Hi Bonnie!
I am a long-time reader of your column, and this is my first time writing to you. I wanted to give you my perspective on acting type.
I think a major reason actors get concerned/upset with their primary type is due to fear: fear of being confined or restricted to one kind of role and fear of being judged personally (not professionally) in relation to that primary type. I’d like to present myself as an example of how primary type works to your advantage, does not confine you creatively, and does not cause people to judge you on a personal level.
Briefly, I am an actress in Chicago, pursuing on-camera work, and I figured out my primary type a few years ago. To put it bluntly… I am a bitch.
How did I figure it out? I noticed a casting trend with the types of roles I was getting. Most of them were… bitches. I then went back at looked at every role I’d ever been cast in (theatre and TV/film), and I discovered I’d been cast as a bitch the majority of the time.
Something else I discovered when looking over my bitch roles — and something that should be emphasized to actors about type — is the variety of sub-types within my primary type. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of different bitches in the world, and I’ve been cast as: a bitchy mother, a bitchy sister, a bitchy girlfriend, a southern bitch, and an evil bitch — AKA a villain — to name a few. (It turns out I’m particularly good at playing an evil bitch, too.) Type is not confining or restrictive!
Type also helps me immensely when looking at auditions. I can tell immediately whether a role is a bitch role or not (or if it has the potential to be a bitch role) and I submit accordingly. Do I only submit for my primary type? Of course not — I have been cast in “non-bitch” roles — but I do know I work more within my primary type.
Type is also something I cannot suppress. I have, as an experiment, gone on auditions where I display my acting chops without even one hint of my bitch qualities (do a funny monologue or be my smiley, positive-energy self). Guess what. I get called back and/or cast as the bitch anyway.
Finally, on a personal level, I’m a strong enough person to accept my primary type and know that it’s not a judgment against me. I do make an effort to present my true nature — smiley, positive, good energy, considerate, etc. — to other people before letting them know about my bitch type, which leads to some great reactions after someone sees my acting work. A favorite quote of mine referring to my dichotomy is from a child actor I worked with (she was the young heroine, I was one of the villains): “How could someone who’s so nice offstage be so mean?!” Yep, that would be me.
Sincerely,
Jill Thiel
Oh, Jill, I love it. Isn’t it empowering to truly identify and work within your primary type as an actor? I agree that it’s liberating, not confining, to know in what area you specialize (and that’s the key. If you see it as specializing, you’re less appalled by the idea that you’re pigeonholed). I specialize as a writer, as a casting director, as a producer. And actors who specialize are far more castable than those who try to be all things to all people on all projects.
I love that you were able to determine — and enjoy — the different flavors of “bitch.” I use the example of “mom” when I’m talking with actors who believe there’s no flexibility in that single category. When you think about the kinds of moms depicted on Desperate Housewives or Weeds vs. those on shows like Everybody Hates Chris or True Jackson VP, do you see the exact same kind of “mom” every time? Add in a show like Mad Men. Brainstorm all the moms on all the shows and in all the films. There are many different “moms.”
I think it’s so cool that you’ve learned that you can’t belie your type (and most importantly that it’s not your goal to teach people who you really are nearly as much as it is to teach them what you play). An actor I was working with a couple of months ago tried to “trick” fellow actors during a typing exercise and came dressed completely against the type he usually got, when participating in typing workshops in the past. Well guess what! Same dang primary adjectives and casting types over and over and over again. Dark clothing and scowling be damned, a nice guy is going to shine through. So, embrace it. Look for breakdowns that require it. And submit with confidence!
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/001034.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.