Women Can Have Normal Looking Bodies Now on TV?

Posted on October 16, 2011 by cathy

Since I’m not casting TV right now, I wasn’t aware of the revised (unspoken I’m sure) mandate that actresses who appear on TV in a leading or starring role no longer absolutely need to be a size zero.  Is it really true that if “Friends” was produced today, Courtney Cox would not need to look starved?  Could it be that the days are over when the president of a major network would look at a perfectly attractive young actress (who is working A LOT today, by the way) and later, behind closed doors, tell us all “well she could lose 20 pounds?”

I’m talking about a group of actresses currently working on Network TV in hit shows, mind you, who look “normal.”  And they ain’t playing the fat best friend!  3 of my favorites so far are KAT DENNING in “Two Broke Girls” (brilliant casting), MAYA RUDOLPH in “Up All Night,” and of course the obvious MELISSA McCARTHY, who just won the Emmy.   Of course the role Melissa plays is supposed to be fat and trying to lose weight, but still, she is the lead and not the next door neighbor who enters a scene on a fat joke.

The other two, Kat and Maya, would only be labeled “fat” in rooms with TV executives. In my eyes, they have “normal” bodies and what’s more important, the fact that they aren’t thin as rails and it’s not spoken about at all on the show (as in the butt of a joke) is miraculous.  And the shows they are on are popular. I always thought that TV executives insisting that actresses on TV be uncomfortably skinny were afraid that the general population just wouldn’t tune in to a show with a “normal” looking body, so they always hedged their bets by hiring the skinniest actress or insisting that a brilliant actress “lose 20 pounds.”  I always thought this was ridiculous, but of course the casting director can’t tell the Network executives that they have no clue what people will really watch.  Oh no and heaven forbid.

Unfortunately, Network TV crime shows are still populated by the most model perfect women I’ve ever seen fight crime, but I can hope this will change in the near future, especially with the onset of great cable shows such “The Killing” with the normal looking Mireille Enos.  Love her!!

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“This Business is So Cut-Throat” and Other Negative Comments

Posted on August 12, 2011 by cathy

I’ve been noticing a lot lately when I’ve met with actors at various workshops and showcases that inevitably someone will make a comment about The Biz that is couched in negative language.  “I’m having trouble playing the game” or “everyone in this business is so cut-throat” or “there’s so much rejection” or “how can I get my foot in the door when it’s always slammed in my face.”   Jeez, these kinds of comments drive my crazy.

First off, working in the entertainment industry is not “a game,” it’s a profession like any other.  You commit to the work and put yourself out there, as you would in finance or advertising or whatever.  There’s “rejection” in any profession, but there’s always opportunity to work in this field if your first choice is too frustrating for you.  A lot of casting directors, producers, directors, you name it, are ex-actors.  If you love entertainment and have a real passion for it, you’ll find a way to make a living.  And there are no “doors” to knock on anymore.  You can meet people who can help you get representation or an acting job or whatever it is you want at any time, in any social situation or social media outlet, if you just put yourself out in the world in a positive way.

Don’t think of it as “networking,” think of it as sharing who you are with like-minded people and connecting with them in a deep and meaningful way.    Don’t “schmooze,” just converse. Have a conversation with everyone you meet about what’s important to you and ask others what’s important to them.  But never couched in negative language.  Negative language is a big turn-off.  You want others attracted to you, not repelled.

I love you all.

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What the Heck Do We Want???

Posted on June 12, 2011 by cathy

When a casting director is busy casting, she doesn’t have the time to blog or write. I could not have written my book – How To Book Acting Jobs in TV and Film – while I was still actively casting in Network Primetime television.  I’m back at work full-time, and it’s now been 6 full months since my last blog. Shame on me.  In fact, since last I blogged, it’s come to my attention that blogging is passe.  Twittering and Facebook are the only ways to go currently, but since I don’t twitter (i was hacked and am gun shy now) and always want to write a little more than a normal FB entry will allow, I’m going to blog now and try to do it once a month.

I did a workshop last week with a lovely group that was organized by AFTRA – in their education department – and feel inspired to blog again.  I am still so surprised to find out that working Union actors out there are still mystified by THE AUDITION ROOM. And why shouldn’t they be?  To state the obvious, an actor is hardly ever In The Room with other actors.  And one can’t truly learn  about The Room unless you are watching actors audition day in and day out for like years.   Also, the feedback most of us casting directors have time to give to actors is very curt and not very deep.   Sometimes we evade the truth if we are tired and/or annoyed ’cause it’s just easier.  Most of the time, we don’t give you feedback that will help you get better, unless you are a friend, an actor we saw perform somewhere live, or have some other emotional connection with us.  In truth, most of the time the feedback is either “he was strong, we love him and want to find him something” or “we went another way.”

So the age old question keeps coming up time and time again – WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?  And the easiest way for me to answer the question now is to say we look for the same traits in an actor that one would look for in a mate:  sensitivity, generosity, selflessness, humility, a good listener, intelligent, likable, sexy, confident but not arrogant, intuitive . . .you get the idea. We are looking for the Ideal Person.  Not the Heroicx person, necessarily, but the most Ideal, the most in touch with his humanity.

Don’t try to give us what we want.  We want YOU and we need you to be brilliant meaning thoughtful, from-the-gut, humble and loving.  And deep. Especially for dramatic roles. We need you to be unafraid to reveal your “darker” aspects, because only then can we see your CHARISMA.

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Top Ten Performances in Film – 2010 – in PAIRS!

Posted on January 4, 2011 by cathy

The year that just ended a couple days ago?  There were so many great performances in the movies that I have to do it in pairs. Like, can one talk about Natalie Portman without mentioning Mila Kunis? No. So here are my Top Ten Film Performances for 2010. In Pairs.

1. Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in BLACK SWAN. Can they always be in movies together?  The Dark and the Light, merged into one great performance.  I’m still breathless from this movie.  You either love it or you hate it. Please, Annette Bening, let Natalie have the Oscar this year.

2. Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake in THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Jesse, I expected him to be good. But Justin Timberlake as an unforgettable villain? Is there anything this guy can’t do?  Oh, and Trent Reznor should get a special mention, just ’cause I loved his music so much.

3. Mia Wasikowska and Mark Ruffalo in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT She’s the Carrie Mulligan of 2010 and Mark just keeps getting better – and he’s always been great.  She’s going to be in like every movie coming out in 2011. Bring it on, I say.

4. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling in BLUE VALENTINE (the obvious choice for the year of Pairs)  I have to admit, I was not a Dawson’s Creek fan and never thought much of Michelle Williams. Boy was I wrong!  Since she impressed me so much in Brokeback Mountain, I’ve been hooked on her.  And Ryan Gosling . ..well, Ryan . . . don’t change a thing.

5. Dianne Wiest and Miles Teller in RABBIT HOLE (not the obvious choice, but has potent as Michelle and Ryan)  People, go see this film. I’m afraid it’s getting lost in the shuffle what with all the higher profile Oscar contenders make a bigger noise this winter. But this film is exquisitely directed, acted, and written/adapted from a Pulitzer Prize winning play.  Yes, it’s about a couple who are grieving over the death of a young child, but it’s funny, too!

6. Rebecca Hall and Ann Guilbert in PLEASE GIVE I think this might be my favorite film of the year (well, with a 3 way tie with Black Swan and True Grit).  Rebecca Hall is a very special actress. I saw her star in “As You Like It” directed by her father, Peter Hall, at the Ahmanson Theater here in LA like 10 years ago and have been a huge fan ever since.  She moves me to no end. And Ann Guilbert, who was ‘Millie Helper’ in The Dick Van Dyke Show about a million years ago, is unrecognizable as a very bitter, angry and deeply unhappy woman. Very difficult to play. She should be nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but it’s not gonna happen.

7. Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges in TRUE GRIT A new star is born and his keeps on rising.  Ellen Chenowith and Jo Edna Boldin searched far and wide for the teen girl to star in this film. I can’t imagine any one else playing her.  Hailee is one of those young actresses who is channeling some wiser and much older soul. And Jeff Bridges?  You might make back-to-back Oscars.

8. Chloe Moretz and Richard Jenkins in LET ME IN She has had quite a year, what with KICK ASS as well. And she does Kick Ass!  Just like Hailee, she is channeling some other being ’cause a normal 12 year old cannot do what she does.  Haven’t been as excited about a young blond actress since Evan Rachel Wood.  And Richard Jenkins is just so damn good .  . . but as a boyfriend of a 12 year old? Who would have thought?

9. James Franco and the rock in 127 HOURS He’s another one of these actors that just keeps getting better and better. He was kinda bad in Spider-Man but I was hooked by Pineapple Express, and in this film . ..well . . .how can he possibly top it?

9A. Gemma Jones in YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER. I have to mention her, even though she’s not part of a pair.  Try to see this when it comes out on DVD.  Don’t know why she’s not as big as Judi Dench.

10. I have to leave this slot open for Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush in THE KING’S SPEECH. I haven’t seen this film yet – yeah, I know, I know – but I bet I’ll want to include them when I do.

Honorable Mentions:

John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill for CYRUS

Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig for GREENBERG

. . .and probably many others. This was a great year for filmmakers, especially American filmmakers, and a stellar year for young performers, especially for actresses.  If you haven’t seen the performances mentioned above and good acting means a lot to you, please do so.

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Some Things I’ve Learned Teaching at CU Boulder This Semester

Posted on November 26, 2010 by cathy
Actors Prepare for Sitcom Shoot

Acting and Directing for the Camera at CU Boulder

Shooting the Sitcom Unit

Acting and Directing for the Camera at CU Boulder. Sitcom Unit.

So as some of you know, I’ve been teaching at CU Boulder this fall semester, in the film studies department.  The class is “Acting and Directing for the Camera.” It’s a combined class with “Acting for the Camera” in the theater department, so there are 22 filmmakers and 20 actors,  42 students total.  It’s a huge class considering it’s basically a lab class where the students work on a different TV and film genre during each unit. If we are working on the Dramatic Film unit, for instance, we analyze great acting in current dramatic film in one class, they go off and shoot a scene somewhere on campus from current material in the next one, and then we watch and analyze the footage each team shoots on the 3rd and 4th classes.  We repeat with Comedic Film, Sitcoms, etc.   It’s only offered every 3 years, for some odd reason, and the curriculum offered this time has never been done before.  It’s intense, fast-paced, and I think we’ve all learned a lot. At least I have. Here are some of the things I’ve learned.

This is a PRACTICAL class that should be taught at all universities, if it isn’t already.  Filmmakers are basically cerebral/technically-minded and need to learn how to talk to actors and theater actors need to experience working on-camera before they venture out into the professional world of TV and film.  (Recall what I’ve stated quite often – an actor needs to be able to do it all – theater, TV, film, commercials, webisodes in order to make a living as an actor.)  The skills and elements introduced in this class are useful in the “real world,” post-graduation.

The strongest student filmmakers have taken theater classes.  All young filmmakers should be required to take at least one Directing for the Theater class and one Acting Class before they direct for the camera.  In a basic theater directing class, they can learn the fundamentals of script-analysis (actioning – thank you Sylvia Gregory, beat work, sub-text, character arcs, motivations, etc.), blocking to reveal character, and talking to actors before you add all the technical aspects of film – cameras, lights, sound, editing, issues with locations, music, etc. – that can overwhelm any shoot.  And a director needs to experience what it’s like to think and feel like an actor to better communicate with one.

There is this unspoken tension at times between theater and film.  Theater actors don’t think filmmakers know how to talk to actors and filmmakers think theater actors are “too theatrical.”  Everyone gets lumped into stereotyped categories, for some odd reason, and folks who are involved in theater experience the worst of it.  Why is that?  A bit of homophobia? Ignorance? What exactly?  Not all theater actors are too theatrical.  Each actor has their own calibration and the trick is to find the right setting for each individual person.  And pretty much the worst thing you can tell an actor, especially a theater one, is “be less theatrical.”  It’s a sensitive button to push and expressing it in those words is degrading.  What is more constructive is for an actor to be told to be more natural, honest, truthful.  Not work so hard.  Feel from the gut not just the head or the throat.  Expressing the character in emotional terms (vs. on the surface), through the eyes.  As far as young filmmakers not being able to talk to actors, the more a director has prepped for the shoot with a thorough script analysis, the more they have to offer the actor(s).

I was very surprised, and heartened in fact, to find that the class was divided evenly by gender.  The acting side has as many men as women, which is tremendous, and the men are as strong if not stronger than the women overall. This was great to see (as I also saw during my stint at Minnesota State University, Moorhead last year) and I hope this is a trend that will last and spread to all parts of the country.  The directing side is even more surprising in that half are women.  And please forgive me for saying this, but as a whole, the female filmmakers are more passionate, work harder and communicate better in writing and verbally than their male counterparts.  That is not to say that there aren’t any directing stars who are male. There are. Several.  But as a group, the women outrank the men 2 to 1.

Students don’t like to go see 1st run films in a movie theater, as they were meant to be seen.  When I told the class that they had to see a film in a theater once a week, they groaned. Not everyone, but most.   I cannot relate to this at all as my favorite times are sitting in a movie theater (or live theater), in the dark, with no distractions, getting sucked into the world of the the film or play, and being drawn in by great acting.  Just a sign of a “generation gap?” I guess . . .

Filmmakers have to learn many, many skills. It boggles my mind, really, how much they have to master or at least have a basic working knowledge of – editing, cameras, sound, lighting, design, cinematography, writing, comic timing, psychoanalysis, self-knowledge, script-analysis, film history, art, photography and composition, fund-raising, etc., and all with the curiosity of a fanatic.  I admire them all.

I love the students I was able to get to know this semester. They have enriched my life . . .and I hope to God they continue in this field and get lots and lots of work.

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Observations Gleaned from ACTORFEST LA 2010

Posted on November 10, 2010 by cathy

Actorfest Booth #2

I was fortunate to be a Guest at ACTORFEST LA 2010 this past weekend.  I actively participated the whole day and in various capacities.  In the morning, I led an “Intensive” workshop with Elizabeth Mestnick http://www.emasla.com/ entitled “Practical Training: Out of the Classroom and Into the Audition Room.” It was well-attended by about 80 actors and was a great group to work with.  In the early afternoon, I spent two hours at the “Meet and Drop” area where I met a new actor every 3 minutes at which time they handed me their headshot and resume and we chatted for the time allotted.  After 2pm, I was at my booth, meeting with actors randomly as they stopped by.  My booth was manned all day by the lovely Libby Baker and I shared the space with Shandon Youngclaus (my favorite headshot photographer – www.amazingheadshots.com) and his assistant Paul Prado.

As always, I take in all the stimulus and come up with tips. And since there was a lot of stimulus at Actorfest – over 3000 actors showed up! – I have a lot of new tips for you . . . and the very least, friendly reminders.

Don’t get overwhelmed and/or discouraged by the hordes. Since there were 3000 actors who showed up, the average actor might think “Jeez, there are a lot of actors wanting to get seen. How can I possibly stand-out and/or compete with so many people?”  Well, there are a lot of actors wanting to get seen, not just at Actorfest but every day in a casting director’s life.  You, the actor, just don’t see them all in one place. Yeah, it’s overwhelming . . . to us too, believe me.  But not every one is a serious actor.  Maybe 5-10% are. Maybe a little more, but probably not.  We want the serious actor.  And what do I consider a “serious actor?”  The following:

You have a great headshot that is professionally done by a headshot photographer and it looks like you.  Is there life in your eyes? Does it reveal your soul?  Don’t bring me a school portrait or a snapshot your friend took of you the day before.  Oh, and have enough copies of the thing on you at all times when you are in a building with like a bazillion working casting directors.

You have a properly formatted acting resume. I was shocked at how many ill-conceived resumes I saw.  And just so you know, we gravitate toward actors who’s “Training” section of their resume reflects a commitment to the craft of acting.  A degree in theater is great and so is a long-term training program.  Month-to-month acting classes are just okay and one-day seminars don’t mean too much on a resume (although very good to attend to get an overview of the business). Casting director workshops shouldn’t be listed as training.  Please, please remember to have your contact information clearly stated at both the top and the bottom of the resume and make sure the thing as a whole is easy to read.  No paragraphs please, or sentences even.  And staple it to the back of your headshot, facing out.

We absolutely do keep the headshots and resumes we get but only from those actors 1) we connect with, and 2) who present themselves as a serious actor, as detailed above.  And by the way, it seemed to me that most of the actors in the Intensive were serious actors, which was encouraging for me to observe.

Finally, when you get tired and discouraged, which is easy to do, step back, rest, and drink plenty of fluids.  Don’t overload.  (Advice I need to remind myself!)

Watch the language you use. This goes for your inner-dialogue as well as what you say to us.  Avoid using any negative phrases toward the Industry such as “I know how to play the Hollywood game” or “you have to know somebody to get in.” A self-defeating inner-dialogue such as “everyone here is prettier, more talented, and has better credits than me” will only defeat you.  And don’t think that every single actor has an agent, a manager, and a PR person. They don’t.

Every opportunity to meet either an agent or a casting director is the chance to connect with another human being, not to get “discovered.”  And when you do meet us, be yourself in a calm, natural way. It’s not a job interview. We look for who you are as a person, not how much you desperately want “this.”

Don’t get too dressed up.  No suits and ties (yes, I saw these!), no short short skirts, no spike heels – unless you only want to get cast as a prostitute.  Better to dress “studied casual” then over-the-top. Again, we like natural.

When you meet a casting director of episodic television, don’t say “I’m looking to do commercials or voice-over work.”  This translates to me as you’re just starting out, you’re a dabbler, and you want to take the easy road.

Know current TV shows and films, and be familiar with most of the actors on those shows and films, not just the leads or stars.  Overall, I find that young actors especially need a deeper, more comprehensive knowledge of working actors.  And know who’s current and up-and-coming in your age group.  Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman are not the only actors working in the Industry.

The ever-present money issue. As an actor, you will be bombarded by ways to spend your money.  Headshots, classes, books, online sites, videos, etc.  Be wise with how you spend your money but don’t shut yourself off completely.  Some of the products and classes offered by vendors (including me!) on the convention floor were very useful, but it seemed to me that most of the actors who came through were only interested in being seen by a casting director or an agent and not in educating themselves.  Not everyone but a lot. Just something to consider next time.

Actorfest LA 2010 Photo #2

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How To Get Your Submission Material Noticed – Ideas Inspired by KCRW

Posted on November 3, 2010 by cathy

I am in love with the radio station KCRW-FM http://www.kcrw.com/.  Have been for years and years.  It’s based in Los Angeles – Santa Monica, to be exact – but I can streamline it 24/7 from anywhere in the country and I do.  It’s a great resource for the best in new music – and not what’s “popular” per se, but just what’s really cool. And it’s tied into NPR, so it’s pretty much one-stop shopping for news, music and cultural happenings.

Anyway, recently in the LA Times there was an article by Alex Pham who interviewed Eric J. Lawrence, who is the station’s music librarian. In other words, musicians from all over the world send in their material to him and he gets to decide what is good enough to get forwarded on to the world-class DJs – such as Chris Douridas, Anne Litt, Liza Richardson, Jason Bently, Nic Harcourt, God I love them all. He’s the Casting Director of the station, if you will, and I’m going to steal his tips on how to get noticed amidst all the noise.

Make it personal. He says to “don’t waste money on fancy folders, glossy photographs and premium packaging. All of that ends up in the trash without even a backward glance. Instead, write a personal note .  . . address the person by name and say why the music fits with the (station’s) vibe.”  Replace “station” with “tv show or film” and this can apply to actors submitting via mail to agents and casting directors they don’t know personally.  Do your research beforehand, target your submissions and make it very specific to that agency or casting office.  Yes, you have to have a killer headshot – that reflects who you truly are – but don’t make it glamorous, and for God’s sake don’t send it in a see-through or windowed envelope.  Keep it classy, not cheesy, and make it personal to the person you are contacting.

Get experienced.  Don’t try to get an agent or an audition for a Network or Cable TV show prematurely.  I know most of you are chomping at the bit to get an agent the day you arrive in LA, but settle in first. Get some LA experience under your belt – at least a class or improv group but better yet get in a play or student film.    Eric says of his to following “get gigs . . .build a fan base on YouTube or Twitter.  When we play a record, we’re putting our stamp of approval on it and we want to make sure the artists are in a position to take it to the next level.”  Don’t go to a casting director workshop until you are grounded, centered as an actor and a person, and comfortable in your own skin.

Include relevant (and legible) information. This might seem SO obvious, but believe me, it isn’t. Make sure that your ACTING resume is current, well-formatted, has no typos (you’d be surprised), and contains either your agent’s or manager’s contact information or, if you don’t have an agent yet, your name, phone number and email address.  Forget the elaborate fonts and “objectives.” Keep it simple but thorough, accurate and legible. And DON’T include extra work.  Sorry.

A couple more items from MY brain.  If you are mailing or hand delivering  your headshot, make sure the resume is STAPLED to the back, facing outward, and cut the resume to match the headshot size.  Do not print your resume directly on the back of your headshot, for 2 reasons – 1) when you revise your resume, which hopefully you will have to do often, you won’t waste all those copies of your headshot/resumes you had printed or printed out, and 2) if we have to fax your headshot and resume to another source, we can simply unstaple your resume from the headshot and send them both at once – outdated, I know, as most of the time we send pic and reses electronically, but still, don’t print your resume on the back of your headshot.

If you are sending your headshot and resume electronically, please name the file(s) you send with your NAME, last name first. I can’t tell you how many headshots I get via email that are labeled “headshot.jpg” or “IMG_1878.jpg” or some such.  I get a lot of these and when I download them and they are separated from the email they came attached to, I need to know who’s material it is. Duh.

Don’t inflate your resume. We know when your are padding (lying) on your resume and we can tell what are extra credits that you are passing off as regular/speaking-role credits.  When you have speaking-roles credits, believe me, you will be very upset by those who use extra credits on their resume to inflate their experience.  If you don’t have a lot of experience, so be it. There will be a lot of white space on your resume, but that is who you are at the particular moment in time.  It will all come.  And yes, list your theater credits from school, college and community theater.

Make sure your cover letter is short, to-the-point and that you use proper grammar and spell check. You’d be surprised.

Just be smart and well-informed, okay?

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Ten Things I Learned in the Spotlight

Posted on October 8, 2010 by cathy

In addition to my TOP TEN SECRETS OF CHARISMA that I go over in detail in my book “How To Book Acting Jobs in TV and Film: Conversations with a Veteran Casting Director on Mastering the Audition Room and Much More” (avail on Amazon), I also have Ten More Lessons Learned in the Spotlight you might find interesting.  It’s kind of the darker version of the Charisma tips, but valid nonetheless.

The Ten Things I Learned In The Spotlight

1.             Once you decide exactly what you wish for, it will happen

2.             Be careful what you wish for

3.             Getting what you wish for will not be the answer to what ails you

4.             There is a cost to everything

5.             Beware your addictions

6.             It helps if one is fueled by money only

7.             Money is not the answer to what fuels you

8.             If you are a good person at your core, than money will make you even better -

9.             If you are a destructive person at your core, than money will destroy you

10.         Having fun is very, very good sometimes

1.    Once you decide EXACTLY what you wish for, it will happen

It’s a cliché, but it is true.  We can pretty much do anything we set our minds to.  I left Kansas with my daughter in 1990 and had a succession of jobs I hated.  Some were kind of “cool” – I even worked for KIA motors and helped them launch in the United States, but I was so unhappy and felt I was not using my knowledge and education and passion.  I know and love theatre and films and TV and I was trained in the Entertainment field, not in the automotive industry.  Once I decided to make a big change and once I suddenly thought, “hey!  I could be a casting director!” I tell you, just like that, the universe opened up to me and within 6 months, I was working at Paramount Studios.  And there was no magic to it.  I didn’t have a family contact or privilege or fortune or anything that gave me an extra leg up.  I am a normal woman from a pretty low-end background. Literally, I said “I want to be a casting director”.  I then made a list of anyone I could call who had a entrée into the entertainment segment.  I contacted a friend, who didn’t even live in LA, who went to college with Jeff Greenberg, who was the casting director on “Cheers”- a show I dearly loved.  She called him, gave him a good word on my behalf,  I meet with him,   and he could tell I had great passion and knowledge of actors, theatre, TV,  and film.
In fact, the job of Casting Director used every skill I had acquired up to that point, but 10 years prior, had n idea the job even existed!  Boom.  I was in.  Simple, easy contact that I had had in my possession for about 15 years.  I had to prove my desire and mettle once I WAS in, but the door opened and in I stepped. No magic.

My new goal was REALISTIC for me.  I’m not condoning having completely unrealistic goals.  As a single parent with no trust fund or nest egg, I didn’t declare suddenly “I want to be an actress,” although I have to admit that I DID want to be a professional actress in high school and college.  But the truth is it really does take more than drive and passion to be in the acting field without going totally broke within 6 months.  You have to have great talent, a look, a unique and special charisma.  That “it” quality.  You can’t just be that fun person at the party that EVERYONE says should be on TV, you’re so funny.

Think for a moment what qualities the actors you love have .. .Will Farrell?  He’s not a great actor . .but I tell you, he’s extremely likable and will to go places that we only go to drunk and silly.   Popular comic stars are able to go to a place that is completely foolish. Jack Black, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sandra Bullock, Jim Carrey.  No inhibitions, no self-consciousness.

Tom Hanks? He started off in a stupid, cross-dressing sitcom.  And he’s  won 2 Oscars!  What is it about him that makes him so watchable?  That we are willing to pay money to watch him?  He’s an IDEAL man. He’s what we WANT to be but can’t.  He’s confident but not arrogant, comfortable in himself, able to be funny AND vulnerable.  Willing to go to that vulnerable place that is very intimate.  Most of us “normal” folks would feel extremely uncomfortable showing our truly private self to the entire world.  Stars do this with ease.

Same with Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Meryle Streep, Tom Cruise even.  In fact, I contend that now that he has stopped being vulnerable in his films, his popularity as waned ..oh, and the other stuff, too.

“Working Actors” as far as Casting Directors are concerned, should ideally be well-trained in acting, movement, voice, and improv.  Most have been interested in acting from the time they are two.  But you will ALWAYS hear stories of those who had no training and make it big.  Ashton Kutcher, Mark Walhberg, Lindsey Lohan all kind of jumped out of the gate fully formed ..but these are not folks to learn from.  If it happens to you, GREAT, but it will be a fluke.  And thinking when you watch TV or movies, “I’m better than THAT guy, who makes boat loads of money ..if he can do it, I can” – or “why do bad actors keep getting hired?”  Those are not the reasons to go into it. You must really, really want it, and it ain’t easy and very chaotic.

But if you love the entertainment industry, there are A LOT of jobs behind the scenes.  I chose one of those jobs, a realistic goal and I attained it.  I was a desperate housewife in Lawrence, Kansas, for God’s sake!  Thought my career was at a dead end.  Boy, was I wrong!   My life changed so drastically in such a relatively short period of time in ways I never imagined.

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Mastering Acting

Posted on September 29, 2010 by cathy

I’ve just finished reading “Mastery:  The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment” by George Leonard and I’m in love with it. It’s a rather short, simple book (176 pages) but covers so much territory related to how we feel about what we do and how to be “successful.”  It basically says that one needs to practice something for at least five years in order to master it.  Five years. Some if not most folks will give up if they are not making a living at something for that long, especially young actors pursuing acting full-time.  This is a shame.  Being a successful actor requires practice and patience, just as it is with athletes, musicians, painters, filmmakers, writers, etc.

“The master of any game is the master of practice.”  Although acting is not really a ‘game’ (or is it?) but rather an art form, the same rules apply.  You practice your game or your art not for any reward but because you LOVE it, and you must practice every day. The old adage “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game?”  Well that also applies to what we do.  Mastery is staying on the path always, with consistency and discipline. That is how you will improve. You must love it so much that you will stick with it no matter what – during the times when you are getting to paid to act and during the (possibly) months and years when you are doing it for free  . . .or maybe even paying to do so, as in taking classes.

“Masters” do not get impatient with the notion of “making it.” They just practice what they love, day in and day out, whether they are “feeling it” or not.  I contend that you will more likely make it when you completely give up the notion of making it.   Besides, what is making it?  Your first job on a Network TV show? Your first pilot? Your first series? Your first hit series? Your first feature film role? Or do you need to see your name “above the title” in order to feel that you really made it?  It never ends and it will never be enough if your goal is simply to BE SUCCESSFUL. To Make It. To prove to your Dad, once and for all, that you are worthy despite the fact you chose acting over sports as your primary focus.

Auditioning for Network and cable TV shows and feature films is not the practice of acting, it’s more like the final exam.  If you “pass,” then you will get a callback. If you practice every day and do the work and prepare with all your heart and soul, than you will more likely get a callback and hopefully book a job.  But you cannot book a job without putting in your time with the boring stuff.  It’s kind of like a musician practicing his scales.  Tedious, yes, but simply must be done, no question. If your only opportunity to act is prepping and doing an audition, then your head is not in the right place.

So how can actors practice every day?  If you’re not in rehearsals for a play, performing in a show, or booked on a TV show or film, what is an actor to do?  Here are some ideas, gathered with the help of my Audition Class students . . . .

1) always be enrolled in a class of some sort – acting, improv, voice, movement, etc.

2) go over old scenes from classes and try to improve on how you did them the first time

3) write your own monologues and work on them

4) find a monologue from a full-length play and work on that

5) video tape yourself doing a monologue

6) create an actor support group and read scenes and plays together – video tape the scenes

7) make a vlog

8) watch TV shows, netflix,  and at least one film in a movie theater a week.

Or any number of other things, including yoga, meditation, therapy.  Actors not only have to be Masters of Acting, you have to be the Master of Yourself and of Humanity, really.  You help us poor souls reaffirm our humanity, our very existence, for God’s sake.  Why else do we care so much about you?

And if you can make money at what you practice every day, well, then you are truly blessed.

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Create Art Every Day

Posted on September 21, 2010 by cathy

(reposted from August 9, 2010)

I have never been to a Conference before in my life but for some reason I was blessed with the great fortune of attending not one but THREE during the last 30 days. They were all really different from one another in subject matter and all transformed my life significantly.

First was the 30th International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  I was Lynne Siegel’s special guest and am grateful to her and her unending generosity.   Honestly, I didn’t even know there was a conference on Jewish genealogy . . . and a few years ago, I wouldn’t have taken the time to consider attending. I was too busy, blah, blah, blah.  But since I was forced to undergo extensive treatments for breast cancer this past year .  . .well, it’s a cliche, I know  . . . but I am now “stopping to smell the roses” and reflect on my life a hell of a lot more.  My father died when I was 12 years old and I know so little about him.  He was Jewish, born in Poland in 1923, survived the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz, and a sanitarium in Davos, Switzerland, before he came to the U.S. in the 50s, married my mother in 1959 and died in Palm Springs in 1972, a broken and penniless man.  These are the few elements of his life that I know for certain. I have fragments of stories but no real facts because I was too young for him to go into great detail before he died at age 49.  His death left me without a father and a massive gaping hole about my heritage.   Well, this conference opened my eyes to the fact that there are wonderful groups of people out there who can (finally!) help me piece together his life.   In a lot of ways, this conference was heartbreaking and exceedingly emotional.   I’d love to one day retrace my dad’s journey from his birth to his death and now I have the resources to help me.  If I could only find the time and finances to do so.  What a story that would be!

The second conference I attended was the exact opposite in nature to Jewish Genealogy.  Comic-Con is as crazy as they say it is. 140,000+ participants in a 4 day span of time in quiet San Diego.  A-List Movie and TV stars that you have to wait in long lines to see.  My daughter and I were guests of James Seale and Kristine Blackport and I will forever be grateful to them for making one of Kate’s dreams come true.  As for me, going to this crazy land of Comic-Con was never one of my dreams and, in fact, I’ve never been a huge of fan of comic-books, super heroes, science-fiction, or horror films. But by God, I got sucked into the vortex of it all and have a far greater appreciation for the ART of it than I ever thought I would.  The stories, the illustrations, the depiction of the darker aspects of human nature – there is nothing COMIC about any of it.  I found it all very vibrant and stimulating in an unexpected intelligent and emotional way.  The artists who create this stuff are freaking brilliant and understand human beings.  I was surprised at the theatricality of it all, too.  Heroes and villains, war and destruction, good and evil, all for us to devour with passion.

I started to ponder – what makes a good actor for these kinds of projects?  For the larger-than-life roles  in comic-book related movies?  Thor and Captain America and The Green Lantern.  These actors need to be in great shape, studly and macho, for sure, but also sensitive, vulnerable and very appealing.  And funny. Ryan Reynolds, Robert Downey, Jr., Daniel Craig.  Also, must be facile with language.  Only well-trained actors need apply.

What of the women in these projects?  They have to be sexy, smart, physically very strong and  yet soft. They have to be endowed with great bodies and the ability to do combat. They also have to be vulnerable and compassionate. Natalie Portman. Scarlett Johansson. Olivia Wilde.   The embodiment of the ultimate fantasy.

Natalie Portman, who was there on the panel of Thor, made a kind of off-the-cuff comment about actors nowadays needing acting training with green screens, and I think that’s true.  It goes back to Stanislavski’s “the magic if ” for goodness sake.  Making up in your mind what is not there physically.  You won’t work if you can’t do that successfully.  Bad acting is horrible in these films (Brandon Routh in Superman Returns).   It’s the actors job to make the unbelievable believable.

My experiences at Comic-Con covered a wide spectrum.  Although I had a “professional guest pass” I didn’t get any preferential treatment.  If I wanted to see a panel in Ballroom 20 or Hall H, I had to wait in a long, time-consuming line just like any other civilian.  I waited 90+ minutes for the Showtime “Anti-Hero” panel (which was followed by the Dexter panel).  David Duchovney, Mary Louise Parker, Michael C. Hall, and the creator/writers on their respective shows. And you know what?  I loved it and it was worth the wait.  Plus, I got to chat with a very cool graphic artist in line who I wouldn’t ordinarily have gotten a chance to meet.  We talked about our love for Dexter and which season was the best so far (toss up between 1 & 4).  I went with Kate to the panel of The Walking Dead, which is going to premiere on AMC in October.  Kate is obsessed with the comic book written by Robert Kirkman that is the inspiration for the new series. On the surface, it’s a show about Zombies, which I ordinarily wouldn’t gravitate towards at all, but in reality, it’s a show about ordinary, good people who are related in some way (father-son, lovers, sisters), separated from each other by a terrible apocalypse. They must now find each other and reconnect amidst  rumble and destruction and hundreds of Zombies who look pretty gruesome.  Very cool. Great cast. Dark subject matter.

I went to a panel on Trauma as related to Heroes and Villains in Comic-Books. It was a group of psychiatrists and mental health professionals who pondered the following questions:  What personal attributes will make someone either become a hero and or a villain after suffering a great trauma (death of a parent at an early age, loss of a limb, etc.)?  What makes a person resilient?  Non-resilient?  Could the Dark Knight be “saved” with the right mental health treatment and/or good meds?  This was a fascinating discussion and I didn’t have to wait 90 minutes to get in.

I almost got kicked out of the massive and overcrowded Exhibit Hall over a Dexter bag, but that’s a story for another time.

The third and final conference I went to was Theater Alive:  Theater, Media and Survival. The Association of Theater of Higher Education’s 24th Annual Meeting.  Basically, it was a gathering of a lot of hardworking and under-appreciated professors of theater from all over the country.  I participated as a panelist at this one and didn’t have to wait on any lines at all.  The panel  I was fortunate enough to be a part of was formally titled  “The Business of Acting:  Equip Your Students with Critical Business and Survival Strategies for a Successful Career in Theater, Film and Television” and I have never felt more useful or  revered as I did on this day.   The generosity of spirit that was thrust upon me by the theater professors who were in that 8AM (!!)  workshop was something that I will not easily forget  . . .and that I should try to remember whenever I feel that no one really cares about what I do and what I think about constantly which is what is good acting? And how can one pursue it professionally without getting the soul sucked out of you?

These professors and acting teachers are the unsung heroes of the Biz.  Without them, there would be no theater, movies and film because actors don’t just come out of the womb ready to perform.  Even if one has a “natural talent,” you still need someone to find you and guide you along the way.  Can you teach “talent”? If someone doesn’t have “it,” can they still be taught how to act?  Well, that’s an ongoing debate . . ..but there is no question that there are talented young actors and they need to be enlightened and educated in the ART of acting.   They need to be challenged, educated and inspired and that is what theater professors and teachers do.

The overriding question it seems to me is how can a traditional academic theater department reconcile teaching Chekhov while introducing the finer points of auditioning for a one-camera comedy such as The Office?  The purity, if you will, of theater training should remain sacred, but the inclusion of sitcom technique should not be shunned.  As I’ve said many, many times, a well-rounded actor will be a successful actor.  Theater training is the best foundation for any actor and God knows an actor has to do theater to remain stimulated and alive, but he also needs to be able to do TV in order to make enough money to continue acting at all.  In addition, an actor needs to be able to make commercial copy believable in order to make a lot of money with the least amount of time and effort. And why? In order to be able to do what he really loves, which is to play ‘Andre’ in Three Sisters.  A successful actor does theater, film, TV, commercials, webseries, and corporate videos, and each aspect of this kind of career feeds off the other.   University theater departments need to find a way to bridge the gap between the academic and the practical so that all parties can be happy, and I think that is happening.

It was extremely gratifying that the teachers I spoke with were excited to take the information and opinions I shared with them on the Business of Acting back to their students in their home towns.

Suzi Lori-Parks (Topdog/Underdog, 365 Plays in 365 Days) was the keynote speaker at this conference and I was very inspired by her humorous and unconventional speech.  “Unconventional” in that she was not afraid to be goofy and obnoxious at times, in the spirit of play, with her sound effects into the microphone and  her guttural grunts for emphasis as she expressed her precepts for a good life as an artist.  The idea I loved the most was her credo that artists should create art every day.  A writer should write every day. An actor should act every day.  We are running a marathon here; not a sprint or the occasional run but a marathon that continues on and on until the day we die.  That is how we get really, really good at something. That is how we succeed. That is how we touch other people’s lives.

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