Audition Room Etiquette

Our audition room (or tape room) is rather small.  There is a lo-tech camera, two bright front lights and a dim back light. There are three chairs and a computer. That's it. If we have not met you before we will print out your resume from the database (that is my lovely task).  If you are not on the database we will ask  you to bring in one.  That being said, you should always bring a resume but do not give it to us unless asked.

We will either know the part you are reading for, or we will ask you, there is no need to state it in the audition.

Don't shake hands with the reader.  A reader is the person reading the other lines in your scene audition. I have no idea why you should follow this rule; I'm just passing it along. I'm sure with time I will understand, but for now, I'm just a little sheep following my Shepard.

If you are given a note, FOLLOW IT! That means if we do the scene once and then the casting director says, "okay let's do it again and this time I want you to address a huge crowd of people." That means you put on your little imagination helmet you and look around a HUMONGOUS room - give it the really 1,000 yard stare.  Better to make a big adjustment than a small one. (It still has to make sense of course)

Wear clothes show your body. We want to see what you're working with.

Don't ever use an accent unless it is specifically part of the character.  If you are playing someone from the deep south with all the dialogue spelled out with dialect, THEN use an accent. Otherwise, it's best to put accents and dialects on your resume but audition with non-regional diction.

Don't wink at interns. It's insulting.

Stepping Up

So the casting associate (who I work under) is out for the day, making me the associate (basically an assistant). Already I have hung up on someone, apparently re-printed something we didn't need, and told another assistant over the phone too much information.  These were all TINY problems that were fixed in a matter of seconds (calling back, recycle, and whoops), but when your boss gets used to a certain thing being done the exact same way all the time they are nervous when anything changes slightly (even if it isn't catastrophic).

Here is my advice to interns that have to step into a higher position for the day: don't freak out. My boss has already yelled at me three times in the last hour and I have just smiled, apologized, and moved on.  I've only been here a week, if I don't know something, well excuuuuuuse me. Just keep expressing when you don't know how to do something and ask questions. No one can fault you so might as well learn as much as you can. That being said, it's going to being a horrible day.

New York (Plan Ahead!)

Side note: If you decide to move to New York City you need to know one thing. ALWAYS leave your house with at LEAST double the amount of time it takes to get to your destination. AT LEAST double.  Being late is one of the worst qualities in an employee and shit just happens in NY to make you late ALL the time.

Juilliard Advice

Last night I was invited by my boss to attend her lecture at Julliard for 4th year drama students. First off, let me say it was a dream come true to sit with such an amazing group of students. Secondly, of course I cannot regurgitate a three-hour lecture but I thought I would share some of the key points. This was a lecture for actors so all the advice is aimed towards you.

• Resumes:
• Put your name is ALL CAPS
• Make sure it is extremely clean (organized columns) and in a font that is big enough to read comfortably
• 1 page maximum (no exceptions!) - it should fit neatly on the back of your headshot
• Capitalize the names of the plays
• The casting director does not know that the resume is in chronological order, therefore, it does not matter. Put you best roles first. Most often casting directors only read the first few roles.
• Split you resume into sections (ie: Theatre, Film, Television, Training, Special Skills)
• Do not need to include you height and weight unless it is extreme (anything above 6'2")
• Special skills: instruments, fluent languages, and anything else that you are exceptional at.  If you have played basketball a few times, don't put that on there. If you were semi-pro basketball player, put it on! (of course, only put down skills that you can currently do - so if you are 70, the basketball thing won't help your chances)
• If you can do something totally awesome (like balance a chair on your chin) PUT IT ON YOUR RESUME! Special skills is the conversation ice breaker and essential for getting to know you. 
• Headshots
• Color vs B/W: Honestly it makes no difference. The only exception is if you have really crazy awesome eye color or flaming red hair. Don't EVER try to hide anything interesting!
• Put your name on you headshot (on the bottom or actually in the picture doesn't matter) this constantly re-enforces the relationship between who you are and what you look like
• Little black borders are classy 
• The question my boss asks herself when she looks at a headshot is "would I want to sit next to this person at dinner?" Which means you want to come off as fun, intelligent, and good looking. The perfect date. This doesn't mean you have to smile, just make sure you look really interesting in a positive way (not a scary way)
• READ PLAYS
• See as much theater/film as you can!
• Start a play-reading group
• Like a book club, meet once a month to discuss a play that you all have read. Or act out your favorite scenes.  This is a chance to get a workout with your friends and by the end of the year you will have 12 new plays under your belt.  Knowledge of material is power for an anyone in the industry, especially actors. 
• Volunteer as a Reader
• If you have any personal connection with a casting director, volunteer to be a reader for auditions. (A reader is the person who sits in auditions and reads the other lines for the auditioning actor) This is a great, free workout as well as an educational bombshell. Getting comfortable in an audition setting as well as watching other actors work is invaluable for your career. 

Hope this has been helpful! 

Lean your lines with Apps!

Check out:
www.mytheaterapps.com
I was surprised by how helpful this app seems for working actors.

Sit Back and Listen

Last night one of my bosses gave me a piece of advice that I'd like to share.  I am a very type A personality.  I am a rather impatient, ambitious, and direct person.  I enjoy being helpful and despise wasting time.  It is hard for me to relax and sit idly by.  My boss, relating to me, gave me a piece of advice. Although these characteristics are great for a boss and can make for a very successful leader, they are not ideal for learning. When you are always trying to be actively helpful you skip the most important aspects of the educational process in order to impress.  She advised that anyone entering into a new position should be very passive the first few weeks of work.  They should sit back, listen, and try to soak up information by osmosis.  By adopting a more passive attitude, you will gather information slowly and truly understand the new information before asking questions.  I find that, like Sherlock Holmes would say, I see everything but I do not observe.  Her advice is to really observe.  Once you can take in the information around you then the questions will come up organically and the answers will actually improve your understanding.

 Sometimes interns ask questions that are too lofty ie: what does a producer do? or, what are you looking for when casting a pilot? These questions, while seeming important, are better answered through personal observation than a brief (and probably vague) answer from someone.  Questions like this also may induce frustration because they are difficult to answer - you don't want your boss to associate frustrating moments with you.

The interesting thing is, when I was working at Lionsgate (also as an intern) they felt oppositely.  They wanted interns to bust their asses on everything and be overly helpful.  Every company is different so you'll have to feel out the culture and make a decision.  In my opinion if you are the only intern it is a pretty good sign that they hire YOU and believe in YOU, so you don't have to impress them right off the bat (they already are impressed by you) - just observe and truly try to learn through observation.

Hollywood Assistants

If you have ever worked as an assistant in the Hollywood industry, you will thank me for sharing this:

http://hollywoodassistants.tumblr.com/

Warner Brothers Television Casting

I recently landed a paid casting internship at Warner Brothers Television in NYC. My professor from I.U. had a contact working at Warner Brothers and set me up with an interview.  Although they told me I was overdressed and overqualified they invited me to join their team.  I work closely with three, of which there are only three, ladies in the casting office.  I am their only intern and have my own desk on the 32nd floor overlooking central park!  All of the ladies have connections in the New York casting community and I am excited to see where I will end up once my internship comes to a close.  

As an intern I am on the organizational side of the business as opposed to the creative (for the moment).  As of right now I do not sit in on auditions, although that will change in the upcoming weeks, but rather prepare for auditions by organizing sides, taking care of visitor registration, and logging the auditions into a database.  I read all of the scripts for current projects so that I am familar with the roles we are casting.  It is also one of my tasks to stay up to date with entertainment news.  I read and recommend to ANYONE interested in the entertainment industry, Deadline.com and the New York Times Arts section every morning to familarize myself with the theatre, film, and television news here in New York as well as in LA.  Variety.com is also a good source although I don't enjoy it as much online as the paper-copy (which I can't afford). 

ACTORS: Some little things I have picked up just in the short time I have been here. DO NOT SEND POSTCARDS!  It is my job every morning to go through the mail and immediately recycle ANY unsolicited material.  I'm afraid it is a waste of money.  Some actors send in a postcard EVERY WEEK and are referred to by executives as "the crazies." I know from personal experience at Lionsgate that anyone who called without a personal connection to my boss or a company connection with Lionsgate was labeled "a crazy." The sad truth is, in order to be heard in this industry you must be represented and go through the bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo.  You may get advice from you parents or friends to just throw yourself out there; send out head shots and resumes to ANYONE you can. This is horrible advice.  It will go straight to the trash. So Actors: my advice this week: unless you have a personal connection to the executive, do not waste your money sending out headshots and resumes. Go through legitimate sources so that you can give yourself the best chance of being heard and seen. Remember, I am only speaking in terms of casting offices and production offices, I have no idea what it is like at talent agencies.  But when I find anything out, I'll post it!