Monday Myth Debunkers Archives - Page 4 of 9

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Need to Give Them the Take They Are Looking For.

September 30, 2022August 16, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Let’s start of by asking this:⁠ ⁠ 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕗 𝕨𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖’𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣?⁠ ⁠ That’s not to be confused with the notion that doing the work, having strong text analysis skills and using the information we give you to make smart choices is NOT the way to go. ⁠ ⁠ What we want you to take away is this:⁠ ⁠ Don’t give us the take you think we want to see. 𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 …

Monday Myth Debunkers: We Need to See the Types of Characters You Can Play.

September 30, 2022August 9, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

When crafting your reel, what criteria comes to mind?⁠ ⁠ Showing us the best of the best, most likely, and also making sure you’re showing enough range. ⁠ ⁠ But what exactly do we mean by “range?”⁠ ⁠ A range of characters? Range of emotion?⁠ ⁠ We sort of mean both. The range of 𝗬𝗢𝗨 and your ability as an actor.⁠ ⁠ But what we don’t mean, is a digital pie chart of characters you could play. ⁠ ⁠ You …

Monday Myth Debunkers: Breakdowns Don’t Matter.

October 3, 2022August 2, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴅᴏ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋᴅᴏᴡɴꜱ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ?⁠ ⁠ Before we release a breakdown, we always have a thorough, in-depth discussion with the creative team in order to narrow down certain traits as we go through a sea of thousands of submissions. We try to get as specific as possible in the discussion (even if we don’t end up listing all these details in the breakdown)⁠ ⁠ Generally speaking, we try and put the most important requirements of the role in the …

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Need A Stage Name.

October 3, 2022July 12, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Do you NEED a stage name? SHOULD you change your name?⁠ ⁠ Does your name correlate with the auditions you get and jobs you book?⁠ ⁠ For the most part, we’d say the answer is a resounding “NO” to most of these…⁠ ⁠ With one exception. ⁠ ⁠ The only time you might want to consider a SIMPLE name change (or even just addition of your middle name) is if someone already has your first & last name in the …

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Have to Keep Them Entertained.

October 3, 2022June 28, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Actors: Let’s talk about the constant struggle to stay authentic and present while being cluttered by thoughts of keeping us “entertained.”⁠ ⁠ We hear a lot of:⁠ ⁠ “I know they watch so many tapes, I don’t want to bore them.”⁠ ⁠ “You have to grab them within the first few seconds.”⁠ ⁠ “The camera is always on you”⁠ ⁠ Which then turns into…⁠ ⁠ ACTING. ⁠ ⁠ Acting and not… REACTING. Which of course (all you highly trained actors, …

Monday Myth Debunkers: Self Tapes Don’t Belong in Your Reel.

October 3, 2022June 21, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Buckle up for this one folks… because we feel strongly that this is nothing but a grade-A #myth. First of all, regardless of what anyone tells you, there are no rules when it comes to your demo reel. CSA and SAG-AFTRA do NOT have a set rules as to what can and cannot be in your demo reel. 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. There is no “list” that CDs have come up with that they adhere to when watching your reel. Anyone who …

Monday Myth Debunkers: The More Agents, The Better.

October 3, 2022June 14, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Today’s #MondayMythDebunker specifically refers to theatrical agents in the same (smaller) market, as theatrical agents in bigger markets like LA & NY most likely will practice exclusivity for their clients. ⁠ ⁠ More is better, right?⁠ ⁠ As with most things in this industry—𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺. ⁠ ⁠ YES, many agencies in smaller markets will allow you to have more than one agent, especially if the region is further out from their local market—but is it the best choice?⁠ ⁠ That …

Monday Myth Debunker – The Production Value in a Self Tape isn’t Important.

May 24, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Buckle up, today’s #mondaymythdebunker is a controversial one! Member the good old days when you’d walk into a casting office and the room was equipped with everything needed to achieve the perfectly recorded tape? Well (currently) we’ve traded in-person auditioning with self taping/virtual casting so in a sense, we’ve passed the producing torch to you. That’s right—in the land of self tapes 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚎𝚛. 𝘎𝘶𝘭𝘱. We know it’s a lot. And we are …

Monday Myth Debunkers: An Unsolicited Self Tape is Better Than Nothing.

October 3, 2022May 17, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

…is it though? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬?⁠ ⁠ An unsolicited self tape refers to a self-taped audition that is submitted to a casting office without that office actually requesting one. ⁠ ⁠ How do actors even get the information for an unsolicited self tape?⁠ ⁠ A couple of different ways. But usually it’s either:⁠ ⁠ ① Their agent sent them the instructions to tape without telling them it was unsolicited.⁠ ⁠ ② They got the information from a friend who …

Monday Myth Debunkers: The More Headshots the Better.

October 3, 2022May 10, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Double-tap if you’ve ever been told you need more “looks” on your AA profile. ⁠ ⁠ When actors are feeling stuck, often their first thought is their headshots. ⁠ ⁠ But why is there so much 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 put on an actor’s headshot?⁠ ⁠ Sure, it’s the first thing we see.⁠ ⁠ But is it ultimately the thing that gets an actor an audition—and most importantly, a booking?⁠ ⁠ 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵.⁠ ⁠ When you’re feeling stuck and discouraged, remember that your …