“Here is a short guide on how to maximize the benefit and minimize the risk of this extremely powerful tool.”
- 7 Ways to Make the Most of Your Reel (Even If You Don’t Have One) – July 10, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Self-judgment is such a huge impediment to moving forward and as we have already discussed, there are already plenty of people who will feel free to judge you; don’t do it to yourself.”
- 3 Things Actors Need to Shed on Their Journeys – June 5, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Here are seven things that are essential to every good audition. If you keep these in mind, you will be grounded in the scene, focused, your nerves will dissolve, and you will stand out from the pack.”
- The 7 C’s of Auditioning – April 22, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Just as an athlete has to workout every day, a writer has to write every day, and a musician needs to practice scales, an actor needs to practice in front of a camera on a regular basis.”
- 4 Free Things an Actor Can Do to Improve – April 7, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Stay focused and don’t give up… PERSEVERE. All great accomplishments have a beginning.”
- 9 Famous Actors Who Started as Extras – March 27, 2014 – Backstage.com
“TEN SECONDS is about the time you have to make some kind of impression in a reading. At this point in the process, everyone in the room is neutral and ready to be impressed. But, if you haven’t prepared your piece in a way that allows you to get out of the gate fast and engage them from the very start, you’ve lost the room.”
- Those First 10 Seconds – March 25, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Psychologist Don E. Hamechek posited the theory that there are two distinct types of perfectionist: normal and neurotic. The former strives to better him- or herself by pushing the boundaries further …”
- Learn to Chase Spirits – March 21, 2014 – Backstage.com
6 Easy Tips for Better Character Dialects
- 6 Easy Tips for Better Character Dialects – March 12, 2014 – CaseItTalent.com
“You are an actor. The sooner you commit fully to that notion and give yourself permission to be an actor—whether you’ve booked a pilot this year or not—the sooner you’ll achieve the career that you want. And then your career will slow down, and then it will pick up again. Then slow again. You’ll manage the ups and downs with a full life, but you will always be an actor. No one can take that from you. Not even you.”
- How to Know When It’s Time to Give up Acting – March 12, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Choose one of these tips each day to try out. Find out what works for you. When you have less stress in your life, you can effortlessly apply the techniques you have learned in your acting class and ultimately, offer up a stellar audition performance!”
- 10 Tips for Avoiding Stress – March 10, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Actors moving from L.A. to New York to pursue prime-time television”
- 4 Ways That New York Has Become More Like L.A. – March 5, 2014 – Backstage.com
“It’s your career, and if you don’t take the time to care about it, how can you expect anyone else to?”
- The One Thing You Should Always Do After Auditions – March 3, 2014 – Backstage.com
“You cannot become a great actor if you are criticizing yourself or others in the process. This is not a loving act, and a person cannot change from the energy of judgment. Authentic change is a transformation that comes from the energy of trust. If you are judging yourself as an actor, you will go into every acting class, audition, and directors session not open.”
- 3 Ways to Find Love for Yourself and Your Art – February 28, 2014 – Backstage.com
ONE QUESTION: What are the important qualities in this character?
“we simply want to see your version of the character,” in as few words as possible, sum up the three qualities you have prepared for your version of the character.”
- The 1 Question to Ask Before Every Audition – February 25, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Press on, regardless!”
“I believe the key is to accept adversity as part of your personal story. Like I said before, it’s just an obstacle that must be overcome. And here’s the thing you have to understand: Your struggle is not unique. It’s your response to struggle that will define you.”
- Embrace the Struggle of Your Career – February 24, 2014 – Backstage.com
“It has often been said that a casting director will size you up the minute you walk through the door. It turns out that research from Princeton University shows this to be wrong. It only takes about a tenth of a second!”
- 3 Tips to Help Young Actors Make Better First Impressions – February 21, 2014 – Backstage.com
“You get a commercial callback, and 10-25 actors are up for the same role as you. You either do a great job and don’t get booked, or you do a “so-so” job and you get the commercial. Rather confusing, right? You have to ask yourself what is going on in the minds of those making the decisions. How are they judging the actors and their auditions? Who gets booked—is it luck? Wonder what the factors are that lead to that casting choice?”
Read on to checkout this formula explaining which factors decide whether or not you book a commercial…
- The 4 Factors of Booking Commercials – February 11, 2014 – Backstage.com
THE LIONS (Agency)
A new modeling agency is digging its claws into New York’s fashion industry, taking some big name girls with it in the process.
- How a 24-year-old’s new modeling agency is luring the world’s top faces from their longtime management – February 5, 2014 – Dailymail.co.uk
Advice & Tips for ACTORS, MODELS, MUSICIANS, ATHLETES, ARTISTS, and Talents of ALL Endeavors …
DELIBERATE PRACTICE + TIME= MYELIN= TALENT
“But what the heck is myelin? Myelin is a layer of dense fat that wraps around the nerve fibers in your central nervous system. Myelin works the same way that rubber insulation works on a wire, it keeps the signal strong by preventing electrical impulses from leaking out. It allows impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along your nervous system. The more myelination you have, the more talented you are in that skill. The more you practice on your craft, the thicker and stronger myelination becomes in your brain.
Gifted athletes, artists, and talents of all endeavors have one thing in common, thick and strong myelination from hours and hours of consistent practice. They end up, after all their training, with a super insulated wire—lots of bandwidth.”
- The Science Behind Great Acting – February 14, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Fearlessness and faith! We either embrace them or we don’t. We either leave our comfort zone or we don’t. We are always at a place of choice and of becoming. And…there is only now.
Your presence is what makes you unique and irreplaceable, setting you apart every time. Dare to be bold. Be brave. Dare to inspire. You don’t need to “fit in.” You don’t need to “do it right,” and “figure out” what the casting directors and agents seek. They seek you. They want you—your authentic, inspired, humanity.”
- Break Free of Self-Imposed Limitations – February 4, 2014 – Backstage.com
“What I’ve learned so far is that great performing artists are ballsy. They dare. They are brave and audacious and because of it, they blaze in our memory long after the performances have ended.”
- 7 Ways to Be More Courageous – February 5, 2014 – Backstage.com
“The actor’s job is to find ways to relate to the character. You need to be able to create a connection so strong to the character that you and the character become a Venn diagram together with zones of overlapping qualities and zones of separation.”
- Tune Your Heartbeat to Your Character’s Heartbeat – February 4, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Actors and words are forever linked. Words can be ordinary, powerful, poetic; they are given, as a gift, to actors. Actors return the gift by using their skill and talent to imbue words on the page with spoken meaning AND ALIVENESS.”
- Why Being an Avid Reader Will Make You a Better Actor – January 31, 2014 – Backstage.com
“As we move forward into 2014, let’s recommit ourselves to addressing this issue. To get started, consider three things:”
1. How do you define success? (Meaning, what needs to happen in your career that will lead you to say, “NOW I am successful.”)
2. To achieve this success, how many hours per day/week/month will you need to work?
3. (And this is the hard part.): Make it happen.
- How to Make Acting Your Career, Not Your Hobby – January 31, 2014 – Backstage.com
“The time is now to take an honest assessment of where you are in your career. Fully understand the process of the business. And most importantly take an honest look at any personal resistance you may have that is holding you back from reaching the next level in your career.”
- Begin Pilot Season as a Professional Actor – January 29, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Here are some helpful tools and insight so that you can have a GREAT AUDITION.”
(read on to understand…. this is GREAT!!!)
- Preparing for a Great Audition – January 27, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Rehearse an audition piece using the three different placements of energy.”
(read on to understand…. this is GREAT!!!)
- The 3 Types of Characters That Will Ace Your Audition – January 23, 2014 – Backstage.com
This is a MUST READ for Actors!!!
- 4 Addictions You Need to Kick in 2014 – January 22, 2014 – Backstage.com
FIRST IMPRESSIONS…
Here’s a good audition tip: When you walk in the room, be confident. The human brain makes over 27 judgments about another person within seconds of meeting them. These judgments are based on your posture, body language, voice tone, breathing rate, eye contact, etc.
- Audition Tips & Tricks for Actors – January 16, 2014 – ace-your-audition.com
“Visualize the audition. This one works wonders for people. After rehearsing the scene many times, close your eyes and visualize the audition from start to finish. Imagine walking in the door, fully prepared, slating your name, and then disappearing into the scene, completely forgetting about the fact that it’s an audition. Then imagine walking away and feeling great about it. This can be a powerful tool if used effectively.”
- 6 Steps to Getting Over Audition Nerves – January 17, 2014 – Backstage.com
“It’s not only important to feel a high degree of confidence in yourself, but also to realize that everything you do from beginning to end needs to give the people in the room the confidence to give you the job.”
- Why Confidence is Vital in Auditions – January 16, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Make sure to keep your slate as a separate scene and not roll right from your slate into the scene—that signals an amateur.”
- HOW TO BECOME A MASTER SLATER – January 14, 2014 – marciliroff.com
“Improvisation training is a powerful tool and often a necessity in booking work, so it must be included as part of the actor’s training.”
- Why Improvisation Training Is a Commercial Audition Necessity – January 15, 2014 – Backstage.com
“It doesn’t matter what level you’re at—you still gotta WORK HARD”
- 6 Tips for Having a Rewarding Career From Jerry Ferrara – January 13, 2014 – Backstage.com
“One of the BEST!!! Bernard Telsey is head of Telsey + Company casting, a premier theatre and film casting company in New York. Great information here he shared recently in an interview on “Audition Essentials”
- Booking It! Casting Director Bernard Telsey on Audition Essentials – January 13, 2014 – PlayBill.com
“In hopes of sparing you from similar faux pas. These are examples of actors’ worst on-set nightmares. All based on actual occurrences. Read and take heed…or prepare to bleed!”
- 12 Major Faux Pas to Avoid on Set – January 13, 2014 – Backstage.com
Here are some DOs and one major DON’T of social media for Actors AND MODELS..
- The DOs and 1 Major DON’T of Social Media for Actors – January 9, 2014 – Backstage.com
GREAT TIPS for Self-Taping Your Audition! Basic tips to help you take charge of your auditions and elevate your work.
- 8 Tips For Self-Taping Your Auditions – June 17, 2013 – Backstage.com
“If you’re like most, you’re starting the year steeped in good intentions: resolving to get a decent agent, land a role in a feature, and do three plays. All well and good, except that you can’t control any of those things. You can do a lot to set yourself up for success, but it’s not often you can book yourself onto a job. So what can an actor resolve?”
- How to Set Yourself Up for Success in 2014 – January 7, 2014 – Backstage.com
“Once the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the the scene are answered, the ‘how’ takes care of itself”
- The 2 Most Important Questions to Ask in a Scene – January 7, 2014 – Backstage.com
“The smarter the actor, the deeper the choices”
- Knowing Where You Are in Time and Place When Creating Your Character – January 6, 2014 – Backstage.com