Los Angeles Acting blog by David August

Crying Over Tears

2010-03-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Once in High School while sitting in class another actor and I had a "competition" between ourselves to see who could cry first; I won. It was a good way to amuse ourselves during class, a parlor trick. Nice to win, occasionally useful, and rewarding in a "cool, I did it" kind of way, but in the end unneeded.

Crying on cue is professionally irrelevant, even if there are people in the industry who think otherwise. Menthol Tear Sticks have been used in Academy Award winning performances, so clearly chemically prompted tears can get the job done. The reality is that while many people, especially those not in the profession, are awed by seeing actors' ability to cry on cue, which is nice, crying-on-cue is not the be-all-end-all of acting.

Avoiding blindness by being safe with the methods you use to achieve tears by not using untested chemicals like onions or breath spray is worth considering.

Casting Finds the Right Actor

2010-03-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

How (casting workshops, auditions, etc.) is secondary.

...the central requirement of my job as a casting director is that I find talent. Where I find this talent, via what means, or in what location is secondary to the fact that my job depends on my finding it

(from Middleton Casting blog).

Acting Between Lines

2010-03-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

When [actors] are talking, they are servants of the dramatist [or screenwriter]. It is what they can show the audience when they are not talking that reveals the fine actor.

- Cedric Hardwicke

Acting and Vulnerability

2010-02-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

They go hand in hand:

Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly.

- Rosalind Russell

While Some Things Are Down Others Are Up

2010-02-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

...with the DVD market in sharp decline, the studios have been forced to cut marketing and production budgets. They are also releasing fewer movies: the number coming out of Hollywood last year was 520, a fall of almost 20 per cent on the previous year.

...while movie studios slash costs, television is booming, creating big opportunities...

(from ft.com).

Wilde's Joke

2010-02-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

I love acting. It is so much more real than life.

- Oscar Wilde

Actors Work

2010-02-15T20:45:00.000-08:00

There is no end to the amount of continuous effort that has to go into an actor's career on all fronts -Darren Ewing

Shakespearean Snacks

2010-02-01T11:34:00.001-08:00

Oysters - the Tudor version of cinema popcorn

Archaeologists say choice Tudor snacks included oysters by the cartload, crab and other shellfish like mussels, whelks and periwinkles.

Dried raisins and figs, hazelnuts, plums, cherries and peaches were also consumed in great quantities, according to experts who excavated The Rose and The Globe theatres on the south bank of the River Thames

(from Reuters, via Yahoo News).

Pasadena Playhouse Shuts Down Feb. 7

2010-01-29T14:39:00.000-08:00

I blogged about Pasadena Playhouse's grand redesign plans in 2007, and then about the Playhouse's financial troubles last October. Now they are shutting down:

The Pasadena Playhouse will close Feb. 7 after the final performance of its current production of "Camelot," leaving its future in jeopardy as company leaders explore ways out of its financial woes, including a possible bankruptcy filing.

Stephen Eich, the executive director hired last June to run the theater, said 37 employees learned at a staff meeting Thursday that they would be out of work. The playhouse is essentially out of cash to continue running, he said, and faces more than $500,000 in immediate bills, plus more than $1.5 million owed on bank loans and other debts that have dogged the nonprofit company since the mid-1990s.

Founded in 1917, the Playhouse was designated in 1937 as the state theater of California.

Eich said that tapping into about $6 million donated for a capital campaign to refurbish the playhouse was not an option. It just would not be any way for us to solve the problems of the place. Those monies are restricted for the building.

Eich said he isn't sure if the playhouse's 8,000 subscribers will be reimbursed.

We have subscribers wanting to see the rest of the season. We're devastated by that, he said.

(from The Los Angeles Times).

How to Work on Your Art

2010-01-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

If you want to work on your art, work on your life -Carole Gutierrez

Tears and Crying on Cue

2010-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

In the DVD commentary of Braveheart, Mel Gibson says he used "menthol crystals" to make tears flow for the scene in which his character discovers he's been betrayed. I have since learned these are called Menthol Tear Sticks and often the make-up department has them.

Production doesn't always make organic tears the best option (e.g., 20 takes, organic tears aren't reading in camera, etc.) and if a film that won best director, best make-up and best picture Academy Awards can use them, we all can.

Doing Your Best When You Really Want the Part

2010-01-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

If you really want a part you seem to have more difficulty focusing and doing your best work. I have heard that Del Close (a somewhat legendary director and teacher) called it "the fuck-it adjustment;" when you no longer care, you start to act.

Good Acting Requires Good Sleep and Eating Well

2010-01-26T15:15:00.000-08:00

Abraham Maslow concocted a theory of a Hierarchy of Needs:

Self Actualization
Esteem
Love
Safety
Physiological

and the basic concept is that we focus on what ever lowest level is unfulfilled (e.g., if hungry, it is difficult to reach your full potential by performing a script well, for instance). You can read a whole book Maslow wrote on this and other complexities of human nature.

Financial Core and Saying You Are SAG

2010-01-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

I am a full SAG member. Anyone who is Fi-Core (a Fee Paying Non-Member of SAG) or is considering going Fi-Core, may want to note that according to SAG, actors who go Fi-Core can NOT represent themselves as Screen Actors Guild members on headshots, résumés, electronic submissions or web sites.

I have never heard of SAG pursueing anyone who has represented themselves as SAG when they are Fi-Core, but they could theoretically. Years ago I blogged an article about Financial Core and the actor and it's worth a read before making any decisions. I plan to stay a full SAG member.

Headshot 4x6 Proofs from a Lab or Store

2010-01-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

For proofing new pictures, do you use lab prints or drugstore prints? When choosing new headshots agents and managers (both commercial and theatrical) often ask for 4x6 printed proofs of 5 to 10 images before making a final choice on which to print out as 8x10s and upload to casting websites.

Commercial casting is done with virtually no printed headshots involved (at least in LA) and for the moment theatrical casting is mainly paperless until an actor actually arrives at the audition with the printed headshot in hand. So for both, the digital image of the headshot as seen on a screen is identical to what casting will use to decide whether or not to call an actor in to audition. Agents and managers will never be using the 4x6 prints to pitch actors; these 4x6 prints are just for actor and rep to select what headshots to use in pitching.

Photo labs charge between 10 and 20 times what drugstores charge for 4x6 prints from digital files (one lab in LA charges $3.00 per print, a drugstore $0.19 per print, a discount warehouse $0.13 per print). In general it's good to cut expenses if the end customer won't experience a drop in quality; 4x6 prints are never seen by casting, producers, directors or audience.

Do you have any experience with presenting less expensive prints to an agent or manager for them to proof? Does it make sense to spend more money on physical prints when casting is now almost all digital images on screens (that money can go to other actor expenses like a reel, the photo session, 8x10 prints, classes, food, etc.)? Please leave a comment.

Audition Anagram for Beginners

2010-01-18T17:04:00.000-08:00

Bob Fraser has written about the anagram PARADIGM as a anagram guide for how to audition. It is: Prepare, Arrive early, Relax, Act, Deal, Impress, Grace, Manipulate [yourself].

You Do Not Have To Do Something You Did Not Agree To Do

2010-01-12T18:22:00.000-08:00

If the Director springs something on you, like a nude scene, that you did not agree to originally, you do not have to do it. Anything potentially objectionable should have been clearly articulated at the very beginning. Otherwise, it is not your problem. Do not compromise yourself just because somebody else has been incompetent

(from Gary Chason's Actors Bill of Rights).

When Not To Audition

2010-01-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

Never, repeat, never, ever do you as an actor, a professional, go to an audition knowing that you will not accept an offer should you be so lucky as to receive one.

...being false with your audition intent, you're abusing the valuable tick-tock and cha-ching of the creative personnel behind the audition table and fellow performers who need immediate employment

(from Paul Russell's Backstage article).

Audience Tickets

2010-01-04T00:12:00.000-08:00

While seeking tickets for today or tomorrow (which I haven't yet found) for family visiting from out of town, I was pointed to a good site for audience tickets for being in the audience during shoots. If you want to watch a TV show film, tvtickets.com and audiencesunlimited.com have information about what is shooting, and who has tickets available. If you have any other audience ticket or audience work resources, please leave a comment.

LifeRaft Video Gallery

2009-12-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

I've just come across the LifeRaft Video Gallery created by the SAG Foundation, which may cover interesting topics, but have not yet had a chance to watch any of the videos.

Union Members Get ATT Wireless Discount

2009-12-09T00:56:00.000-08:00

I've just discovered that SAG and AFTRA members can save 10% off the regular wireless service costs including phone and data plans, but labor union members also receive additional savings on cell phones and accessories (from unionplus.org).

Path and Goal

2009-12-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.

-Nietzsche

It's not about getting headshots, an agent or audition; it's about playing the roles you want to play (and likely being paid to do so). The rest are means, not ends. Try to keep focus on the result while paying attention to the tools needed to get there.

Study to Test Commerical Pay Structure

2009-11-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

PricewaterhouseCoopers has started a two-year pilot study for the ad industry, SAG and AFTRA to test a revamp of compensation for thesps in commercials that would be based on ratings [Gross Ratings Point Talent Compensation Model] rather than the current pay-per-play model. The study was commissioned as part of the three-year deal reached last spring between the industry and the performers unions.

The pact, which covers about $900 million in annual blurb work, maintains the current method of pay-per-play payment for ads run on network (also known as the "Class A" payment structure). The ad biz had hoped to shift the payment to a formula based on ratings for blurbs rather than plays but settled for a pilot study instead.

(from Variety).

Survey Results: Does Academy Players Directory Help You Book?

2009-10-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

The results of my Academy Players Directory survey are in, and the news is not good for the Academy Players Directory. Only 22% of those in the Academy Players Directory believed it had helped them book. I'm debating if a 22% chance of my earning money back makes the expense worthwhile. The return of investment is large if one books, zero if one does not.

The first question was "Are you in Academy Players Directory?" The answers were 60% yes, 40% no:

The second question was "Has it helped you book?" Only 14% say yes, 42% say no and 42% say they didn't know:

It seems the Academy Players Directory may not help an actor book work as much as it once did. I think the real question becomes can you do without the money and hope it pays off.

This wasn't an extremely scientific study, and the number of people answering was small (over the two weeks of the survey the were 15 answers for question one, 14 for question two).

Interactive Media Agreement Not Ratified

2009-10-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

In secret ballot ratification votes held in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco on October 26 and 27, the tentative 2009 Interactive Media Agreement was defeated by a member vote of 42-73 (36.52% - 63.48%). The Screen Actors Guild will be pursuing further negotiations with the Industry to address the concerns raised by members regarding the tentative agreement

(from sag.org).