Acting in Columbus Newsletter

AUDITIONS / CASTING ALERTS!

THEATRE AUDITIONS

CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN THEATRE COMPANY (CATCO) AUDITION

CATCO will be holding auditions for the role of A Girl of Twelve in Blackbird by David Harrower. Blackbird won the Olivier Award ( England ’s Tony) for Best Play in 2007. It will be directed by Geoffrey Nelson and features Anna Paniccia and Jonathan Putnam .

Date: Wednesday April 1, 2009

Time: 7:00PM

Location: Studio One Theatre in the Riffe Center at the corner of State and High in downtown Columbus

The play contains adult themes and language, although The Girl’s character is not involved in those moments. The actress will be playing a twelve year old.

Rehearsals begin on Tuesday May 5, 2009. Hard copies of the script are available for perusal. The audition scene can be emailed to you. The role pays $75 per week.

Please contact Jonathan Putnam : jputnam@catco.org [614] 461-1382 x 151

FILM CASTING CALL:

The Melton Center for Jewish Studies at OSU is seeking extras for a shoot on April 1- 2. The project is an educational narrative being produced and directed by Phil Garrett: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308186/. Specifically, they're looking for men of a variety of ages (anywhere from late teens on up) to play generic students and townspeople in an Eastern-European town in the 1700s. Unfortunately, this means only people of generally Caucasian ethnicity for this shoot. Hours would be somewhere between 3pm and 12 midnight (more specific hours would be provided soon) and extras would be welcome to work either Wednesday April 1, Thursday April 2, or both.

Please e-mail me with a photo attached (any current photograph will do) if you are interested in working on this projects along with the day(s) you are available: actingincolumbus@yahoo.com

BREAKDOWN: Wednesday April 1 and or Thursday April 2nd: 2-4 Young Men (late teens through early 20s) 6-8 Older Men (mid30s and older)

Auditions for "Downs" a web series to be shot in Columbus, Ohio in 2009

Director: James Aaron Tecumseh Sinclair
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009
Time: 11:30am - 2:45pm
Location: Grandview Heights Public Library
Street: 1685 West First Avenue
City/Town: Columbus , OH

Phone: 614-878-9938
Email: http://us.mc528.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=jatsinclair@gmail.com

Auditions are currently slated for April 11, 2009, from 11:30am to 2:45pm. More audition dates may follow based on attendance and performances. If call-backs are required, they will take place on location. Pay is minimal and negotiable. If you have resume and headshots, please bring two copies. Auditions will be cold readings, but also please prepare a 30 second monologue.

Synopsis: "Downs" tells the exploits of Susan Downs, a young occult adventurer, in her search for knowledge. The series is light horror/magical realism, aimed at "one step beyond" the normal experience. The series is supported by a comic book series, which is already on Issue 2. Each short is planned at 10-15 minutes in length. The first is under way; with as many as three planned.

Characters:

Susan Downs: Our protagonist. She traded her eyes for a little bit of occult knowledge. Her ultimate goal is to achieve enlightenment, although her curiosity usually keeps her involved in the world. She is familiar with a number of magical or occult practices, and will usually intervene to stop the forces of evil. She is active with kung fu and esoteric practices similar to yoga or tai chi. Because of Susan's missing eyes, the actress who plays her will be asked to wear full-eye contact lenses. This is also a reoccurring role.

Glenn: A friend of Susan's from college, who has lived with his girlfriend (LISA) for about 10 years. Glenn and Lisa are expecting a baby, which Glenn is not entirely comfortable with. Glenn is attempting to decode a recording made by a French inventor in 1860, a task which consumes him. This task has called up the ghost of the inventor (SPECTER), who is causing more strife in their relationship.Lisa: Glenn's longtime girlfriend, although they have never married. Currently very pregnant, and not crazy about Glenn's friend from college coming over to visit. She holds (or is working on) a PhD in history, and did (or is doing) her dissertation on the 19th century French inventor who made Glenn's recording.

Specter: The ghost of the 19th century French inventor, although its identity is a mystery. Its face is shrouded and it wears robes fit for crossing the River Styx. It has returned to hear its recording played one more time, and is causing all kinds of discord while it is here. The Specter is of indeterminate age and sex, and must move in a somewhat creepy fashion. Unintentional comedy is the Specter's greatest enemy.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

Spring and Summer Workshops and Classes Now Enrolling:

Acting for TV Commercials

One Day Workshop May 3, 2009

Acting for Film and Advanced Acting for Film

June 6, 2009 - August 1, 2009

Weekend Acting Boot Camp

Friday/Saturday/Sunday May 15-17, 2009

FILM & TELEVISION AUDITION WORKSHOP

Sunday April 25, 2009 1:00pm -6:00pm $150

The place for the beginner or an actor with training and acting experience to improve their skills for film and television auditions. Begin to explore the technical aspects of the camera. You'll learn how the camera sees you while learning film industry terms, how to hit your mark and range of shot. Learn the basics of auditioning and working on the set:

Getting an Agent
Submitting yourself to casting directors
Cold Readings
Monologues selection and preparation
Working with a partner
Working with Sides
Headshots, Resumes and other P/R Tools

This workshop is limited to eight (8) students

Pursuing an Acting Career

PHOTO: Acting in Columbus student Angela Geisler (l) on the set of HOMECOMING starring Mischa Barton (r)

In order to become an actor or become an actress, you must first have a passion and drive to learn your craft. However, many young actors make the mistake of not realizing that there is much more to living the actor’s life.The first step in launching a professional acting career is to set some goals. If you don't have some place to go when you get in your car, you're just going to drive around, right?

Here are some major issues you should consider:

What do you want to be doing acting-wise five years from now? Seven years? Ten years? Will you be happy to act in local productions for no money? Or do you want to be paid to act? If you are considering a professional career in acting (i.e. if you want to be paid to do it), then you'll have to get on a dedicated career track.

Actor Training

Most acting workshops are geared toward scene studies. Essentially, "scene study" involves individual scenes from a play or film which are assigned to actors -- typically no more than two or three. Throughout the course of the workshop, actors don't merely act out their scenes, they discuss their roles, the play as a whole, intentions of playwrights...all of which help make their performances better. Scenes practiced in acting workshops should not be taken lightly. Prepare each scene as if you are training for a comprehensive production. Often, you'll learn new techniques (which is the point of your instructor giving you this scene in the first place). Any new skills that you are taught in class should be implemented immediately.

During presentation of scenes, stay open to direction from your instructor. Don't argue about your motivation or why you chose to employ a certain technique. The instructor may be trying to teach you a new angle or break you of a habit you're not aware of. Remember that everything you learn in a workshop is designed to make you stronger as an actor.

Theater

Almost every city and town has at least one small community theater where local actors gather and put on performances. Take advantage of this opportunity, even if your primary interest is film and television. Acting is acting, and it changes very little between media. Any practice and exposure you get while doing community theater will only improve your chances of making it in the film industry. Also, many agents and casting directors attend plays and showcases in hopes of finding talented new actors. Remember, opportunities can come at any time.

Student Films

Is there a college in your hometown? If so, chances are they have some kind of film, media arts, or broadcasting program. Film students always need talented actors, and you could be just what they're looking for. They probably won't be able to pay you anything and the final product may not be that great, but the experience will be more than worth it. Just be sure to get a video copy of your performance and keep in contact with student director. Who knows... he or she may be the next Spielberg.

What is the most difficult thing about acting?

No, the most difficult part is not getting a role. The most difficult part is not having to audition. The most difficult part is not trying to get auditions. The most difficult part is not the rejection. The most difficult part is not getting an agent or finding a great teacher. These are what so many actors find difficult. I do not agree. Of course they are all difficult. But not nigh on to impossible. Everything listed so far can be overcome, survived, solved. I am not sure the most difficult thing about acting can always be overcome.

To me, having listened both as an actor on stage and in film and as an audience member who has studied hundreds and hundreds of actors over the years, the most difficult thing an actor has to do is to SOUND REAL WITH VARIETY IN THE VOICE. I weep when someone with a great look starts to act and instantly becomes laid back, monotonous, pulled in, fake, boring, actory, every sentence ending with a parachute drop fall. Actors spend thousands of dollars delving into the self, soul-searching, analyzing motivation and feelings, etc., etc., etc. when all that is needed is for someone to say to them, "Get real, and have variety in the voice." The rest will come. But first sound "real" and "real" does not mean boring.

Learning how to sound real with variety cannot be taught by reading a book. It is almost impossible to write about sounding real with variety. It is something that must be heard and listened to. But I promise, absolutely promise, that if you will learn to sound real and at the same time have variety in your pitch, your rhythm and your volume, I absolutely guarantee you will start to book.

CRAFTNOTES by Ed Hooks

MAKING YOURSELF CRY

New actors often have this thing about making themselves cry. It's like it is a litmus test for whether or not they are real actors. Real actors, so goes the logic, can make themselves cry on cue, and if you can't pull off that hat trick, you lose. In a recent acting class, I actually got into a heated debate with a very earnest student who believed that feigning crying would be the only acceptable application of indicating (showing the audience how you feel) - which is pretty universally considered an acting error.

Some actors figure they can cut onions on the movie set or put glycerin in their eyes to give the illusion of crying. Directors have been known to play cruel tricks on child actors to get them to cry, telling them their dog just died and such. Let's clear the air, and the tears, okay?

First, an ability to make yourself shed real tears is decidedly not the earmark of an excellent actor. I have seen plenty of high school actors that can do it. I have worked with professional actors that could do it, and it was not affecting. The mechanical generation of tears is just that and nothing more - a mechanical generation. Tears are an _expression of sadness and maybe frustration. (Tears of happiness, like the ones you shed at weddings, will be the subject for another newsletter. They are the result of a mixture of happiness and sadnessŠ) Tears are a uniquely human _expression of emotion. It is said that elephants cry but there has never been any actual documentation of that. As far as I know, only humans do it. The reason is that we have thinking brains and emotions are automatic value responses. Tears require abstract thought.

Emotions are contextual, and sadness does not always result in tears. Take a look at the scene in Charlie Chaplin's movie "Gold Rush" when he realizes that Georgia the Dance Hall Girl has stood him up on New Year's Eve. No tears, but the sadness is almost tangible. There are times in life when sadness goes beyond tears. I remember once having to tell a friend in New York that his father had passed away. He did not react with tears until much later, but he was obviously devastated by the news.

We humans empathize with emotion. Tears in themselves carry little empathetic currency. They are just wet things. The important part is how the character feels, tears or no tears. Sadness expresses itself in the curve of the back, by the slackness in the muscles, by an inward-looking moment. It used to be said that Geraldine Page could do more acting with her back than most actors could with their front, and this was largely a factor of the way she expressed sadness with her body. The same was true with Eleanora Duse.

If you absolutely positively must make yourself cry real tears, you can probably do it. I can do it and have done so in various film projects. The trick is to put yourself on the edge of tears before they say "Action!" and then spill over in the moment. You have to have a private place in your brain to hold context. It is a mental discipline. But, seriously, I would not make a big deal out of being able to cry. It is not a litmus test of your talent. More important is for you to have compassion and empathy for the human condition and for you to be willing to be a shaman. If tears are appropriate to the moment, then they will be there.