AC’s Favorite Actor Resources

August 11, 2023/0 Comments/in News /by Colleen Finnegan Kahl

There are so many resources available to actors. Here’s a short list of a few of our favorites that we think ALL actors should know about!

The Entertainment Community Fund- Formally called The Actors Fund, The Entertainment Community Fund specializes in supporting performing arts and entertainment professionals. They offer affordable insurance, affordable housing, career trainings, a health clinic and so much more! They are always running informative seminars and sharing resources with their community. Everyone who works in entertainment should be aware of the amazing resources here! They even offer emergency financial assistance programs for some individuals financially impacted by the strike! For more info: entertainmentcommunity.org/

Up To Date Actor- It’s important to regularly research opportunities as an actor. To make smart audition choices, you should be aware of trends, know the people who are hiring, and explore all the opportunities that are available to someone with your skillset. On top of that, you should be tracking your audition data to make sure you are always making the best choices for you. This online platform will do it all for you. It’s basically a virtual personal assistant for actors! It’s run by a hardworking mother/daughter team. For more info: https://uptodateactor.com/

Google Alerts- Got a show you are following? A director you want to work with? Looking for theatres to release their season announcements? Setting up google alerts for these things are a great way to stay on top of that knowledge! Set-up a google alert and always receive info about that topic! To learn how to set-up a google alert, go here: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/4815696?hl=en

Drama Book Shop- Need to find great new material? Looking for something to self-produce? Trying to learn more about the most produced playwrights? Maybe you need to read the script of the show before your audition or callback. Or you need to find a new monologue for your acting class. The Drama Book Shop is here to help! The Drama Book Shop is located in NYC but you can order online and have your products shipped! https://dramabookshop.com/

The Casting Actors Cast- This podcast is produced by Jeffrey Dreisbach from McCorkle Casting. Each episode is BRIMMING with content, info and tips for professional actors. Jeffrey is extremely generous in these episodes. He’s a marvelous educator and presents info with great energy and kindness. These are great resources for schools and individuals alike! Give them a list today: www.castingactorscast.com/podcasts

Written by Colleen Kahl, President, ActorsConnection.com

Special thanks to Jon Tyson for the featured image!

Stage = Body, On Camera = Eyes, Microphone = Mind

From an Actors Standpoint: The Body; The Eyes; The Mind

July 18, 2023/0 Comments/in News /by Paul Liberti

From an Actors Standpoint
Stage = The Body; On Camera = The Eyes; Microphone = The Mind

Stage acting is about the body and voice – and On Camera, acting is about the face and the eyes. From that perspective, Voice Acting is about the theater of the Mind. What you can do at the mic is limitless because it is all about playing within the imagination. So are the listeners if your imagination is activated when reading or interpreting a character. You can be almost anything behind the microphone – and your appearance does not restrict you.

When acting on screen, an actor needs to focus more energy on the Camera than the average person might think. Unlike an audience of theatre-goers, the Camera will focus on the most microscopic and intricate expressions, including something as minute as an eyebrow twitch or a slightly clenched jaw. For this reason, the actor must always be conscious of where the Camera is positioned and perform by how it will look on screen, paying particular attention to their face and eyes.

However, you use your entire body and voice to communicate emotion on stage. Vocal projection and inflection are of utmost importance so that even the audience members sitting in the back row can hear and understand everything you’re saying.

Similarly, using your entire body to translate even the slightest emotion is critical to every stage actor’s repertoire. The physical movement must be exaggerated – even something as simple as standing needs attention to detail. The actor must be conscious of every physical detail to project each emotion.

Now when it comes to voice acting – you no longer have the visual performance of the facial expression you did on Camera – now becomes an added sound to the text.

In Voice Acting in animation or video games, your characters must be grounded to someone – and a voice actor must add sounds to the characters’ speech text to reveal their inner dialog. Voice Actors need to ‘invite the listener’ – into their imagination. The only limit in Voice Acting – is your imagination. You can go anywhere or be anything you can imagine, as there is no visual to your performance at the mic.

There may be an added visual or animation – but the voice actors’ performance is limitless where the imagination can take you. Often the best voice acting performances INVITE THE LISTENER into the actor’s mind to become them by using internal and external energies and going back and forth between them.

Wanna learn more and put all this into practice at the mic? Come back to class and bring your imagination.

Paul Liberti
https://paulliberti.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VoiceOverTuneUp

“Just throw it away” – What does that direction really mean?

July 9, 2023/0 Comments/in News /by Paul Liberti

Just throw it away – when we hear that phrase, we get guilt that we have held on to something too long, and it is time to DISCARD it. Cleaning out a closet is a great way to get rid of things you don’t need anymore.

When you get the direction to ‘throw a take away‘, it means something very different. Throwing a take away is to RELEASE the idea with simplicity or a shrug. I have given that direction to actors, and they tend to disconnect an idea and let go if it rather than release it and allow the words to do the work.

Words don’t capture us – they RELEASE what is inside of us. I don’t play the piano to make music – I play because it releases the music that already exists inside my head and heart, and I am expressing an attitude or a feeling in my music that I already have inside – i.e. contemplation, fear, joy, or playfulness. The same is true with text; text lets go of the thoughts, feelings, and points of view you already carry.

Pick a product name. Any product name and say it out loud.

‘Randy’s Hardware’
Now say it as you shrug your shoulders.
‘Randy’s Hardware.’

By releasing it with a shrug, you are saying how easy it is to find this product, or how simple it is to own one yourself.

NOW say it as though you hate it and never want to see it again and discard it.

That throws it away because you want to get rid of it. See the difference? So many voice actors never make that distinction. They think that they do, but in truth, they denigrate it.

To ‘throw a phrase or word away’ is to RELEASE it with a shrug and NOT DISCARD IT WITH DISGUST. That shrug is always there on everything – EVEN THE SLATE (if there is one).
Words don’t capture – THEY RELEASE

Paul Liberti
https://paulliberti.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VoiceOverTuneUp

Self Tape Equipment For Actors

April 21, 2023/0 Comments/in News /by Colleen Finnegan Kahl

You can’t become an actor nowadays without learning about our industry’s most popular support technology. Nothing shouts “inexperience” like having a sub-optimal self-tape set-up.

As you prepare to embark on a professional career, here are some equipment suggestions to help you look polished during your auditioning journey.

Tripod/Phone Mount for your phone.

Modern cell phones have great cameras now and work really well for self-taping. Having a great tripod will help you get your phone at the right level so you can film easily. Make sure you have a phone mount so your phone will easily pop into that tripod. Then you can easily set your phone up for recording your auditions.

Pop-Up Background

A clean blue backdrop will showcase your professionalism and keep you from having to perform in a distracting setting. Our favorites are the light weight portable ones that can pop up and break down easily. Store them in a closet or under your bed and bring them out when you are ready to film.

Editing Software

You will likely need to edit slates and takes together for an audition at some point. Find a software that is workable and learn it inside and out now. There are even some great free options available. Most Actors involved with Actors Connection prefer to use IMOVIE for self-tape editing which you can find for free on most apple devices.

Lights

Starting off, you can pull regular house lamps to support your tapes and keep shadows off your face. But soon after, you may want to graduate to formal lighting that can help you look sharp anytime of day. Here’s a great kit to help you look great!

Lapel Microphone

Uplevel your sound with a lapel microphone. Make sure this is compatible with the device you record on. Here is an option that syncs with an iphone.

Need more tips on getting up to speed with technology for your acting career?
Check out Jeffrey Dreisbach’s vault class HERE!

Unworthiness, Fear and The Power of ASKING

February 6, 2023/0 Comments/in News /by Colleen Finnegan Kahl

I recently had an interview come out that shared 5 tips that I wish I knew earlier in my career. The very first one I state is ASK FOR OPPORTUNITIES. I’d like to break down what I mean by that.

Often when people are on a new career path, they feel sheepish and unworthy because of lack of experience. It causes you to not want to take up people’s time coupled with the feeling that you aren’t worth their time anyway. That way of thinking is unhelpful and keeping many talented people stuck. After all…

WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE WHAT SOMEONE SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT DO WITH THEIR TIME? Let them make their OWN decision and stop doing it for them.

By assuming a “no” behind every door, you say “no” to yourself.

You take yourself out of the running for opportunities before you even get to the starting line. Let the other person answer the question for themselves. But that still means you need to ask the question.

Often, feelings of unworthiness lead to fear. Fear of the “no.”

Actors Connection President Colleen Finnegan Kahl

“NO” isn’t nearly as scary as it is in our minds. There are 7 billion people in this world. Your YES is most certainly out there. If you aren’t asking for what you need or want, and going through no’s to get to yes, then you aren’t doing any legitimate looking.

The most FAMOUS and SUCCESSFUL people on the planet all talk about the sea of “NO’s” they have heard in their career. So if you are looking for success, and you are afraid of asking questions and putting yourself out there– then how can you expect to see that result?

Most of the time, “NO” doesn’t leave you any worse off than you are now. You didn’t have a yes before you asked, you don’t have a yes now. BUT! Through the laws of probability, you got yourself just a bit closer!

So what are you NOT asking for that could help you level up and become greater? Who could you ask to meet you for coffee? Who could make an introduction for you? Who could teach or explain something to you? Who could share a resource? Who could finance your project?

Practice dropping your fear of no with my 50 question game. Commit to asking 50 questions this month. Write them all out. They can be questions about your career, questions for important people in your life or they can be fun questions. The key is you need to ask ALL 50! And just know– you will get some yeses! It will be exciting which questions lead to great opportunities.

Some example questions:

I am interested in your line of work. Can I shadow you in the office one day to learn more?
I’m impressed by your career journey. Can we meet for coffee so I can learn more about your professional journey and ask your advice?
I love this product but can’t afford it at this time. Do you offer payment plans or discount opportunities?
I have a project you may be interested in. When do you have 10 minutes so I can share the details with you this week?

Important things to note when asking questions

People are busy! I believe people should be respectful of YOUR time and you need to be respectful of theirs. Don’t ask questions that google can answer for you or 10 minutes of research can solve. Tell the person in advance how much time you may need from them and hold yourself to that timeline. Keep things quick and easy for the ask-ee whenever possible.

A Smaller ask leads to an easier yes. For example, rather than asking someone to read a whole 90 page script, send a 3-5 page sample.

Be clear and succinct. Make sure everyone understands what you are requesting.

Do some wild card asks. I have reached out to people that I thought were “out of reach” and got responses. It’s incredibly energizing and can certainly happen.

Don’t plan on “asking” your way out of lack of preparation. If you expect people to help you, you also need to be doing your part to work towards your goals.

What will happen after you ask your questions?

Some people won’t respond. Some will say no. Some will say yes.

You get to practice hearing “no” and not freaking out and you get to see where a “YES” can lead you. You also start to combat any feelings of unworthiness. We are all just people trying to have a good life on this planet together! Stop assuming everyone is more valuable than you! You’ve got gifts to offer– own it! Ask some questions and get yourself out there!

Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection.

Many thanks for our Featured Image by Storm Seeker.

Part Seven: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

January 10, 2023/0 Comments/in News /by Colleen Finnegan Kahl

We made it to the last habit in our Blog series based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People written by the brilliant Steven Covey!!

The 7th Habit is….

SHARPEN THE SAW

This is definitely a habit that MOST actors I know neglect. Sharpening the saw is all about keeping your primary tool for success in tip top shape. What is that most important resource? IT IS YOU!

Many actors, particularly those in the New York Acting Community, tend to grind too hard. They forget to schedule time for rest, rejuvenation and rarely take time for themselves to have FUN. They often think that any time spent away from working on their career, self-taping auditions and doing projects is moving them in the wrong direction– and that couldn’t be further from the case.

In order to be a successful performer, you need to approach your life holistically. The more well rounded you become, the better you can source from your life to accurately depict human experiences. Living your life well gifts you great knowledge that you can bring to your craft and to the characters you create.

The book talks about the main pillars for sharpening the saw. They are:

Physical
Spiritual
Mental
Social/Emotional

Physical sharpening is about taking care of your body. Healthy food, WATER (oh man how many of us don’t focus on drinking enough water!!), exercise, getting enough sleep, taking time off when you are sick– all of this is important to staying sharp in business and in life.

Spiritual sharpening is about connecting with something greater than yourself.

Mental sharpening is about expanding your mind. Read books. Take classes in things OTHER than acting. Learn a new language. Do some writing. Try out brain training exercises for mental agility!

Social/Emotional sharpening is all about connecting with your people. Find people you can trust and be vulnerable with them. Create deeper relationships and connections. Build a community around yourself of people who BELIEVE in you and you in them!

Reading all of these habits you may be thinking “How do I do ALL of this?” Really good time management, and allowing certain things to take a front seat when they need to and a back seat when they have to. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s happiness in your life and work. It will look a little different for everyone and it will change throughout your life.

Take what resonates the most and focus on that first. Personal growth is a marathon and not a sprint. Success finds people at ALL ages and stages– so there is no rush. Enjoy the journey of becoming your best self– that is what life is all about anyway!

Thanks for hanging with me thru these principles! Check out the rest of our blog for other tips and tools on how to create a great acting career!

Part Six: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

December 19, 2022/0 Comments/in News /by Colleen Finnegan Kahl

Only 2 Habits left in our series! Habit # 6 is

6. SYNERGIZE!

Synergy is the ability to understand another person/perspective/thought in order to merge it with your own to either learn or build something greater than either of you would without that input. You must truly understand all points of view and needs and get creative to find solutions, choices or options that help everyone win.

SYNERGY is what makes projects THRIVE.

SYNERGY deepens relationships.

SYNERGY solves problems.

TRUE SYNERGY is energizing.

Synergy with your creative team on a project is what makes a film or play come to life. You need all departments to come together to make successful entertainment.

Synergy with a casting office keeps getting you auditions. You need each other at their best in order to be successful.

Synergy while you problem solve helps you find time to get your self-tape done and done well! Find creative ways to get your schedule together to make this possible.

Synergy in your career keeps it feeling vibrant and FUN! We are a relationship based industry. Every notable project of any type involves synergy.

If you feel like your career is lacking synergy, ask yourself– who do you know working on great work that you can add value to?

For example: You know a local theatre company. Synergy with them could mean…

You become a teaching artist for them and introduce them to the school your nephew goes to and start a theater program together.

You bring them your holiday solo concert for next year since they don’t normally have holiday programming. You both can earn a little holiday cash.

You know a writer. Synergy with them could mean…

You offer yourself and maybe include some friends to do a very early stage reading of their work. They get help learning from their draft- you can update your network on your collaboration and practice portraying new characters.

You collaborate together to write a story that you can perform as a short film, monologue or other format. You both get a project to be proud of and submit to festivals!

You know and love a local coffee shop. Synergy with them could mean…

You offer to self-tape a mini spot promoting them that you can both use on socials

You host an actor meet-up group here so you can connect with fellow performers and swap marketing ideas. They get business and you get a place to curate a community.

Synergy can be created in limitless ways. All you need are willing partners, creativity and a goal.

Enjoying this series? Stay tuned– our last blog on this subject is coming up soon!

Part Five: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

December 12, 2022/0 Comments/in News /by Colleen Finnegan Kahl

Welcome to Habit #5 in our Series of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People as pertains to ACTORS.

5. Seek First to Understand– Then to be Understood!

This is really cool to pull through the lens of an actor and I have three specific directions I want to go with this.

Direction 1– SUBMISSIONS

Direction 2- CHARACTER HOMEWORK.

Direction 3- REPS

So let’s start with Submissions. I would guarantee that EVERY Casting Director I know would tell me that they get many actors who are wrong for the role for every breakdown they release. Every single one. WHY? Because often actors aren’t seeking to understand before they try for the job.

In order to UNDERSTAND a project, you need to explore all known details carefully. You need to LISTEN to what is needed before you spend any time creating. I know sometimes this can be tricky because breakdowns don’t always include a lot of info, but you need to take what IS included very seriously.

For example, if a breakdown says they need local hire for a project and they are looking for people with fluent Spanish, and you KNOW you don’t have a place to stay in that city, you don’t have money for a flight AND you haven’t tried out your Spanish since JR year of high school– DO NOT SEND A TAPE. The details that production knows are important to them are in those directions. Don’t assume that you are an exception to a rule– because the more people who assume they are, the more frustrating it is for casting to sift thru everything and every part of the process suffers.

Ok so part 2– CHARACTER HOMEWORK. When you approach your scene and begin to make choices, you need to mine your section of the script and your character description for clues about who this person is and what they want. This is tricky without reading the whole script (always read the ENTIRE script when given the opportunity–it doesn’t always come up but take it when it does) but do your best.

Look for patterns in the way they think/speak, look for what actions they are playing, try to determine their ideal outcome in each moment, etc. You can’t make thorough choices until you have done this work as an actor. Once you have done this work on your script– then you SEEK TO BE UNDERSTOOD. Make choices that clearly show your character’s wants and desires so that your performance is believable to casting AND to an audience.

And part 3– REPS. In order to get an agent, you need to understand what an agent NEEDS from an actor to get them audition appointments. Without an understanding of an agent’s process, you can’t be sure that you are providing them with all the necessary tools they need to do their job.

What are those tools?

A resume ready for work at the next level. A picture that places them in the right worlds for what casts locally. Training that they can trust to represent the agency on set. Quick correspondence for fast audition turn arounds. Solid communication skills and work ethic for when things get busy– or to help things GET busy when they are slow.

You need to understand why all this is needed and have it at the ready in order to get an agent to understand that you are ready for Rep!

Find this blog helpful! Don’t forget to check out the earlier ones in this series!

Part Four: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

November 8, 2022/0 Comments/in News /by Roman Warmke

Moving right along to Habit #4 in our Series of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People as pertains to ACTORS.

4. Think Win-Win.

I love this one. Life is FULL of possibilities and outcomes. Tap into a little creativity and MANY problems can be solved by solutions where everyone can benefit. It may not be the first solution that always comes to mind, but when you are committed to solving a situation, Win-Win scenarios are the holy grail.

Not only do they move you forward, but they move those around you and/or working with you forward. That creates tremendous good will for the people in your community and encourages people to feel confident and excited when working with you.

So how do you do this as an actor? Here are a few WIN-WIN scenarios I dreamed up for you to explore.

STUDENT FILMS- You need footage. They need actors. When you are just starting out in your career, student films are a great way to get some low stakes experience in front of the camera.

LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING AS A CONTENT CREATOR- Brands want great content and you love insta and tik tok. Brands love connecting with authentic individuals who have great social media followings to get the word out on their products and compensate for this service.

BECOMING A PRODUCER/ACTOR- When you are able to help a project along in ways other than performing in it, that can benefit everyone and make you a more enticing casting decision! Can you help coordinate a group sale of tickets? Help scout filming locations for an indie? What a gift you can be to projects you work on!

BEING A READER- Casting Directors need actors to be readers for their auditions. What’s great is while you are reading, the CD also gets a taste of your skills and abilities! You can support those auditioning and this part of the project while practicing your skillset and strengthening your relationship with that Casting team.

FINDING OPPORTUNITIES YOURSELF EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE REPS- Just because you have an agent, doesn’t mean you just stop looking for work on your own. Your agent is part of your TEAM and YOU are the CEO! Everytime you bring relationships and opportunities to the team– everyone truly benefits!

Say you find a great opportunity that hasn’t formally been released yet– and you have a connection to get your work seen early for the project. That is great for you and your reps- ESPECIALLY when you book it and everyone financially benefits (yes- you should always give your agent the percentage, even when you find the job yourself). Your whole team benefits from your new credit, new relationships and new opportunities!

These are just a few examples of WIN-WIN scenarios that you can bring into your acting career to help advance your career. Touch back here as we move into point number 5 next week and give you more tips on how to become a successful actor!

Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection. Colleen is an expert helping aspiring actors prepare for casting calls, find an agent, and optimize their acting training for theater and television.

Part Three: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

October 10, 2022/1 Comment/in News /by Colleen Finnegan Kahl

Thanks for hanging with us! We are here with blog 3 from our mini series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People! If you didn’t see the first two yet– be sure to check out those earlier posts! So let’s explore habit 3!

3. Put First Things First.

Most people these days have HUGE to-do lists. It can feel paralyzing, especially to creatives! Not all actions that end up on our “to-dos” actually move us closer to our success. Identifying the KEY actions that you need to focus on first is VITAL to finding success in ANY industry.

So how do you differentiate your tasks? How do you set-up your day to have success here? You need to learn the word “no” and when to use it.

There are important and non-important tasks and urgent and non-urgent tasks. You need to structure your day to include enough time working on things that aren’t urgent but ARE important. If you don’t set aside time for those tasks, it is easy to get caught in the worldwind of smaller things that keep you busy but don’t move you towards your goals. To do this, you need to be constantly thinking about what YOU need to do, what you can DELEGATE, what you can AUTOMATE and what you can say NO to. With that in mind, you need to schedule your week to get everything accomplished. Don’t expect to FIND the time. Put the time in the calendar. If you never work on the big picture, you can’t ever expect to achieve your big dreams. If that means saying no or asking someone else to do it– you need to! Otherwise, you are just coasting through reacting to things instead of taking action towards your goals.

So here are a few tips for you for point number 3!

Create a weekly schedule that outlines your daily activities. Block out time for submitting for auditions and doing industry research. Create your weekly schedule on Sunday night or Monday morning and adhere to it as closely as you can. The more you practice your scheduling, the easier it will be to set aside the proper amount of time to get your tasks done.
Do your MOST IMPORTANT WORK FIRST. Tackle the self-tapes, the audition submissions and your important relationship building tasks before you hop on the family email string, do the load of laundry or open social media. You will feel more control over your day if you can make time to do this on a regular basis.
Notice what you are doing that is getting you positive results in your life. Prioritize those things!
Ask yourself these questions when scheduling your tasks: 1) Is it important? 2) Do I need to do this now? 3) Can someone else do this? 4) Can I automate this for the future? 5) Does this move me closer to my dreams? 6) Is the outcome of this action important to my career and/or personal goals?
TIME BLOCKING! I’m a BIG fan of this method! Sometimes when we give ourselves mini deadlines we move faster. If you have all day to do an item, you’ll take all day. If you give yourself a timeline, you’ll work to do it within that time frame. Tighten your deadlines on individual tasks and watch how it changes your productivity.

Feel free to comment below on any action steps these principles inspire for you and we will get busy prepping habit #4!

Need a community to help you stay on the right path? Check out our ACTORS CONNECTING membership group on facebook! CLICK HERE to join the group for your free trial!