How To Stand Out In The First Moment Of A Scene

There’s discussion and debate on the importance of the “prior moment”—or “moment before”—in acting. Rarely is the “moment of” ever discussed. My work with actors is sharply focused on that first moment of the scene. It’s one of the most important parts of your preparation, as it launches you into the reality of the scene.

Have you ever noticed that most audition scenes never start at the beginning? They usually start somewhere in the middle of something—an often awkward and uncomfortable situation yet emotionally full.

I once coached a client for a film audition scene that started in the middle of the most awkward and uncomfortable sex. (It wasn’t a porno, I promise.) But try to picture all the physical and emotional sensations that are going through you in the middle of the stark act of sex; this is what this woman had to successfully prepare. I mention this for the next time you get a “tough set of sides” for an audition. Are those sides as tough as starting a scene mid-intercourse?

It’s the first moment, or moment of, that can either save or sink the scene. I call that first moment the character’s “hook” in the scene. The hook is the very specific attitude you adopt at the top of the scene, after you’ve safely chucked your acting preparation out the window.

The most effective hooks are best expressed in four words or less. I recently coached a very talented young client for a juicy guest star role on a gritty hit cable drama. He played a fearless 15-year-old, the youngest of four brothers, who would gladly fight to the death to protect the honor of his highly dysfunctional, backwoods family. The scene opens with him and his older brother slowly tossing a firecracker back and forth with the intention of not flinching. My client, clearly the more dangerous and powerful of the brothers, distilled his attitude or hook—in relation to his brother—to be “Bring it on, bitch!” Saying those specific words lit him up to the truth of that first moment in the scene. After that hook was expressed, his emotional sail was so full of wind that all he needed to do was start the scene and enjoy the ride. He was able to function like an emotionally full-but-blank canvas and engage with his scene partner—moment by moment—not knowing what was going to happen next.

This is important to keep in mind because so many actors will go into the audition room, having planned out every single moment, like a chess player planning eight moves ahead. This is so problematic because it’s so transparent. The casting director can tell; the actor’s work seems over-prepared and far too safe.

Like life, every scene must ultimately be entered as if you’re a clean slate—you might know what you want and what you’re afraid of, but you don’t quite know what you’re going to do, and there’s absolutely no telling how your partner will react to it.

In order to approach the scene from this perspective, you must ultimately discard all acting technique and preparation. Acting technique/preparation is like a band-aid. You need to apply it to the work before you perform for obvious reasons, but if you keep it on too long, it will pollute the acting process at large. Thus, you need to rip off that bandage before you go into the audition room.

Have you ever watched a performance that reeked of acting technique? It’s the unmistakable odor of safety and predictability, free from the danger and fire of the moment. Most of all it’s boring.

When was the last time you consciously executed a beat change while hanging out with your best friend? What actions were you aware of playing when you last fell in love? You can tell someone you’re not in love with them anymore and that you’re leaving and try to predict how they will react to this news, but your likelihood of predicting with absolute accuracy is very slim. This is largely because natural actions and reactions happen in life without planning. You owe it to yourself to instill your acting with such riveting qualities. 

This article was originally posted on Backstage

4 Ways To Be Less Manic Depressive As An Actor

I’ve spent the last week traveling throughout Taiwan. Other than my time working with actors here, I can honestly say I’ve rarely thought about acting or the industry. I’m proud of myself for taking the time away. It wasn’t easy. Show business is like the ocean, and it can be hard to feel like you’re “turning your back on it” by leaving town. There’s always the fear of missed opportunities, but sometimes leaving town gives a crucial sense of perspective on the game.

For me, it has been refreshing and has allowed me to return to my studio with a renewed sense of humor and fun about the whole damn carnival of this crazy industry. The one piece of career advice I keep giving that never gets old is “Stop making yourself crazy!” As an actor, it can be easy to feel manic-depressive as you swing from opportunities and excitement to rejection and disappointment week in and week out. Even the sheer waiting game of anticipating the next audition or the next showcase or the next time your agent will call, can make you feel like you live this bizarre hybrid-existence of being half-frozen and never quite living in the moment.

Despite all these obstacles, you can really find inner peace and your own sense of forward momentum, and start having more fun. Because if you’re not having fun with your own life path as an artist, then all the sacrifice is just not worth it.

1. Stop believing all the hype. One of the hardest parts of being an actor is all the free and unsolicited advice you’re given. This can range from advice on the hottest headshot photographer of the moment, which acting coach to study with, and what kind of read a particular casting office likes. All this free advice can be helpful—sometimes and in small doses—but quite often it can make you feel like you’re going mad.

Stop listening to what other actors are saying you should do to further your career. Turn up your music in the audition waiting room or when you hear talk of “niche” or “type”—they’re just a call to action for you to conform to someone else’s stale concept of what box they think you should fit into. Aren’t you sick of all the BS and industry shoptalk being shoveled 24/7? I am. Remember, your path to acting success will be 100 percent your own. In a previous article, I discussed the necessity of rejecting the “herd mentality.” It’s OK to be aware of the advice that’s being swirled and swished around this town, but going with your gut, your instincts, and your genuine interests will be a truer guide to you every time.

2. If you’re not having fun it’s not worth it. If you’re not having fun when you’re acting then just stop. Some acting teachers and methods make a fetish out of students digging up past trauma and pain—so much that it fast becomes a competition of who’s more screwed up. If it’s not obvious why this is harmful to one’s psyche and development as an artist then please stop reading.

Other teachers make it their duty to be downright nasty to their students, so that class borders on abuse. Generally I’ve found that the mentality in such scenarios is that such harshness is just supposed to make one a “stronger actor.” Such a notion is pure garbage, and it just allows the teacher a stage for power and ego-tripping. When you’re acting, you shouldn’t feel like you’re trying to please people or trying to check a series of boxes; you should feel dangerous and exhilarated. If you don’t, you either need to find a new class or a new technique that does let you fly forward, take new risks, and even surprise yourself.

3. Set realistic goals. Without realistic goals, you will always feel like you’re behind or failing. Setting realistic goals, however, will make you feel like you’re making steady, regimented progress. A common question I get from new actors is, “How long will it take before I’m ready to audition for major roles and/or look for top tier representation?” Sanford Meisner believed it took “20 years to become a master.” I think that notion is both true and absurd as actors like James Dean, Heath Ledger, Natalie Portman, Sam Rockwell and others couldn’t claim the title “actor” using that rule. Remember, show business in New York or Los Angeles means you’re competing at the highest level of the game. You can’t expect to just grab a fiberglass pole and vault your way to a gold medal in three weeks. It takes time, the love of craft, and patience to reach that level.

4. Create your own opportunities. None of my clients—both celebrity and working professionals—with successful acting careers ever waited around for someone else to give them work or validation. They created their own awesome opportunities to showcase themselves at their best. An actor I’ve worked with for years recently created a web series that turned pop lyrics into dramatic scenes—it was picked up by Warner Music Group. And you can create more than acting opportunities. One of my clients is on a mission to bring clean drinking water to Swaziland, one is a champion for animal rights, another is an Instagram star, etc. All of these actors have one thing in common: they’re creating their own fun. No actor was ever handed a career on a silver platter. Being the creator of your own acting opportunities is both smart and rewarding as it ensures you’re never waiting for breadcrumbs from someone else.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

3 Ways To Handle The Post-Audition Waiting Game

So you just left the casting office after auditioning for a recurring role on that gritty new cable series everyone’s raving about. There are easily 10,000 actors who would give up an organ to land a part on that show. You feel you’re perfect for the role and have prepared for the role responsibly.

As you’re walking back to the car muttering your lines under your breath, thoughts—both crazy and lucid—are racing through your mind. “I think I nailed it, but what did they think?” or “Oh shit, that was a mess. I hope they didn’t notice.”

A very common and constant question actors have after a film or TV audition is: “When should I expect to hear back from casting?” The answer is: There’s no way to know. The soonest you may hear is that day and the longest may be up to seven months. Aside from staying positive, owning a functional cell phone, and checking the status of the project on IMDb, here are some other fun and proactive things you can do.

1. Get feedback. Many actors don’t know it’s possible to get audition feedback from the casting director through your reps. Getting an audition critique from casting directors can be a valuable validation or confirmation that something wasn’t working. This type of communication is also part of a healthy routine of building and maintaining relationships with industry professionals. Keep in mind that this isn’t always possible. For example, your reps might have a fragile relationship with a given casting office so they will straight-up tell you that they don’t want to risk either hounding the office or seeming to lack confidence in their clients. Thus, they will opt out of asking for feedback. However, it’s important to ask your agent or manager if they’ll seek out some answers.

2. Prepare a piece for your reps. One of my superbly talented clients regularly performs new pieces for his management team throughout the year. His goal is to show them other types and genres he may also be right for. This is exactly the kind of agent/manager relationship you ultimately want—one in which you regularly communicate.

Make an appointment with your agent or manager to show them another side of you—something they haven’t pitched you for that you feel could be in your wheelhouse. For example, I have one client who constantly goes out for edgy, gritty women. But this woman can actually flawlessly conjure the demeanor of the spoiled debutante with great ease. Instead of making a full-on appointment to perform a piece for her reps as this character, this client just dropped by her manager’s office dressed like a modern, Kennedy princess. After she had dropped off a box of exquisite cookies with her manager—always a good idea—she asked if she could perform a one-minute monologue. Her management was pleased and impressed with the impromptu performance, and now they had evidence that she could dress and act within a new type.

3. Meet up with your believers. As tough as this town can be, everyone has friends who believe in them. Sometimes the best way to smooth out the rough feelings and rawness post-audition is to meet up for drinks or dinner with your friends who are also your fans. Here’s the trick: Don’t talk about the audition; don’t even talk about show business. Make the one stipulation of this hangout that no one can discuss anything industry-related. At first, you’ll find it’s a bit tricky, and you’ll instantly want to discuss the usual—acting class, auditions, the movie you saw last weekend. But when you force yourself out of these habits and you push each other to connect over the other aspects of your lives—yoga, her idiot boyfriend, your telepathic iguana, the new exhibit at MOCA (or MoMA), the new coffee joint with the hot cashiers— you’ll find yourself reacquainting with your lives outside of show business. This will be a refreshing moment, as at the end of the day, you’re a human being first and an actor second. And you’ll likely find that it helps to neutralize the sting of the post-audition waiting game.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

Why You Need To Break Out Of Your Acting Technique

I describe my work with actors as bridging the gap between prior training—be it conservatory or otherwise—and what it’s actually like to work on-set or to prepare for a major audition. The goal: to create inspired work that doesn’t “reek” of acting technique. To do this, you must ultimately be the creator of your own method or technique—one that derives solely from the strength of your own character and personality. This is essentially an “anti-technique” or a “self-made” technique, rather than an attempt to force your unique skill-sets and talents into the rigid dimensions of a famous technique some other artist developed. This is a one-size-fits-you method, and it’s designed to help you respond to your individual needs so that you can make the performance your own completely.

Being the creator of your own technique begins and ends with giving yourself permission to bring your personality to every audition and every role. The success of this depends on accepting the fact that you are far more interesting than the cumbersome weight of character and technique. This isn’t necessarily a pleasant experience. Dealing with yourself—your flaws, quirks, weaknesses, oddities—can be uncomfortable, and it can seem ideal instead to avoid oneself by diving into a “character” or the false security of an intricate acting technique. However, the danger of not bringing your fully flawed self to the role is your work can be stripped of its humanity and can become a mere series of successful gestures, as F. Scott Fitzgerald would say.

Giving the performance your own flavor is essential, and it’s your responsibility to deliver it without the scent of someone else’s dated methodology. What may have (theoretically) worked for that acting “guru” in the 1970s may not be effective for you in today’s game. Due to the predominance of new media, motion capture, taped auditions, etc., there has been a landslide shift in the industry. The demands and skills required of actors are constantly changing and in need of innovation and updating.

Multi-camera sitcoms and motion capture are examples of styles that require acting to be lifted up to a higher level of fun—method based approaches train actors to see this as potentially “overacting." Spending an afternoon on the set of a single or multi-camera sitcom should be a prerequisite to a degree at any acting conservatory or school.

Think of acting technique or conservatory training as a scaffolding or blueprint that is necessary for learning how to create characters and to start the journey of living truthfully in imaginary circumstances. Rather than clinging to that scaffolding for dear life during a scene, audition, or performance, the final step is kicking it away when you’re finished with it. The process unveils the difference between acting which smells of technique and the kind that does not. Masterful acting never seems safe or planned. Instead it oozes an organic quality and a sense of danger. This is in part because the scaffolding is gone.

Another issue that tends to be problematic with traditional conservatory training is that it never addresses the need to make the work your own—to leave your “stamp” or “mark”—after you've constructed the technique scaffolding. You will often leave your stamp or mark without even trying; it will occur by just being yourself. However, the confining nature of traditional acting technique often won’t allow it to come through as fully or as powerfully as possible. That’s why you have to be grateful to the training for the foundation it provides, but also have the good sense to jump into the ether when the time is right.

Putting your stamp on your work begins by asking of every line, “What am I saying in my own words?” or “If this were me in this (imaginary) situation, what would I say to my partner?” These are the types of questions that can help you to be emotionally primed and ready for the fictional circumstances you’re about to confront. This type of emotional preparation is essential and should not be underestimated. The difference between “good” and “great” acting is the great actor is always “lit up” emotionally and specifically at the start of every scene. Ultimately, you’re the only one who knows the triggers that light you up and what’s going to work for you in your own method.

As I mentioned in a previous article, there is no one-size-fits-all path to an acting career. Your path to your dreams will be your own. Don’t let anyone sell you a system for success that doesn’t come solely from you. You need to be the one swinging the machete and carving the path through the jungle. This starts by honing your very own anti-technique that begins and ends with you.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

10 Tips For A Winning Taped Audition

The last three years have seen a landslide shift in the casting process. Actors are being asked, with greater frequency, to “self-tape” their auditions and e-mail them directly to the casting office or production team. Every other private coaching session I run is now an audition on tape, where I help my clients capture their absolute best performances.

What’s so thrilling about this trend is the ability to still compete for roles when you’re out of town. You can be enjoying your life anywhere in the world, outside the bubble of the “industry,” and not miss an audition opportunity. Taped auditions minimize the worry of pissing off your agent/manager because the moment you arrived in Cabo, you get an audition for a coveted Q-tip-initiated-eardrum-rupturing scene on “Girls.”

However, it is true that occasionally offices will still insist to see you in person so you must be prepared to jump on a plane to compete for that role!

Here are some tips to make your taped auditions soar!

1. Technical Expectations. During a recent Q&A with my students, the renowned television director David Semel (“Homeland,” “American Horror Story,” “House M.D.”) described what he expects technically from a taped audition (aside from great acting). He said, “It’s important you’re well-lit and that I can hear you.” We’re dealing with industry professionals with extremely demanding jobs. If they click on your footage, and the sound is too low or they can’t see you well, they might adjust the settings on their computer or they might just as likely click to the footage of the next actor.

2. What You Need. Here’s the basic equipment needed to properly self-tape and audition: A quality camera (a no-frills digital camera with a good built-in microphone is all you need), basic tripod, even lighting (natural works great!), a solid color background that is not distracting or shiny, and a reader. Before you begin your performance, do a test to check the lighting and sound. Say a few lines for the camera, record, and then review the footage. Does the lighting look blown out? If so, adjust. How does your shirt look against the background? Inviting and appropriate to the character or unflattering and amateurish? Can you be easily heard on a laptop computer with the volume at a normal level?

This step may take some experimentation to get the lighting, the colors of your wardrobe, and the sound just right. That’s OK. This first step is crucial in creating a solid foundation for you to record your audition and to ensure that industry professionals don’t click away in the first three seconds.

3. Acting. Check out one of my recent articles on this one!

4. Keep that script in your hands. Those lines must be as down-cold as the alphabet when walking into any prepared audition scenario. Though fully memorized, you must keep that script in one hand for two reasons. The first (only applies to in-person auditions), so a casting director never needs to worry if they have to feed you a line. Second, and most important, is that your performance looks like a “work in progress.” Having the script in your hand lends a subtle cue to the director and producers that you’re still flexible, adaptable and more importantly directable with your performance and that you’re not married to a particular take or reading of the character.

5. Don’t slate! Unless specifically instructed to, a rookie mistake is to always slate for a self-taped audition. It’s an understandable error as it’s pretty much standard before every live audition in a casting office. When the frequency of video auditions started taking off last year, my celebrity clients always refused to attach a slate to their tapes. When I asked why, the reason was always the same, “I don’t want this to look like every other audition they receive.”

6. Follow all instructions. Most self-tape requests come with very specific, seemingly anal, instructions from the casting office—some with very strong warnings that if even one small step is overlooked the tape will be automatically rejected. These instructions pertain to: lighting, framing, sound, file names, and your reader. It’s extremely important you read and follow all instructions for taping and sending. Triple check them. You don’t want your audition to be eliminated for a silly reason like not following some office’s fantasy of precision and competency.  

7. Your reader. Your reader should be as close to you as possible while being off-camera, positioned just right or just left of the camera. It’s perfectly fine if your reader is the opposite gender to the character he/she is playing. It has never made a difference in an actor booking the role off the tape. 

8. Framing. You should be in the center of the frame with the bottom of the frame at the center of your chest and the top of the frame slightly above the top of your head.

9. Sitting or Standing. Ideally, the camera should remain in one position throughout the scene otherwise you risk distracting your viewer (producer or casting director) from the main event: you. Don’t let the person behind the camera try any artsy or fancy camera movements. Chances are, it will just look off-putting and clumsy.

Listen carefully to the start of the piece and make a choice whether you’re sitting or standing throughout the scene.

10. Shoot every scene individually. Unless instructed, shoot every scene separately—they can all be edited together afterwards. Getting to put your best performance on tape is an awesome opportunity! You no longer have to deal with those awkward transitions between scenes that you can’t escape in a live audition. It can be tough in an in-person audition to go from the scene where you’re begging for your life from the lunatic gunman to rattling off highly technical data as an engineer for robots in space.

Taped auditions allow you to shut off the camera and take as much time as you need to jump into a new scene, allowing you to truly capture and record examples of your best work ever.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

3 Ways To Make Your Acting Dangerous

Even non-actors can spot acting that has an element of danger to it—even if they can’t articulate that it is in fact the sense of danger that keeps their eyes glued to the screen or stage. One of the major dynamics at work which makes “Breaking Bad” such a phenomenal show (aside from brilliant writing and great casting) is the element of danger that all the characters commit to fully. The actors on the show either commit to instilling their acting with such danger or to being visibly affected by it. These commitments can’t help but foster the very palpable sense that something really terrible may happen at any moment—which makes it truly glorious to watch.

It’s your job to figure out where the danger in the scene is and to consistently ask yourself where and how you can add a more genuine element of danger.

1. Surprise Your Partner. Surprising your partner is one of the simplest ways to infuse your acting with some danger: doing this is akin to knocking your partner on his or her ass. Everyone needs to be knocked on his/her ass once in a while; when it comes to professional acting, it’s practically a necessity. Many people in the industry know the story of Robert DeNiro’s notorious improvise in “Cape Fear” when he surprised Julliette Lewis by sticking his thumb in her mouth before he kissed her. “‘Before we did that scene,’ Lewis recalled, ‘(Scorsese) said nonchalantly, 'Bob is going to do something.' But he wouldn't say what. I'm sure they didn't know how I was going to react, if I would stay in the scene or lose it’". Pushing your partner to the brink—to the teetering balance of either staying in the scene or losing it, is truly a gift bestowed upon them as you’re doing your job and your best at injecting the scene with verifiable danger.

2. Because You Wanted To. This tip can be particularly helpful when playing very disturbing characters or a character who has done something you truly believe (accurately or not) that you would never do. Forget the amateur psychology involved in looking at why your character did whatever he/she did. Just decide that whatever it was your character did, it was because you wanted to—and say it over and over. This can help in removing a great deal of the extraneous crap from your mind regarding your character, and it can help simplify your view of the character as someone who takes a certain pleasure in what us civilized folks regard as pure evil.

3. Fool Your Partner. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting someone who’s different from us mere mortals—such as a remorseless criminal, or a real true psychic-clairvoyant, people who have special abilities or unique pathologies that separate them from the ordinary folk—you might notice that they often look at people differently. When I say look, the actual, physical use of their eyes is different. There’s a certain lingering quality that can be loaded with a great deal: the criminal calculates, assesses, and determines weak spots. The psychic clairvoyant can be weighed down by a sense of you and the bigger picture of your past and present not accessible to others. Give your partner a look when the cameras aren’t rolling and when the curtain isn’t up that is just meant to slightly alter his/her reality or perception of you. For example, if you’re playing the sadistic boss that humiliates your partner at the end of Act II, find that sadism in yourself, and communicate to your partner through your eyes, when you’re not acting. In this sense you are suggesting, only through look, that you just might in fact be the sadist, the psychopath, the adulterer, the child molester, or the liar that you’re playing.

Consider how the element of danger in a scene would be different if you gave your partner a look off camera while he’s relaxed and drinking a lemonade that said, “Tonight I’m going to fuck your wife.” This look will just last a fraction of a second. Your scene partner may not even consciously register that this has happened. But somewhere in his subconscious, the seed has been planted.

When you let go of the fear of looking like an asshole or a freak, you drag your partner with you onto the thin ice of dangerous acting. On this thin ice, there’s no room for ‘acting technique’ as you shouldn’t feel like you’re ever doing anything; the acting will feel alarmingly easy. The hardest part is giving yourself permission to really go for it, trusting in the knowledge that you’re interesting enough. This trust and the constant commitment to danger is what separates the “good actor” from the Oscar winner.

This article was originally posted on Backstage