Advice for Beginning Actors

I received an email from a mother asking for advice for her 18yo son who is about to embark on an acting career. Here is my response:

I might not be the best person to ask as I'm no longer pursuing acting as a career, and a tenet I try to follow is: only take advice from people who already have what you want or who have been where you're planning to go. That said:

1. Figure out why you want to act, and stay true to that. If you want to act because it's fun - then be wary of doing anything that robs you of that joy.
2. Develop a skill other than acting that you can use to pay the bills through flexible part-time employment. This is critical to self-esteem, and does not hem in your liberty as you might suspect but actually frees you to pursue your dream. Harrison Ford was one heck of a carpenter and Jeremy Renner flips houses. I made a living doing animation, education consulting, and tech support - all incredibly flexible, and paid well enough that my "day jobs" never took up more than 20hrs a week.
3. Develop fiscal responsibility *now* - put together an emergency fund (3-6mo living expenses), contribute 10%+ of all of your income to a retirement account - if you think being a starving artist is tough, try being a starving septuagenarian with no job prospects. Again, this will free you to pursue your acting career. Money worries are all consuming and will totally sap energies you would otherwise be directing to your career. Also, getting rich doesn't solve money problems it magnifies them; so get your head on straight now.
4. Seek out mentors personally (sorry Mom) and listen to them. Have an acting hero? Write them a letter telling them what you most respect about them, and ask them a single specific question.
5. Seek out like-minded artists: find other actors, directors, writers. Spend time with them. At all costs avoid: cynical types with no drive. You won't notice it as it happens, but they will bring you down. You are the average of your five closest friends. Once you have this network of artists, help them in any way you can without compromising yourself.
6. Spend a year in one of the big markets, if you're 18 and can pass for younger you are very castable. Find out what you don't know; it'll be a lot. Then GO TO COLLEGE and ask questions, lots of them. If you can stand it, get a minor or second degree that will help you out with that side-job. After that, go back to one of the big markets and try again.
7. Self-produce. There is no one who cares enough about your success to do the work for you; you have to make your own opportunities. It's great that you want to write and make comics. Story -> comic -> screenplay is one of the primary movie generation pathways these days.
8. Work as an actor whenever you can. You have a lot to learn. Even crappy student productions will teach you patience and humility - these are important skills. Background work is helpful in that it demystifies being on-set. Do it long enough to work out the jitters but leave before the cynicism of the other background actors poisons you.
9. Do not ever allow someone to belittle you, you are a human being with inherent worth.
10. Be a professional. Show up early (being late once is enough to kill your career's momentum). Be prepared. Do your work. Don't be a distraction.
11. Be respectful. There is not a person on set who cannot teach you something if you actually take the time to listen. Crew members love film/theater more than you could ever hope to - learn their names, learn about their lives, and give them the thanks they deserve.
12. Find an accountability buddy. I have a friend I call once a week for a career strategy session. We set goals and provide accountability. We text each other every single day to ensure we're on track. This person cannot be a flake. They must be driven and you must respect them, otherwise the system doesn't work. When you are only responsible to yourself, you won't accomplish much. You can move mountains if you believe that just one other person cares whether you do it or not.
13. There is no shortage of people happy to separate a fool from his money. If someone is promising you a silver bullet that will land you an agent, get you a job, or a make you a star: they are liars and cheats (even if they don't realize it); walk quickly in the other direction. Listen to the advice of people who have achieved what you want to, the good ones are happy to give it for free.
14. See plays, watch movies, get out of your house/apartment. Ain't nothin' gonna happen unless you go out in the world and interact with people.
15. An acting career is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be times where your light shines brightly, and others where your agent seems to be avoiding your calls. Do those things that feed your artist and keep you excited about the craft. Do readings with friends, stage impromptu shows in your living room, shoot stupid web videos. Know that things will get better.
16. As an actor you are a small business (folks like Will Smith are their own private industries) - dedicate office hours to the business end of your career. Every day M-F you should be spending 30+min on marketing and career strategy. This is on top of any work you're putting into your craft (and you should be doing that regularly too).
17. Live your life. You'll spend years waiting for your big break and for your life to "finally begin". Don't wait. Take that vacation (that you've saved for), do exciting things, learn as much as you possibly can about the world and its inhabitants. Do something that scares you (even if it's just saying hello to that cute girl/guy) every day.

If you've found this helpful, please do me a favor and pay it forward. My buddy JP is producing a one man show (see #5, #7, #8, #15) and is raising funds so that he can share it with audiences across the country. You can contribute to his kickstarter campaign (no amount is too small) here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnpaulkarliak/making-mamas-proud-the-2011-donna-madonna-tour

How To Thank Your Network

Kristine Oller is a marketing and career consultant for actors. She recently shared what I think is a fantastic idea: inexpensive but not cheap thank you gifts.

A successful acting career is about building and strengthening relationships; in fact most careers are about relationships. It's just that with most careers you only have to lean on your contacts once every few years for help securing a job instead of on a daily basis as actors do. Every time someone vouches for you they are risking a part of their credibility, it's safer not to recommend someone than it is to recommend them. With that in mind, when someone does stick their neck out for you, you should acknowledge it. How?

Every time someone refers a potential employer (CD, director, producer) or employee (agent, manager, etc) to you - even if you don't book the part or sign with them, you should send your referrer a token of your thanks. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it should be significant.

• A hand-written card.
• A gift certificate for a scoop of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
• Pull a Famous Amos and give them freshly baked cookies.
• A gift card in the amount of the most expensive item on the menu at Starbucks.
• A small trinket that the receiver would enjoy and not perceive as junk.

Yes this is an added expense, and yes you're probably poor and don't have a gift budget. That said, giving a small gift to acknowledge a contact's efforts on your behalf is invaluable. It lets them know you appreciate what they did, it helps to reinforce your relationship, and it makes future referrals more likely. It'll also make your grandmother proud.

Please write a comment with any other ideas you have for inexpensive but good gifts.

Eight Tips for Stronger Professional Relationships

Today I bring you a guest post from career coach Dallas Travers. I've worked with Dallas in the past and can't recommend her highly enough. She's really figured out what it takes to live the acting lifestyle in a productive, healthy, sustainable way. If you're living in the LA area looking to improve your marketing, check out her company Sage Creative.

Creative Career Coach & Author, Dallas Travers wrote the groundbreaking book, The Tao of Show Business: How to Pursue Your Dream Without Losing Your Mind. She coaches artists & actors around the globe to creatively master their business. If you’re ready to jump-start your artistic career, get your FREE Thriving Artist Starter kit now at http://www.thrivingartistcircle.com

1. Add value.
Be willing to help others. Listen well. Go see your friends' shows. Show up on time and stay through the end. Send thank you cards. Remember birthdays. Offer help and support. Tell others about a great book you're reading or a fantastic restaurant you enjoyed. Participate because you want to, not because you have to. Share your ideas, resources and time. The Tao of Show Business involves a natural flow, so if you are unwilling to give things away, you actually block the natural flow of things. How can you expect people to help you when you don't first help others? Don't be the person who only contacts others when you need a favor. Stay in consistent communication so asking for help is no big deal, and receiving it is easy. Add value and increase the value of your day-to-day life.

2. Be authentic.
Stop worrying about what casting directors or agents are looking for. They're looking for you, so just be yourself. Be authentically you, so that you will easily find your people. Be you and make everyone's job a little easier. My client, Justine, got fired from her fourth agent in about four years. Not because she couldn't act or even because her résumé was weak. Justine left the wrong impression with her agents every time she met with a new one. You see, Justine is really quirky and kinda clumsy. She's adorably neurotic and very marketable. Yet Justine figured the best way to take an agent meeting was to arrive all buttoned up and proper. That's what she did and agents got the message, so these same people continued to send her out on auditions for uptight professional types; the opposite of who Justine really is. It's no wonder she couldn't keep an agent. Justine wasn't her authentic self and therefore wasn't making the right match. As soon as she allowed herself to be her true self, she found the right agent who found the right auditions and Justine started booking like crazy. Be authentically you. Nobody else does you like you do!

3. Embrace the power of teamwork.
Share your passion and talent with the people in your life and encourage them to do the same. John Paul Getty once said that he would rather have 1% of the effort of 100 men than 100% of his own effort. You do not have to take this journey on your own. You can enlist the support, feedback and resources of others to make things happen more efficiently and effectively. Force yourself to ask for help and be the first to offer it. Be willing to ask questions and open to receiving honest, constructive feedback. Connect people together. What better way to strengthen your team than to connect your people together! Think about the people you know and identify who they should know and why. Make introductions to support the Collaborators in your life and tie your separate circles together while you're at it.

4. Expect nothing.
As cool as it would be to control everyone around you, that's just not the way it works. You can only control your own actions, so let go of any expectations you may have about who should do what and how things should all go. Don't keep score. Be responsible for your own needs and wants. Focus on you and do the things that inspire you or make you feel good. Take action because you want to, not because you have to. Release your need to be in charge and be open to any possibility. Surprise yourself.

5. Listen more and talk less.
The best conversationalists are those people who listen more than they speak. Pay attention to what's going on. Observe others and learn from their successes as well as their mistakes. Make others feel appreciated because you listen to what they have to say. Even if you've heard it all before, always bring new ears and eyes to every situation in order to learn. That's how you get better.

6. Follow up and follow through.
Stay in touch. Don't leave things unfinished and be mindful enough not to over-commit. Do what you say you will and communicate openly. Be honest. Don't be flakey. Show up when you say you will. Answer your phone and return phone calls quickly. Actively participate in your career and keep your word.

7. Turn your complaints into requests.
Stop moaning and make change. If your scene partner isn't pulling her weight, don't bitch. Look for creative solutions and constructive ways to create new results, encourage new behaviors, or completely change your relationship. Crying won't get you anywhere, so be a part of the solution rather than the problem. If you cannot turn your complaint into a request, you have nothing to complain about.

8. Be cool.
The only power to be had exists in the present moment. Don't worry about what happened last week, about what you forgot to do, or where you dropped the ball. Stop worrying about the future, wondering about whether or not you'll get that callback or if your agent is really working hard on your behalf. You cannot change the past and you can't predict the future, so just be cool and stay present.

An Actor's Professional Obligation

As an actor your professional obligation is to play your part in such a way that the story is told. The audience is not paying to see you act, they are paying to be told a story. There is no obligation for you to feel anything.

It is okay to play at an emotion instead of feel it. Does it make the experience richer if you are actually feeling what the character is feeling? Yes. But there is no obligation.

Just tell the story folks.

When you remove the pressure of needing to feel, it actually makes it easier for that process to occur.

Are You Ready To Audition?

To provide a counterpoint to my last post (and an uncomfortably intimate view of the debates that rage in my head), let me introduce a harsh check:

Are you an aspiring actor who feels like you should be getting cast more? Have you ever stopped to ask whether you deserve to be cast more? To find out, do the following:

1. Pick out an actor whose career you would like to emulate.
2. Search for their name on IMDB.
3. Go to their earliest entry as an actor.
4. Rent a copy of that film or television episode.
5. Watch it.
6. Ask yourself: Can you, given an evening's preparation, deliver a performance as good or better?

If you answered "Yes," then you're ready. Go out and audition, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You're just starting out, folks get that.

If you answered "No," then you're not ready. A film or tv show takes a significant financial risk every time it casts an unknown actor. If you can't deliver an entry-level professional performance then you don't deserve to be cast. Sorry.

But wait, there's hope. Take that same actor and read their IMDB biography. You'll probably find that they did theater for 10 years before being cast in that first role. If you haven't put in that much time doing theater you might still reach the same level of competence given time and effort.

Here's my homework:

Actor: Keanu Reeves

First Film: One Step Away (1985)

Could I do as well?: Yes. I think so.

Which means: I'm good enough to be auditioning for supporting roles in films with < $1 million budgets.

The Evidence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LItH17PuXSo

Get Your Ideas Out Into The World

A great short video on why it's important to get your ideas out into the world:

MeetWays.com: An Easier Way to "Do Lunch"

If you've ever met someone and then said "We should do lunch," you (like myself) are probably living a tired Hollywood cliche. A lot of these lunches never come together because the other party never wanted to do lunch in the first place, but a subset of these meetings don't happen because it just seems like too much work to find an agreeable meeting place.

MeetWays.com provides a very simple solution to this problem. Simply type in both of your addresses and the type of place you'd like to meet (Japanese Restaurant, Starbucks, etc) press the "Get halfway location" button and in no time at all you'll have a google maps search result of all the starbucks near the exact halfway mark between you and you're lunch-date.

Examples of where this might be useful:

• Find a meeting place for you and your rehearsal partner.
• Discover new restaurants or bars with a friend.
• Reduce the hidden power-dynamic found in friendships where one person does more driving than the other.
• Find the most convenient seedy-hotel for you and your Craigslist Casual Encounter.

Now if only they had a means of finding a mutually agreeable time we'd really be cooking with gas.

Edit (3/22/2009):

MeetInbetweenUs and aPlaceBetweenUs both provide a similar tool for finding a meeting point except they allow for more than two addresses to be entered.

Packing for a Trip with the Universal Packing List

After a trip around the world you'd think I could manage to pack for a two week trip without use of the internet. Well, for better or worse, I'm way too neurotic for that. I'm leaving for Washington D.C. (my half-marathon + family), NYC (friends), & Columbus OH (business) tomorrow. Enter: The Universal Packing List.

This website is ugly as hell, but quite useful. Simply fill out a brief questionaire about your trip and press the "Create packing list" button. In no time at all you'll have a categorized list of everything you need to bring to have a pleasantly uneventful trip.

My favorite feature is the "Things to do before you leave" section which includes gems like (comments are mine):

• Wash the dishes
• Unplug electrical stuff
• Empty all trashcans (I've forgotten this in the past which makes for an odiferous welcome home)
• Forward (or hold) delivery of newspapers and magazines (You can now do it online) 
• Pay rent

It even reminds you to pack:

• Charger to Cell Phone
• Battery charger for camera

How to Save Gas While Dropping Off Headshots

Almost every agent and casting director will tell you that they don't want actors personally dropping headshots at their offices. Yet every actors' marketing session or career strategy session I have attended has suggested that mailing headshots alone won't work, you should drop them off in person so that you can see the office and get a little face time with an assistant. What I think this means is that it's okay to drop off headshots in person so long as you don't dress up like the UPS man and lock an agent in the closet until they agree to sign you.

While the thought of going out and seeing more of LA while furthering my career has always seemed laudible, I always found myself at home licking stamps: "sure you could drive to hell and back dropping off headshots, or you could mail them and save a ton of your time and gas."

Well, there's finally an answer to the age of old question: What's the most efficient route between home, the 22 agencies I've decided to target, and my place of work?

The TSP Solver, a great little google maps mashup. TSP is short for "Travelling Sales Person" a title that a lot of actors can identify with. It allows you to enter up to 24 addresses, press a button, and get a turn by turn route between your destinations. The great part is, it selects the most effecient route between those points, saving you both time and money. Another great feature is that you can choose between home->destination (on your way to work), or roundtrip (on your lunch break) routing.

Thanks go to Thrillist.com for the heads up on this useful tool.

What You Want vs What You Want Most

Los Angeles is a big city and the possibility of "making it" often seems so remote that it is very easy to lose sight of what you want most. A simple example from my life this evening:

I want to watch The Fountain to escape and be entertained. However, what I want most is to travel around the world making a film with my friend Gabriel.

To do what I want most I have to save money so that I can continue to pay rent in LA. Thus, I need to stop watching The Fountain, take my laptop to Starbucks and get some work done.

Try to evaluate your wants against what you want most at some point. You may be suprised at just how far off-track you can get yourself doing things that seem right.

Cold Reading Tips

Cold reading is for the most part dead. What most actors call cold reading today is actually a prepared read or at least a lukewarm read. For most auditions you've got the sides at least 24hrs in advance and by all rights you should be off-book and at performance level when you enter the room. Granted, I make a gallant effort towards this end, but usually end up half-memorized and half-committed to my choices; not an enviable position. Last night I picked up some wonderful tips on how to approach a cold read – and I can already see applications in the realm of prepared reads. Richard Seyd is the man responsible for this little bit of genius. The following is a paraphrasing of his lecture:

When an actor is given a script and only given a little bit of time to prepare all of the blood drains from his brain and floods his major muscle groups. Yep, fight or flight. So when you feel stupid in an audition, it's because you actually are stupid. That being said, if you create and practice a preparation for cold reads and auditions you'll be much more able to effectively wrangle your grey matter (it's had more practice).

When actors are given a script on short notice they often fall into the trap of immediately building a character and back-story without taking the time to fully understand the text. This is stupid. The text will inform your character choices, and will allow you to be more specific and accurate. A couple very good choices will serve you far better than a dozen ungrounded and unclear choices. In order to arrive at a clearer understanding of the text in a short period of time, you should read it in a series of passes, making a conscious effort not to think just about your character but to take in the totality of the scene.

1. Read the first few lines and a the last few lines of the script. It's entirely possible to read a script and have no idea what you just read, reading the beginning and end gives you context as you read through the whole script. Remember, time is precious.
   
2. Read the script as a WRITER. Ask yourself these questions:
   
   1. Why is this scene in the script?
      
   2. What page number is this? Are we still in exposition-land?
      
   3. How is the scene written?
      
      1. Short sentences?
         
      2. Long sentences?
         
      3. What is the significance of the style of the writing.
         
3. Read the script as a DIRECTOR. If you were to direct the actors in the scene, how would you tell the other actor to play their part? This will help you to generate lively responses when you are working with a CD or actor who is giving you a flat read (DO NOT take this as license to actually direct the other actor, that's a big no-sirreee JimBob).
   
4. Read the script as an EDITOR. Ask yourself these questions:
   
   1. Where are the close ups?
      
   2. Is there a turning point in the scene? Find It!
      
      1. This is where the character shifts their psychological state.
         
      2. It can be the last moment of the scene.
         
   3. Control the time.
      
      1. Where can you place a moment within YOUR lines that directs all of the focus to you?
         
         1. Put a marker in the first 4 lines of the scene. CDs make snap judgments; make sure they've had a chance to really take you in.
            
   4. Finally, read the script as an ACTOR. Make the strongest possible choice that the text of the scene will hold.
      
      1. Even if it's "wrong" it's far better to make a strong choice supported by the text and get a redirect than to make a middling choice and get dismissed.
         
      2. How can you raise the stakes in the scene?
         
5. Read the scene for CLARIFICATION. If there are any lingering questions you have (e.g. What is my relationship to this other character?) read the text with only that question in mind. You'll likely find the answer, if you don't just pick something.
   

While this post has grown into something of a tome, it's all really good stuff and definitely worth giving a shot the next time you're playing around with a script with some actor buddies. If it works for you, then make a habit of doing it every time you get sides, a habit of preparation is what will allow you to excel in a cold-read situation.

Save Time, Gas, & Money Looking for Monologues

Samuel French theatrical bookstore is usually the first stop for actors looking for new monologues. The procedure goes something like this:

1. Drive 40 minutes to Samuel French (Everything in LA is 40 minutes away, unless you have to take the 405, then it's 4hrs away).
   
2. Buy 2-3 monologue books and drive home.
   
3. Read through the books and find a monologue that you like, note the play or screenplay it is from.
   
4. Drive back to Samuel French and purchase a copy of the play/screenplay.
   
5. Read the play and try to find another usable monologue within the play, so as to avoid doing a monologue that casting directors have seen a thousand times before.
   

Note that steps 1-4 can be compressed into one trip to Samuel French, but your back will be wicked sore.

However if you've got a little more time at your disposal the following procedure works gangbusters:

1. Go to the LA Public library website and search for "monologue"
   
2. Place a hold on any and all monologue books, have the books delivered to your local branch.
   
3. When you get an email saying they've arrived, walk 10 minutes to your local branch and read through the monologues at the library.
   
4. Place holds on any plays you want to pull monologues from.
   
5. Return to the library in a couple days to pick up your plays.
   

Ta Da! You've just saved about 2.5 hrs of driving, and $80 in books. Plus, you're not increasing your carbon footprint because shuttles run books between all the libraries anyway.

Regrets about leaving the business.

Ok, don't let the title scare you. I'm not going anywhere, in fact I'm more passionate and optimistic about this whole operation than I've been in a long time. However I wanted to share the following thoughts with you about regret (most of them synthesized from comments of other's who've been at this longer than me):

If in ten years you leave acting to take up a "real" job and live out the rest of your life, will you regret leaving? Well, that really depends on how you are pursuing acting at the moment. If you are preparing 100% for every audition, and giving your auditors the best that you have to offer every step of the way, then no. No, you shouldn't have any regrets, you've given it an honest to goodness shot and maybe it's not the right path for you. However, if at every audition you only give 50% and prepare half as well as you could and then leave acting to take up a day job... well then you will have regrets. They'll gnaw at you: I'd have made it if I'd taken it more seriously, or nobody saw what I really had to offer.

Not giving it your all is a cunning cop-out. I've seen my students (and myself) use it all the time. If you don't study for the test and you fail, it's no big deal. "I could have aced it if I tried, y'know If I'd wanted to." But imagine how heartbreaking it would be if you study your hardest for your test and you still fail, or you only get a B. Getting an honest assessment of ones abilities and limits is scary, a lot of people never dare to do much of anything for this reason.



That said, I will dare to be brave. I will do my damnedest, and if I come up short, then I'll have to accept it. But at least I'll know I did my best, and that is something I won't be able to regret.

Audition Tip: Take Time to Take the Note

I did something new in an audition today, and it paid off. For once, I actually took the time to take the note.

Earlier today, I drove down to Orange, CA. It's a 50 minute trip in the best of times, and a 2.5hr trek in the worst of times. The traffic was relatively light during my trip, so I got to Orange in about an hour and a half. I was just in time – to try and find the audition room that wasn't listed on the casting notice. Apparently, I had arrived before the director, I later found her in one of the spots I had already searched.

I took a decent first stab at the sides, I was partially off book and I gave a partially interesting read. Afterwards, the director gave me an adjustment (or note) "Imagine that during the second half of this script, your mother is really talking about you needing to take care of your autistic brother for the rest of his life." I felt like I had a good sense of what she wanted and was just about to plow ahead with a second read when I asked "May I have a few moments to look over the sides?" The director of course granted my request.

Roughly 20 seconds later, I knew at what point in the script my character realized what was going on and how he felt about it. My second read went much better, and afterwards the director said "I really saw that you made the adjustment. It was nice to see him realize what was happening. His whole energy changed."

Audition Tip: Take some time after you've been given a note in order to plan out that change. It's not enough to understand the note, you need to know it.

Don't worry about taking up too much of the casting director's time. it's a far greater waste of time for them to give you a note that is essentially ignored because you didn't take the time to follow it.

Financial Note:

Driving to/from Orange and a stop into Pasadena required half a tank of gas. Filling up my car cost me $39 today. Which is to say, it cost me $20 to audition for a non-paying student project. There's something wrong with that.