Bonnie,
In regard to your column called “Power Position,” I have a question. If you don’t mind taking a minute to remark or clarify, I’d be grateful.
You wrote (and I cut it down, only in the interest of saving time): “So many actors like to try and be everything. Have range. Change up something in order to get the gig. Stop changing things up. Stop going into auditions trying to figure out what they want you to be. Go in as you and trust — when “you” are what they’re looking for — you’ll get the gig.”
Recently, I had a sitcom audition. The character description: “Extremely dry delivery (think Ben Stein). This fertility doctor is showing a couple their newly fertilized egg. He has a sense of humor, but his face never shows it.”
I have a headshot that inadvertently evokes Ben Stein. I can do that dry, affectless delivery, but it’s not necessarily “me.” The character description specifically calls for emotionless, and, in fact, in the audition I did it once, showing very little, and the casting director re-directed me to show “nothing.”
Based on what I read in your column, are you suggesting I should ignore the character description and the CD’s direction and just be “me”? This would, I think, involve me finding how I see the character (which is what I like to do anyway), and presenting that. Basically: “Here’s how I see the character, take it or leave it?” I would love to do things this way all the time, but it seems to me that the writers, producers, and CD know the show better than I do, and know (I hope) how the guest cast will best fit in to their viewpoint on the show.
Also, as an actor anxious to work, I go out on auditions when I get them, and if the character doesn’t seem to perfectly fit who I am, I adjust. I look like a lawyer or doctor, but I’m a bit of a goofball, both serious and wacky. I think I have a good idea of where I fit in, but know that for me to really succeed, I have to show them who I am because that’s where the gold (in my opinion) is.
I’d value your input, and if you wish to put it out to the wider HHH community, I’m fine with that.
Thank you for your time,
Mark Chaet
Fantastic follow-up questions to my column. Thank you, Mark. You’re always looking at things with a critical eye (“critical” in the good way, not any negative way) and I appreciate the email. Thank you for inviting me to share this response not just with Hollywood Happy Hour, but also with the readers of this column, when I emailed you to be sure that’d be okay.
Okay, so, about the question you asked: “Are you suggesting I should ignore the character description and the CD’s direction and just be ‘me’?” Here’s my take on that: NEVER ignore the character description, but understand that you’ve been invited in based on your proximity to “that guy.” So, don’t try to be him, but know that you’ve got something going on already that elicits an interest in you on the part of the buyers, and that’s a good thing! Make your choices, be YOU, and then be a good enough actor that you’re able to change things up, when asked to do so during the audition. Because those tips — those change-ups and pieces of advice given by the CD in the room — are going to have everything to do with your proximity to the role, your talent, and your ability to nail the essence they needed from jump.
So, keep doing exactly what you’re doing, which is submitting when the role is a good match (even peripherally, but always with a nod to your specialty), making your choices, showing the buyers what it is that you bring to the role, and then being totally directable in the room, should they need to make a change. That’s exactly IT. Keep doing it.
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/001299.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.