Actor Growth

Today I had to do a scene from a pilot episode that never saw the light of day apparently called No Heroics. The interesting was a lot of people in the class were wondering why this show didn’t get picked up as the script seem pretty funny.

The first time around I did it and it seemed like my choices for the character was apparent and effective. The main feedback I got was to pick up the pace as it could go faster. Here was the interesting part. Foe some odd reason I kept over thinking the scene afterwards where the comedic timing was not as good as the first time around. It is almost like I was way over analyzing everything.

Not really sure why that was the case exactly. I always try to think about why bumps like that occurred and the best thing I can think of is that I normally try to visualize what the scene looks like from a third person perspective. And so sometimes when I don’t get that visualization as a result of a quick feedback and therefore the output seems more mechanical. Wasn’t a very successful second run at it though as the first attempt was a lot better.

I also got to briefly chat with the coach about my demo reel as that is technically the first item up for scrutiny to establish my new plan. He told me that he was going to call me tonight to dive into further, so I’ll just have to wait and see if that happens. But he did give me his general thoughts.

It was pretty clear that one scene in particular stood out for him out of every as he said he was just cracking up when he saw it. The scene was basically me going off at a messy roommate who never cleans up after himself and I was supposed to be the neat freak. Surprisingly, other than he felt that the other scenes didn’t do too much in helping to promote me.

He brought up the point now how we need to try to get something more recent. Example, simply tape a scene in the studio using real audition sides for shows that have been cast or auditioned lately. Essentially, if you do a very good job and a person like the casting director sees this, since that particular piece is still fresh on their mind they would think “How come I didn’t bring him in before?”

A funny thing is too is that a lot of people that seen my reel before say that they like it. However, that was with a more entertainment type of perspective I guess whereas the coach tried to focus its effectiveness in promoting me as the talent. Interesting to see how this plays out and what the end result will look like.

As mentioned yesterday, today was the day that I got to see how one would tackle an audition that has character voice overs. Funny enough, what happened at first was that we were told the top section of the sides would be omitted. Afterwards, we did indeed run through the scene with the remaining voiceover dialogue.

Basically, we just had to do the audition as if the thought bubble voice over part was the main scene while ignoring the action where the present form character is in motion. I tell ya, this was super confusing at first for me in trying to determine exactly what was going on logistically.

It was so confusing for me that when I did it the first time around I thought that the two characters were actively in a corridor while having a small argument with each other as they were waiting for a security system to go down. Hence, I was playing it like they were next to each other and that the character was actively looking at the camera in the ceiling while waiting fir it to turn off.

The funny thing? I did the audition very well where in the scene I gave a lot of good reactions while establishing my environment. The thing is though, apparently that whole part was all a bubble memory still and the character was actually all by himself. So, I did the scene again with the coach’s notes. He expressed how I nailed it and that it’s so great that I can easily take direction.

He then suggested that every time I get an audition that I should call him up first so that I can talk it over as it seems like it’s usually just the interpretation of the audition sides that I get confused with at times. But once I know what it is all about I have no problems. I guess again that comes from having studied mostly in a scene study oriented program where you always go through the scenes extensively with the director.

After class I did talk to the coach about my career direction to try and create some goals to advance to the next step. Because at this point it is pretty stagnant professionally speaking. Here was the interesting thing. He was commenting how I have the skills, I can take direction very well where I am easy to work with and that there is this energy about my work where I don’t even need to try too hard to make an impact in a scene. He then said that I just needed someone who can get my foot in the door, so to speak.

Afterwards, he said that he was going to help me with it. Yeah, I was kind of shocked. Basically, he was fully willing to help guide me in my career path, give me advice and doing things such as checking out my demo reel and making sure that my representation is working for me. So, the first thing is that he will be taking a look at my demo reel to see what needs changing and if I should include different scenes.

What a great gesture I thought. It’s like having a mentor and a manager in some ways. Talk about going above and beyond. Looking forward to see what happens next.

I got an interesting feedback today that was very enlightening. Today when I first preformed the audition sides the coach commented how everything was great and that what he wanted to see was for me to pick up the pace a bit as he felt it could go a little faster. It was kind of funny as there were only two of us that did the same scene to compare and while my feedback was to do it faster the other guy’s feedback was to do it slower.

So I did the scene again and he mentioned that he felt it was such a small change but it made things so much better. Here was the interesting part. He then said he wanted to try something with me. With that he took over the reader’s job and was now acting as the audition reader for me.

I didn’t really know what to expect but as always what I do when I am acting is that as long as I establish who the character is you can pretty much adapt to anything. What the coach did was that he kind of changed it up a bit such as times where he would do physical gestures implying that he was going to beat me up. As expected, I reacted to it and went with the flow of his new pace where the scene was done a lot faster.

He then commented how it was fantastic that I reacted to all of this. Then e pointed out that I should watch out for that as I really do react off of what the reader gives me. For example, if they are reading it slow the most likely I will respond to it in a slow pace too. He emphasized how that is fantastic as an actor especially when you are on set where you are actually shooting the show.

For an audition though I have to be very careful he mentioned as that means if the reader is very bad they could literally destroy my audition. Therefore, I have to make sure that I can do the scene as intended even if the reader is bad or at least instruct them to try to do it a certain way in order to adapt to the direction I am going for.

That’s kind of funny when you think about it as listening and reacting is a huge component in making a scene believable I’d say and it is also why chemistry is so important in casting actors to do a role. Whereas in an audition you have to be a little more aggressive if the person isn’t giving you the dialogue right.

It was another pretty standard day in terms of what we did. There was one thing interesting though. The sides that we got dealt with some kind of thief that was orchestrating a robbery as it was his job to scout the place out for a few days. In the process he meets this girl that he kind of falls in love with. Therefore, in the midst of the robbery he decides he wants to try to change his life and to make sure this girl doesn’t get shot in the process by the other people.

Based on what I read I first interpreted it as the girl was dumbfounded about the situation and as the thief confessed about his background she just thought it was a joke and persisted that it is one. As the script indicates, it’s not until further in the conversation that she starts to fear for her life.

So my direction was to do it in a very serious way where the character is trying to tell her he is dead serious and is telling her this because he doesn’t want her to get hurt. Guess it’s like a guy saying he is in a crazy gang that is about to destroy the place where you just laugh at the idea and it’s not until he keeps talking about it with some very detailed information that you start to realize he is dead serious.

So in the first round the coach was saying the intensity level was definitely there. Except he started to say that the guy was supposed to be extremely remorseful about admitting his professions to the lady and in order to convince her to follow him to safety he needed to be more empathetic I guess you can say. So in my mind, that meant that this character was extremely weaker than what I thought.

I debated about the choices and direction for awhile as some of them seemed like it was more about a directional choice. But, as a challenge of an actor I think the key to an audition is that you need to be adaptable to take direction and so I did. I re-did the scene with all the feedbacks and direction.

Afterwards, the coach said that I nailed it and just like from a previous class where he thought my performance was amazing he said that I achieved that same level with this. I was thinking even more and it seems like at this point of my training and the feedback that I have been getting is that acting is not an issue at all when it comes to the audition process but rather trying to get the interpretation right the first time. That is such a subjective thing too.

On a side note I learned that one of my classmates landed a role in that feature film the A Team. While that is great news, even he was joking about it as before he was saying that he wanted to grow his hair as he feels that he could get more auditions that way. Wouldn’t you know it, this role that he landed requires him to shave his hair and go bald. Funny how things work in life sometimes.

Today was kind of funny for me. The scene that was given was extremely awkward when it came time to perform it. The idea of the audition side revolved around a law firm where there was an older female lawyer who hires a younger paralegal to help her out. While reading the sides, there were sections such as the paralegal asking the lawyer to reveal her “stuff” as if she did it he would help her finish her work faster. Basically, sexual tension. From what I read, the lady was married too.

My choice was based on all this information the scene was all about a power sparring match where the young guy thinks he can charm the lady very easily and vice versa she is a lady that uses sex to get what she wants in life. Example, she married her husband for money using sex appeal and has no real reserve in cheating with others as everyone is just a way to gain something.

Although, there was one part I was a bit unsure about as there was a part in the script where they talked about her trying to get pregnant where the husband was just dumbfounded on why they can’ conceive. Right after it talked about how she begins to pop so many pills at night too. So my first assumption is she was trying to avoid becoming pregnant which kind of matched with persona I had of the character I would be talking to.

Turns out, that wasn’t the case as at all. You see, usually when you walk into an audition you can ask the casting director questions about the scene to help you make the best decisions in your performance. Of course in class the acting coach is acting as the casting director. I asked him about the lady character and the scenario was completely different. Basically, she was trying to get pregnant. And the character that I would be reading for was basically kind of like a Viagra for her, I guess you can say, where she gets turned on from younger men who find her attractive.

It definitely pretty much destroyed what I had planned before as my vision was that this was going to be a really subtle yet powerful scene where two characters are trying to outdo the other. Instead, it’s more cheeky I guess you can say. That completely threw me off. So that was an interesting experience and it’s a good thing I experienced that in class as oppose to a real audition.

It’s was funny too as he asked me what my decisions were before and I explained it. He was just floored at how I was able to come up with so much stuff based on those five pages. One person in class said that when I make strong choices I sure make strong choices. Another comment was that I might be watching too much sci-fi stuff. lol. Although, I haven’t really watched too much sci-fi….have just been working on Sci-Fi shows a lot.

Wasn’t sure if there was going to be a class today since it is Thanksgiving holiday week here and many people have left for a long weekend vacation. But, it did happen as enough people were around still. It was fairly the same routine today where we got a script ahead of time and then auditioned it.

For some reason today I don’t think I really learned too much compared to the other days as it felt more like a staying on top of your game day. Basically, it’s like exercising where you are just doing the same thing to build certain strengths. I guess that is good and bad depending on how you look at it.

There was one discussion that came up where one actor asked if it was appropriate to ask your agent about your career growth and what projects they have submitted you for. The coach said that many times when you ask agents this they will respond in an apprehensive way where they interpret it as you are questioning them if they are doing their job or not.

Another person mentions that his agent gives him like a submission breakdown every two weeks and it is great. He then came up with a point where if the agent is submitting you and all then there is no reason for them to be apprehensive over this. That is what I learned personally in school before too and so did this guy. Interestingly enough, the coach said that is not the norm though which kind of surprised me.

If anything I guess it was more about learning some different perspectives of the business side of the industry today. I’m still kind of surprised at that response to that question.