Launch Your Career & Reach Your Oscar Potential
WHEN: March 20th 2015 from 12:00PM - 3:30PM
WHERE: Cafe Istanbul, 2372 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA
This workshop is a rare opportunity to get both Joseph's Career Coaching and Private Coaching sessions in one workshop: Boost your audition rate to compete for every role you're right for AND coach one-on-one with Joseph to an undeniable ACTING BREAKTHROUGH!
More workshop info HERE.
My belief is yes, you can absolutely start an acting career after 40+. I help clients who are much older launch their careers; it’s all about creating your own content these days and not waiting for permission to market yourself. Last year, my clients over 40 were booking as many roles as the younger actors at my studio.
I find that in many cases, older actors have certain advantages when it comes to starting a career over 40. The most obvious advantage that they possess is that they’re more settled and have the wisdom of life experience to bring to the table. They’ve loved, they’ve lost, they’ve raised kids or are currently doing so, and they’ve made major financial commitments, all while experiencing deep levels of joy and disappointments. They’ve fought battles and won, and fought battles and lost. I’m in no way asserting that younger actors have not had many of these experiences, it’s just that older actors have had more: It’s a simple fact of life. They are able to bring a more multi-colored richness to the table. They often have better inter-personal skills which can be invaluable on set, developed from years of nurturing families or working in offices.
One could argue there’s also a smaller pool of competition in the over-40 age group. It’s common knowledge that not all the hot young things that move out here stay in the business. The over-40 group of actors is inherently smaller because the business is so tough. Many younger actors end up pushing “the dream” to the back burner in the name of starting a family or going off to pursue goals that seem more accessible, like law school, nursing school, or starting a business. That said, the competition is tough in the over-40 pool. The actors that have stuck with the business have nice credits and formidable acting chops. They’ve been acting their asses off for decades and have sunk their hearts into the business, making them truly daunting opponents.
With actors of all ages, it’s important to define “career” as new media has changed the game. Older actors who are new to the game have to be feverishly proactive, not just in study and in developing the craft, but in creating a strong web presence and making memorable content.
Age, or feeling too young or too old, should never be a deterrent in preventing you from doing what you want to do in any arena of your personal and professional life. It might be more or less of an obstacle given what you want to do, but it should never pose a blockade.
This Article was originally posted on Backstage
Everyone seems to have a method or “technique” for telling you how you should battle your audition nerves. It typically involves trying very hard to convince you not to be nervous, or repeating to yourself that you are indeed worthy of success, or that what you’re feeling is perfectly normal and that you should just “use it.” While I agree with the concept of “using it,” it feels like a superficial solution to a much more complex problem. As we’re all different, there is never a one-size-fits-all approach to redirecting and alleviating your nerves.
It is my belief that nerves can be completely obliterated when you are lit up and under the influence of sharp, impactful, and fun emotional choices.
One of my clients is so nervous and terrified when she walks into an audition room that she can feel—and hear—her heart pounding out of her chest. After helping her find what I call her “hook” or “light up” for the scene, I asked how many heartbeats she noticed. The answer was none. That doesn’t mean that her heart wasn’t racing, it’s that she didn’t notice it because she was dialed in. If you’re focused on your nerves, you’re going to feel more nervous.
What do you think would happen to audition nerves if you fell in love before you entered the room? Imagine if you were getting out of your car, walked to the elevator, time stood still, and for a solid 10 seconds the universe blinked in unison with you as you stood and stared at the person who was undoubtedly your star-crossed lover. You would enter the audition room with a far more powerful emotion coursing through your veins, having communed and finally met your soul mate. This emotion, I assure you, would be way more compelling than any simple nerves you might be feeling. Your preparation needs to be like that. When the stakes are high, your preparation has to be tighter, hotter, and stronger so that it can lift you out of the nerves. It becomes your job to discover what lights you up and turns you on about the scene, thus, kicking your nerves off center stage.
I help my clients go into the room and book the role by guiding them to their hottest and most impactful choices; these choices will unequivocally defeat your audition nerves.
If you feel like your preparation is rock solid and that you have a strong hook to launch you into the scene, but when you get to the waiting room of a casting office or a theater and your heart starts racing, you start sweating or you begin to shake, know that’s OK. You can still do a phenomenal job and you can still book the role. Some actors think that any sign of nerves means that it’s all over—it’s not. If your body starts to freak out, that’s fine. Let your body have its freak out. Wherever you are—in the car, on the subway, in the waiting room, walking down the hall to the audition room—tell yourself, “Hey, I’m having a freak-out.” Don’t fight it and don’t act like it’s the end of the world. Freaking out over your freak-out is the worst thing you can do, as you give your nerves more power and more agency. If you can have a sense of humor about it, it can really help take the edge off.
Remember also that like a first date, an audition begins the moment casting/producers lay eyes on you, which can often be before you step foot in the room. You start assessing your blind date the moment you see him/her, not at the moment he or she starts talking. And just like on a date, you will give someone a break if they don’t look perfect, but if they radiate oodles of confidence, it can actually make them more beautiful! So radiate those oodles of confidence, particularly because there’s often a chance that the casting team might try to chat you up in order to get a sense of you. That is of course the time to let your winning personality shine (though not the time to try to seem like you are attempting to get them to like you).
Given those circumstances of audition nerves and the actor now faced with the “conversational audition” before any acting takes place, my advice to actors is to just be yourself, but under the influence of an emotional attitude of great power and confidence. Before walking into the audition room, one of my brave clients lights himself up with the attitude, “I’m the fucking solution to your problem.” Another effective trick to lift the nerves out of your body within seconds is to simply say to yourself, “I already did it, and now I get to go back in and do it again.”
As with anything, confidence comes with repeated success, colossal failure, and years of flying hours. Start to adopt the attitude that, “I’ve already made it,” and live every day as if you’re already having the career of your dreams.
This article was originally posted on Backstage
Building and maintaining relationships with producers, directors, writers, and casting directors is the surefire way to carve a path for your career. While working as an extra may give you a sense of working on-set, it is not your “in” to a career. The concept of “getting noticed” is a recipe for disaster, as it’s so passive—it’s putting your success in the hands of a “notice-er.” While we might each know a few stories of extras who became recurring characters on sitcoms, or who ended up delivering lines in major motion pictures, they are by far the minority.
Doing extra work in the hopes of someone noticing your look or your abilities is the opposite of hard work and sharing your talent. You get noticed when you create your own work or add something of value to the equation. Getting noticed is proportionate to the amount of work you put into it.
Back in the day, extra work could be a good path to getting SAG vouchers—nowadays it’s way more effective to create a Web series, or some form of original content. I’m not devaluing extra work; it can be valuable in showing new actors the inner-workings of a professional movie set. However, there’s a dangerous element to it as well. It can be too comfortable and too safe for the developing actor. You don’t want to grow too accustomed to being an extra, and unfortunately far too many actors do.
This article was originally posted on Backstage
Find an acting class where you can get up and work every week. Here’s a link to my article “6 Red Flags When Auditing Acting Classes”. At my studio, every actor leaves every class having experienced an undeniable acting breakthrough.
Reject the herd mentality and stop listening to what other actors are telling you to do. Reject the absurdly stale notions of “type” and “niche,” as they only serve to box you in and stifle your originality. There is no one-size-fits-all path to an important acting career—you must forge your own career path and create your own acting opportunities.
Embrace your personality; it’s your secret weapon and greatest asset as an actor.
See the timeless movies and TV shows that shaped this business. This is a new golden age of TV and you must take the time to watch all the groundbreaking new projects so you can be knowledgeable about where you fit in.
And stop looking for representation! Most actors think having an agent or manager is a magic pill. It’s not. Having representation can lull you into the false notion that you’re being pitched for every role you’re right for. Trust me, you’re not. Nothing meaningful will ever just fall into your lap. You must be pleasantly persistent and tenacious in always creating your own work and in building and maintaining relationships with industry professionals.
This article was originally posted on Backstage
Joseph had the great pleasure to work with participants of the International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) program at McGill University in Montreal/Canada. The title of the workshop was "Charismatic Confidence: How to develop impactful attractive confidence within minutes to effect maximum change in your audience."
Participants work in all manner of health care organizations, including hospitals, community care, public health, government ministries, international agencies, and foundations.
