Acting

Sandra Isabel Correia - thanks!

Stephen Folker great advice, Stephen. Thanks for sharing.

Geoff Hall thanks for checking it out! :)

Hi Stephen Folker, great tips thank you! I just want to clarify: when we run a job through our agent it isn't that we are passing anything off. And it's not just for negotiation. It's for a few reasons:

1. Checking the contract: Most actors aren't adept at reading contracts, so we need to make sure they look over everything as there are a few shady 'in perpetuity' things or other clauses that can be added sometimes.

2. Safety: They may know something about a filmmaker or project that we don't know. It's important to run things through someone more connected than we are.

3. Career strategy: We want them to read the script and assess the attachments to make sure it's not a bad career move. Even actors without strong resumes want to avoid attaching to bad films.

4. We have to: When you have an agent or manager, the contracted deal is that all paid film & TV jobs go through them. No matter who brings the work in, it needs to be approved and commissioned through your rep. We quite literally do not legally have a choice.

5. Yea look sometimes a bit of negotiation... there's a 'modified local hire' option that very frequently comes into play but may not be in the breakdown. Production may cover hotel if you can get yourself there and forego per diem.... etc... but we don't know if production has the bandwidth for that until we ask. Also nudity riders / billing order / trailer size etc... there are non-financial negotiations that matter too.

Again, great tips and thank you so much for taking the time to share them - just didn't want actors being scared to go through their reps for fear of annoying filmmakers.... and don't want you thinking all these actors you've hired were passing things off... They're just doing things the right way.

Kym Jackson, thank you so much for sharing this thoughtful perspective. These are such important clarifications, and your breakdown adds so much context and nuance to the conversation. It’s a vital reminder of how many layers go into the actor–rep dynamic and why those systems are in place to protect the performer and the integrity of the project. We’re incredibly lucky to have you as a Stage 32 Thought Leader & Educator, your insight is always invaluable to the community.

Congratulations on taking the leap and committing to your acting career full-time, Matthew Gross! Glad you're starting to get the hang of self-tape auditions! I remember seeing you in an episode of All American. Looking forward to seeing you in more shows and movies!

Maurice Vaughan My goal is to be a working day player. I'm auditioning for lots of doctor roles. Thanks for the encouragement.

You're welcome, Matthew Gross. I'm rooting you on to be a working day player and get a lot of doctor roles! I can see you playing doctors.

Hi Matthew! There are several actors who who have posted in this lounge regarding self tape. I highly recommend you scroll through previous posts to find them. They also have YouTube channels with all kinds of advice. I know they address everything you just said.

Matthew Gross good for you for committing to acting as a full-time career. I admire and applaud your courage. It sounds like you are learning a lot as you make the shifts you are describing in your self-tape process. I trust you will get to where you want to be. Curious about using a cassette recorder as a reader. Are you more comfortable using that then say an app like Cold Read where you don't have to worry about getting your line in before the reader comes in with their next line?

It's terrible that this happens, Juanma Mallen. I agree with you. Talking about this is not an attack on cinema, but a call for transformation. Stage 32 published a blog called "5 Warning Signs For Parents Of Child/Young Adult Actors" I think everyone should read (www.stage32.com/blog/5-warning-signs-for-parents-of-childyoung-adult-act...).

This is such an important and sobering reflection, and I really appreciate you putting it into words, Juanma Mallen. You’re absolutely right, calling out abuse is an act of love for the industry and a call for it to live up to its highest potential. Stage 32 has so many members who want to change that, and conversations like this help keep the spotlight on the work still left to do. Thank you for using your voice.

Juanma Mallen I agree with Maurice Vaughan and Ashley Renee Smith that this shadow side of the industry needs to be talked about. Individuals need to know about this and feel able to speak up and get support if they're not being treated properly. It's important to talk about for those have been affected and for all of us who love this industry and want it to be a space of genuine creativity and respect.

Juanma Mallen thanks for sharing your experience. Speaking about the value of inclusion without tokenism is powerful—and needed. Hopefully more and more challenging the industry will help it to grow beyond its fears and assumptions. What was most eye-opening about it for you?

"The most revealing thing was discovering the creative freedom they have, compared to other actors who are more concerned about their image and much more afraid of looking ridiculous."

Juanma Mallen, This is such a powerful reflection, and I’m so glad you shared it. Inclusion shouldn’t be viewed as a risk. It’s an opportunity to deepen our storytelling and expand the heart of our industry. When we make space for artists of all abilities, we enrich the creative process and challenge ourselves to become better collaborators, communicators, and humans.

There’s so much to learn when we stop assuming what someone can or cannot bring to the table.

Juanma Mallen that is certainly inspiring to hear and a good reminder to me to care less about how I come across when acting

Oh, I have a classmate with intelectuall dissablity! I just had a film idea inspired by her!

Matthew Gross it's encouraging to hear that CBS, Netflix are looking to hire Native American actors. It gives me some hope and optimism as I have been reading about a worrying trend for other companies like Disney to reduce their emphasis on DEI

Alexandra Stevens The show is casting Native American characters. It wouldn't make sense for them to hire an actor who is white, black or Latino to play these Native American characters.

Matthew Gross no it certainly wouldn't. I look forward to seeing it one day

This is an amazing opportunity Alexandra Stevens

Sandra Isabel Correia yes indeed!

I agree with everyone else. I always read the entire play/script multiple times. The first time, I just read it. The second time, highlight my lines and make note of anything other characters say about mine. Reading the entire script is the only way to gain insight about your character. Sometimes, there is information about your character in scenes you aren't even in. Even if you are only doing one scene from a play, you still must read the entire play not just the scene. Also, to Alexandra Stevens 's point, if you don't read the entire script how are you going to know the overall arch of your character? A character needs a superobjective. I don't think knowing beforehand what happens to your character changes the way you play that character. Knowing you die for example, has no bearing on what you want overall.

Actors should always read the entire screenplay, especially when they have starring roles. LOL. But when an actor or actress has one line in the script, especially then they should read the entire script, because if they do a line from another story, or if they come up with their own line of dialogue, they could blow the whole movie; they will never be hired again to do any movie in the future. So, yes, always read the entire screenplay, otherwise you might never work again. Of course, if you're the star and you haven't written the screenplay, then by all means do read the screenplay. LOL

I also tend to believe that it's necessary to read the whole script...and if you know your lines, then you have more freedom...but I don't know how things really are...maybe it would be good sometimes to be open to other ideas too...

This seems to me a little bit like those contradictions with few takes and many takes:

If I understood well, some directors say that the first takes are the best (the actor is fresh and things like that and after some takes he starts to get in some kind of routine and the performance is worse).

Other directors say that the actor must be in some way exhausted (and in this way, after many takes he will also will be more relaxed maybe and forget about all the preconceptions he had about the scene and all the other things that stop him from being truthful...in this way his performance would be better) and the directors who have these contradictions are directors who have a lot of experience.

Please say your opinion about this if you wish.

I think that both of these ideas could be true in some way and maybe it depends about other factors too...I don't really know...

Great share, Florin Şumălan! Thanks for sharing this. As someone who believes deeply in storytelling from every angle, I love this reminder that reading the entire script is about so much more than just learning lines, it’s about understanding your character’s place in the story, the emotional arcs, and the context that fuels authentic performance.

Florin Şumălan I could see how after many takes when one is tired one could give a better performance. I remember one rehearsal night when i had been ill during the day and I was tired and my defences were down and i gave a much more raw performance.

Ashley Renee Smith I absolutely lapped this up. So fascinating to hear about someone's acting process. Will comes across as humble and genuine. For example when he says all he had to do was react/respond as the other actor in Revenant gave such intense performances. Just responding and reacting is exactly what acting is about (as I understand) yet he downplays himself. What's great about him (from the video) is naturalness. No schmacting at all. Lots of other interesting parts to this video for example what he says about accents (help him get in role), use of tattoos to help him get in role and how highly he speaks of his colleagues, to name but a few.

Yes, exactly! I’m so glad you enjoyed it too, Alexandra Stevens. His humility and honesty about just responding to intense performances in The Revenant really struck me. It’s such a simple truth about acting, but the way he frames it shows a real respect for collaboration. I also loved what he said about accents and physicality (like tattoos) helping him access character. You can tell how deeply he thinks about every layer of a role without ever overcomplicating it.

I agree Matt. That's a good one.

Suzanne Bronson I love Meisner's book like you. I also like another classic which is Uta Hagen's "Respect for Acting'.. Other than books on technique, i enjoyed reading "This Is Just My Face' by Gabourey Sidibe about her life and her experience acting, She talks about the difficulty navigating fame as a black woman who doesn't fit the industry mold. I loved when she said "I didn't know how to act. I just knew how to be."

Alexandra Stevens I like Hagegen's book too. And there are a lot of gems in Stanislavsky's books. I have not read Sidbe's memoir, but I have read many actors. Michael Caine has two. I go to the libray and browse celebrity memoirs. That is another good way to learn about acting, reading the experience of others' Especially those from "old hollywood:."

The Lee Strasberg Notes - Lola Cohen

Building a Character - Stanislavsky

I really enjoyed Michael Caine’s book too! Great advice and very practical.

Those two books are fantastic! I'm also a big fan of Scott Sedita's The Eight Characters of Comedy.