All victories large or small are to be celebrated!!
It’s
the last day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and it’s time for us to celebrate! The month passed so quickly and I am reminded
that we can do anything we say we can do with commitment and accountability.
I’d
like to thank everyone who left a comment on my blog. I’ve enjoyed reading the
blogs of my fellow UBCers and have become a fan of a few. I hope to continue to
be enlightened, educated and entertained by those whom I will continue to
follow. Please do the same. Re-visit my
blog from time to time, Like/Friend me
on facebook, Follow me on twitter & Instagram and by all means check out
the Ask A Stage Goddess series on YouTube if you know anyone pursuing a career
in show business.
I
love the diversity of this group and no matter what your area of expertise,
remember:
Congratulations for getting
one step closer to booking that job! We’ve talked a lot about clothes and the
video below addresses why you should go in looking exactly the way you did for
the first audition so let’s talk about the process.
If you ever get a script
before an audition, read it! It gives you so much more to work with and a
clearer picture of how your character helps to tell this story. Read your sides
over including stage directions for more clues on how to enhance your character.
Like I’ve said before now is not the time to come up with something completely brand
new from your first audition but sometimes little subtleties can make a big
difference. Make strong choices and also be able to make adjustments. The team
wants to know that you can hold your own and take direction.
In the waiting room stay
focused and avoid small talk with your fellow actors until after the audition.
You’ll be to notice the same faces from audition to audition. You become
friends with your peers over the years, however now is not the time for a
reunion party. It is rude to those in the room and a distraction from what you
are there to accomplish.
There are often a lot more
people in the room at the callback. Producers, writers and of course the director.
It is very serious business. This is not the time to chit chat, showoff or be
cute (as my mom would say). The casting director will probably read with you
and you may notice that they are more serious at this level. You’re trying to
get a job and they’re trying to keep theirs. Remember they want you to succeed
and even if you don’t book, they look good if you “do good”.
Stay focused, do your research
and be prepared.
Try to be unattached to the
outcome. Do your best and move on.
Here is one of the headshots
from my most recent photo shoot a few weeks ago. I, like many actors, do not
even really enjoy this part of our job. Unlike models I hear who absolutely
love it! Maybe because they are getting paid. Actors hope to land a job as a
result of having good headshots.It is
probably the most important tool of the trade. At the very least it will get us
in the door.
I went through my closet and
pulled out a lot of different “looks”. You really only need to be concerned
with tops: shirts, blouses, jackets, sweaters, etc. since we only see the upper
part of your body for headshots. (I must note that the pink I am wearing in
this photo and the video is a dress). I was going for colors that look good on
me, bright and colorful for commercials and darker colors for the more dramatic
look for TV and film. The photographer helped me choose my wardrobe, he knew
exactly what backdrop to use for each look. He is also phenomenal at lighting
for Black actors which is important and not to be taken for granted.
Let’s talk about hair and make
up for a minute. For the men, if you are an actor, you should already be
familiar and comfortable wearing make up for the camera, so you might want to
put on a little powder to help keep down the shine. Ladies, I heard an amazing
tip recently. DO NOT hire a hair stylist and make up artist for your photo
shoot!! Why? Because you are the one who will be doing your own hair and make
up for every audition. The last thing you want to do is submit a photo that
doesn’t look like you when you walk into the audition room. You can definitely
style your hair differently in your photos and change up the make up for a
specific look if necessary. The more natural the better.
Get a good night’s rest, be
one time and be prepared…Camera Ready! I like to listen to music during the shoot,
it relaxes me and gets me into character. So load up that playlist on your
iPhone and have fun!!
Today's Ask A Stage Goddess video was inspired by a question
that I answered in my Carlease's Bits n Pieces monthly ezine. I've re-posted it here exactly as it was
published in July 2010.
Dear Stage Goddess,
I once had a promising theatrical career but got sidetracked with work and
taking care of my family. Now I feel I'm too old to get back in the game.
As a mature woman making it in this business, what are your thoughts?
~ Is
it too late baby?
Dear
Too Late,
To
quote the title of one of my favorite childhood movies, It's Never Too Late.
The motto of Ask Stage Goddess is: Be A Star Where You Are. I know for a
fact you are still keeping those creative juices flowing because I see (and
hear) you singing in the choir at church, but as far as your professional
acting career, it's there waiting for you whenever you decide to make that
move. There are roles out there for everyone in all mediums of this
business. If you have time, maybe do a play to start working those acting
muscles again. Since you've been away for a while make sure you are current
on how things are done now as far as electronic submissions, promoting yourself
on the web, social networking, color photos, etc.
Within
the past two months, I have been placed in a caregiver situation for my mother
due to her involvement in a car accident. One of my biggest concerns is how to
care for her 3,000 miles away from my career in California. I may have to
take a little break from the industry and that makes me feel quite
uneasy. My career is going quite well right now. I just got
accepted into Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the Emmy people), got
a new voice over agent, and am building my star list of clients for Ask Stage
Goddess. It feels like this is the worst time for something like this to
happen, but I know my Mom's care has to come first. As my agents and managers
have told me, we'll be right here when you get back.
"How can we miss you if you never go away?"
~Unknown
As
you read the sides for your audition you will notice that the stage
directions may indicate that your character has a prop of some kind. It
could be a telephone, a pen, a clipboard, a cigarette, a watch, a water bottle,
a purse and the list goes on. I am often asked how to handle these props while
auditioning. You don’t have to use props at all, however it may make sense to do
so or add another layer to your audition. I say, use a prop if it’s natural to
do so and it doesn’t get in the way. For example, as I demonstrated in the
video I used my sides to indicate that I was reading a magazine in a waiting
room. Now if I had tried to use an actual magazine and had the script, it would
have been cumbersome and distracting.I
have seen actors use an actual magazine with their sides tucked in between the
pages. That could also work. And if you had your scene completely memorized,
you could actually flip through the pages while speaking your lines and have a
very real moment in the scene. We do that all the time don’t we? While we’re on
the subject, I would just like to say that I don’t necessarily think that you
must have your lines memorized for an audition. Yes, you should be extremely
familiar with the dialogue and just have the script in hand in case you go up
on a line. You want to be able to glance down at the page and keep going.
Forgetting a line can completely throw you off and often it’s not easy to
recover. If you only get one chance at the audition most likely that would be
the one awkward moment both you and the people you audition for will remember.
I
suggest you work with props as you rehearse the scene so that it will be smooth
and natural in the audition room. You don’t want to be upstaged by a clipboard.
sides – the individual pages for a
particular character to work on for an audition; also referred to as the script
although not in its entirety.
stage directions - an instruction in the text
of a script, describing the movement, position, or tone of an actor
