Some of the greatest performances I’ve seen recently have involved an actor taking a big risk. Putting aside all of the prep work that centered around plans and strategic choices, pushing down all of the…
Posts tagged craft
Audition Ad-Libs
Last month, I spoke to a group of actors down at UC Irvine. (Have I mentioned that this most recent graduating MFA class blew me away at the April showcase they put on with Harvard/ART?…
Doing Theatre
As you may recall from a column two months ago, I’m adding some content here at the Showfax archives that originated in my first book: Casting Qs. So, here’s another of the chapters. This one,…
Trust That You’re Enough
My husband and I have a relationship that is built on two fundamental principles. One: Always trust that we each have the other’s best interests at heart (that way, even when we’re fighting, we know…
Best On-Camera Classes
As you may recall, a few weeks back I mentioned in a Your Turn segment that I needed some help putting together a piece on the best on-camera classes out there. I had gotten a…
The Empty Coffee Cup
I have a major pet peeve. (Okay, okay. I have quite a few pet peeves, but this one is major and it’s actor-related, so indulge me, wouldja?) There is nothing — nothing — that does…
Tea with Jessica Bendinger
This week’s column will be a bit different than my usual offering because I wanted to share with you some great stuff that came from my tea date with Jessica Bendinger (she wrote Bring It…
The Three C’s
At a recent speaking engagement, I was asked: “What do you look for in an actor?” (Note: This is probably my least favorite question.) Because actors so frequently ask this almost totally irrelevant question, I…
Staged Readings
I’ve written before about When to Say No and When to Work for Free, but I want to address something very specific that often straddles a line in this area: the staged reading. Several times…
Casting the Actor vs. the Character
Actors are intense people. This is no secret to anyone who has ever been an actor. Or known an actor. Or watched an actor. It just comes with the territory. In order to be the…