Kazz Lewsader's Lounge Discussions

Awesome!!!

welcome

Very nice!

Without knowing all the strategic details, then, I'd say that Geoff's advice is very good, and I'd recommend that you pick something that connects closely with who you are, or at least the basic persona that you want to develop as an actor. Something that expresses you. If you do a duckduckgo or google search for monologues, of course, you'll find various examples. Local library or bookstore should have at least one book of monologues. Read through them and see what resonates with you. Also -- if there are any plays that have really affected you, there may be some speech you could make your own. Same with a movie, although getting the text may be harder -- although you could just watch and memorize. This is a really personal decision, but I think opening your heart and mind and seeing which one of a bunch of good material comes through might work. And if you have two or three choices, learn all of them. I would also say that advice from others is all well and good, but, "to thine own self be true," as one of the great busybody know-it-alls said. :)

PS I also agree with Emily -- whose post, yeah, weirdly didn't appear before - betrayal can be good. (For a monologue.)

Thank you dear friends for your valuable suggestions and loved it...

Did you try to write your own?

One of my coaches, Joe Salazar, is a writer. If you contact him, he'll meet with you, then write a monologue specifically for your brand and type. He's very reasonably priced. Mention you know me from Stage 32. Here's Joes contact info: http://www.theactorscompanyla.com/

I am fortunate enough to have a boss and coworkers that completely support my acting career. Because of where I live, I have to travel far when I book a job or audition. Communication is key in any job so just make sure that when you ask for time off, have a solution ready to go to show that you are responsible. If you have that down, the rest is gravy. Good luck!!

MOST actors have day (or night jobs, such as bartending) jobs to support themselves between gigs...

A difficult balancing act. Where are you in your journey in life? Why are your current needs besides shelter, money and food? What are you willing to forego to have the flexibility to leave for an audition at a moments notice? If you land the part, what kind of jobs are going to be okay with you leaving for a few days, week, month?

I'm in an office job. I've used my vacation days for background and part time work. My boss saw me on TV recently and cant stop talking about how awesome it was. That may help me take off in the future. Being honest and upfront has made a difference on that. I would love more flexibility, but so far so good. I plan on acting classes which will require me leaving early one day a week after the first of the year, hopefully he'll be supportive of it also

I am a Deputy Director for the Federal Government. I supervise a staff of 21 people and my Secretary cannot even keep up with managing my calendar. It's definately a balancing act for me to work my day job and try and audition for gigs. I have been on this path for about three years now of trying to transition from the Federal Government to Acting. Believe it or not, there are quite a few of us at the Senior Leadership level that are trying to make the transition. The love of our craft and dedication is what keeps us on this path. Good luck to everyone, Acting is a life long journey!

Check out voices.com brilliant site

Thank You Very Much Leila, I will most definitely check it out. Have an extraordinary week

As for making a demo reel, I use to volunteer for a company who solicited projects that needed vo artists but couldn't pay them. It was great practice for me and I was able to use the clips for my reel. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the organization. Maybe you could find it by Googling.

You could try Voice Acting Alliance and Voice Acting Club. Nothing professional, mostly fandubs and audio plays, but they're still good sites to find VO work.

Shoot me your email address and I'll get you a ton of info. bzthevoice@gmail.com Peace.

As a non-actor, my suggestion would be 'do what they want' From what I've seen and also heard from actor friends, whoever is doing the casting will have something particular in mind. When in doubt, ask. And yes, I understand that a self taped reel takes time and so cannot be produced instantly. But the actors I know who have taped auditions have always had the sides supplied by those doing the casting.

On the other hand, see #2 here (from another Stage 32 post on acting). http://blog.castingnetworks.com/8481/

Good advice, Phil. I have actually broken my reel into 3 different clips. I select and attach the most appropriate one to each audition submission.

Get it professionally done. A demo reel is the only thing casting directors can see until you are actually in the room. If it is unprofessional, it screams "amateur". Also, so much is done online now that decisions are often made from the reel. What is also changing is that cd's are not even watching entire clips. They often only want to see 15-30 seconds of an appropriate scene, like Kazz wrote. Be patient and wait until you have good material, and then use it.

Erin - one other thought. Before you integrate material into your reel, you might consider letting other people, actor friends, take a look. (As a writer, I trade material for comments with other writers I know from time to time. And it often works.)

Tom Hanks had to AUDITION???

This is a great discussion. There are so many of us Non-Union folk aspiring to do good work or at least the opportunity to o so. There just doesn't seem to be a book that tells you how to get started. Or is there?

Very interesting. I was curious when, as a writer, it'd be the best time to be pitching pilots. Do people start acquiring pilot scripts over the summer for this pitch season?

I suggest studying with Stan Kirsch Studios. They specialize in pilot audititioning. http://stankirschstudios.com/

Hey...I'm from St. Louis too but not in LA. Keep me posted on how you are doing out there and if you need anything let me know! I work for the airlines so I'm flying to LA all the time. Break a leg!

BTW...I agree about needing an agent. I got my agent because I am studying with Stan Kirsch Studios.

Hey Karen! I'm an LA transplant in Tucson for awhile! We should connect! ;-)

Teehee...let me change that to "gentle actor." Thanks, John.