This might be one of our top 10 biggest questions: “𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦?” The TLDR version? 𝗡𝗼, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁. Remember: you are (probably) already paying for an acting website that houses all of your materials (Actor’s Access). And we are primarily going to be viewing your materials via Actor’s Access alone (it’s Breakdown Services for us). Unfortunately, AA does charge by the minute (we truly wish this was not the case), …
Listen up—today’s #mondaymythdebunker is an important one: The notion of “following rules” isn’t to be confused with following the directions that casting gives you for an audition or self tape: Please always, always, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 READ everything and follow those directions to a tee. What we’re referring to is the “rules” of the industry. We’re not talking about SAG rules or employment rules or the law. We’re talking about INDUSTRY rules. …
Let’s call this one exactly what it is… A big. Fat. 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we want you to be human first and actor second. For many of you, acting comes 4th or 5th in your life. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙊𝙆. Acting does NOT need to be your #1 priority or focus in life in order to have a successful acting career 🤯 It IS possible …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …