Compete For Every Role You're Right For

A good friend once said to me, “What is for you will not go by you.” I deeply believe this to be true, but also realize the opportunities you need to develop your career won’t just fall into your lap—you must actively, aggressively, and strategically seek them out! For actors, this means you must build relationships with casting offices in a smart and sustainable way.

A question I often ask my students and clients is, “Are you competing for every role you’re right for?” The answer is often, “No.”

2013 is proving the busiest year for actors I can remember in regards to work and auditions. Of my 70+ clients booking major film and television work in the last year one third of those actors did it on their own, without the help of an agent or manager.

How can that be?! These actors rejected the mythology that they needed representation to get themselves work.

Why do certain actors compete for every role they’re right for with 40+ major auditions per year while other actors, in the same category, only go out for 0-6 top tier auditions? The 40+ audition-per-year actor is being actively pitched for roles they’re right for, via phone, by their agent or manager directly to casting.

When an actor is truly right for a role, a well-thought-out, well-timed “appropriate pitch” can make all the difference in that actor getting the opportunity to compete for the role.

The vast majority of actors are not being pitched by their representation, they’re being “submitted”—online through Breakdown Services—often times with 600-1200 other actors competing for the same role. If you’re serious about a career in film and television, these Las Vegas slot machine odds are unacceptable. You need to find a way to load the dice in your favor or change the game. This starts by rejecting the "herd mentality" and forging your own path to success.

A very common tale of woe is, “I finally got signed by such and such agent/manager…it’s been 6 months…they’re not getting me out for anything.”

Less than one percent of agents and managers directly pitch their clients to casting. The reason? They don’t have the clout or relationships with major casting directors to feel confident in picking up the phone to pitch their clients for the roles their right for. Other factors come into play, such as uncertainty as to how “right” their client is for a role.

Success in this industry depends on how visible you are. And getting in the room often depends on relationships with casting directors, producers, directors, and anyone else who can give you a shot at a role. Either your reps have those relationships or you must build and maintain them.  

So here are your options:

1. Create your own material! All of my clients who have achieved “celebrity” status ignited their careers by creating their own material. Some examples include: Producing your own play, doing stand-up comedy, singing/songwriting, creating a web series, making YouTube videos, etc. All of these actors achieved acting success by creating a strong platform for themselves in another arena.

2. Send out a newsletter. Create a database of all your industry contacts (directors, producers, actors, casting directors, etc.) and send out a newsletter every few months featuring your recent bookings, personal highlights, and other industry-related accomplishments. This is a unique way to build and maintain your important relationships. 

3. Pitch yourself. If an actor is perfect for a role, a casting director wants to see him/her. There’s a “right way” and a “wrong way” to directly pitch yourself for a role, you’re right for. This is often one of the scariest options for actors, as many actors feel like they don’t have a “right” to use the phone in this manner.

It’s a very small industry. If you (or your reps for that matter) pitch for a role that you are simply not right for, that is the equivalent of wasting the office’s time. There’s a strong chance the office won’t bring you back in, if that is the case.

Make darn sure you’re actually right for that role before pitching yourself.

Your confidence and ability to be “pleasantly persistent” in standing up for yourself is directly related to your success as an actor. In this industry, waiting around for anything to magically fall into your lap is a losing proposition.

Sometimes in being proactive and essentially sticking your neck out for yourself you might burn your hand. But if your career is worth it to you, you have to be willing to do this.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

6 Red Flags When Auditing Acting Classes

I encourage all actors to audit classes when shopping for a new teacher. It’s a lot like dating. When looking for a new acting teacher, you’re looking for a new partner (just not a romantic one). Few people in the dating scene strike gold right away—part of the reason for this, they’ll tell you, is because of all the freaks and egomaniacs out there. The same is true for acting teachers; there are just as many freaks and egomaniacs who make acting class their own personal springboard for feeling important or for not doing the hard work a teacher needs to do.

If you were sitting across from a first date who did any of the following things—described in chilling detail his/her childhood of sexual abuse, said “there’s plenty of room in my apartment for you to move in,” or asked you not to order the soup, simply because they don’t want to watch you eat it—you would run so far and so fast for your life (I hope).

Why? Because they’re red flags. And as experienced daters, you’ve learned to spot them quickly. It should be the same when you’re auditing acting classes.

Below are some common red flags that far too many actors miss during the auditing process.

Red Flag #1: The teacher never delivers any critique to students.

This is a common symptom of the “warm and fuzzy womb” class, a class which acts like a giant womb and feeds off students need to feel pleasant and snug when class is over. Acting class is now like acting camp, and the teacher is more like a camp counselor – s/he is more concerned about being liked and making people feel good than about real work occurring. Other times, the teacher doesn’t have the skills to address and fix what wasn’t working in the scene.

Why to avoid: It’s a gooey love fest with no work being accomplished, and thus, no room for growth to occur.

Red Flag #2: The teacher condescends to the actors and/or their work.

This is a common red flag for abuse-based classes, where the teacher isn’t really interested in teaching (not deep down) and is actually just using the actors as a way to feel better about her/himself. This is common when the teacher is a failed actor.

Why to Avoid: Do you want to improve as an actor or do you want to be mocked?

Red Flag #3: The teacher’s “technique” orbits mainly around expecting actors to dredge up past pain and trauma.

This is yet another common trait of abuse-based classes: it no longer becomes about acting, but about who can dredge up the most pain.

Why to Avoid: You’re an artist looking for an acting teacher not a shrink. This one-dimensional technique is going to foster one-dimensional acting.

Red Flag #4: The teacher invites the class to critique another actor's work directly to that actor.

It was drilled into me from my early days at NYU that students should NEVER be allowed to directly critique other members of class after they presented work – that's the teacher’s job. A student can safely comment or make an observation as long as it’s directed at and to the teacher, not another student. Actors don’t directly critique (both positive and negative) other actors on a film set. Why would you do it in acting class? The reason you don’t directly offer critique to a fellow actor is the possibility your comment may shut them down to you when working.

Why to Avoid: If the teacher is allowing this s/he doesn’t understand the damage such critiquing can do or s/he doesn’t care.

Red Flag #5: The teacher doesn’t know everyone’s name.

This is common in over-crowded scene-study classes where the celebrity teacher (Madame 0oh-la-la) likes to pack the actors in to the room’s capacity. The mentality is that Madame Ooh-la-la is so important, she won’t learn your name until you’ve proven yourself and your work worthy of her knowing your name.

Why to Avoid: You’re paying off her mortgage with your monthly class fee. She should know your name.

Red Flag #6: The class is over-crowded.

This is of course related to Red Flag #5, and is so common that far too many actors miss it. An overcrowded class does not mean you’re getting a great teacher that helps push actors to the next levels of their ability. It usually means you’re getting a teacher who is too cheap or clueless to open up other sections of the class so that it’s not so damn crowded all the time.

Why to Avoid: Overcrowded classes means everyone suffers and their ability to work is stunted.

Is it about them or you?!

Does the teacher make it about their Ooh La-La acting method or technique or do they make it about you? Is it your goal in class to please the teacher or for you to feel empowered in the scene and reach your “booked-role potential”?

The Best Of All Worlds: Ultimately, I believe every actor must be the creator of their own technique. A “good” teacher and class must value and reward the strength and uniqueness of an actor’s personality, not some doctrine. The teacher must be able to, in a supportive manner, address the elements that weren’t working in the scene and help the actor(s) find a fix during the working session––before the actor(s) sit back down.

I describe my classes as “Private Coaching in a Class Setting.” Classes are small enough for actors to coach one-on-one with me until they come through something and have a way of doing the piece that’s on the tips of their fingers, ready to bring into an audition or on-set the next day.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

How To Prepare To Be An Awards Presenter

Unless you’ve ever presented, received or been nominated for an Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe, or Emmy, it's hard to imagine the amount of pressure on these performers.

The pressure might seem odd, as the role has been booked and the excellent performance recorded. It seems like the bulk of the work has been done. All the performer has to do is show up on awards night, act natural, and try not to hit the champagne too hard, right? Wrong.

In addition to coaching actors for their film and television roles, I also coach presenters for all the major award ceremonies, and believe me when I tell you that awards presentations can be truly terrifying—even for the most seasoned actor or musician. As one of the celebrity clients I coached said regarding her Grammy presentation speech, “I’m a bit embarrassed I need help with this, but there are millions of people watching and I need to be myself…Help!”

One of the first reasons for extreme anxiety is the sheer volume of viewers for these award shows. Another reason for nerves has to do with the pervasiveness of the Internet, an often unkind entity. Who can forget Natalie Portman’s snort/laugh during her Golden Globes acceptance speech and the fodder for days and days of fun that gave the online playground? My clients truly believe – and rightly so, I feel – that if they make one false move, they can do irreparable damage to their careers. 

The final reason for nerves orbits around the fact that when presenting at awards, there is no “character” or mask to inhabit. It’s just you, unmasked and live, in front of these hoards of viewers. This can really freak an actor out—particularly the ones that enjoy or seek refuge in playing characters.

It has always been my firm belief that the personality of the actor is nine-tenths of the performance. Due to over training and excess “technique,” actors have been trained to believe they’re not interesting enough as themselves, so they must construct a whole façade to hide behind. This buries an actor’s humanity. I believe the ultimate goal of the performer is to reflect the audience’s humanity back at them.

When a presenter is scared, there’s a tendency to start trashing the script and not speaking the speech as the writers put forth. Or there’s a tendency to stand around woodenly (ahem, James Franco). This only makes the presenter look petty and weak.

When coaching for awards presentations, I help the presenter bring their lit-up and empowered selves to the podium. I call it finding the “hook” of the speech. A “hook” is the performer’s light-up right before they make the speech. Something they can activate on the tips of their fingers before they walk on stage. It could be a specific attitude, a funny, dark or sexy image, a piece of music, etc. Anything will do as long as it doesn’t force them to “feel something.”  It must be activated in seconds. Perhaps the most genuine (and extreme) example of this is when Roberto Benigni, director of "Life is Beautiful," accepted his Oscar in 1999 by dancing across some seatbacks.

Think of past awards ceremonies and the speakers who really shook the room when they presented. What did they do? They affected the greatest change while making their speech. The most memorable speeches that you can recall are probably by the ones where the presenter was able to radiate their true selves outwards in a seemingly effortless manner. I still remember Meryl Streep’s speech from the 2012 Oscars. It was honest, unexpected, self deprecating, and gracious. It completely won me over. She started from a genuine place, of authentic humor: “Oh my god. Oh c’mon. Alright. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you. When they called my name I’d had this feeling I could hear half of America going ‘oh no… oh c’mon…why… her…again?’ But whatever.” Then she ended in an even sincerer place—highlighting the friendships this business has given her and the joy of making movies with her friends. That kind of authenticity is apparent to every viewer and it allows the performer to give the audience yet another gift—a glimpse at their real self.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

3 Steps To Booking The Roles You Deserve

I coached 68 clients to book roles in feature films and network TV last year.

This success—not a byproduct of luck or forces of nature—was a direct result of all 68 actors honing specific, crucial elements in their audition performances.

These actors knew that reaching their “booked-role potential” was in part related to their ability to use aspects of their real selves—even if those facets of their personalities were bizarre, ugly, perverse, bitchy, alarming or downright creepy.

As Ron Perlman said, “I've always felt there were aspects of me that were monstrous, and you can either hide from it or confront it, embrace it and understand that those are aspects that make you unique and…that's the very thing that makes you who you are. That's your emotional and spiritual fingerprint.”

I like to call what Perlman is describing as one’s "tip." A tip is the unique fingerprint [or mark] of personality you leave on your performance. Here's how to make your mark on a performance and book the roles you deserve.

1. Figure out what your distinct "tip" is. A "tip" revolves around the idea of something extra you give to your performance without even trying—it’s something they’ve never seen before and didn’t know they wanted. That something extra is YOU, and it’s the elusive something about you that makes it possible for you to be memorable among a throng of actors.

One of my clients has an innate gentleness to everything she does—it’s just a part of who she is and how she has always interacted with the world. Thus, even when she’s reading for the part of a sociopath, she doesn’t try to bury that gentleness. Instead she stamps it on her performance to make it even more disturbing. Another client’s "tip" was simply that he exuded the vibe of a young Willem Dafoe—effortlessly. There was something about him that was always just teetering on the edge of creepy, even when he was just eating a sandwich.

You might not like your "tip," just like the way you might not like the shape of your nose, but it’s yours and it’s unavoidable.

Embracing your tip gives you such a profound advantage because it allows you to put your stamp on the character in a way that no one else possibly can. Bryan Cranston memorably describes auditioning for “Breaking Bad” and wanting to make a formidable impression on the creator, Vince Gilligan. “‘I wanted to go mark Vince,’ Cranston said to the Los Angeles Times in 2011. ‘I wanted to creatively lift my leg on him, and the script, and leave my scent so that he saw me and nobody else doing this.’"

2. Don't act your technique of preparation. When the role has been responsibly coached and prepared, the actual “acting” should feel as easy and effortless as if you were simply playing yourself. This can seem terrifying for two reasons. First, you won’t feel like you’re doing anything, and second, you may not feel you’re interesting enough. However, the end result is your work will appear seamless to the producer and director, and they’ll simply see the character as if he or she was a real person who happened to walk into the audition. That’s magical.

3. Stop trying to guess what “they” want. Imagine how ludicrous it would be if the waiter in a restaurant tried to guess what you felt like ordering? Imagine how even more ludicrous that would be if you didn’t even know what you felt like ordering? Because no matter what the waiter picked, he’d be wrong.

More directly stated, Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs said, “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

Your job is now to stop guessing and make a strong choice—and make it one you really like. It should be the fun choice, the choice that lights a fire under your ass and the choice that’s a little scary. Not the choice that “seems right.”

What’s certain is that “they” are not looking for a neat presentation of acting training, nor are they looking for a choice made on guesswork.

Whenever we’ve seen amazing performances, the acting techniques that these stellar actors have studied are nowhere to be found. Instead we just have people. New people who have been invented by these actors—characters we call them. All tremendous actors have gone through the task of bringing themselves to the part and taking their training, balling it up, and chucking it out the window.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

Personality Is Half The Audition Battle

This pilot season, 17 of my clients booked roles in major network and film projects. There's no mystery as to why. The secret to booking a role begins and ends with this: Don't try to guess what "they" are looking for. Assume you are what they're looking for and bring yourself to the role! Your secret weapon as an actor is your unique personality.

Bringing your personality to the role starts with realizing that you are interesting enough without having to add anything (technique, character, etc.). If you have prepared and coached the role responsibly, the work should be planted deep inside you without you having to "show it" when acting. You can never "act" your preparation. Any worthwhile preparation should only strengthen and elevate your performance, not take the place of or protect you from it.

Dealing with oneself can be terrifying. Many acting "techniques" feed off an actor's need to escape from himself into something warm and fuzzy, essentially doing everything but the work at hand. What inevitably happens is the work starts to smell like acting technique and loses the actor's humanity.

The personality of the actor is nine-tenths of the performance. I help my clients reflect their own humanity back at their audience, not by playing themselves but by bringing themselves to the role. It's "you" at your best, under the influence of and filled up with deeper, more powerful, and more fun emotions. This creates the illusion of character. The higher art is not to ask, "How should I play the role?" but rather, "What would I do if I were in that specific situation?"

The difference between "good" and "great" is very small. Beginning your audition emotionally full of something specific instantly sets you apart from every other actor starting with nothing, having to warm up as they go. You can't force yourself to feel that emotion or squeeze yourself into some emotional place -- it must be activated in a flash as if on the tips of your fingers, ready to go seconds after your slate or call of "Action!" on set.

Don't let anyone try to steal your talent and sell it back to you in the form of some stale technique or method. Fight like hell to bring your unique and original self to everything you do.

This article was originally posted on Backstage