Last month, I opened up the Your Turn section for the month of July to actor introductions. I asked you to share:
- How you’d pitch yourself if someone invited you into the room and said, “So, tell me about yourself,” in one of those great actor meetings.
- How and when you first came across The Actors Voice.
- What would bring more value to the column for you, as a reader.
So, with those goals in mind, let’s meet Laurie Stapleton, the mom of working kid actor Luke Vanek. She’s gonna start off with some “from the mouths of babes” advice on letting go after auditions.
Hi Bonnie,
I am writing you in response to your request for your readers’ after-audition coping mechanisms, the pitch, and your column.
I am the mom of a young man who just turned nine years old. I asked him if he thinks or worries about an audition or callback he just did as we are leaving the casting director’s studio and his response was very simple: “I always do the best I can so I don’t worry about it.”
Wow, if it were only that easy. It may seem like an amateurish or rookie-level response, which it probably is, but he believes in his heart that it is the truth. He isn’t usually aware of callback or shoot dates so he doesn’t dwell on receiving that phone call. Our philosophy is: “They’ll either call or they won’t, and another audition is always just around the corner.” His callback and booking ratio is not bad for a kid who just started in 8/09, but most importantly, he is developing friendships and truly enjoying the journey. He doesn’t see other young actors in the room as competitors, more as comrades sharing common goals. Granted, he doesn’t have to deal with the financial issues the adult actors do so that definitely works to his benefit. It is a wonderful opportunity for him to be a part of something many children will never experience and the simplicity of his coping mechanisms is “just do your best,” plain and simple.
His pitch goes something like this: “I’m the scrawny, goofy kid who lives next door. I torment my two big sisters (endlessly) but give them a hug and a kiss at the end of the day and tell them I love them (truly). I am the student council member who comes up with the most bizarre fundraising ideas and ultimately gets everyone to join in. I can spell and define the word LUDICROUS and use it with cutting-edge precision to defeat the bully threatening to dunk me in the basketball hoop.”
Regarding your column: LOVE IT! It has been my go-to actor’s source since my middle daughter started acting three years ago (sadly, she has retired to pursue singing and soccer goalie — go figure). Her agent told me about it when we initially put her profile online. Since then, every Monday AM I am reading the newest edition and always discover an inspiring idea/twist. Over the years I have read every column, the ones pertaining to young actors more than once. I enjoy the self-produced clips, some great work being done!
I think the only additional thing the column could use is more actors’ eyes viewing it. You have left no stone unturned over the years and maybe if more actors/parents read your words there would be a greater understanding of this biz everyone is bustling to be a part of. The more you know, the more enjoyable your journey will be — you spell it out in your column every week. The only unanswered questions and gray zones keeping you from your definition of success will be due to your own self-placed blinders.
Many thanks! Look forward to more and more and….
Laurie Stapleton (mom of Luke)
Fantastic, Laurie! I’m totally inspired by advice that young actors can bring to the adult actors out there who may have forgotten how simple, how collaborative, and how fun acting should be. The pitch you and Luke have worked up is fantastic. I totally get him and that’s the point. Really specific. Very cool. Glad to know you’re such a balanced and supportive mom, letting your kids go in and out of acting as they please, aware that for some young ones it’s a career, for others, just a phase. As a former kid actor, I say, “Well done!” Next, let’s meet Robert Deioma.
Hi Bon,
I hope this message finds you in perfect health and jubilant spirits. If I were to be introducing myself and pitching myself in the room I might begin thusly:
Hi,
I’m Bubba DaSkitso, AKA Robert Deioma. It’s very nice to meet everyone. I’m an actor, singer, songwriter by choice — a member of SAG, AFTRA, and BMI — and a writer, director, and producer of webisodes by necessity. Everyone keeps saying: “If you can’t find enough work, make your own!” So I did.
I recently had one of the best weeks for my acting career since 1997. Had some great auditions and callbacks and booked a couple nice gigs all in the span of about a week to ten days. One of those jobs was a national spot for the California Lottery, which should be airing soon. So please keep an eye out for that. I also had a nice moment in a scene with Ashton Kutcher in Valentine’s Day before that, which is now out on DVD.
Also during that same stretch I found out that one episode of my webseries Code 4: Security Officer on Duty was accepted into the Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF). That episode was titled “The Big Dance Number” and along with the others is available for free online right now on www.youtube.com/daskitso as well as the rest of the sites connected through tubemogul.com. I originally started creating the character and videos for Code 4 for casting and managers to see online, but they were coming out so well I decided to see how far I could take the project.
I would love to make something bigger of the project so I could expand and hire as many of my friends in the business as possible and get some more work in the business for all of us. My ultimate goal is to create a little more job security for myself in the business. If there is anything I can do to help anyone, I can’t make any promises, but I am open to requests.
Ciao fer now,
Bubba DaSkitso
Robert “Bubba” Deioma
Very cool! I love it when self-producing starts out as a must-do and turns into something fun, rewarding, and inclusive of folks beyond your inner circle. That’s inspiring! Next up, let’s meet Ellen Warner.
Hi Bonnie!
First off, thank you for your continued awesomeness in writing this column. I have been a reader since I moved to NYC in 2006 from DC where I went to college and got my Equity card. I am not sure what I would change about the column, but I do find that posts with examples of marketing are my favorites. (My biggest area of concern is how to market myself without feeling phony or like a pet-store puppy going, “Pick me!” so I find these most helpful.) I also really like posts about timely topics, such as the recent one regarding the crackdown on workshops.
My pitch: “I am the girl-next-door with an old soul and an offbeat sense of humor. I specialize in characters who are walking self-contradictions, who experience more, do more, and have more subtext than you thought on first glance. I am not your average ingénue.”
I was working with a business coach before and we came up with the following pitch, which might be more precise (but I am really not sure I like using celeb comparisons because it feels manufactured): “With the cherubic deadpan of Ellen Page, the whimsical braininess of Zooey Deschanel, and the winsome strength of Amy Adams, I am not your typical ingénue.”
Sincerest Thanks,
Ellen Warner
Thanks, Ellen. I’m not opposed to actors using famous actors in their hybrid cross (it does help shortcut our understanding of your type somewhat, assuming we picture in our heads the same thing you intend that we picture, when you say the words “Mel Gibson,” for example), but I like to see it used sparingly. What I really love about your hybrid cross version of the pitch is the adjectives you used to describe those actors. If you could find a way to work those juicy descriptors into your existing non-celeb-mentioning pitch, I think you’d have a winner! Now, let’s meet Brittany Joyner.
Hi Bonnie!
I know that I’ve emailed and been featured on the column multiple times before, so no need for the latest round of actor introductions. But I thought I’d add my two cents as far as improving the column. Feel free to take it or leave it.
Shorter. With the ridiculous amount of material I read every day for the acting career — The Actors Voice, The Casting Corner, Google Alerted articles, occasional BackStage advice columns, your books, other industry books… you get the idea — The Actors Voice plus a Your Turn every week is a bit much. While it is packed with great information, it can be a little overwhelming. Mark’s articles on The Casting Corner seem a lot more manageable, time-wise.
I do so hope this didn’t offend! Just my thoughts.
Moving to Malibu at the end of the year — my husband got the professor job at Pepperdine — I CANNOT WAIT! Also, just completed my second short film, a British comedy called Priscilla. Self-produced work rocks!
God bless,
Brittany Joyner
Dude! You’re giving me encouragement to make each week’s column shorter? That’s badass! I’d love that! No way I’m not going to include your email this week. Heck yeah! I think I got hooked into believing that whenever I provided a long column, I had to meet or exceed that length in future weeks’ pieces in order to have readers feel as though there was value in what I was offering. And after six years? Well… I’ve had some pretty record-breakingly long columns, eh? So, if I’m getting not only permission but encouragement to let myself off the hook on column length, girl, I may just take you up on that!
Congrats on the upcoming move to Malibu. Looking forward to connecting with you more once you’re here. Keep creating and, oh yeah, I was going to share a fifth and final reader introduction but, y’know what? In interest of going shorter, I’m just going to say we’re done right here! 🙂 Hee!
Thanks, lovely readers, for taking the time to introduce yourselves this month at The Actors Voice. It’s been awesome getting to know a few of you a little better. Y’all rock!
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001215.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.