A Shout-out

There’s so much theatre going on in London that it’s impossible to get to see everything but there are two shows in their final week/s which I think would be worth catching if you can.

Baby/Lon is a show I haven’t seen but I’m giving it a mention because I read about the company and the work they’re doing and because they seem to be creating pretty phenomenal theatre at the moment. The Big House Theatre Company only formed last year and works with young people who have been in care, giving them a platform and a voice to tell their (often harrowing) stories. Maggie Norris, founder member and artistic director has worked with ex-offenders and young people at risk of crime and uses theatre as a place for them to come together to work as a team, developing communication skills, confidence and faciliating personal growth and a sense of trust that often, due to their backgrounds, these young people don’t have. In short, she uses her powers for good and understands that theatre can effect huge personal and social change for the better.

Theatre engages the individual in a collaborative context, developing positive feelings of self esteem, mastery and control.  We believe that art can be transformative and theatre can help people develop emotional literacy. Our members go on an intensive journey of personal discovery which enables them to communicate with others in a profoundly positive way effecting a psychological, emotional and social change.

Baby/Lon finishes it’s run at Hackney Downs Studios this Saturday 3rd May with an extra evening show to accomodate demand for tickets. The reviews have been incredible with special mention made of these talented young people, none of whom are trained actors or writers. Expect raw, visceral storytelling at its most powerful.

Little Bulb Theatre has won numerous awards since its debut performance of Crocosmia at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008 and they’ve been steadily gaining a fantastic reputation for devised shows that are completely off-the-wall and imaginative. It’s hard to describe a Little Bulb show – I’ve seen 2 now and they’re so different and unique in their storytelling, often using live, “home-made” music and a lot of physicality in the shows they devise. I have even seen them using Battenburg cake as  a “puppet”! Their current show, Orpheus (a co-production with BAC) has about 3 weeks left at the BAC, where the grand hall has been transformed into a 1930’s Parisian nightclub. There are tables with wine and candles and through the music of Django Reinhardt, jazz, opera and French Chanson, the Greek story of Orpheus is told. It’s funny, moving and just incredibly joyful. You can’t help but have a good night out at a Little Bulb show. Check out some of the audiences’ response here. Having seen it a few weeks’ back, I would add my own hearty shout-out to the well-founded cheers.

Speedy Scene Prep Work

Why is it that whenever I seem to be at my busiest and I don’t think I could possibly fit anything more into my schedule, a last-min audition requiring lots of prep work suddenly comes in? I can go for months when all is quiet and I don’t hear a peep from my agent but the moment I’m running around trying to get everything done, I get an email through with an audition that seems to require me to play instruments, sing, read several scripts, prepare scenes from said scripts and oh, could I possibly prepare a suitable monolgue just in case….?! And it’s those types of auditions that generally give very little notice as well. Grrrr.

In the middle of a week that has included beginning filming scenes for my showreel and all the work involved for that, plus renovations fully under way on our bathroom and the comings and goings of various tradesmen (not to mention working in my reception job), I’ve now got an audition tomorrow for a rep season of 3 plays AND I’ve still got scenes to learn for another day’s showreel filming this weekend. I feel like time is running out and I’m woefully under-prepared! Eek!!

In an attempt to offset my internal panic button I am turning to the trusty advice of one Nancy Bishop who’s book – Secrets from the Casting Couch I read very recently. Below are her top tips for working on a scene quickly. She calls it “Establishing the Facts: The 5 “W” Questions. They are:

1) Who am I?

2) Where am I?

3) Who am I talking to?

4) What do I want?

5) Where does the scene change?

If you only have the scene to work from and haven’t read the rest of the script then glean as many clues as possible from the scene. What’s the page number? If the numbers are low, this might be the first scene that your character is introduced to an audience. Higher numbers will mean you’re at a different point in the story. You won’t neccessarily have all the info at your disposal so will have to make some of it up yourself. Try to recreate in your imagination the surroundings of the scene and what may have happened previously. Make strong choices.

Ask yourself – “Does the scene take place indoors or outdoors? Are there people around or are we in private? Do I like the person I’m talking to? Do I trust them? What do I want from them? How do I want to make them feel? What’s at stake? (try to make the stakes as high as possible)”.

Once you’ve asked all the relevant questions, established the key facts and filled in any blanks with your own imagination/acting choices, the key is to listen and react to what is said to you. We, as an audience, need to see any information you receive “landing” on your face and your thoughts reflected in your eyes.

Top Tip: Because the eyes really are the windows of the soul, do everything you can to allow a director/casting director to see them. Whenever possible, learn the lines and the scene as thoroughly as you can. That way you won’t be tied to looking down at the script. If you do have to look at the script, try to develop a technique where you can look at a line, quickly memorise it and then look up to deliver it before looking down to the next line. For TV/film auditions in particular, try to resist the urge to look down when the other person is speaking. Your reaction to what they’ve just said is what the caster/director wants to see.

Another Top Tip: When you feel the panic mounting, TAKE A DEEP, SLOW BREATH through the nose. That always helps in my case.

What top tips do you have to stem any mounting panic?

HOTP (Hot off the Press) #1

As a follow-up to last week’s blog on USP, I spotted this class at The Actors’ Guild in May. It’s £30 for 3 hours and you’ll need to join up if you want to book any of their classes. Check them out here.

Know Your USP Led by Actor and Peak Performance Coach Jim Alexander

LONDON

Date: Wednesday May 21st 2014
Location: Actors’ Guild Hub, Spotlight, 7 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7RJ
Time: 18.00 – 21.00. This 3 hour workshop is specifically designed for actors who want to uncover their unique selling point.

And another thing….last Tues at 10am I tried to log in to the Old Vic website to buy newly-released tickets for Kevin Spacey’s one man show – Clarence Darrow. As suspected, demand was high and I was informed that I was in a queue to book tickets and was 2,067th in line!!! Hours passed and I was still about 909th in the queue when a friend phoned to say that he’d finally worked his way through the queue and gotten onto the site but it wouldn’t allow him to buy tickets. We both assumed it must be completely sold out for its limited run. HOWEVER, I was just on their site trying to find out about day seats and it’s not sold out. I’ve just managed (over a week after going on sale) to get 2 tickets to see it in June. I’m telling you folks….there ARE tickets available. So check it out quick-smart!

Your USP

Trying to pick the right material for my showreel has thrown up the question of how I want to market myself. What’s my USP?

Your USP (Unique Selling Point, sometimes called Unique Selling Potential) is what makes you different from everyone else and that might include the wonderfully crooked nose and wonky teeth you’ve always wanted to get rid of. A lot of directors love the authenticity that perhaps a craggy face can bring to a role, so before you opt for surgery, a nose job or serious dental work, think carefully about whether it could actually harm your castability.

Acting is one of those professions that is almost openly discriminatory. If you are an artist in any other field – a sculpter, a musician or a poet for example, it doesn’t really matter what you look like. The work should speak for itself. But as an actor, your work is you. Your essence and what you look like plays a major factor. It’s not just about society’s idea of beauty, although it helps if you’re photogenic if you want to play certain romantic leads. But even for those character parts, if you’re fair-haired, you’re not really going to get put up for Italian American “goodfellas-type” roles. 

There are always exceptions – Barbara Streisand (thanks to her immense talent), became a leading lady despite some people’s prejudice against her looks. And it’s always refreshing when someone known for playing certain types of roles breaks out of that typecasting thanks to a director or casting director’s leap of faith and imagination. But until that happens, until you have a body of work behind you, embrace what makes you you and market that in as effective-a-way as possible.  

So this is also a gentle reminder to myself that however much I would love to look like Cate Blanchett, the fact is, I don’t. I have to start looking at what it is that I have to offer in terms of my appearance and my qualities. To do this means casting an objective eye over myself, trying to work out the kind of roles I am likely to be cast in and there are some ways of doing this that are better than others.

The least effective (for me) was to start obsessively poring over headshots, photos and any footage containing myself in action – a narcissistic process guaranteed to make me feel bad about myself and one that usually ended in wailing and tears  – “why can’t my nose be prettier, my teeth straighter, my hair fuller?!”

A better approach would be to ask trusted actor friends to name some well-known actors that you are similar to in type, looks and playing-range. Pick people who will be honest with you (and try not to be angry with them if you’re secretly hoping they’ll say Jennifer Lawrence or George Clooney and they don’t!)

An even better approach is to get a completely objective viewpoint from people who don’t know you at all. Some databases like CCP will let you put up your headshot and showreel on their forum page for other CCP members to give feedback on. You can ask – “What roles would you put me up for – lawyer, teacher, young mum, barrister etc? What would you judge my playing-range to be from this photo? Do I come across as warm and approachable or aloof and mysterious?” See what comments come back. Everything is subjective but is there a common theme in your feedback?

Various casting directors also hold workshops where they will look at your CV and marketing material and give you an honest appraisal. You have to pay for the workshops but at least, as well as getting feedback, you get to meet a casting director.

A number of years ago I did a very good workshop with Chrys Salt at the Actor’s Centre which focussed on each group member’s USP. On the first day we had to guess each other’s age and playing-range and say what “type” each of us came across as. Our task over the proceeding weeks was to go away armed with what “type” we were and to find 5 monologues/speeches suited to that type. We then read or performed the speeches in front of each other and one speech would generally stand out as being a better “fit” for our qualities than the others. After selecting our best piece and under Chrys’ direction, we each performed our individual monolgues as part of a showcase in front of an invited audience. I think she still runs the course which had the wonderful title –  I Was Brilliant in the Bedroom. At the very least, each actor walked away with some new material suited to their qualities.

Which brings me to the issue of the class system….We may not like it, but “class” still permeates British casting as highlighted by shows such as Downton Abbey. By your voice, looks and manner, are you likely to be cast as someone working in the kitchens or as Lord so-and-so or Lady such-and-such. Some actors (Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins spring to mind) can bridge both worlds so don’t worry if it’s not all that obvious. How are you perceived in terms of your class? It’s certainly something to think about…

Show Me What You Got

I’m in the process of trying to get a showreel together. A showreel is an essential part of an actor’s marketing campaign and should accurately reflect you as an actor and your playing range/skills. Getting a good reel edited together can be tricky, especially if you haven’t done much filming.

In my case, most of my acting experience has been in theatre. I have played lead roles in commercials and short films but either the material is now quite old and dated and not really representative of me today, or, more frustratingly, I’ve never received a copy of the film/commercial despite numerous requests to the film/production company.  So I’m trying to make a showreel pretty much from scratch.

In the UK, the general cost of producing a showreel from scratch is in the region of £600. The companies provide the written material or basic stock scenes for an actor to play and then it’s filmed and edited into a showreel format. If you already have footage of yourself from any TV series or film and it’s of a high production quality, then it’s simply a matter of editing together the scenes that show you and your ability in the best possible light. The cost for editing existing footage is much cheaper than filming a showreel from scratch and organisations like Spotlight will edit some of your material together for a small fee. I would say, however, that a good editor can really make a difference in the way a showreel (and you as an actor) are presented. So do some research. 

I haven’t got a spare £600 at the moment so I’m enlisting the help of a friend with a decent camera to help me write and film some scenes. The aim is to produce a few short scenes that look as if they’ve been taken from a drama series or an indie film. If a casting director doesn’t know your work and you’re wanting them to take a chance and audition you for TV or film when perhaps you don’t have a lot of experience in that field, it will really help for them to see you in something that looks as if it’s been properly and professionally produced. That also means making sure that the other actor(s) in the scene with you are good as well. Although, in any scene you shoot/show, make sure that you are the one driving the scene or at least are more featured. You don’t want them casting your co-star instead of you!

I’m still doing some research but here is some advice I’ve gleaned from marketing seminars, advice sessions from various casting directors and by reading books such as Secrets from the Casting Couch by Nancy Bishop, which is an excellent read full of useful info.

TOP TIPS:  

• Keep reels SHORT! If it’s more than 2-3 mins long, it probably won’t be watched to the end. Get right to the meat of the scene so that casting directors can see you in the best light possible, as quickly as possible. (For that reason, I would say that casters prefer showreels that don’t have the montage at the beginning. If you’re keen to have a montage of all your clips with music, then you could always put it on at the end).
• A showreel should be available at the touch of a button, 24/7, so get it online (vimeo, youtube etc). It should also be on your spotlight page, website and any other databases you use.
• A showreel should reflect the types of roles you would be suitable for. That includes roles you want to play but be realistic – if you’re keen to play hardman types but don’t really have the physique, picks roles that highlight your castability. Even if you start off getting typecast at least you’ll be getting cast! Once you’re working in the industry you’ll have more chance to break any pigeonholing and expand your playing range.
• Edit the showreel as much as possible to make the focus on you. Try and vary the scenes to create more interest. E.g. a fast paced scene followed by a slower paced one.
• Make sure the sound, lighting and production values are as professional as possible. You don’t want a good acting reel to be let down by poor sound/lighting quality.
• Include contact info – it might be useful to have your name and website/agent at the start of the showreel as well as at the end. Make it as easy as possible for a potential employer to know who you are, remember you and to contact you. 
• If you don’t have a lot of experience in front of the camera, aim to get as much as you can by doing selected student/low budget films, taking film acting classes or even getting together with trusted, like-minded actor friends, borrowing (or buying) a camera between you and meeting regularly to practise. That way, if your showreel has the desired effect and you get called in for a casting, you’re more likely to feel prepared and relaxed in front of the lens and therefore more likely to get the job. So keep practising.