Archive for May, 2008

Auditioning Tips

{ May 28, 2008 @ 12:50 am } · { Acting articles }
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from the actors bone auditioning advice page

Below are some books which I have found to be of great value in learning about the auditioning process.

But before you jump to the books written by some old time pro’s, here’s some advice that you won’t find in the books. It’s what I do before auditions… for those of you that’re interested…

Okay, you’ve sent your headshot and resume in… you did like we recommended on The Actor’s Hour page. You get the call… they don’t tell you a damn thing ‘cept where to be, when to be there and what part you’re reading for. Sides are everywhere they say. Everywhere? What does that mean? Basically it means ShowFax… you’ll find your sides at ShowFax. If it’s a professional project, you’ll find your sides there. All you need is credit card and Adobe Acrobat Reader. Of course they’ll fax your sides to you too… hence the name ShowFax. You can purchase sides page by page… but that’ll get too expensive if you follow the advice I give in the next paragraph. Sign up for the “all you can eat… I mean download” per year package.
Okay, you’re a yearly member… good. Now what? You download your sides, right? Yes… but you also download every other character’s sides in that project. Chances are, you’ll get about 50-75% of the project’s script right there. Now you’ve got way more information about the role than you’d get from just your sides. Read every page. Get the feel of the project. See who your role is in relation to other characters.
Next… get as many names of the production people as you can… director, writer, producer… right down to costume designer and prop master. Then go to The Internet Movie Database and see what you can dig up on them. You’ll probably see that a few of them have worked together before… doesn’t that tell you something? If they like you, you’ll work with them again too. You’ll also learn what kind of projects they’ve done before. You’ll get the flavor of their work. You’ll also be able to schmooze a little better when you can rattle off a little of their history if the subject arises. People are impressed when you know about them… afterall what’s every Hollywood type’s favorite subject? Themselves!
After the Internet Movie Database, you go to Yahoo or another general type search engine and see what else you can find. Use the names of the crew and the project title as keywords. Glean what you can. There may be hundreds of links or only a few. Spend enough time to get a good feel for what you’re getting into.

Actors – Suggestions for winning over an agent

{ May 28, 2008 @ 12:45 am } · { Acting articles }
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The following is from a site called the actors bone, it looks like a pretty old site that is no longer getting updated, but still has some good advice

Brad Blaisdell offers the following words of wisdom:

Before you write the letter. Is your headshot great? What’s on your resume? Is is clear, clean and professional? This is much more important than what your letter says.

VERY IMPORTANT! Do you know who the agencies are in this town? Have you chosen this particular agent for a reason? Before you mail to them, know who they are and who they rep. Get the client list. Find out who they are. Agents have egos too. Big ones if they’re any good. You need to be specific. Honest. Real. To the point… NO BULLSHIT!. Clear and respectful and most important… SHORT.
Introduce yourself simply. Dear Mr/Ms, My name is ________.
Then let them know you know who they are and that this is not a mass mailing. Something that lets them know you know them… “their work.”
THE RISK. Tell them in one or two sentences something true that peeks their curiosity. For example, if I was Paul Molinaro, I’d write something like … “I went to Medical School to become a part time doctor and a full time actor. Acting is my passion, please come see me in Welcome Home Soldier.” I would call him/her 3 days later and offer to pick him/her up and bring them home after the show… or hire a limo… or whatever it took to get them there.
Now that’s a risk… but if you want results, you have to take big risks. You have to believe in yourself if you are ever going to get them to believe in you. If they shine you on or are rude … great, you learned something about who they are and they’re not who you want … now you can move on. Be bold not crazy!
The truth is the letter isn’t important, if you’re gonna follow the way other people tell you what it should be. You gotta make it up. You gotta care that much. You gotta risk your own ego to wake people up.
Don’t be crazy or nuts. Lots of wannabe actors are totally crazy and nothing will most likely work for them. You have to figure out a way to show confidence with class… And if you don’t really believe in yourself … you can’t fake it. You gotta find that first.

Agents have enough actors already. They don’t want anymore actors… UNTIL… somebody knocks them out! Excites them. You might be the best actor in the world…(we all are in our own minds) but unless an agent believes you are gonna walk into an audition they get for you and GET THE JOB… your P/R and cover letter are in the trash.
How do you do that? I don’t know. I’ve done it. I’m no where near the best looking guy. I never went to medical school … BUT this is my life … I got nothing to lose. Be BOLD.

The worst acting, maybe ever

{ May 12, 2008 @ 7:07 pm } · { So bad its funny, bad acting }
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This is pretty funny, this is a compilation video of what this person was the absolutely worst acting, ever. You know what, he may be right. We have a few great categories for worst acting here including “worst death scene” and “worst stunt”.

So bad its hilarious.

Actually, I kinda liked the sliding horse stunt, bad… yes, But so inventive. It looks like a stiff, dead horse sliding on pavement then magically coming back to life and galloping away. Awesomely BAD!