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Actors of Service

Monthly Archives: April 2015

5 Reminders and 5 Eye-Openers About Casting

19 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by Marc Isaacs in Audition Tips

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acting careers, Acting Made Stupid Simple, acting workshops, actor's life, casting calls, casting indie films, donna mckenna, filmmaking, Improv for Auditions, learning to act, leaves of the tree, sag-aftra houston conservatory, start acting

Thanks to an international film festival acting seminar, I had the good fortune of meeting casting director Donna McKenna a couple of days ago in Houston. She’s in town because a film she cast here starring Eric Roberts, Sean Young, and Armand Assante, Leaves of the Tree, screened at Worldfest.  Her visit inspired and encouraged actors like me and opened our eyes to some new ways to look at the casting process.

Donna added an extra stop to her Houston visit by joining me at the improv workshop I hosted the following day for the SAG-AFTRA Houston Conservatory. She’s a very generous professional and sets the record straight for actors who approach casting with a sense of misunderstanding. She took the time both days to explain her approach to casting an indie film. Continue reading →

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Breaking Down a 30-Second Commercial Script

11 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by Marc Isaacs in Audition Tips

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acting advice, acting careers, acting challenges, acting in commercials, Acting Made Stupid Simple, actor's life, audition prep, audition tips, filmmaking, learning to act, start acting

A hungry and talented “newer” actor I have gotten to see in class several times sent me a message yesterday referring to an audition and suggesting he needed some help.

“I have a script just 4 lines not sure how to go about it.”

I looked at the script, and within 30 seconds, I knew exactly what to tell him. I have the advantage of having auditioned for hundreds of commercials and shooting dozens of them. I also spent time writing commercial scripts so I understand the process of moving from concept to execution. I fondly recall one commercial script needing 13 rounds of revisions to satisfy the client.

Without going into specifics of this particular script — client name and actual dialogue — let’s use this an opportunity to discover an approach to breaking down commercial scripts quickly so you can spend more time getting ready for the audition in other ways. It’s also especially good to know how to do this in case you get a cold read for a commercial.

Here we go. First, his script has on camera roles for 5 people. They each say one short line at a time. In some cases, they say only two words.

Prep: Be prepared to speak every line as if it’s the same character.

Second, the lines appear to be responses to a single question asked by a character on camera.

Prep: It’s likely you will be delivering your lines either to the casting director if you’re brought in the audition room alone or to other actors if you’re brought in as a group. Rehearse both ways and be ready to adjust in the audition room, when necessary. 

Next, it’s a commercial for a family-friendly restaurant.

Prep: Consider the importance of the right tone. For a commercial about any place you’re at or representing, you’re happy to be there. The delivery shouldn’t come off as irritated or perturbed, even if the dialogue has you making a suggesting about how to improve the service.

The script suggests your character is familiar with the restaurant. It’s a place you have been to many times.

Prep: Ask yourself two things: What’s the nature of each visit and do you know the other people around you?  You might see them every week, same time, same place. You may only see them at this restaurant as a scheduled playdate for your kids. Either way, creating a sense of familiarity with the other people can help, even if they’re not actually in the audition with you.

Near the end of the script there is dialogue for a character on camera and a voice-over to share the payoff of what the commercial sets up, resolving the conflict, and the call to action. This is an aspect of commercials many newer actors miss because it doesn’t involve any lines for you.

Prep: Determine your range of reactions. Remember, you’re hearing good news. This is a solution to the problem and a reason to celebrate. For all the time you spend on practicing your lines, triple the prep time for creating simple yet effective reactions. This is the where the real selling exists. 

The keys to any audition prep are understanding and decisiveness. You want to have a clear sense of what the client is trying to achieve with this commercial and what it will take for the casting director to convey that to the client or production company in your audition. Then, you want to make your decisions quickly and confidently, even if they end up changing in the audition room.

Now go book it!

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Overcoming the Objection

06 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Marc Isaacs in Audition Tips, Uncategorized

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acting advice, acting careers, Acting Made Stupid Simple, actor's life, actorslife, audition tips, auditions, filmmaking, last minute auditions, learning to act, overcoming objections, start acting

When I worked in small market radio as a salesperson, I routinely encountered business owners who had trouble seeing the value of buying advertising time. Unlike the ads they placed in a newspaper or a local school calendar, radio ads were an intangible no one could see. It was there, nearly twenty years ago, that I first heard the phrase “overcoming the objection” that would influence my later career as an actor.

Simply put, almost every potential sale back then for me started with a No from the client. I would ask for more information so I could better understand the business, and I would attempt to schedule a return visit so I could reconnect with ideas, a spec commercial, or a suggested schedule. The whole process really just involved creating ways to turn a No into a Yes eventually, whether it took weeks or months. Last week I had a lot less time to do the same as an actor. Continue reading →

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