Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop
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Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop Workshop
That's it.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Quickpost 7
12-13 September
Yesterday, I contacted an acting coach, recommended by my agent. I have my first session with her Friday next. I am very excited!
I've also started working on a scene from Rachel Getting Married with a bit that lends itself as a monologue. I've done a first analysis of the text and it's quite fun!
I'm also back on doing my GenAm practice sentences and reading out loud in that accent.
More work has been done for the NZAG/Peter Feeney workshop in October. It's getting really exciting! Wish us luck that we book out!
Have I mentioned that I have my first audition of sorts in months tomorrow afternoon? Yay!
Yesterday, I contacted an acting coach, recommended by my agent. I have my first session with her Friday next. I am very excited!
I've also started working on a scene from Rachel Getting Married with a bit that lends itself as a monologue. I've done a first analysis of the text and it's quite fun!
I'm also back on doing my GenAm practice sentences and reading out loud in that accent.
More work has been done for the NZAG/Peter Feeney workshop in October. It's getting really exciting! Wish us luck that we book out!
Have I mentioned that I have my first audition of sorts in months tomorrow afternoon? Yay!
Monday, 12 September 2011
Acting class with Micheal Caine
I love Youtube. Where else you watch an acting workshop with Michael Cane from 1987?
Here are some of Michael Caine's wisdoms on movie acting from that workshop:
“Once
you’re in front of that camera NOBODY exists, nobody except the other
person in the scene. And what we do, we actors who are in the movie, we
hang onto each other’s eyes. That’s the most important thing in film.
Eyes. Eyes.“
On relaxing in front of the camera: “You know that you have no enemies. Everybody is on your side.”
“The
camera is like a belt or a net behind you. And someone saying, someone
standing behind you and saying, ‘Look, you can relax, it’s okay. You
don’t have to push it…’ . Just relax and let it come out.”
“If
you’re going to do action and movement, plan it absolutely perfectly,
so you do it exactly the same over and over again. You can change your
performance but you cannot change the action. Otherwise the close-up,
the medium shot and the master shot do not match.”
“You
cannot bluff [the camera]… you need to do nothing but you must feel,
you must look and you must listen because she will see everything you
do. She’ll pick it up and you don’t have to throw it to her. And she
will love you even though you ignore her for the rest of your life.”
“In movies the camera is always your best friend.”
“You
see, everybody is there to get the greatest performance from you that
you’ve ever given. Everyone will help. The electrician up there, he will
go scrambling along there and get that light absolutely right, so that
there is glint in your eye. Everything is done for you, to help you do
it right because it’s bloody difficult and everyone knows it.”
Wanna watch the workshop? No problem:
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Lira Kellerman in Home At Last
My blogger friend Lira Kellerman who writes the witty, highly informative and truly lovable blog The Struggling Actress is staring in the new webseries, Home at Last! Out soon. I am very much looking forward to watching!
Check out the trailer here
Quickpost 6
10-11 September
Again, over the weekend my actual actor exercises had to take a back seat. I have done a lot of reading though; some more of Bonnie Gillespie's Self-Management for Actors and I've discovered, thanks to my actor friend Richard Whiteside, the amazing Larry Moss' The Intent to Live.
Watch this if you don't believe the amazing bit:
You know how
some teachers and some methods speak to you? It has been like this for
me with Meisner. I just like, I get it. It's the same with what Larry
Moss teaches. Only that I feel even stronger about his ideas. He draws
from the Meisner technique but also adds other elements like the strong
text analysis teachers like Stella Adler emphasised. I'm really excited
to delve into the exercises in Moss' book!
The main
reason I haven't been able to be diligent with my acting exercises this
week is that I worked very hard to get a workshop for the NZ Actors'
Guild off the ground. I am very pleased to announce that we will hold a
Branding for Actors Workshop in early October taught by the ever awesome
Peter Feeney!
It was my first time organising an event like this and I really hope it's a success. The lovely actress/publicist Brianne Kerr is
doing the publicity for the workshop, so with that and the fact that
the workshop is going to ROCK, I have no doubt that places will sell
like hot cakes!
I also
have my first meeting about another very cool event presented by the
NZAG first thing tomorrow. Back to the acting regiment right after!
Thursday, 8 September 2011
The Kid In The Front Row Film Questionaire
I don't do questionnaires, usually but the Kid is pretty darn great, so here goes:
1. What film has been sitting on your shelf for six months waiting to be watched?
Frozen River - I know I'm going to be devastated by this film and just keep putting it off. What can I say, I'm a wuss!
2. What is the one film you know word for word?
Cars - My son makes me watch it with him about once a week... Otherwise I am utterly hopeless, with the exception of thankfully the films I am actually in.
3. What screen character breaks your heart?
Ree in Winter's Bone
4. If you could bring an actor back from the dead, and had to pair them on screen with a current actor (who is no older than 40), what would your combo be?
I'll have to get back to you on that one.
5. How often do you check your phone in the cinema?
NEVER!
6. What film do you love which no-one else quite seems to 'get'?
I have a love-hate relationship with bad romantic comedies and I don't even 'get' that myself.
7. What is your favourite Al Pacino film?
I don't like Al Pacino.
8. Why do they always manage to make us go one size bigger with the popcorn?
I don't know. I don't eat popcorn.
9. Share one memory from a cinema visit long ago.
Some friends of mine made me watch Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses. They wouldn't let me leave the theatre. I am scarred for life.
10. Have you ever used a line from a movie, in your life, without anyone knowing you stole it? Give details.
That would require me remembering lines from films people have actually seen. I shall do my best to make an attempt at being so clever in the future. In the meantime I shall bask in the glory of my son thinking that I am fantastically hilarious when I say 'Pit stop!' in a terrible excuse of an Italian accent.
1. What film has been sitting on your shelf for six months waiting to be watched?
Frozen River - I know I'm going to be devastated by this film and just keep putting it off. What can I say, I'm a wuss!
2. What is the one film you know word for word?
Cars - My son makes me watch it with him about once a week... Otherwise I am utterly hopeless, with the exception of thankfully the films I am actually in.
3. What screen character breaks your heart?
Ree in Winter's Bone
4. If you could bring an actor back from the dead, and had to pair them on screen with a current actor (who is no older than 40), what would your combo be?
I'll have to get back to you on that one.
5. How often do you check your phone in the cinema?
NEVER!
6. What film do you love which no-one else quite seems to 'get'?
I have a love-hate relationship with bad romantic comedies and I don't even 'get' that myself.
7. What is your favourite Al Pacino film?
I don't like Al Pacino.
8. Why do they always manage to make us go one size bigger with the popcorn?
I don't know. I don't eat popcorn.
9. Share one memory from a cinema visit long ago.
Some friends of mine made me watch Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses. They wouldn't let me leave the theatre. I am scarred for life.
10. Have you ever used a line from a movie, in your life, without anyone knowing you stole it? Give details.
That would require me remembering lines from films people have actually seen. I shall do my best to make an attempt at being so clever in the future. In the meantime I shall bask in the glory of my son thinking that I am fantastically hilarious when I say 'Pit stop!' in a terrible excuse of an Italian accent.
Quickpost 5
7-9 September
Since you already know about my awesome first DIY
coldreading session, I won't say any more about that. Do read the
comments on that post though. Insanely talented Wellington local Richard Falkner has some really fantastic suggestions!
Alas, I must admit that I had
zero time for anything much these last two days, not in the acting
department anyway. I spent all my time on the phone and email to get a
couple of, might I say AWESOME, events for the NZ Actor's Guild off the
ground. It's going rather well so far and I am hoping to be able to make
an official announcement soon. Fingers crossed!
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Cold reading DIY
My god this is f***ing hard!
Here I was, sitting at my desk with a pile of sides thinking, 'How hard can it be, really? It just reading lines, saying the words!'
So, I chose a random scene, read over it a couple of times and off I went into the crappy little camera built into my otherwise trusty computer. And I'm telling you, reading sides with no one reading with you sucks even more than reading them with a crap reader! Especially, when you're doing the whole cold reading thing and have to read not only your own lines but the other character's lines as well.
Totally threw me. So, it is probably the perfect way to teach myself the art of cold reading. It means that I really really really have to focus. It means that I have to decide on and commit to relationships and intentions and all that juicy stuff way faster than I normally would, which incidentally means that there's less chance of me second-guessing myself.
But man, this first cold reading DIY session was hard! One nice thing to see though was that through all the confusion of this first attempt I lost less of my GenAm during the scene than I would have thought. Practice might have not yet made me perfect but I sure have improved a lot. The other good thing about this first session is that the only way form here on out is up! And that's exactly where I want to go. It's a win win situation, really.
Here I was, sitting at my desk with a pile of sides thinking, 'How hard can it be, really? It just reading lines, saying the words!'
So, I chose a random scene, read over it a couple of times and off I went into the crappy little camera built into my otherwise trusty computer. And I'm telling you, reading sides with no one reading with you sucks even more than reading them with a crap reader! Especially, when you're doing the whole cold reading thing and have to read not only your own lines but the other character's lines as well.
Totally threw me. So, it is probably the perfect way to teach myself the art of cold reading. It means that I really really really have to focus. It means that I have to decide on and commit to relationships and intentions and all that juicy stuff way faster than I normally would, which incidentally means that there's less chance of me second-guessing myself.
But man, this first cold reading DIY session was hard! One nice thing to see though was that through all the confusion of this first attempt I lost less of my GenAm during the scene than I would have thought. Practice might have not yet made me perfect but I sure have improved a lot. The other good thing about this first session is that the only way form here on out is up! And that's exactly where I want to go. It's a win win situation, really.
Monday, 5 September 2011
Quickpost 4
5-6 September
My focus is still on accent work, so I ran my practice sentences and read out loud in GenAm both days.
I even managed to do my ballet workout both days. I am using muscles I never knew I even had. Painful fun.
I can't seem to bring myself to
get stuck into the cold reading exercises. I have sides printed out, I
have a big bathroom mirror, I have the ability to read. So, why am I not
excited to give it a try? It feels like I'm too scared to. I guess, I'm
feeling rusty, very rusty. There is that (irrational) fear lurking in
the back of my mind that I might have lost 'it', you know, everything
that I've learned and worked for over the past couple of years. Better
get over it soon. I want to be performance ready when the drought
breaks!
I've also started working on some really cool things for the New Zealand Actor's Guild, being on the board and all. Stay tuned for more info over the next few weeks!
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Quickpost 3
2-4 September
Over the past three days I have
been concentrating on practising my GenAm whenever I got a chance.
Learning an accent, it turns out, is the perfect tool for me to hone in
times where I have very little time to myself. I just had to find the
right approach and method. With the help of Penny Dyer's audiobook,
I've been making really good progress. If I keep it up I'll be able to
record a sample before months end and make it available to my agent and
post it on my other actor profiles.
I am very excited! Have you any idea how much more sellable it makes in
NZ me when I have mastered the GenAm? I'm starting with RP this week.
Watch this space!
I've also started reading Self-Management for Actors by LA casting director Bonnie Gillespie. She's been writing a fantastic blog, The Actors Voice,
on Actors Access since 2004. So, there is already a heap of fantastic
information on that blog (thank Richard for pointing me to it!). But I
was particularly interested in learning about actor branding and that's
what her book provides in a more comprehensive and centralised way.
Since I am just starting out in
the industry, I thought it would be a good idea to know what actor type I
am and how to use my brand to my advantage. I am not trying to get
type-cast. I'm just interested in how to sell best what I have
naturally. If I have a clear idea of who I am as an actor, I can bring
that essence across clearly in my headshots, in the way I dress and come
across. This will give both my agent and any CDs a clear idea of who I
am, what I am naturally suited for and of how to market and, well, sell
me.
I cannot imagine anything more tedious
for a CD than looking at an actor's headshots or at an actor in person
and not knowing who this person is. After all, they are going through
stacks of photos and whole flocks of auditionees to find the right
candidates for often very specific breakdowns. Even in a comparatively
small market like Wellington or New Zealand even, when you are just
starting out, you need to get known for something. If that
something is something you're naturally good at, that's a huge advantage
and a good starting point. It might not make sense to everyone but it
makes sense to me.
Playing your primary type over and over is not a limitation. It's a shortcut... There are so many people pursuing acting in Los Angeles that the best shot you've got to ever get cast is to get known for being very good at the one thing folks will most want to see you doing. And the more consistently you provide casting directors with that
one thing, the better you brand yourself. The better you brand
yourself, the more of a prototype you become. And when you're a
prototype for a role, you're the one the buyers think of when writing
the breakdown. Heck, if you're really at the top of our list, you're
the one whose agent we call with an offer, rather than even writing the breakdown for that role.
Now, New Zealand and Wellington
are not LA by any means. They are MUCH smaller markets. But I still have
the feeling that the same principle applies. I think it might be more
of a balance act here between finding your brand and avoiding
type-casting but I also think that knowing my type and building my brand
is a useful starting point.
What do you think?
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Quickpost 2
1 September
Nothing much to report today. I guess actress-wise days like yesterday are the worst. It was a pretty good day all around but there was just no time or space to do much for my actor's toolbox. I managed to squeeze in a reading of my GenAm practice sentences while cooking dinner though. It felt good to at least have done something. So, lesson for today: Even if you only have five minutes, use them!
P.S.: Congratulations to Toronto Actress, who has just booked a major commercial! And congratulations to my fried V, who has landed herself a gig on a big feature! Well done guys, you're an inspiration! xx
Nothing much to report today. I guess actress-wise days like yesterday are the worst. It was a pretty good day all around but there was just no time or space to do much for my actor's toolbox. I managed to squeeze in a reading of my GenAm practice sentences while cooking dinner though. It felt good to at least have done something. So, lesson for today: Even if you only have five minutes, use them!
P.S.: Congratulations to Toronto Actress, who has just booked a major commercial! And congratulations to my fried V, who has landed herself a gig on a big feature! Well done guys, you're an inspiration! xx
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Quickpost 1
As prove that I actually have started practicing what I preached yesterday, here is what I have worked on in my bit of spare time over the last two days.
30 August
General American: I listened to my new Penny Dyer audiobook (Access Accents: General American - highly recommended!!!), took notes and worked with the practice sentences for shaping GenAm vowel and consonant sounds.
Wrote some fiction: Not a
screenplay because for some reason that format stifles all creative
energy in me. But I did write the beginnings of a story. I have no idea
where it's going or what form it's going to take but I have been writing
fiction. That's HUGE! I guess shutting up my inner critic and banning
her to a deserted island somewhere far out in the Pacific Ocean counts
as work too.
Creative visualisations:
This is daydreaming, really. I gave myself ten minutes to relax and
fantasise about my dream job in as much detail and colour as possible.
Anyone wanna take a guess what that dream job is? I will only say that
getting to live this dream if only for ten minutes and only in my head
was already AWESOME! While I'm hanging out for the dream to materialise,
I'm definitely going to actively dream about it. The richer and more
detailed and over the top, the better. In fact, I shall do some dreaming
right after finishing this post!
31 August
Workout: In the morning I
took a two-hour walk through the zoo with my son and his friend.
Chasing after two two-year-olds is serious exercise! It's also voice
work, uhum... My son and his friend generously agreed to have a nap
after lunch, so I postponed housework and had a New York City Ballet Workout session in the lounge instead.
General American: Went
over all practice sentences once with the idiot tongue. You know,
speaking with your tongue lolling out of your mouth. (No, I'm not going
to put this on tape, thank you very much!) The went over them again
twice, listening to Penny and repeating after her.
Reading out loud & GenAm:
Read a news story out loud in a General American accent. To my surprise
my GenAm has already improved heaps! Wonder if I can manage it in real
scene work yet?
Well, that's it for today. I
think, I've made a good start on the whole surprising myself front. Off
to do some serious daydreaming for a bit. Hope you're doing the same!
All I want to do
'All I want to do is surprise myself.'
That's one of the things you should tell yourself right before going
into an audition or in between takes or when going on stage. I think Jack Plotnick wrote about it in his book
somewhere. I think it's brilliant advice. If you really truly only want
that when you are performing, you give yourself permission to let go,
really live the moment and be totally spontaneous.
But I've been thinking, 'All I
want to do is surprise myself', doesn't only apply to going into scene
work. It applies to life in general or more specifically to making the
most of life. It's a way of giving yourself permission to get rid of bad
habits, you know, the ones that are basically self-sabotage. There are
the more obvious ones, like the habit of wedging out in front of a truly
terrible reality TV show, instead of say learning lines or day dreaming
or working on an accent or even just reading a good book. And then
there are the more hidden and more sinister habits, like the ones where
you tell yourself that you're no good at something; like teaching
yourself an accent or writing a screenplay.
If you live by the motto that
all you want to do is surprise yourself, then surely at least once every
day your eyes will be open to one of those bad habits and you can say,
'Hey, listen bad habit! Crawl back under the rock you came from. I am
not going to do as you please. Not today!'
I did that today. It felt wonderful. It made life more fun. I think, I'll keep surprising myself, actively and every day.
'You don't like it. So you say.
Try it and you may, I say.'
Dr Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham (or Green Eggs and Sam, as my son would say.)
Monday, 29 August 2011
Working that muscle
Lately, I've been working hard on
piecing myself back together. Getting new headshots done and the
prospect of a workshop with a really awesome actress and coach at the
end of next month certainly helped.
But my acting muscle feels a bit
stiff, so I've finally also been more active about what I, despite next
to no time or space to myself, can do to get back and stay in shape.
There must be something I can do and even if it's only for ten minutes a
day!
So, I've been doing a bit of
thinking and a lot of reading and found some great ideas for daily
exercises that I want to share here and then dive in full steam myself
today. It's a bit of a rough list yet, so I'd love to hear what you guys
do on a daily basis to help you stay in shape and grow!
Daily Exercises
Voice exercises: Exercises
on the floor on your back morning and night, start with a voiceless
hissing sound, then a voiced humming sound, and then a voiced sighing
sound, the latter two sliding up and down your range. To loosen your yaw
and aid your articulation: tongue-twisters!
Cold reading:
Work the same text a few times and challenge yourself with finding a
new read each time. Get sides from Showfax.com, the library or read the
paper out loud!
Read out loud: 10-15 minutes every day.
Emotional content work: When
cold reading or reading out loud incorporate emotional content work.
Decide on a number of emotions and then practice cold reading while
living into and evoking those emotions, trying to transition smoothly
between them.
Learning lines:
Use different techniques on the same text to see how each feels. Try
the same technique on a modern and a classic text and see if it works
the same way.
Make your piece physical:
Say a line; move a body part. Then repeat a few times until you are
speaking and moving at the same time. Singing works as well!
Personal work:
Practice exercises like having a conversation with your fears, writing a
letter to someone telling them that you love/forgive/despise them.
Camera audition skills:
To practice focusing on your reading/scene partner pick a specific spot
to focus on while doing your cold reading or even while having a phone
call! You can also use your own reflection in the bathroom mirror. Use
it as your focus spot or to study what you face does, how it changes, if
you have any ticks.
Accent days: Pick
an accent and speak only in that accent all day, with the exception of
important business meetings/phone calls and auditions.
Action: Pick
a simple physical action to perform. Pick a physicality. Imagine a
high-stakes situation, including relationships, in which you need to
finish your action within 5 minutes. Set a timer and don’t stop until it
goes off or the action is finished. You can do this while doing
housework!
Visualisation - objects: Sit
or lie down in a comfortable position, either in a chair or on a mat on
the floor. Breathe deeply and feel yourself relax with each exhalation.
Imagine a specific object from your home—something you see every day,
like your coffee mug, toothbrush or cereal bowl. Recreate the item in
detail, sense by sense. First visualize it in as much detail as
possible. Then focus on how the object would feel in your hands. Then
imagine what it tastes like, what it smells like. Then focus on what you
hear when you are holding the object. (If you want to work on sense
memory use an object that holds a strong emotional memory or just work
on your visualization skills with any object.)
Visualisation - worlds:
Learn a short text, then using visioning, free-associating or whatever
else works for you, create the world the character lives in. Say the
text with your eyes closed, envisioning this world. Then do it again
with your eyes open, tracing yourself around the room, seeing what the
character sees.
Monday, 22 August 2011
The Glee Project Take 2
One of the comments on my first Glee Project post was from Zoje, who said the following:
I have
seen the first nine episodes of "The Glee Project" and while I agree
with you that reality TV is exploitative in general, this show does serve a purpose.
For one thing, all of the kids on this show are immensely talented and
this may be the biggest, broadest exposure they ever receive in their
lives -- I expect a lot of them will be able to use the experience of
being on the show to broaden their careers and future opportunities.
Secondly, the "winner" will be written into SEVEN episodes of the show
(they state this repeatedly on the show itself). This is such a
competitive business - for actors, writers, singers, etc. - and a show
like this can really give some people an opportunity who might
otherwise have never received any recognition at all. The producers,
directors, choreographers from Glee who participate in The Glee Project
seem very respectful and sincere - and I wouldn't be surprised if
several of the kids end up making appearances on the show next season.
I was obviously wrong to assume
that the winner of the Project would win a pittance of role. A seven
episode run is a reoccurring role and more than most actors could ever
even dream of their entire careers. So, that winning the Project leads
to an actually fantastic thing really is amazing for the winner of the
show - SPOILER ALERT - or winners in this case as the
first season was won by two actors.
Zoje is probably also right to
assume that some/all of the other finalists of the Project will get some
sort of guest appearance on Glee and good on them.
However, neither the winner's
prize nor the opportunity for the non-winners justifies, in my eyes, the
exploitative nature of this programme nor it's undermining of the
actor's safety net that is the casting system.
Here's the thing, all reality TV shows are for the vast majority of the contestants the
'biggest, broadest exposure they ever receive in their lives.' And
that is exactly the issue that I have with these shows. They promise
their contestants an 'equal' chance at whatever prize, where in most
cases it has been decided from the very beginning who is going to win
the show. In some shows, like New Zealand's Next Top Model for instance,
it is blatantly obvious who will get eliminated every week. Some shows
manage to hide their agenda and be a bit more subtle. However, since the
winner is at least to a very large extent decided from the get go, all
the eliminated contestants went through the humiliation that is a
reality TV show for mostly nothing.
As we all know, on reality TV no one gets represented the way they actually are, the producers and editors decide that. The eliminated contestants' prize is the 'biggest,
broadest exposure they ever receive in their lives' but this exposure
neither represents who they truly are nor leads to bigger and better
things in the vast majority of cases. Just think how many of the by now
surely more than 100 finalists on American Idol can claim to have made a
career of the exposure they got courtesy of that show?
I
also disagree with the statement that the Glee Project 'can really give
some people an opportunity who might otherwise have never received any
recognition at all.' Since the prize of the Glee Project is a role on a
scripted TV show, the producers might just as well have held the open
casting call they held to assemble the cast of the Glee Project and left
it at that. The 12 Glee Project contestants would have had the same if
not a much fairer chance of getting that seven episode role and the bit
parts perhaps now being offered to the eliminees. They certainly would
not have had to go through the exploitation, humiliation and degradation
that is the Glee Project.
Perhaps
the producers, directors and choreographers on the Glee Project acted
'very respectful and sincere' in other parts of the programme but
forcing the contestants to reveal on national and international
syndicated TV their biggest secrets while standing around half-naked in
public was enough to do my head in. Forcing the contestants to reveal
such personal information and fears, surrounding them as being gay and
being called fake certainly doesn't do anything for the contestants or
their careers. It's simply another exploitative means for the Glee
Project's producers to make the show attractive, certainly not something
they do because they care about these kids' futures.
Yes,
exploitation is a huge part of all reality TV. It's kind of the point of
reality TV if we're being honest. The point I am making about the Glee
Project is that the Glee producers already had an open casting call for
Glee's next season that gave these 12 contestants all the chance they
needed to win a role on the scripted show. To make them jump through
extra hoops and drag them through the dishonest mud of reality TV, lying
to them about everyone having an equal chance at the big role, is
unethical - especially in a business were actors work their arses off
every day, for years and without pay and the only safety net we have is
that if we get a professional audition, we can do our job without
exploitation and humiliation, and go home with the same chance as
everyone else.
Sunday, 21 August 2011
FAIL: The Glee Project
There was an ad for the Glee Project
on the telly just now. For those of you who don't know the show, it's
another American Idol spin-off of sorts. The show serves as an extended
'audition' for a 'role' on the FOX show Glee. After a pre-selection
process the top 12 contestants go through a series of tests and
challenges, and are eliminated one by one until one of them wins the
Project and the coveted role on Glee.
Now, at first glance this show
isn't much different from formats like American Idol but far from just
annoying me and boring me to tears, I feel like the Glee Project is
outright unethical - from an actor's perspective at least.
The kids on the Glee Project vie for a
role that is unspecified in size and type. We don't know whether the
role is recurring and making them a proper part of the Glee cast or
whether it is just a one episode guest starring role or even less than
that. Most likely they're going to be a blip on the screen. After all
pre-show 'casting' for season two of the Project is already in the
pipeline.
Any other TV show and all other
roles on Glee go through proper casting processes, specified by union
rules. These casting processes certainly do NOT involve humiliating
actors in public and on (inter)national television. Unlike the Glee
Project, which in the episode just advertised on NZ TV for instance has
the contestants 'facing their biggest secrets' by standing around in
public, stripped down to shorts and a white tank top with big signs
strapped to their fronts and backs, reading things like 'Fake' and
'Gay'.
What the fuck does that have to
do with 'casting' or a fair shot at a job? This show certainly doesn't
'serve as an audition'. On the contrary, it is nothing more than actors'
exploitation and worst of all exploitation of child/teen actors. As if
actors needed any more exploitation than there already is by the way the
market functions anyway!
The only way TV shows, films and
commercials get made is that producers and creatives can choose from an
enormous pool of actors of all ages and types that they can - with the
exception of A-List stars - regard and treat as interchangeable and lets
face it disposable. The only reason producing anything for the small
and big screen is possible, is because actors agree to be available but
unemployed as actors 95% of the time. The only protection we have from
this system completing screwing with us is that professional productions
adhere to proper casting processes that give us a fair chance at the
jobs our agents put us forward for, without public denigration and
humiliation adding to the constant rejection we constantly have to deal
with in this crazy job of ours.
Along comes Oxygen and rips this
one safety net to shreds, using and abusing the hopes and dreams and
aspirations of 11 teenage actors. Actors who never had a chance of
getting that most likely pittance of a role because the network would
have decided before the Glee Project even started what they were looking
for for the next season of Glee. It makes an absolute farce of what
should have been a proper, non-humiliating open casting process, where
young actors would have been treated correctly, fairly and with respect.
If this is a sign of the times,
hold on to your sides and your sanity dear fellow actors because casting
is not only going to get harder but also uglier and more exploitative.
Lets hope that a format like the Glee Project can only be conceived
within the confines of a musical show like Glee.
I am fully prepared to put on a
song and dance for a job on TV or in film but I do reserve my right to
be treated fairly, respectfully and work hard for these jobs within the
proper casting processes. It's all I've got.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Something to be proud of
This morning, I went to get a
take-away coffee and ran into an actor friend of my unhusband's and
mine, who was enjoying a scrumptious looking breakfast at the same café.
Said friend happens to have earned himself a major part on a certain,
very big and very famous feature film currently being shot here in
Wellington.
New Zealand film fans are
enormously proud and justifiably so that not only are the majority of
crew on The Hobbit New Zealanders but that a great number of Kiwi actors
have earned big parts in the film(s). It's a remarkable feat as it is
that Wingnut/3 Foot 7 and the creative and business geniuses behind it
have succeeded for a second time in bringing such a prestigious and
expensive film to this part of the world. This is especially so after
all the drama surrounding the project through most of last year. What is
even more remarkable though is that this time around and despite last
year's drama, the number of kiwi actors with major speaking parts is so
very high! With six of the 14 dwarves played by Kiwi actors and various
others rumoured and confirmed in smaller speaking parts before all
casting has concluded, The Hobbit already exceeds - and by far - what
New Zealand actors had ever dared to hope for.
So, no wonder that we are proud
that not only is The Hobbit being filmed in this country and not only
does it provide jobs and amazing experiences for our large pool of
extremely talented and hard-working creatives and crew behind the
camera, but that it also shows off our acting talent (which granted is
exclusively male so far but still). No wonder that Kiwi film fans are by
and large happy and very proud.
I must say though that I had a
bit of a weird feeling at times sitting there with my friend. No one
came up to him while I was there at least, nor did I see people
whispering or pointing but there was a definite air of recognition. I
don't even know if my friend realised it. After all, this is new to him
too and it has taken him 20 or so years to get to this point. But I kept
seeing people shooting me glances, knowingly, approvingly, almost
conspiratorially.
I'm going to make myself feel
really special here by assuming that they were also thinking, 'Oooh, she
must be an actress in the films as well, oooh...' Well, they got the
first part right, and they were definitely thinking, 'We know who you're
talking to. It's great, innit? He's on The Hobbit and he's one of us!'
Something to be proud of.
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Chin up! That's the spirit!
Chin up! Keep on trucking! Think positive! Let your light shine! Don't
give up! Just do it! Keep believing! Get'em Tiger! Courage! Patience!
That's the spirit, right?!
Feels more like 'Fuck you!' today, more like Self-preservation! Keep your sanity! Don't lash out! Fucking breathe!
That's the spirit, right?!
Feels more like 'Fuck you!' today, more like Self-preservation! Keep your sanity! Don't lash out! Fucking breathe!
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Mid-2011 recap
Change agents - check
Possible auditions to apply for: 5
Auditions applied for: 5
Auditions: 3
Jobs: 1 (without audition)
Time spent on professional development: 1%
Time spent on child-rearing, housework and non-creative paid work: 99%
Going stir-crazy: check
WTF.
Possible auditions to apply for: 5
Auditions applied for: 5
Auditions: 3
Jobs: 1 (without audition)
Time spent on professional development: 1%
Time spent on child-rearing, housework and non-creative paid work: 99%
Going stir-crazy: check
WTF.
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Crisis of faith
Lately, I have been thinking a lot
about how women are portrayed on stage and on screen. To say that the
portrayal of women leaves a lot to be desired is a big understatement.
More often than not women are
the exception among a cast of many men. Yes, there are films with a lot
of female characters but name me one and I will name you twenty that
fall into the one-Smurfette-among-a-nation-of-Smurfs
category. In fact, if anthropologists from another world were to watch
what we put on screen, big and small, and on stage they would assume
that planet earth's human population is made up of roughly 10% women and
90% men. Anyone suggesting that women are quantitatively extremely
under-represented on stage and screen is seriously delusional, and so
are the people who believe it's economically sound to leave the
interests of 50% of the world's population and the enormous market they
represent largely untapped. I have said it before, go apply the Bechdel test (at least two women, who talk to each other, about something besides a man)!
You're gonna tell me now that things are changing.
At the box office we've had smash hits with big female casts in Sex in the City 1&2, Mama Mia and most recently Bridesmaids. The stigma of 'women's entertainment' being entirely unprofitable might be slowly rubbing off but just because you put more women in films doesn't really mean we have achieved anything at all.
At the box office we've had smash hits with big female casts in Sex in the City 1&2, Mama Mia and most recently Bridesmaids. The stigma of 'women's entertainment' being entirely unprofitable might be slowly rubbing off but just because you put more women in films doesn't really mean we have achieved anything at all.
That's because also more often
than not, female characters are extremely stereotyped and/or lack any
resemblance of fully-realised characters. We are 'the whore', 'the
virgin', 'the teacher', 'the carer'. Female characters are sickeningly
often (mis-)constructed around their sexuality. In those many many cases
the only character trait is that of either being 'pure' or of being a
'sexual deviant/demon'. The only thing the creators of these characters
have to say about women is that our sexuality is something dangerous we
use to get what we want. Usually, what these evil demon seductresses
'want' isn't even something that is explained to the viewer but simply
exists to 'screw over' the male protagonist, so he can overcome and
ultimately stand victorious. Because of this ancient trope of female
sexuality as something dangerous the other archetype of female
characters is that of 'the virgin'. These virtuous characters are the
teachers, guides, healers and mothers that are inherently good because
they are entirely a-sexual and therefore 'safe'. These 'virgins'
character traits are reduced to the 'female' traits of caring and
nurturing, and exist for the singular purpose of guiding the male
protagonist through his physical and/or inner journey.
Obviously there are quite a few
other stereotypes that are used to portray female characters ('the needy
girlfriend/mother', 'the tomboy/she-man', 'the bimbo'...) and they are
used pervasively whether the character is minor, supporting or a lead.
And just because a film or tv show passes
the Bechdel test doesn't mean it's female characters are written as
true whole human beings. Most female characters are written as
stereotypes that are more often than not negative and therefore painting
a picture of femaleness as something bad, annoying, dangerous, less
worthy and/or as something that merely exists to assist and nurture.
Are there stereotypes for male
characters? Of course there are and aplenty! But if you add the
overwhelming amount of badly written stereotyped female characters to
the fact that female characters make up a minuscule amount of
characters on stage and screen, you get just how bad the picture is for
women in visual story-telling. And since TV and film at least are
everywhere, so are their negative messages about women and about what
constitutes 'femaleness'.
We grow up with these messages
and many of us eventually start to believe them. We certainly have come
to see the under- and misrepresentation of women in film, tv and on
stage as the norm. Most of us don't question the status quo. We're just
not that bothered. After all we don't go to the movies to question and
bother, we go to be entertained. We switch on the TV to switch off. We
go to the theatre for the magic and the big moments.
We are extremely well
conditioned to be entertained almost no matter what crap we are fed. I
am absolutely guilty of not thinking when I watch a story unfold on
screen or on stage. I watch with my heart and my guts and my senses. My
intellect takes the back seat. That's the one thing I love most about
visual story-telling, that I can just let it take me on a journey, that I
don't have to steer.
Then came the year that I hardly
went to the movies at all; not because I was a student and constantly
broke but because I was sick to the death of having the choice only
between romantic comedies and films with (almost) all male cast.
Yet, I didn't really start
questioning what is going on with women on screen and on stage until
after I realised that I wanted to be an actress. As an actress, it comes
with the job description to notice the gendered availability of roles
and obviously that's always ticked me off. I want to work after all!
But over the last few months I
also started thinking about the quality of those few female characters.
The more I thought about it, the more I spiralled into an utter crisis
of faith. One of the reasons I am an actress is because I am so utterly
intrigued by living other lives, being other people, other women.
But what the hell do I want to
be an actress for if the only women I get to play are nothing but awful
stereotypes and plot devises?! So, here I am, at a cross-roads.
I can reject the whole industry
and not be an actress, which I fleetingly considered a few times. But
that would only make me feel like I have even less of a voice and I
would be going back to a place of repressing my desires and passions,
and that's just not a place I want to go back to.
Or I can do my damnedest to
encourage writers to write more true and whole female characters and to
really think about what they say about half the world's population when
they take to their pens And I can care for those characters that I
will hopefully get to play, as stereotyped as they may be and as much as
they may lack any resemblance of true and whole human beings. I can
create their back-stories and I can create a futures. I can create their
belief systems, their hopes and aspirations, their positive traits and
their flaws. To break them of their boxes and make them real whole
women, that's gonna be my responsibility - even if they will only get
to live in my head.
And I can write about women in film here and maybe get you think about women in film a little more than you would otherwise.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Pixar and girls in movies
I love Pixar. Always have, always
will. Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Cars are some of my favourite films
ever. In fact, wonder boy loves especially the latter two (now five,
really) so much that our household, actually make that the whole family,
has a more than slight obsession with these films and their characters.
Speaking of characters, what
bugs me about Pixar films (and the film industry as a whole) is the lack
of (fully realised) female characters. Girls and women alike do not
find adequate representation on screen in either quantity or quality.
Girls and women on screen are most often stereotyped and/or only serve
the purpose of helping the male protagonist in his journey throughout
the film.*
Pixar movies are not free of that fault. Just think of Sally, in Cars,
who's only purpose it is to be Lightning McQueen's love interest and
the one showing him that he needs to slow down to get an appreciation
for life. All the other female Cars characters, who are by FAR
outnumbered by male characters in any case, are really only side notes.
Holly Shiftwell in Cars 2,
while kind of cool because she can fly, doesn't have any storyline or
character development of her own and again is really only there as
Mater's love-interest. All the really cool stuff is reserved for the
boys and the girls are nothing more than token minorities and teacher-therapists.
There are no noteworthy female characters in Up, one story-less female in Ratatouille and the two female characters in Monsters Inc are the stereotypes of the whingy, needy girlfriend and the ugly, manlyish boss lady.
Finding Nemo
has Dory, the loveable side-kick with memory problems. Don't get me
wrong, Dory is funny and I can't help but love her but again, she has no
story of her own. We don't even know why she has memory problems, and
her disability only exists for laughs and not to deal with Dory's own
story and struggles. She remains no more than a side-kick and guide -
both in terms of physical direction through her capability to read and
to speak 'Whale', and in terms of challenging Marlin's attitude and
beliefs, so he can experience change and growth.
A Bug's Life
has three female characters amongst a sea of male characters: Atta, Dot
and the ant-queen. Not much to say about the ant queen, except that at
least it's biologically correct. Unlike Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie,
which completely changed the gender characteristics of an entire species
just so the main characters could all be boys. Mind you there's enough
of that in A Bug's Life (and Disney's Ants) as well! Then there's Dot,
the little sister-sidekick character, who's only function, aside from
providing the cute-factor, is to get the hero back onto his hero track
and to get rescued. Atta, is another love-interest character, who
doesn't really do much more than to make the hero's life harder and
through her disbelieving in him forces him to come into his own.
Then there are the Incredibles,
who have more female characters than any other Pixar film both in terms
of the actual number and in relation to the number of male characters.
However, there's not much good to say about the characterisation of
those female characters. There's not much to say at all about the
babysitter, she's basically an animated stereotype of her 'profession'.
Edna is the mad genius designer of superhero suits, a direct reference
to Hollywood costume designer Edith Head
by the way. She's super cool, a technical genius and takes no crap. She
is also so de-feminised that I would not have recognised her as a
woman, had it not been for her name. She's even voiced by a man.
Mirage is the sexy, seductive villain (with a change of heart),
basically the bad Bond-girl type of the film, and an extremely overused
stereotype of a 'female' villain.
Then there is Helen, the mom,
whose superpower as Elastigirl is the ability to stretch very far and
very thin and make her body into all sorts of useful shape (a parachute,
a boat, a slingshot). As the mom, again her gender roles are manifest
in a very stereotypical happy home-maker manner. After all, she's the
one who is content with just being a housewife after all superheros are
forced into secrecy. It is her husband who hates being 'normal'. While
the way she uses her super-powers are really fantastic and fun, the
powers themselves are stereotyped as well. All females are flexible (in
the wider sense) you know, and it's really handy being thin, too. The
only cool thing about Mrs Incredible is that she's an excellent spy and
jet pilot. Mind you, the film's writers didn't even let her land the
plane, it just had to crash.
Lastly, there is teenage
daughter Violet, who is a 'typical' teenager, wants to blend in with
normal people, not stand out and really wants a boyfriend. Her
super-powers are invisibility and the creation of force fields. Oh, come
on already! How many more times do we have to suffer a female character
that tells us to blend in, not stand out, not make any trouble - that
it is good to be (essentially or actually) invisible?! I wonder if Pixar
added the force field power (which is actually really awesome) just so
that Violet wouldn't be entirely annoying and badly stereotyped? On any
account, they have failed. She's still annoying the heck out of me. Not
because of who she is, mind, but because of what she shows her audience a
'teenage girl' to be like. That's what her audience is asked to
identify with. Like her mother, who is not allowed to dislike
domesticity or to have the power of being super strong because that
'obviously' had to be reserved for her husband, Violet is not allowed to
be a strong (mentally and physically) young woman who doesn't mind
sticking out and who's not obsessed with boys.
In Toy Story 1&2 there are Bo Peep, Mrs Potato Head and Andy's mom (who does not even have a name), who are really only there, with no own story or character development whatsoever. Jessie in Toy Story 2
is a fully realised character with her own back story, her own
troubles, realisations, and developments. I love that about her! A girl
character in a movie who is more than just a talking prop. What I don't
like about her is that she has no active driving force at all
to the story development. It is her back story that drives Woody to
make the decision that changes the direction of the story but Jessie
doesn't take any action to change the story herself. Instead of rescuing
herself from her sad imprisoned situation, she needs a male character
to help her out. She's essentially the Damsel in distress. Also all of
the Toys who go to the rescue of Woody are male characters.
In Toy Story 3
Jessie is the one who convinces the toys to go to Sunnyside day care
centre to escape getting binned. She creates the starting point of the
whole prison escape adventure but that's as far as her story-driving
powers go. For the rest of the film she is nothing but Buzz Lightyear's
love interest. Toy Story 3 also has Barbie, Mrs Potato Head, Bonnie,
Trixie and Dolly. The latter two characters' purpose is to help Woody on
his way and Bonnie is the character that is needed to provide the toys
with a new home and the character of Andy the chance to grow up and
let go. I do think it's really neat that the toy's new owner is a
little girl though and I love the way she plays with them. Of the gang
of toy escapees there are only two females and only Barbie takes any
kind of initiative to help in the escape. However, she does so by
essentially seducing (in a very PG way) Ken into trusting her and then
betraying that trust. That's a very stereotypical way of representing a
female character. It is the very light version of what's called the 'evil demon seductress'.
For some unexplained and unexplainable reason you never see male
character use their seductive prowess (PG or XXX) to get their way. It
is only ever female characters and as Toy Story 3 and The Incredibles,
with with Mirage, prove this stereotype is even used in kids movies!
So, at the end of the day,
female characters in Pixar movies are completely under-represented and
have no stories, character developments or driving force of their own.
Where they do, their stories, developments and driving force are
subservient to the male characters stories and needs, and where they
don't, Pixar's female characters aren't even fully realised characters
at all. Sadly, all this is true across the board, whether we're talking
about animated or real action films, shorts or features, TV, books or
video games. Of course there are notable exceptions, there always are
notable exceptions to the rule.
This all probably makes me sound
like I hate Pixar's guts. Believe me I don't! As I said at the start, I
love (most of) Pixar's films. I have been taught and gotten used to
identifying with both female and male characters. Through what I see on
TV and in films, what I have read in books and experienced in computer
games, I have been conditioned to see it as the norm that the
overwhelming majority of fictional (and fictionalised historical)
characters are male. I can watch films that tell boy's and men's
stories, I can even love them. But it doesn't mean that I have to be
content with and not resent the fact that girl's and women's stories
have always been and still remain largely untold. That our stories are
marginalised and that we are constantly told our stories aren't worth
telling (as much as boys' and men's stories are) because of what
exactly? Because our stories would not yield as much profit for the
companies that produce and publish them?
Tthe reason for girls' and
women's stories being perceived as 'risky investments' is not because
our stories are less worthy of being told, or are less exciting,
important, amazing or challenging. The reason for our stories to remain
marginalised lies in something so sad and so simple as this: While girls
are encouraged to identify with both female and male characters, boys
are actively discouraged from identifying with them. If little Lottie
came home to her parents and said, 'Mummy, daddy, Buzz Lightyear is the
most amazing toy in the whole wide world!' what would they say? And if
little Larry came home and said the same thing about Jessie or Barbie or
Mrs Potato-Head, what would they say? As long as boys and men are
discouraged to identify with or at least take an interest in female
characters, in their stories, opinions, struggles and successes, our
stories will remain largely untold.
Until production companies,
publishers and games producers start taking a leap of faith and just dig
into the potential of 'female' stories, this conditioning of boys only
identifying with boys will not change. In the end, the use and
characterisation of females in Pixar's films is only symptomatic of the
condition and the conditioning.
That's why I relish every movie that comes along telling a girl's or a women's story. That's why I cannot wait for Pixar's new movie in the works Brave. That's why I hope to whatever higher powers may exist that this film will be amazing and it's female lead will be a brave, non-stereotypical girl who is cool and awesome and wonderful because she is who she is, not because and not despite being a girl. And I hope they market the hell out of it.
That's why I relish every movie that comes along telling a girl's or a women's story. That's why I cannot wait for Pixar's new movie in the works Brave. That's why I hope to whatever higher powers may exist that this film will be amazing and it's female lead will be a brave, non-stereotypical girl who is cool and awesome and wonderful because she is who she is, not because and not despite being a girl. And I hope they market the hell out of it.
Go on Pixar, I dare ya!
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
My friend's on the telly
Taking inspiration from my blogger friend Lira over at the Struggling Actress
today. She has just shared the success stories of a few actors she
knows. And I think that's a great thing, sharing SUCCESS STORIES. It
makes me believe that one day this will be me and that after that day
there will be even bigger and better things to come. These things are
possible for my friends and classmates, they are possible for actors
from my own home town. These things are possible for you and they are
possible for me. You just have to keep believing, and pushing, and doing
what you can. Like every dream it starts in your head and even if you
feel like you have no control over making your dream a reality, what you
can control is how you think about it, how you feel about it. So,
instead of wallowing in your self-pity because you're stuck and instead
of feeling envious
of other people's successes, celebrate them and create a mind-set of
POSSIBILITY. Watch your friends and classmate succeed and choose to be
MOTIVATED by them; choose to let them inspire you to keep DREAMING.
This is my friend Richard. He's hilarious, hard-working and has had a lot of work recently. Congratulations, Richard!
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
V48Hours and God Bless America
We made a film. We had 48 Hours. We won BEST SONG!
Team Name: Seriously Tanked
This film was made as part of the 2011 V48 Hour Film Festival in Wellington, New Zealand.
The required elements were as follows:
Genre: Musical or Dance
Prop: A piece of bent wire.
Character: Bobby Young (an Ex-Bully)
Line: "What have you got?"
Technical: Freeze frame ending
S.T.O.K.E.D!!!
Team Name: Seriously Tanked
This film was made as part of the 2011 V48 Hour Film Festival in Wellington, New Zealand.
The required elements were as follows:
Genre: Musical or Dance
Prop: A piece of bent wire.
Character: Bobby Young (an Ex-Bully)
Line: "What have you got?"
Technical: Freeze frame ending
S.T.O.K.E.D!!!
Monday, 30 May 2011
Lovely shade of green
There's a reason why I haven't been blogging for a while.
The other day I had a
discussion with a few friends about the difference between envy and
jealousy. I think the general idea that we agreed upon was that envy
was the more destructive feeling of the two. Being jealous is basically
saying, 'You're so awesome, I wish I was like you!'
That's not necessarily a bad thing. It might even encourage you to do better, to work harder, to dream bigger.
But envy is different. Envy is
saying 'You're so awesome, I wish I was like you! I am so so jealous
that I don't want you to be who you are. I don't want you to be
awesome. Actually, you're not awesome, you're shit!'
I'm pretty sure even the most
mild-tempered of us have the occasional bout of envy, especially in a
business were being 'successful' is so hard to achieve. When I say
'successful', I don't just mean the financial success of being a
full-time working, potentially even famous, critically acclaimed actor
or actress. I'm talking especially about the kind of success that comes
in this business from letting go of the fears of scarcity and
rejection, and by being and staying in the business of acting/being
creative, whether or not this makes us financially successful. I mean
the success that stems from creating your own work and opportunities,
from being happy because we allow ourselves to be creative without the
need for anyone from the outside (CDs, producers, directors...) to give
us cause and opportunity.
We all know how hard it is to be
either or both kinds of successful, creatively and financially. But if
we manage to actually be content with being creatively successful, we
can let go of the fears of scarcity and rejection, and of the nagging
need to also be financially successful. But we also know how hard that
process is!
And here's the thing, it is so
much easier to feel angry that that actress just keeps booking
EVERYTHING, and even angrier about that actor who has just started out
and just keeps booking things because he is so DAMN good looking. It's
so much easier to be jealous and even easier to be envious, than to
examine our own lives and possibilities, and figure out a way to be
creatively happy and successful if not financially so.
I have been feeling very jealous
lately. No, actually that wouldn't be so bad. It might even help
shatter this constant feeling of paralysis. But no, I'm not jealous, I
am envious! I know I am wrong but getting out of this funk currently
seems like an impossibility. Try as I might to make myself creatively
happy, life currently gets in the way every single time. It makes me
angry, it scares me, and that paralysing envy finds a wide open door to
my heart and mind. Worst of all, on those opportunities were creative
fulfilment is offered from outside myself I am not even capable of truly
enjoying it. I have chronic FOMO and I wouldn't be surprised if I woke
up tomorrow to a 'lovely' green-tinted reflection of myself staring
back at me in the mirror.
I am acutely aware that a lot of
this is happening in my head and that my awful energy is not helping
things improve. I also know that I need to stick up for myself and for
what I need more often and more vehemently. But man it is hard!
There you have it. I am not exactly blogger material at the moment.
Friday, 22 April 2011
Can you believe it?
Can you believe it? I have actually
been kinda busy with acting stuff. You know, for someone at a certain
point in their career and living in Wellington, NZ.
I am still reeling from the work and the fun and the frankly amazing feedback I got at a Camera and Audition Workshop taught by Peter Feeney the weekend before last. Apparently, I am much better than I have given myself credit for. I know, shameless self-promotion...
It was fantastic to get together
with other actors and just work our arses off for two days. It's such
an inspiration to watch other actors work and grow. I got to work with
the amazing Liz Kirkman and watch my beautiful friend Jess Manins produce fantastic work! At the end of the weekend my creative batteries had been recharged and I felt incredibly lucky.
Since the workshop I've had a
couple of auditions, have self-submitted to a couple more shortfilm
projects and my Easter present was that my new agency profile went up. I
know, it is time for new headshots but I think that will unfortunately
have to wait until my bank balance has recovered a little.
I have two more auditions coming
up next week so besides enjoying a four day weekend hanging out with my
two boys, I will spend some time working on scripts. Yay, actor work!!!
And, not acting related but best
of all, by a long shot: My wonderful, beautiful, amazing niece has made
me a first-time great-aunty. Welcome to the world Violet! May you be
blessed with love and luck and a long, wonderful life!
<3 <3 <3
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
If you don't have a plan, you don't have a clue
You know what they say about best laid
plans. But what if you want to be a film maker and you don't have one
at all? Well, then you end up with disaster zones like the one mentioned
half-way down this post.
The team producing the webseries
I auditioned for today really seem to have it together. After the
aforementioned bad experience last year, this time around I had done my
homework before the audition and done some googling. It turned out
that a friend of mine had worked on another webseries with these guys a
few years back and he told me that his experience had been nothing but
positive.
I also came to the audition prepared with a couple of questions and this is what I found out. The team has an absolute shoestring budget but they have a well-thought out plan for all stages of production. They have written the first three episodes, assembled their team, and have decided on their locations - all of which are within 5 minutes walking distance from their base location. They have thoroughly thought about and decided on a shooting plan for the series - schedule to be determined once casting is completed of course. They know that they need their post-production to be minimal for a cheap, fast but high-quality turnaround, and have planned accordingly. They have a plan for distributing the series and potentially even get funding for future episodes.
I also came to the audition prepared with a couple of questions and this is what I found out. The team has an absolute shoestring budget but they have a well-thought out plan for all stages of production. They have written the first three episodes, assembled their team, and have decided on their locations - all of which are within 5 minutes walking distance from their base location. They have thoroughly thought about and decided on a shooting plan for the series - schedule to be determined once casting is completed of course. They know that they need their post-production to be minimal for a cheap, fast but high-quality turnaround, and have planned accordingly. They have a plan for distributing the series and potentially even get funding for future episodes.
What I also like about these
guys is that while shooting the series they want to inspire others to
get off their bums and get shooting themselves. So, the entire making-of
process will be documented online,
so people can see that when you have a good head on your shoulders and a
good plan you can be a film-maker on a next to nothing budget.
Awesomeness!
So, good luck to them and good luck to me too, aye!
First audition of the year! UPDATED
I have an audition for a webseries
later today. It's my first audition this year and I am really excited!
Plus if I get the part, I will be playing a god. That's right.
It'll be really nice for a change to be all powerful and actually have control over my, well her, life ^_^
UPDATE
I think I nailed it! The director/producer was very happy with the first take, saying that he loved my take on the character and that it was different to what the other actresses before me had done (Strike!). He gave me redirection for a second take and said that he was happy with both takes. I offered to give him another interpretation and he liked that one as well.
I am terrible at judging how
well auditions go, maybe you're not meant to be good at that anyway.
It's all about doing your job and then letting go. That said, I'm very
happy with what I did and I think that's all I can ask for - beside
getting cast that is...
Monday, 28 March 2011
Agency issues
So,
let me explain my agency issues. When I first started looking for an
agent I had the choice between established Wellington agents and
Auckland agents with Wellington offices or even just a Wellington
division on their books.
I
didn't have a whole lot of confidence in my marketability back then and
so I thought seeking an established local agent, even if I got on their
books, meant that their would be many trained and experienced actresses
in my age group who would get audition slots over me every time. No
chance for an audition, might not have an agent in the first place, was
my thinking.
I
had similar issues with the Auckland agencies with the added trouble
that it would be even harder to build a relationship with them, being
half a country apart and all.
Enter
Agency X, the agent I eventually signed with. They were Auckland based
but just opening a Wellington branch. They were looking for local talent
to add to their books and the Wellington booker worked really hard and
was lovely. When I met with the booker and she was excited and
informative and I was, quite frankly, clueless. I felt that the booker
and I vibed really well and she made me feel great about coming to
Agency X. I was also under the impression that she'd be the person that
would send me out for auditions and so didn't have many reservations
about the actual agent being up in Auckland.
So I signed.
I struggled but found myself auditions and some unpaid work. I worked hard in my classes and re-learned to speak a general American accent. And I kept in touch, sent updates, tried to stay positive and proactive, and show the agency my commitment and drive. It seems I have faild.
In
in the past year, I had a grand total of three audition through the
agency and one paid background extra job. Even though it was my
understanding that they put me on their books as an actor, on their
website I am listed only as 'talent' and (because I had voice lessons
when I was like 16, I guess) 'singer'. I repeatedly asked the agency to
change this obvious mistake... to no avail.
One
year later, Agency X still doesn't have an actual office in Wellington,
my actual booker sits in Auckland and is single-handedly juggling
several divisions within the agency (actors, dancers, singers and
creatives). There is the agent as well of course but I have never once
had any communication with the agent, except following some of my
updates and one group meeting when the agent came down to Wellington. I
started feeling more and more uneasy and the regular emails that I
received from Auckland were not making me feel any better. 90% of them
were for Auckland actors and the rest of them notified me of Wellington
workshops and the like that I had already found out about myself,
sometimes up to a couple of weeks prior.
I
was loosing all trust in my representation. So, a while ago I made up
my mind that I at least needed to find out if there was anyone out there
who was actually excited about representing me, someone who believed in
my potential.
About
two months ago I submitted my CV to three agents (for starters). One of
them didn't respond despite follow-ups and another gave me no right
away. Fair enough. The one agent left was actually my number one choice
and an agent I knew I did not have a chance in hell to sign with. The
agency is based in Auckland but because I had heard so many great things
about them, they were top of my list. nonetheless. But the agent
replied saying that I had a very interesting CV, that she would love to
hear more about me and asked did I have a reel. I about had a heart
attack, I was so flattered and excited.
Over
the past two months I have had regular email correspondence with the
agent. Her advice has been priceless and I am really very grateful. She
said right off that she doesn't take new Wellington talent but she'd be
happy to view my work if I wanted to shoot a couple of scenes. She even
gave me advice on what type of scripts to choose and offered to sent
some scripts through should I need them. How awesomely generous is
that?! I had already chosen a scene from Crash and a lighter, more
commercial one minute play. After a whirlwind of a February, I finally
got around to shooting my scenes and sent them off.
The bad news is she didn't sign me. Here is what she had to say though:
'Thanks
very much for all the effort you have gone to. After viewing the tapes I
must recommend that you speak to [Agency A] in Wgtn and see if they can
act as agent and mentor to you over the next few years.
I don't feel that [my agency] is the right agent at this point in your career and it would disadvantage you when you need to be building up your resume and working alongside an agent who is 'on the ground' in Wgtn.
Although I do sometimes take local actors on board most of them are Toi Whakaari graduates or in a younger or older age bracket.
If you look at the women in your age group that are already represented by [my agency] you'll see my problem. Too many listed for the amount of work in the market place and all of them would audition for the same work.
All the best of luck to you. If you would like me to forward these files along with your photos and resume I'm happy to introduce you to [Agent A].'
I don't feel that [my agency] is the right agent at this point in your career and it would disadvantage you when you need to be building up your resume and working alongside an agent who is 'on the ground' in Wgtn.
Although I do sometimes take local actors on board most of them are Toi Whakaari graduates or in a younger or older age bracket.
If you look at the women in your age group that are already represented by [my agency] you'll see my problem. Too many listed for the amount of work in the market place and all of them would audition for the same work.
All the best of luck to you. If you would like me to forward these files along with your photos and resume I'm happy to introduce you to [Agent A].'
Despite
knowing in my heart of hearts that I didn't stand a chance in the first
place, I must admit that I was disappointed. The generousness that the
agent had shown me with her time, advice, and encouragement just made me
want her to be my agent really really badly.
On
second thought (or second read) however, I realised that not only was
she absolutely right but she did believe in my potential enough to want
to recommend me to the best agency in Wellington. Pretty unreal!
That
agent is actually my partner's agent and because I knew them
personally, they were the first agency I ever talked to. Back then, I
didn't stand a chance to get signed but had I worked hard enough over
the past two years to deserve a chance now? I told the Auckland agent
that I would love her endorsement and she got in touch with Agency A.
When I sent her a thank you note, I got an email back saying Agent A
'was
genuinely excited about speaking to you so I'm really pleased that you
will be with someone who values you. Hard to find an agent these days
who actually gives a toss about their actors and [Agent A] is a gem.'
A
week later I met with Agent A and after ten minutes of small talk, I
got sent home with two copies of a contract to look over. Wow!
I
am under no illusion that auditions are still going to be few and far
in between. I am hoping it'll be better though and that my new agent
believes enough in me to value, support and reward the progress that I
myself make happen over the next few years. And when I do get work, I
will have an agent who I trust to negotiate hard for me.
So, here's to working hard, having gumption and stickability, and being with an agent who gives a toss!
Fingers crossed.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
The slow and winding road
I know I have been a very bad blogger
this year. It's not that I don't want to blog but when there is
literally nothing happing in my actor life, I just don't have that much
to say. This is a blog about an actor's journey after all.
I did get to go on a wonderful and much needed short trip with my mum, who I see about once a year since she lives about as far away as it gets. I got to visit wonderboy's other grandparents and got to explore this wonderful country with two of my favourite people in the entire world. Escaping the domesticity, Wellington and the daily grind was bliss!
Otherwise, the past two months
have been tough and slow and unnerving and mind-numbingly paralysing as
far as being an actor is concerned.
I have been tied down by family and work commitments, acting and/or other classes are so not in the budget this year (not that I had time for them anyway), the audition circuit has been super slow (=non-existent) and there has been nothing new from my agency either. Off late I have not even had the time to do anything for my acting career that doesn't involve money because, well, the day's only got 24 hours.
I have been tied down by family and work commitments, acting and/or other classes are so not in the budget this year (not that I had time for them anyway), the audition circuit has been super slow (=non-existent) and there has been nothing new from my agency either. Off late I have not even had the time to do anything for my acting career that doesn't involve money because, well, the day's only got 24 hours.
To say that I have been
frustrated and on the brink of giving up altogether is an
understatement. But you know what, giving up because life gets in the
way of what you want is an entirely stupid idea. Maybe all this is about
testing my patience and my willingness to persevere.
So, here I am, still not sure
what to do to make more time to create an acting future for myself but
at least I don't feel like I am dragging three tons of dead weight with
me any more because yesterday I got to do some acting! For the first
time this year I have said to hell with the budget and to hell with
getting other things done, I need to ACT. So, yesterday I finally
enlisted the help of my amazing friend and teacher Barbara and filmed those audition scenes I have been meaning to film since about my last acting-related blog post.
It felt simply glorious!
Today, I edited the videos and
sent them off to an agent who has offered to take a look at my work and
provide some feedback and guidance. It's a small step but it's a step.
So, sometimes when you feel like
life is getting too much and it royally sucks that you're not getting
your way even a little bit, you have got to claw your way back into
control. Even if it is just for an hour on a Thursday afternoon.
Because for that hour nothing else matters but that you are there, in
the moment, working and doing what you love. And there it is, something
to be grateful for, something to remind you off all the other things
in your life that you love and appreciate and should really thank the
universe for every day.
My friend said something very
wise to me yesterday. Even when you feel powerless to change the current
circumstances of your life, you at least have the power to stop feeling
shit about it. So, here's what I'm gonna do, today is a new day and I'm
going to stop feeling bad about all the things that I can't control. I
shall have faith that I am where I am for a reason, that the universe is
my infinite supply, that wonderful things will happen under the grace
of the universe and that I will recognise and appreciate even the
smallest of them.
It's a slow and winding road, so kia kaha everyone!
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