Acting

Acting

Whether you’re an actor, voice actor, casting director or anyone else related to the profession of acting, this is the place to discuss, share content and offer advice and tips on technique, audition strategies, headshots and all other topics related to the sweet science of acting

Often the reason an actor may opt to transition to Financial Core is because they are struggling to find work.

The extra flexibility of pursuing nonunion gigs may mean the difference between making rent that month or not.

However, this choice is sometimes forced upon an actor after deciding to join...

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“The skills that make up a classical mime’s bag of tricks can be of tremendous use to any actor who may be called upon in a play to tell a story through gestures, to trick an audience into “seeing” something that isn’t there.

Imagine you are in a play, and your character has to come onstage as if wal...

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Imagine you are in a play, and your character has to come onstage as if walking in from a rainstorm. Even though you and your costume are completely dry, you can shrug out of your coat, shake imaginary water droplets from it, “dry” your face with a handkerchief and then use it to “mop up” the puddle by the door. All this is done “in mime,” because there never was any real water. But if done well, the audience would swear that there was.

Onstage, I’ve opened doors that weren’t really there, “flipped” a light switch that was painted onto a flat, been struck by an imaginary bullet, consumed non-existent coffee from imaginary cups and eaten an “air steak,” all in plays that are considered representational or realistic. In Pioneer Drama Service’s hit comedy Twinderella, a baseball game is enacted on stage without a ball! These are all examples of using the skills of pantomime within a regular play.

Keep it simple. Don’t “muddy the air” with meaningless movements. Finish one movement before going on to the next. Then be consistent. Once an imaginary object is established, make sure that it remains there until moved. If you set a “cup” down in one place, be sure to pick it up again in the same spot. Otherwise the audience will think there are two cups on the table. I’ve seen shows using imaginary doors where the doorknob magically moves up and down, depending on the height of the actors. Finally, there’s “the bump.” When you pick up a real cup, your fingers simply wrap around it. But with a mimed cup, you have to very slightly exaggerate the grasp, the lift, the setting down and the release. Don’t overdo the exaggeration, but think of it as a series of visual punctuation marks. This helps the audience recognize the moment of contact, the beginning of movement, the end of movement and the letting go.

Every actor can benefit from some training in pantomime.”

- Patrick Dorn, Acting Coach

#mime

Matthew Cornwell

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3 people like this
2 weeks ago

It's not a simple lawsuit, though I fully support it. And although other types of job boards may have a paywall for premium services, we're one of the few industries where we are PERPETUALLY looking f...

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One proposed solution is that Producers pay to keep services like AA and CN going, and keep it free for CDs AND for actors. Probably won't happen, though.

And regardless of the outcome, there's no need to make all breakdowns public-facing. If AA and the other sites suddenly went away, CDs would just be forced to collect the auditions "manually" from the agents. They wouldn't make breakdowns public-facing. They NEED the agents for the very reason you stated. It's a necessary step in the vetting process.

Ultimately, the problem is that these sites are milking actors sometimes for pennies, sometimes for lots of money. And it all adds up. Take AA specifically. The profile is free along with your first headshot, and if you have an agent and are only using the service that way (i.e. NOT self-submitting), then you can get by never paying them a cent.

UNTIL... you start hearing the marketing from AA itself (which unfortunately trickles down through agents, making them slightly culpable here). For example, AA will tell you "having media like a demo reel or clips attached to your profile will boost your auditions to the top of the results when submitting a self-tape." Then Gary Marsh created the useless SLATE SHOT, which again will "boost you to the top of the results". Problem is, video cost $22/min to upload, which presumably you'll be adding to and replacing clips every year, adding up to sometimes HUNDREDS of dollars per year.

And even though the 1st slate shot is FREE, there is fine print they like to obscure. Namely, once you switch out that primary headshot (also free) for a new one, the slate shot disappears. Now you have to pay to upload one.

And so Gary is scaring actors into paying him boatloads of money to boost their chances of being seen.

BUT, any CD will tell you it's hogwash. First, if they asked for your tape, they're going to watch it. Just because it might have been sorted to the bottom shouldn't mean anything. Second, the CDs can sort the submissions however they want. The default view will prioritize slate shots and clips/reels, but only utnil the CD changes the sorting to suit their needs. So now actors have paid money for these "advantages" that may be meaningless in most cases. Starts to feel sketchy at best.

Suzanne Bronson

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2 people like this
- Tom Lapke
- Maurice Vaughan
1 week ago

I appreciate the explanation Matthew Cornwell . It's reasurring to know that paying extra to upload the demo reel doesn't ultimately matter. I think one can just include a link to their webpage. This...

Ashley Renee Smith

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2 people like this
- Tom Lapke
- Matthew Cornwell
16 hours ago

Wow, thanks for sharing, Tom Lapke! And thank you for the additional insights, Matthew Cornwell!...

Maurice Vaughan

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1 person likes this
- Sam Sokolow
1 week ago

The article says Rock used bottles instead of going to the bathroom to save time, but he was so late to set, Pat Alexander. That doesn't make sense. And the article says, "In a statement to TheWrap, a...

Sam Sokolow

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
1 week ago

The Rock has been a true and reliant professional for decades. Maybe the studio is looking for injunctive relief. Will be super interesting to see how this shakes out.

Pat Alexander

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3 people like this
1 week ago

I thought it was amusing that one source said the Rock was so late they qualified for guild health insurance. Got those crewmembers some OT!

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
16 hours ago

I thought that was funny too, Pat Alexander!

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1 person likes this
- Tammy Hunt
6 days ago

Excellent advice and insight, Tammy Hunt! Thanks for sharing!

Sydney Summers

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2 people like this
- Tammy Hunt
- Maurice Vaughan
6 days ago

Wonderful :) Great advice and insight.

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2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Tammy Hunt
6 days ago

Invaluable advice - thank you, Tammy Hunt!

Omari Washington

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2 people like this
- Tammy Hunt
- Maurice Vaughan
3 days ago

Great advice!

Fantastic insights, Tammy Hunt! Thank you!

Great advice as always, Tammy Hunt! I particularly love- "Don’t get locked into your choices. In a callback, the director, producer, and creative team may have you take an adjustment and try the scene...

Michael David

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2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Sam Sokolow
4 months ago

I always wondered whether you were related to Alec!! Wow what great genes!

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2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Michael David
4 months ago

Thanks, Michael David - all credit to our mom and dad :)

Brentavian L. Smith

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2 people like this
- Sam Sokolow
- Maurice Vaughan
1 month ago

I Love The Toy Story Franchise And Disney !!!

Philipp Kirchmayr

22 hours ago

agr

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Wendy Kay

Thank you for sharing this cool tip!

Terrence Sellers

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2 people like this
- Susanne Palm
- Maurice Vaughan
2 weeks ago

Susanne Palm are you still based in Taiwan? I've lived there for 10 years.

Susanne Palm

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2 people like this
- Terrence Sellers
- Maurice Vaughan
2 weeks ago

Hi Terrence! Yes, I live in Taiwan. Maybe we have friends in common? :)

Hi again Terrence! I just checked your Facebook and we have friends in common. Just connected with you here on Stage 32.

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2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Susanne Palm
5 days ago

Susanne Palm I just accepted your connection request.

Laurie Woodward

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3 people like this
1 month ago

Congratulations!

Louise Hansen

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2 people like this
- Omari Washington
- Maurice Vaughan
1 month ago

Thank you for the inspiration!

Loren E Chadima

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
1 month ago

Just saw this! Congratulations Omari!! This s great.

Russell Peterson

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
7 days ago

That is great news Omari! Sometimes we get encouragement vicariously through another's success.

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
6 days ago

Go Omari!!!!

Great advice, Tammy Hunt! Should a voice over demo reel be a video or audio file?

Thank you Tammy

Thaks for the share, Tammy Hunt!

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4 people like this
2 weeks ago

it’s fair game for them to ask and to highlight their contributions IMO. Given their deal was with Artisan and they are now asking Lionsgate for retroactive participation may be tough legally. Will be...

I agree with Sam. I think it's a fair ask considering the actors are essentially the writers and used their own names. I'm not sure they can get retroactive pay, but they definitely ought to be paid f...

3 weeks ago

Great question, Amanda Toney!

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
2 weeks ago

Ironically enough, I've noticed a decrease in breakdowns on casting sites

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