Here’s the link to a great documentary video from the 1960’s talking about being a stagehand. 50 years later, it’s surprising how similar it is to today – especially with larger productions touring the United States (the film shows people working on the original tour of My Fair Lady).
We often talk about how many jobs there are backstage – this shows those people in action.
This is from an article written by casting director Amy Jo Berman:
Yes, I’m writing about why you DIDN’T get the part. Yes, even though your audition was amazing and you were totally on your game and you lit up the room with creative acting genius, you still might not get the part. I know, I know…you’re probably thinking, but Amy, you are always so positive. Why are you talking about something negative?
First, it’s not negative to understand why you didn’t get a job because it will free your mind of all that monkey-mind chatter that happens when you find out you didn’t get it. Second, and this is the important part so pay attention, it doesn’t matter. By the end of this article, I hope you understand that.
Since this is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive and the one that hangs you up the most and twists you into knots as an actor and a creative being, let’s get into it.
Based on my years and years of experience as a casting director in film and television, these are some of the reasons you didn’t get the part.
1. You’re too tall.
2. You’re too short.
3. You’re too pretty.
4. You’re not pretty enough.
5. You’re too fat.
6. You’re too thin.
7. You’re too blonde.
8. You’re not blonde enough.
9. You’re too old.
10. You’re too young.
11. You’re too serious.
12. You’re too funny.
13. You look too much like the lead.
14. You don’t look enough like the lead.
15. You’re taller than the lead.
16. You’re shorter than the lead.
17. You remind the producer of his sister, and he hates his sister.
18. You are too ethnic.
19. You are not ethnic enough.
20. You were the first one to read that day.
21. You were the last one to read that day.
22. You’re more like the best friend than the lead.
23. You’re more of a lead than the best friend.
24. You’re too character-y.
25. You’re not character-y enough.
26. You look like the director’s wife and he had a fight with his wife right before he left the house this morning.
Okay, this is a small sample of the some of the reasons you didn’t get the part. Have you heard any of these after one of your non-bookings? Can you tell what the one common thread is among this small sampling of reasons?
None of these are within your control. NONE.
Yes, of course there are many other things that are within your control and we will definitely get into those in a future article. But these are the ones that drive you crazy. Right?
What you must understand is that your only job in an audition is to do your best work. Everything else is not up to you. The role you are reading for is one piece of an entire jigsaw puzzle. It must fit with the rest of the puzzle or the puzzle won’t work. The casting director, producer, and director are fitting pieces of the puzzle together all day long. Your only job is to be the best “piece” you can be. Whether your edges fit in the slot for that piece is not up to you.
Just go to your audition. Do your best and let it go. If you’re good, they will remember you. And the next time you hear one of those things, remember these words, let a knowing smile creep over your face, and go enjoy your day!
In the echoing words of Oscar Wilde “Art can make life”, I concede this truth especially when it comes to the power of theatre. On stage whether metaphorically or literally we, the audience watch life unfurl onstage. we capture moments of pure truth that touch our soul. I believe theatre has the power to change our perspective; it has the power to show us new forms and if we let it has the power to open up our minds.
I have often found that many people don’t understand how scenic painting works. The fact that we can make a bare stage look like anything we want with the right brushes, rollers, or other tools seems like a foreign concept to some. I think part of this is a lack of understanding of what a scenic artist does. We don’t just make it up as we go along.
There are specific tools that we can use, and certain types of paint that work better than others. But knowing all the different tools and paints that are available to use is half the battle. Knowing the differences between paint and glaze, or a regular brush and a chip brush. To most a paint brush is a paint brush, and a sponge is just something you use in the kitchen sink. However, a sponge to a scenic artist, is also something that you can use to make stone come alive with dimension, to add depth to something that looks flat, or to age a piece of furniture. The list of things a scenic artist can do with any given tool is long; and depending on what job needs to be done will determine what tools will be use. Sometimes those tools will vary depending on what paint is being use. So again, one of the most important things to remember, is to have a good basic understanding of what is used when it comes to scenic painting.
The Educational Theatre Association has put together a great list of what is required for Painting The Scene. The article goes in depth into the different tools and paint that are used, as well as multiple different techniques that can be done with the brushes that you have at your disposal. It is an great resource and you should save it for future reference.
So the next time you pick up a paint brush remember that it can be used for something other than just slapping paint onto something.
By Caroline Liem | Posted Nov. 1, 2012, 4:49 p.m.
Your teachers, mentors, friends, casting directors have trained you, taught you, listened to you, and brought you back over and over again because you’re terrific in the room. But there are always some things you wish they’d told you sooner.
1. “No” does not equal failure. Casting is working at a heightened pace – creating a family, recasting because the male role became female, the location changed for the role due to budget or local hire, executive orders, nepotism – do you get the picture? It’s not about you. Casting directors are not required to give you closure or cushion the blow. So, what will they do? Though you weren’t right for the role, you were so prepared and confident and brought something unique to the character that they added a role just for you. They loved you so much because you were personable and professional that they remember you and bring you in for another show they’re casting and tell their casting/director/producer friends to meet you.
2. Take big risks. You got the appointment because you satisfy the role. But standing out in the room and landing the role, requires more than satisfactory choices. You didn’t play it safe by choosing this career. What’s the rhythm of the dialogue? What’s happening in-between the lines? What is the world you are creating? What do you want from the other person? And make it bold. Again, it’s not about you.
3. Work smart. What’s your goal? What’s trending? How does it fit your brand/casting? Who knows about what you want to do? Where are the gaps artistically and in business and who can help you fill them?
4. Nurture your love of your art outside the business. It matters that you are a fully developed human being. What are the other things you have in your life which bring delight, purpose, challenge and growth? We are all more than our resumes, and that person is the one we want to know about in the room and on set for the next three months. So try something new or revisit some long lost passion and tell us about it when we ask “Tell me a little bit about yourself.”
5. Mom was right! We never hear about struggling doctors or struggling attorneys. Mom begged us to get a business degree or take a class, but most us decided, “I don’t think that way. I am an artist. I’ll never use that degree.” There is a real way to earn money, pursue your dream, and still have the creative life you deserve. Acting is your career. Bartending, teaching pilates and yoga, or dog walking may help create schedule flexibility and supplements to your career, but they are NOT the reason to change or cancel an appointment. Your reps tell us you’re sick. We know better because of social media. If you have your team already – agent, manager, attorney – listen to their guidance. You have chosen them. If it doesn’t work over a realistic period of time, then consider a change. You are the CEO of your corporation and its star.
6. Be like the reed. Ever have a day when you get to your appointment and find out there were notes never received, new sides, and awkward camera set up, and an extended wait time? How can we do our best under such circumstances? Be flexible, and keep it positive. Look, stuff happens every day that’s out of our control, but how it’s handled is what will be remembered.
7. My reader was a zombie. A tough room = A chilly reception. The audition process is already awkward without these additional bumps in the road. Still, it’s your job to create your environment and show us what you’ve carefully prepared. An Academy Award-winning actor once told me she made a game out of it. The goal was to get the reader to look up. It’s still about connection and taking it off of yourself.
8. Yes, your degree counts. It shows steadfast determination. But class is how you keep sharp, develop additional skills, and stay current. Be open to taking selective classes or seminars continually. Training never ends.
9. Tell a friend. Refer people for jobs you can’t work. It always comes back in a positive way.
10. No car = no work. If you’re in L.A., for Pete’s sake, have a working car!
Caroline Liem is a casting director, audition coach and teacher based in Los Angeles. Her highly acclaimed film/TV audition and text analysis classes have been taught throughout the U.S. both privately and at universities. She has cast indie films, studio features and television pilot/series for Disney Studios, Warner Brothers, Sony, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, WB, and Fox. You can see her latest casting on Nickelodeon’s Parental Discretion with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. You can find more information on Caroline and classes at www.CarolineLiem.comand like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @CarolineLiem.
In contrast to the article on authorial intent and protecting the playwright’s vision that I previously posted, this article in the Guardian talks about 3 different productions of Chekhov plays being performed in London – each with a unique vision of what it means to attempt to communicate what the playwright had in mind: One traditional looking ‘samovar’ production, one minimalist, and one updated ‘contemporary’ production.
As a playwright, I am generally on the side of authorial intent. Good playwrights think through all the elements of production, and if it’s a good play, all of those elements – text, design, staging, lighting etc. – should be aiding in making the play what it is. I’m a believer in a traditional looking Beckett play, because the design of the space is part of what he was intending. And if a production wants to tell an audience something other than what was intended, find another play.
However…
As a director, I recognize that I am as guilty as anyone of taking liberties with the look and feel of the production of a play. Steampunk Romeo and Juliet wherer the actors change roles every scene. A blown-up Viewpoints improv production of Antigone. A production of Murder in the Cathedral that looked like a Robert Wilson show. But, for me, presenting those plays in that way had more to do with unlocking different elements of the play than regularly get released than it did with just ‘looking cool’ or ‘being interesting.’ These different elements were not OTHER than what was in the play, they were (and are) within – in the text, the language, in the implications of the situation, sometimes lost in the recontexting of a play (producing an ancient Greek play in 21st century America). But my most sincere hope and prayer is that these productions are all still true to what was in the text of the play, and hopefully carry across to the audience what was intended by the author – even if it looks different.
So, do I want people to do that with my plays? Well, no. I’ve had the experience of someone making an alteration to a play of mine that I felt strongly changed what I had in mind, several times. I’ve seen it drastically injure the intention of the play, putting “words in my mouth” that I never said and didn’t mean – an addition that was not what I had written. But, if there’s a way of taking something that I’ve written and discovering something in it that I hadn’t noticed before and drawing it out of the text that is already there – I hope that I could find the joy in that.
Nest week begins the audition ofr the Spring musical,The Drunkard. W.H. Smith’s The Drunkard lurched onto the stage in 1844 and has been holding forth with beery charm ever since. With a score by Barry Manilow, audiences are wafted back to a simpler period where “God is good and right is good, but evil’s not so good, right?” Will our brave heroine, Mary, rescue her drink-besotted husband from the evils of bottled sin? (MTI)
For me, this musical presents in interesting idea about redemption and reconciliation. I beleive that theatre is meant to ask question giving you the oportunity to find these answers for yourself. I beleive it is up to us, the audience to seek and find the answers for themselves. The question this work asks is: How can I change my ways? Or how can I re-build the bridges of broken relationships that I once destroyed. Having come from a family thatwrestled with alcoholism this play espeacially speaks to me
This is our first week after the closing of HENRY V. The entire H5 team blew it out on the last day striking the set along with the rest of the Theatre Department. The cast party was a pizza break for all. I deeply appreciated this. It took the entire department working together to pull the show off, so it is fitting that the cast party involve everyone together. And it was fun. The theatre majors at Belhaven know how to work, they know that they are integral in the storytelling. What’s great about the process here is all members of the team are valued equally. You may direct your senior project, then you are hanging lights for the next show and then stage managing a one act play that another student is directing. There is no doubt that each job in the theatre demands different skills, however the work ethic must be the same and ultimately the service to the story for the sake of the audience is a group goal. Joy is the result. I’m grateful to now have space to process the rehearsals and run of HENRY V. To ponder the work that was done and next time take another step forward in actor training.
Guidepost 1: Relationship p 33-34 Start with the question: What is my relationship to the other character in the scene I am about to do? Facts are never enough…once you know the fact of the relationship, you are ready to explore how you feel about this other character…you must go further, into the realm of the emotion.You need to ask feeling questions about your emotional attitude toward the other character. Do you love him? Do you hate him? Do you resent him? How much? Do you want to help him? Do you want to get in his way? What do you want from him? What do you want him to give you? These are the most important questions to ask. The answers to them will allow you to function emotionally in the scene. That is your goal.
Guidepost 2: What are you fighting for? Conflict. P42-44 An actor is looking for conflict. Conflict is what creates drama. Maximum conflict is what you should be looking for. Who is interfering with what you are fighting for? Do battle with her, fight her, woo her, charm her, revile her. Find as many ways as you can to go about getting what you are fighting for.
Guidepost 3: The Moment Before: pg 67-69 Every scene you will ever act begins in the middle, and it is up to the actor to provide what comes before. In order to create this moment before, before he enters, the actor may have to go back ten or twenty years in the life of the character. It is like priming a motor to get it started. You have to do a number on yourself, you have to talk to yourself, flay yourself into feeling, so that you are aching to get on that stage or film set and start to fight.
Guidepost 4 Humor p 74-76 Humor is not jokes. Humor is not being funny. It is the coin of exchange between human beings that makes it possible for us to get through the day. Humor exists even in the humorless. There is humor in every scene, just as there is in every situation in life. ..I have trouble believing in the seriousness of a scene in which there is no humor; it is unlike life. And yet actors will say to me, “How can I find humor in this scene? It’s very serious!” For the exact same reason one would be driven to find humor in the same situation in life: because it is deadly serious and human beings cannot bear all that heavy weight, they alleviate the burden by humor.
Guidepost 5 Opposites p 77-78 Whatever you decide is your motivation in the scene, the opposite of that is also true and should be in it. Think about a human being, in all of us there exists love and there exists hate, there exists creativity and an equal tendency toward self-destructiveness, there exists sleeping and waking, there exists night and there exists day, sunny moods and foul moods, a desire to love and a desire to kill. Since these extremities do exist in all of us, then they must also exist in each character in each scene.
Guidepost 6 Discoveries p 81 Every scene is filled with discoveries, things that happen for the first time. No matter how many times it has happened in the past, there is something new about this experience, this moment. Acting is a whole series of discoveries…The more discoveries you make in a scene—the less you rely on “we do this every day”—the more interesting your scene will be.
Guidepost 7 Communication and Competition page 87-88 Acting is supremely a task of communication. It is not enough for the actor to feel, if that feeling is not being communicated…Communication is a circle, not a one-way street…It takes two to communicate: the sender and the receiver. The receiver has to acknowledge the message by sending a reply back to the sender, thus completing the circle before a communication has taken place.
Guidepost 8 Importance Page 92-93 Most people would walk a mile or sleep a week to avoid confrontation. We are trained as children that the most admirable conduct is that which causes the least trouble, so most of us spend our lives avoiding the conflicts of which drama is. It’s important for an actor to realise that what he must use in his acting is the opposite of what he has been trained in life to seek. Peacefulness and the avoidance of trouble won’t help him in his acting. It is just the opposite he must seek.
Guidepost 9 Find the Events page 105-106 I call what happens in the play the events. One of the actor’s chief tasks is to create the events of the play. What are events? An event can be a change. That is the strongest kind of event. An event can be a confrontation—and for every confrontation there is always a result, a consequence for the actor to present. An event can be a climax, which is a major turning point in the lives of the characters.
Guidepost 10 Place page 114-115 Most readings take place on a bare stage, which is not the most useful environment for an actor. It’s up to the actor to create a place, and it’s well worth doing, for it will help him immeasurably in creating a reality for his reading. The immediate reality of a bare thatre or sound stage is a real down; an actor would do well to lift himself up, with a place of his own. The physical nature of a place is only the beginning. The most important element is how you feel about the place. The feeling is most important.
Guidepost 11 Game Playing and Role Playing page 117-118 When we play games, it is for real; when we take on different roles, it is sincere conduct for it is a way of dealing with reality, not of avoiding it. It helps an actor to ask himself in each scene: What is the game I am playing in this situation? What role do I assume in order to best play this game? The answer depends on the circumstance; what people want from you, what you want from them, what you are offering and what you expect. Ask what the stakes are, what you are playing for. But don’t get the idea that you will therefore be unreal or insincere. Games are real, roles are necessary to deal with reality.
Guidepost 12 Mystery and Secret page 131-143 In every lecture I give to explain the twelve guideposts I find the concept of mystery and secret the most difficult to explain satisfactorily. The concept is mysterious too! Let me put it this way: After you’ve done all the eleven guideposts in your preparation for your character, then add what you don’t know. But the most fascinating acting always has a quality of mystery to us. Garbo, Brando, Olivier, Davis, Guinness—these actors provided us with a dazzling array of answers (they all do the eleven guideposts thoroughly every time they performed), but then they add that quality we cannot explain, that exploration in relationships of what is wondered at but not answered, perhaps cannot be answered. No matter how much we know about the other person, there is always something going on in that other heart and that other head that we don’t know but can only ponder. And no matter how we explain ourselves to someone else, no matter how open we are, there is always still something inexplicable, something hidden and unknown in us too. I am suggesting you add this wonderment about this other person. I am also suggesting you add, too, this wonderment about what is going on inside of you.