Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

Casting Conundrums and other updates

Since last you heard from me, I've started that acting group I mentioned in a previous post.  It's made up of fellow grad school alumni, and it's been going well.  Granted, without an official teacher to please, the motivation to put in the work has to come completely from inside ourselves, but we're managing.  For the most part we're doing scenes for one another and giving feedback, but if anyone has an audition coming up it's a great place to make sure you know what you're doing before you get in the room.

Also, my latest project, the supernatural web series Shadow Free, finished its first season run.  I was extremely happy with how everything turned out, and the rest of the episodes lived up to and surpassed the pilot.  We're about to start work on some interim material while the writers and director get ready for season two.  They've told us what to expect, and they're really stepping it up.  It's nice to know that's waiting for me up ahead.

Otherwise, things have been slow.  Slooooow.  I had a meeting with an agency that got me pretty pumped, but didn't lead to anything bigger.  They want me to keep them informed of any other casting directors I get to know.  And that brings me to yet another catch-22 that can slowly erode an actor's sanity.

Taking It Seriously

I got a surprise call yesterday afternoon for a nice TV audition I just finished.  My agent said it was only a few lines, gave me some good advice based on who was casting, and told me to break a leg.  And you better believe that after reading Secret Agent Man's last column, I took that advice.  When I got the sides and breakdown in my email, I realized that while it was just a few lines, there was some heavy emotional weight behind those lines.

I cancelled plans to see Hunger Games last night, and called my temp job to cancel today so I could focus (thank you Josh!).

Are You Shadow Free?

The first episode of a new web series I'm starring in was just released.  This would be the one I mentioned previously, for which I spent a few days in a Bushwick basement (among other more scenic locations).  

It's been a while since I've been in front of the camera for a project I didn't also edit and direct, so I had forgotten just how much can happen from when you shoot until when you see the finished product.  That can be good or bad; fortunately, in this case it's quite good.  Things that surprised me:

On Being Polite in Auditions

Today I auditioned with a side that required me to dig around in my pants.  When the director asked if I had any questions, I said "To avoid any impropriety, do you want me to mime the hand in the pants or just go for it?"  She said to do whatever made me comfortable, so of course I went for it.

The scene went well, and when I left she stuck out her hand to shake.  I gave her my left and said "I'll shake with the hand I didn't stick in my pants."  

I'm such a gentleman.

Fixing the Oscars

This week in entertainment news is typically reserved for dozens and dozens of articles about how long the Oscar broadcast was, and how the host could have been better, and oh my god what was that Best Actress nominee thinking when she chose that dress.

I don't really care what she was thinking, but I do fear that Angelina Jolie's leg has achieved sentience.  I used to think Google would lead the robot revolution that would enslave humanity, but nope.  It's Jolie's leg.

Anyway...I'd love to throw my two cents in the bank regarding how the broadcast could be improved.  Here are some ideas:

Where I've Been

In short: treading water in a sea of negativity.  It's known to happen from time to time among actors and other creative types.

In...long: It's been a slow year, though things have been more interesting for the last week or two.  But as many of you probably know firsthand, when things get slow your mind starts working overtime.  Self-doubt can creep in, bitterness, all those fun things we do our best to avoid.  I was properly mired in it, and anything I wrote here would probably reflect that.  I didn't want to add to the millions upon millions of words actors have wasted lamenting their lots in life, so I stayed silent.  At one point I thought "well, I should write what's happening with me right now, shouldn't I?  Won't the truth have value to someone out there?"  I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't pull myself above the negativity.

What finally worked, you're surely dying to ask me?  I made a couple of decisions that have led or will lead to me being more proactive, and not necessarily as dependent on others to make something happen.  I've also gotten a few more responses to submissions I've made on my own, and had a decent meeting with an industry pro.  Unfortunately, we do have to rely on others from time to time.  To cap it all off, I just saw a trailer for the web pilot I shot at the end of last year and it looks absolutely great.  They're preparing a launch for next month, so don't worry.  I'll certainly bug you all then about it.

Audition Advice-for those behind the table

Countless pages, both print and digital, have been dedicated to advice for actors on their auditions.  I'd like to take a moment to reverse roles here and give some pointers to those holding auditions.  I've been in a few rooms lately where it was clear I'd been to many more auditions than the people watching me, and they could have benefited from this advice.

1. Your breakdown is more important than you think.  The stereotype of an audition is a humble, desperate actor walking into a room full of stern judges who are about to decide if that actor belongs in the business.  Well, guess what?  That judgement goes both ways, and it starts as soon as we see your breakdown.  Broken English?  Typos?  No information?  I'm assuming your script will be the same.  Make it good, and you'll get good actors to submit.

2. Give us sides as soon as possible.  Hint: that "as soon as possible" is when you ask us to audition.  If you've reached that point, you better have a script.  So figure out which pages best represent the character, and send it to us immediately.  Good auditions are the result of preparation, not finding out the character has a speech impediment as you walk to the front of the room.  A corollary to this:

Silly SOPA

An alternate title was "SOPA on a Rope-a," but that doesn't make any sense.

You'll probably be hearing a lot about SOPA today, due to the various websites blacking themselves out to raise attention on the issue.  I'd love to add my own voice to that clamor, particularly addressing SAG and AFTRA's endorsement of this bill.  

If you have no idea what I'm talking about: hello, time traveler from Victorian England!  You've landed in 2012!  I love your steampunk time machine!  Here is a helpful infographic breaking down the realities of life after SOPA.  The always eloquent Wil Wheaton wrote a great blog entry about it.  And Change.org has an informative petition.

A New Direction

I decided to take some sort of positive action to counter the absolute quagmire I got stuck in after my last post.  It may not get me anywhere, but at least it's something practical I can focus on.  

I'm going to break down everything I've learned about acting.  I'm talking dead basics, like "learn your lines" or "listen to your partner."  My first step is to list out everything like that.  Hopefully it will take a while.  It would be pretty embarrassing to show someone a half-filled notebook page titled "Everything I Know About Acting."  Once that's done, I'm going to go back over the list and look for any assumptions; anything I've taken for granted without examining on my own.  Chances are, if I haven't thought about it, I'm probably not doing it well.

I'll also look for areas in which I know I could improve; for example, watching myself too much or being self-conscious.  When I've singled out some things like that, I'll keep asking "why" til I get to the root of the problem.  Then, hopefully, it will be clear what I can do to get better.  I know I feel more self-conscious when on camera, vs. on stage.  I talked about that a little in a previous post.  I find myself visualizing what the camera is seeing, rather than focusing on what's happening in the scene.  I need to get comfortable in front of the camera and just do my thing.  Then, if I watch playback and see some bad habits I can work on that.  But I've been putting the cart before the horse.  So, the solution there seems to be to get more time acting for camera.

Running on Empty

I'm an avid runner, and my wife got me what is essentially the Bible of training for Christmas: Daniels' Running Formula, by Jack Daniels (yeah, I know—so does he).  I've just started breaking into it, and much of it will likely be beyond my experience, but I was struck early on by something.  He lays out the principles of what makes one a better runner in the introduction, which he calls the Ingredients of Success: inherent ability, motivation, opportunity, and direction.

See where I'm going yet?

He goes further to talk about training principles and breaks down each component of what you need to improve to be a better runner.  I wish desperately that acting was this cut and dry.  Is it?  Has someone written this book for us, and I've never read it?

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is taking this time to enjoy themselves with friends and/or family.  Here's to a 2012 that brings you all the success you desire.  Happy holidays and a merry Christmas from our family!

Photo is mine.  Who else would claim that?

--Colin Fisher

Anti-Method Madness

If you're ever looking to destroy your free time, I recommend Reddit, the "front page of the internet."  They have categories, or subreddits, for pretty much anything, including acting.  That's where I found a link to the video below.  In it, Scottish acting coach Mark Westbrook lays out ten reasons he hates Method acting.  It's about seven minutes.  Have a look.  He's articulate and has a cool accent.

Given my MFA program's former connection to the Actors Studio, many of my teachers were members.  I think I can speak on this with some authority.  I myself am not a huge fan of the Method, mostly because I'm more interested in comedy and none of my teachers ever knew what to do with that. Moreover, drawing on my own experience won't get me too far. It's better for me to use my imagination, rather than sense memory to recall emotions.  That being said, I think I understand it pretty well, and I'd love to address some of his points.

I don't know how much direct contact Mr. Westbrook has had with traditional Method actors, but he sounds like he's heard the same stories we all have of things DeNiro, Pacino and Day-Lewis have done to prepare for roles.  While a strict definition of Method acting is difficult to pin down, I think it's safe to say that it deals primarily with techniques to work on your inner self so that you can create an honest emotional state, rather than externally indicating said state.  Method acting is not changing your weight.  It's not refusing to get out of a wheelchair because your character is paralyzed.  It's not psychotically deluding yourself into believing your name is actually Hamlet.  

Random Calls, An Audition or Two

I wish I'd had a flurry of activity this last week or two to fill you in on, but I didn't.  I did have an audition, with another one coming up soon.  I did work two long, good, bill-paying days as an extra on The Good Wife.  I got a call from someone I thought might be done with me.  That's about it.

The audition was for a new web series.  It was one of those where I was in and out before I knew what happened.  We ran through a short scene twice, and I think I did well taking the adjustment for the second run, and I guess that's about all I can hope for.  Looking back with that 20/20 vision we have in our minds, the show is probably going to be pretty out there, tonally speaking, so I think I could have gone a lot further with that.

Shifting Goalposts

I've been thinking lately about the goals we set up for ourselves as actors, and how often they shift.  I started acting in college.  Many of my peers had been going since high school, if not longer.  I felt late to the game.  Guys younger than me had been in Hollywood for years landing big roles.  What hope was there for me?  Then one day I found out Andre Braugher hadn't started until college.  He was and is a successful, talented guy (like, best-in-his-class-at-Juilliard talented).  I latched on to that, and other examples.  If they did it, I could too.  

Cut to NYC a few years later, and grad school.  Was I putting an unnecessary delay on my career?  Should I just take classes with a well-known teacher somewhere and start auditioning?  Who else has an MFA?  Turns out that's a long, reassuring list.

Cut to now, married, still trying to make inroads.  I find myself looking to guys like Jeremy Renner or Jon Hamm (though he has a surprisingly long pre-Mad Men resume).  

Lessons Learned on a Recent Shoot

What have you been doing?

You all know that question, and the tight feeling in your chest that usually accompanies your search for an answer.  I've come to value those rare occasions when I actually have something ready, and this is one of those times!

Before Thanksgiving, I finished shooting several days on a pilot for the web that I'm pretty excited about.  I got involved through a plain ol' audition notice online.  It was one of those auditions where things just came together.  I liked the sides, I liked what I could glean about the story, I hit it off with the writer/director and costars, and I even knew exactly what to wear for the character.  And (nerd alert, as referenced in my introductory post), in a scene at the callbacks, I got to do magic!  Fantasy-style, not Gob-style.  I couldn't ask for much more in a project.

The crew was young and geeky, and we all got along really well.  Quotes from video games and Star Wars were flying fast.  Whatever obstacles we did face were mostly locational.  We spent two days in a Bushwick basement, so the sound of running water quickly became part of the scene.  We were not, however, able to incorporate the fire alarm that went off during a shoot in a dorm.  That day went just a little long.

Giving Thanks

Today, I am thankful for the freedom we performers and artists in America experience.  This is all a matter of perspective, of course.  Things could be better here.  Things can always be better.  That's why we do what we do.  It's a strange time in the country.  It feels to me as if we're inching towards a confluence of 1984, Catch-22, and Brazil.  All excellent books and/or movies; not the greatest real-world scenario.  

But if I wanted to get on stage and portray our president as a cross-dressing alien who has an unhealthy fondness for porcupines, no one would stop me.  No one would watch it, but the government wouldn't shut me down (right?).  If I wanted to go to an open mic and tell people this is what I think happens behind closed doors in the White House, I could do it.  I could even write a blog about it (META).  No jackbooted government thugs are breaking down my door right now.  I guess because I'm not sitting peacefully in front of a campus building.  That seems to really push their buttons.

Not everyone enjoys these freedoms.  I encourage you to learn about people like the Moustache Brothers of Burma.  This is a comedy trio whose shows most closely resemble what we know as vaudeville, combined with criticisms of the ruling military junta.  These guys have gone to labor camps for what they've said in public, and they continue to say it.  

Introductions

Hello!  My name is Colin Fisher, and I'm the newest blogger here at Unscripted.  I'm under the strictest of orders to tell you a little about myself, so let's get down to it, shall we?  We shall.

I'm originally from Tennessee.  As a child I was far too shy to get involved in performing.  Spelling bees were about as close as I got, and they were terrifying.  I felt myself drawn more and more to entertainment throughout high school, though I entered the University of Tennessee as a physics major with every intention of becoming an astronomer.  Hey, guess what?  Astronomy is just really hard math!  After a quick semester in broadcasting, I took an acting class and immediately fell in love.  I majored in theatre with no minor, no fallback.  I suppose if I had chosen to do anything other than act, it would have been teaching Latin.  As you can imagine, most of my artistic career has been a struggle against complete left-brain dominance.

I've lived in New York City for a little over seven years now.  Does that make me an official New Yorker?  My blood pressure says yes.  I came up in 2004 to attend grad school at the New School for Drama, at the time the Actors Studio Drama School.  That's a long story, but yes I have attended several tapings for Inside the Actors Studio.  Yes, they are all at least four hours.  Yes, James Lipton gives you a dirty look if you cough.