'm a little lighter, a little happier, a little more hopeful today that I will eventually work in this town.

Now, if only the neighborhood skunks weren't knocking on my door for tea and scones...

--Stacey Jackson

 

Me? The Lead?

I was flattered to get an email from a friend... He was directing a version of a classic tale, a heroic story of adventure, far off exotic lands and treasure, and he was asking me if I'd like to come in and read for THE LEAD character, THE HERO, THE GUY THAT GETS THE GIRL, THE GUY THAT DOESN'T DIE...

Well, of course I'd like to come in. 
Of course I'd love the opportunity.

Then the other stuff...

It's being done by a production company that's not known for putting out high quality movies, but straight to DVD specials that don't aspire to greatness (and that's putting it nicely), it's being done with a 100 K shooting budget, "Oh and can you do a slight British accent?"

My agent's not for it from the beginning, for the first thing, me being in something like this won't help sell his client. Second, with a 100 K shooting budget, their can't be much money in the deal, therefore both of us will be working for next to nothing. Third, it wasn't being cast by a CD and he had trouble getting a phone call returned as he was trying to get more details about the production.

However I went in. Number one reason, I'd like to work, and with my friend directing that's a solid bonus... He and I have talked about a project of mine, and this would give us some experience of working together. Second reason, I'd love to start playing roles like that... I think I'm out of reasons. Oh, third, it's dead and the silence is driving me a little mad as I'm becoming a little too introspective. I'm picking apart things like my apartment, career, relations, body, health, future, dwelling on house prices, losses in the market... blah blah blue.

So, I'm there. Sides in one hand. Picture and resume in the other. And there's no sign in sheet... This is enough to prompt a few questions to the cute receptionist. However, she's busy laughing at various internet stories, as she chats with her friend on her cell phone.  It's all fun and giggles until they're both shocked seeing the news about Heath Ledger 's death... Which, I didn't put together until later when I heard the news in my car (Actually till this morning thought his name was Keith). Eventually I did get a few questions answered, but saved the biggest one for my friend in the audition room since the answer would have me heading for the door.

"Is this union?"

Not getting a solid "yes," but more of an answer that went into conditions about having to convince the producers that it'd be worth getting union contracts in order to secure certain actors, I already started writing this project further off.

However, I put on a "slight British accent" and did the sides once. Then got notes... After the second time through...

"Do you wanna try it with a slight accent one time?"
"I thought I was doing a slight accent."

Honestly, I've no idea if I'll be brought back in and paired up with leading ladies... Or if I did good or sucked. But man would I have some questions that would need to be answered before saying "Yes."

100k? The story takes place in the jungles, deserts, villages and towns of Africa, inside ancient ruins with traps and death around every corner... There's horses and guns. Tribes. Russians. Brits. The original story I think even has scenes in England. How the heck? Anyway, they aren't questions I have to ask or have answers to at this point in time, but there most certainly are questions that will need some answers.

-- Quicheing Questions ~ Tom Kiesche

The Best Laid Plans

I had an audition Sunday night at 9:15PM at the Wings Theatre.  It was and odd time made even more uncomfortable by the 6,000-degree-below-zero wind-chill.  To make my trip more worthwhile, I figured I’d hit the gym beforehand, and shower and do my make-up there.

I arrive just as they’re closing.  Great.  My hair is greasy and I’m bare-faced.  I walk towards the next closest gym – even though they must be closing, too – when the only available cab I’ve seen approaches.  I flag him down figuring I’d go straight to the theater and use the extra time to salvage my appearance in their bathroom.

Hopping in the back I say, “154 Christopher Street, please”, and we’re off.  He asks the cross-streets.  I say I’m not sure, but I think one is Hudson.  Driving up Sixth Avenue, he makes a right turn. 

“Christopher Street is the other way”, I say.
“But you don’t know the cross streets”, the driver replies, pulling over, “So I was calling my friend to get directions.”  (Phoning a friend? This isn’t Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – what happened to dispatches?)
“Ok, but Christopher Street is the other way,” I repeat.
“You don’t know the cross streets, so I have to find out”, he explains again.
“Yeah, but you’re going the wrong direction and I don’t want to pay to drive around in circles.”
“I’m a new driver”, he says. 
Now we’re getting somewhere.
“Oh”, I concede, “I didn’t realize.  Christopher Street is pretty famous so I just assumed you knew.  It’s that way.”  I proceed to direct him to Seventh Avenue South when we realize that all the closest cross streets running parallel to Christopher (which is behind us) empty out onto the avenue. 

He pulls over and asks me to take another cab. “We’ll just have to go further down”, I explain.  Silence.  He drives another block and stops again.  I give up.  “Fine, I’ll get out here. But next time you don’t know where you’re going – say so before you start driving”, I chide as I slam the door.

About four steps from the cab I hear a crash.  You have got to be kidding me.  I know what’s happened, but turn to see anyway.  Sure enough my driver has tried to make a turn against the light and another cab has side-swiped him – sparks literally fly as their front ends grate together.  I pause briefly, feeling guilty that I must have shaken the driver’s confidence, but realize there’s nothing I can do since I didn’t witness the impact and everyone was fine. 

Walking to the theater, I phone a friend to tell him the story.  “F*ck him”, my friend says, “He should know where he’s going.  That’s his job.”

True, I think to myself.  And I should know better than to not check my gym’s Sunday hours when I have an audition afterwards and I look like a sewer rat.

--Susan Atwood

Sundance Pisses Me Off

The Sundance Film Festival really pisses me off.  This was supposed to be a venue for unknown film directors, college kids basically, and unknown actors.

Now it's a disgusting display of gluttony.  Hollywood millionaires need to show up, gobble up the festival,  in order to seize the free gifts offered?

Their homes are worth millions.  They have millions in the bank.  They're famous.  And they're going to go to Sundance to upstage the efforts of unknown directors and actors just so they can get a free pocketbook?

May all their private jets slam into the Rocky Mountains and burst into flames!  *

* Not to be taken literally. The writer is just pissed off.

--Jim Todd

James LaChere

Last night an actor in an ensemble company I'm part of was killed in a car crash.   Such a loss!  James LaChere was a very good actor and very warm and friendly guy. 

We recently appeared in a staged reading together, "The 7 Year Clause," at HB Studio in Manhattan.  I remember James was the first cast member to say hello to me when I joined the cast.

He also was one of the best actors in our class, taught by Austin Pendleton.  I remember laughing my ass off watching him as Barney in Neil Simon's "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers."

I vividly remember him in a Sam Shepard play too:  "Lie of the Mind."  And I remember him doing the Tom monologue in "The Glass Menagerie."

I can't remember the scenes I've done, but I do remember all of his.  He was very good and I don't believe he realized how good he was.

Life is short.  I'm sorry to hear of this. 

I hope I haven't brought everybody down by my posting this here, but James was so cool.

God Bless James and his family.

P.S.  I'm including a paragraph from HB Studio's Weekly notice here...

Friends and colleagues are invited to join the members of the HB Ensemble on Sunday, January 27th at 8pm in the First Floor Studio at 120 Bank Street for a celebration of James' life and spirit. Bring a flower, a reading (poetry or prose), your thoughts, a story or reminiscence, or just come join us. Everyone is welcome.

--Jim Todd

Rigs and Gigs (The Sequel)

Second day on the Paramount Lot, New York Street as a Rigger's 'Assistant'. I know this is an actor-blog...but I find that since this is still under the umbrella of "show business" then it applies. And the same lessons can apply to both things. Today was a bit different. Earlier in the day, it was nose to the grindstone, slap it out while the light is good, shoot and reshoot, etc. With a boat, a truck with greeny-screeny stuff plastered to it, a camera that operates in 350 degrees (thanks to the skillful rigging genius of Monsieur Rigger), and a street full of background actors it was a busy set.

After the camera rig is up and running there's not a lot for me to do but converse with peeps and drink umpteen cups of tea from craft services. However, I found an older grip who showed me how to do a bunch of different types of knots and practiced and practiced them. Came up with an idea for a really cool rope belt while I was at it. Now, just need to go out and buy the rope and a clasp and buckle.

Later in the day, the director chatted me up a bit. I was a little surprised by that, but he is an extreme sports fella and is in the market for a Pilates Trainer (hello!?) to help him with some back issues. We talked snow-boarding, Pilates, Trapeze, Bikes, and surfing...lot of laughing. Great guy. Great conversation. Just shooting the shit...though I think it annoyed the crew a wee bit that he was chatting up the Rigger's "Assistant" while there was still light to shoot by. He asked me for my information, which was nice. Though, as a woman you never know what that's going to mean.

Helped out a bit here and there. Kept Mr. Rigger-boss-man (and occasionally, the Cameraman) supplied with hot coffee and sweet treats......really just about keeping people around you comfortable and being the kind of person people like to talk to. I really enjoyed myself. Even when there was nothing much to do...I found someone to teach me about knots. Gotta keep the brain active, keeps you sharp for when things do pick up.

In my life in general I have also learned to wear clothing articles that are good conversation pieces. It's a smart little trick if you don't know it. My leather coat has buttons with Fleur-de-lis on them and it's a very old looking coat, even though I got it this year for my birthday...but that thing has started more conversations...that and my boots. When you wear unique clothing that flatters you...people notice, don't think they don't. And it doesn't have to be outrageous stuff, quite the opposite. Details matter. Belts, rings, buttons, and things...after a long day on a set, people start to study each other and I think more than four people (today!) commented on my coat and it started up 3 really great conversations. And all I had to do was wear the thing...I didn't have to say anything clever or speak up first. Sometimes, it can just begin with..."Cool coat...are those things on your buttons? What are those things called...?"

Not to toot me own horn here...but it's a good day when someone refers to you as, "A beautiful lass..." (after they've talked to you). I hope it isn't the last time. And it was a great feeling as a mother to come home after a good payday. Financial security is huge for me this year. Creating it, that is.

--Eve White

To Understudy Or Not To Understudy...That's The Question

A wonderfully talented friend contacted me this weekend for advice about understudying.  She had lost a role that she really wanted, but had been offered an understudy position.  She had been weighing the option for a week--a week!--but could not wrap her head around a decision and was driving her husband batty in the process.  She contacted me because she knew that I had understudied a few shows and also turned down a few understudy offers last year.  She wanted to know if I thought it was worth it. 

Yes it's worth it!  And no it's not worth it.  It all depends on where you are in your career and what you want to gain from the experience.      

The number one reason to say yes to an understudy role is to get your foot in the door.  Maybe you don't have a lot of credits or maybe you moved to a new market and don't have very many contacts, or maybe you've been dying to be seen at a larger, more prestigious venue, but if you say yes to an understudy role and you work hard, people will notice and you will walk away with one new industry person in your corner and perhaps an opportunity to audition for (and be cast) in the next main-stage production that comes along that fits your type.

My first theatre role in Los Angeles was an understudy role and I studied the crap out of that role.  I dreamed of working at that particular theatre but could not get an audition to save my life.  When I finally had the chance to audition and was offered the understudy role after three rounds of auditions, I jumped at the chance!  I went to every rehearsal.  I never complained.  I introduced myself to everyone at the company and then invited everyone when I finally got my day on the stage.  I had no idea if I would know what to do.  I had only rehearsed in the space for about an hour prior to the show, but I nailed it and surprised myself...and apparently others (Did I mention that the entire show rhymed??!!).  I have nothing but good things to say about the actress that originated the role, but guess who went on to work at that theatre many times over and who disappeared when the show ended?  You have to make the most of the chances you are given.

The second best reason to understudy is for the chance to work on a particular script you adore, team with a director you admire, or to observe a seasoned actor who could teach you a thing or two.  If you can learn from the experience, it's worth it.  Again, you will be given your chance if you  prove yourself a serious study.

And for those directors out there, be smart and offer your understudy a guaranteed performance or two.  Fear is a great motivating factor for an understudy and that small concession will attract a higher caliber actor.

And actors, speak up and ask for a performance!  Work hard and then invite your agents, manager, casting directors, friends and family to see you in all your glory.

There are reasons to say no to understudying positions as well, and you may find that at a certain point it's just not something you are willing to do.  I think the number one reason to say no is jealousy.  If you are a jealous person and find yourself resenting the actor who nabbed the role, you'd best sit it out.  If you are the type of person who will end up watching rehearsals while banging yourself over the head trying to figure out why they didn't cast you (because cleeearly you're better), just don't do it.  Save yourself the emotional lashing and save others involved in the show the negative energy. 

If the material is weak, if there is no potential to move forward, and if you feel you will not learn anything by understudying for the production, say no.  If enough people in the industry see you as a player, say no.  Something better will come along.  It's always better to pursue other opportunities than to spend 3 plus months working behind the scenes on a play that has no potential to generate viable opportunities.  Believe in yourself and pass, even if the option to "keep busy" is tempting. 

Ultimately, my friend chose to pass, and I think she made a wise decision.  Better things are coming her way.  But don't close the door on understudying completely, it can be an incredible training ground. 

(Above, costumed in one of three roles I understudied and played in an award winning production of La Bete.  Below, my first understudy role ever.)

--Stacey Jackson

            

VS

One popular discussion on these blogs is the NY verses LA debate... It's something I asked myself often when I was coming up in New York, and I often hear actors going back and forth about it. So here's one other thing to consider...

While the ocean is close for those in both cities, in Los Angeles these cars we all have to afford give us the ability to travel to see the coast much easier... And there's really not much of a comparison between the beaches.

And while I do enjoy hearing the waves crash, and sitting on a lump of sand, I often prefer the mountains, an equal time distance away from where I live in the nearly opposite direction. And, while I hiked the AP trail and the Gap while living in New York and New Jersey, the mountains there didn't really compare to what's available here.

Some people brag about the weather here, but those two things are much more important to me... And with great weather, they're available quite frequently... A drive into the National Forest and a three hour trek this past Saturday did my mind and body good (blogged on my Myspace blog about it if you're interested).

Sunday I had my first vocal lesson with a new teacher, I'll give his name to those who contact me asking for it after a few more lessons. But it's funny, the difference between singing with a coach and singing with a teacher... Singing with the coach was frustrating as my voice wasn't doing what he or I wanted it to do... Pulling out songs I haven't seen before or songs I used to sing...  But singing with the teacher was fun simply because it was much more about stretching, warming, relearning... And by the time we actually got to a song (something I wasn't in any hurry to do), a new song to me (something I wasn't sure I really wanted to do), the song seemed to flow out like butter.

Though I'll sing again with the coach I will not make the same mistake and expect to go from zero to sixty in 3.45 seconds... Our voices, my voice can not be expected to be there for every note and every pitch flip, when I haven't been there for my voice in over a decade.

On the NY versus LA subject, I never experienced a vocal teacher with a "recording" studio in his office in New York. The student before me was "laying" down tracks of music he wrote and sang... It threw me off a little, but then, my lesson had nothing to do with all that stuff with the exception of him using it to record as I would do in NYC with my own tape recorder. Nor did I ever have a voice teacher play canned applause from his electronic keyboard after I finished singing a song, but that did crack me up.

If you ever want me to list the things I love about New York verses Los Angeles... I could do that just as easy. Without ever living here, it's really hard to know what's great and what sucks about living here. Just as without ever living in New York, it's really hard for anyone to say what's great and what sucks about living in New York. I think as actors, it's good to experience both.

--  Mount Quiche ~ Tom Kiesche

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Artists have often been the people pushing the boundaries of what society will accept.  Many times they can act as enlightened visionaries - seeing things as they think they ought to be, and bringing their ideas to people who may never have seen them or even dreamed (get out yer hankies) of them before.  And, sometimes, history proves them right.  Other times... not so much. 

We all have opportunities in our lives to make a statement and to take a stand - be it large or small - like they have, although sometimes we may be blind to those opportunities, or maybe we do see them but don't know how to take action.  The people who, for whatever reason, are fortunate enough to walk in a path where passion and opportunity align, are blessed.  And those who accept the challenge to take the different road, or are stronger yet to thrash their way against the tide to create their own road so that they may lead us to the higher ground, are the people who send chills up my spine (in a glorious way). 

So, here is to Dr. King and his strength and courage to help guide us to a better place.  One we can and should be enormously proud of.  He was not a "traditional artist" by trade, but I don't think "art" can or should be confined to the visual, the performed or the written - although, actually, he used all three mediums to get his point across: Leading demonstrations and delivering speeches that expanded our own personal visions, and encouraged us to make necessary changes.  And as another great artist once wrote: "All the world's a stage"...

For those of us pursuing the actual stage (or who just need a shot of hope every now and again), I find this fitting:

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)

--Susan Atwood

Audition Advice: Gotten And Given

('Gotten' never feels like a real word to me, but I guess it is.)

I receive acting newsletters via email which are filtered into an acting folder.  Skimming the batch yesterday, a piece about monologue auditions caught my eye.

It described how actors tend to “do too much” in their monologue auditions.  They want to show their range by picking pieces to display that, or perhaps try to squeeze a range into what is, otherwise, very straightforward writing.  The article also mentions how, all too often, women’s monologues somehow involve their character “suffering” (the author notes that this is more a symptom of the dearth of options and not most actresses wants), which is just not fun to watch, nor is it the best introduction you can make for yourself.

And, you know what?  I have to echo Paula Deen’s words when she announced on camera that she deep fries her bacon: “Guilty!”  (God, that woman’s cooking cracks me up – and makes me want to wash my arteries with Clorox.)

Damn.  And I loved that monologue, too.  But, yeah, it is about a woman standing up for herself because some guy has been unfair to her.

Luckily, a friend with some very excellent taste mentioned to me last year that she had seen a great monologue on a TV show (which she had on DVD), and generously transcribed it for me.  And it is NOT about a woman suffering.  Amen.

So I am using it.  And so far it has felt wonderful.  We’ll have to see how it goes when I air it publicly for the first time this Saturday, but for now it feels good.  Elegant.  Simple.  Like it fits into my back pocket just right.

Also, today a friend called to ask my opinion on something.  She’s been told often by various CDs she has met, that she would be great for a particular role on Broadway.  And there is an open call for the role this week – BUT, she is two inches taller than what the breakdown asks for. 

I told her that unless there was something else she had to do that day, she should definitely wear her flattest flats and GO.  If they think she’s too tall, maybe they’ll type her out.  And if they don’t, and she gets into the room and then they say, “You’re too tall”, she can simply explain that she came on the advice of other directors who have seen her work and encouraged her to attend.  Then keep a smile on your face and say a polite 'thank you' as they either let you audition anyway or ask you to spare their time.

You definitely won’t get cast if you don’t attend.  That’s all I can say.

Happy auditioning.

--Susan Atwood