Welcome back to our blog mini series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People! We are breaking down the 7 tips that Stephen Covey shares in his book (great read! I can definitely recommend it) but we are gearing our tips below to ACTORS looking to be more EFFECTIVE in their acting careers!

So onward to habit # 2.

2. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND.

For the baseball fans in the house– let’s start with a Yogi Berra quote– “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

You need to be thinking today about your ultimate destination in your career. What do you want to achieve? What do you want your life to look like? Who are you as a successful actor? What work are you doing? Who are you doing it with? What types of characters are you playing? How much money do you make? Where do you live?

Feel a little day-dreamy? Good! You can’t build your best vision of the future if you spent no time thinking about it and designing it!

If you don’t have an answer to all those questions above, it truly is WORTH taking the time to explore your heart on them. And don’t limit yourself to your career! Think about your relationships, hobbies, lifestyle and how life feels living in your chosen path. You can’t possibly move closer to the YOU that you want to be if you don’t have a clear picture of it!

So here are a few tips for you for point number 2!

Spend 5 minutes each morning thinking about the career you want to have. Set an alarm, close your eyes, and think about the life you want to be living for at least 5 whole uninterrupted minutes. Focus on the 5 senses and your emotions and think about everything in detail. You should be smiling while you do this! It should feel good or you are doing it wrong!

Create a vision board for your life. Put pictures that represent your career, lifestyle, income and relationships on it. Get specific and cover a whole poster board with representations of your future.

Set goals by working backward. Once you know your ultimate goals, it is easier to work back from there to identify the remaining milestones that need to get you there. Write that top goal and think “what would I need right before this?” and then write that goal down. Then ask the question before that goal and so on. Doing this will help you build your own personal road map.

Pave your brain for success. Envision how you will handle hurdles. They will happen and your reaction is important. Take time to really explore how you can overcome challenges with grace and grit.

One day, when you are gone and the Oscars want to celebrate your life–what do you want them to say about you and your career? What do you want family and friends to remember about you? Weave those answers into your life now!

Habit #3 is en route in a future blog post! Feel free to comment below on any action steps these principles inspire for you!

Need help taking regular action to move your career forward? CLICK HERE to check out our membership program which includes a weekly accountability group! We talk a LOT about mindset in the group– so if you need help with that piece– come find us!

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 One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

An Interview with Casting Director Alison Franck, Franck Casting by Tony Nation

Alison Franck (CSA) is a casting professional with over 20 years of Broadway, Off-Broadway, Touring, Regional Theatre, TV, Film, Commercial and Voice Over Casting experience. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing her.

When was the moment you knew that casting was the job for you?

I think I knew when I was in high school – I used to record whatever I was watching in order to see who was who in the credits (this was before the Internet) & I would save all playbills and memorize actors bios. Then I would go to the library and spend hours reading about who played what on Broadway.

I wanted to know actors and what they did… I was such a busy body about it all. I realized at some point there was a job for me…. Well, when I decided I didn’t want to be an actress any longer.

What are some of your favorite musicals and plays?

I love Sondheim! So Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George. (note: I have never cast a single Sondheim musical) I loved a play called “Our Country’s Good”…I love the usual big hits: A Chorus Line, Rent & Hamilton. I also love 1776, She Loves Me & Ragtime. I could go on and on.

I really need to see more new musicals. Recently I really loved Come from Away ( and I know that’s not so recent)

What can you tell us about the process of casting for some of your projects?

Because I mostly cast non-union tours. The main thing to note is – I’m looking for people who want the job & are available for the job. I post breakdowns on Breakdown Services/Actors Access always – then Backstage & Playbill Online most of the time & also on social media (Facebook & Instagram) it’s amazing to me how many different places I need to post.

I sometimes am shocked at how random it all is these days. I’m not just going to start calling people I know… I need to open up all jobs to all actors.

If you could cast any musical or play right now, what would it be?

Something by Stephen Sondheim. Literally anything.
Or a brand new musical. I also would love to work on projects like Come from Away, that uses a small chore of actors to play many roles… it requires actors who can do anything… I also loved that the actors all looked like real people. So it’s all about talent… that’s my favorite.

What excites you about an actor when you see their work?

Strong acting choices. Actors who do not play it safe, but based on their materials (songs, sides, monologues) really make fresh and interesting choices because they have invested in the materials… that includes understanding the time period, the age of the role & their work status/regionalisms/body language.

People over the years have misinterpreted my take on how people dress or what shoes they wear as a part of how I cast. Actually no. I just can sometimes tell based on what an actor is wearing that they’ve thought about the character. I also never make the actual casting decisions. So at the point an actor shows up to audition- it’s out of my hands and it’s all up to creatives.

My excitement is usually over how that decision influenced their acting choices and how the room responds to them. Sometimes dressing “differently” (meaning not wearing pink when auditioning for Elle Woods) is exactly what might make the actor stand out. It’s not always a matter of what’s expected, but rather, what works for that actor….

It’s part of a thought process that is a series of choices. What someone is wearing is superficial, yet it is part of their story they are sharing with the creatives.

What’s your best advice for actors today?

Things are changing so much- especially with self taping. It’s still a new hybrid & I’m still trying to navigate it. I feel like some actors love self taping but are never available for in person callbacks- and think we can cast from a Zoom callback & my creatives really want and need to see people in the room.

And some actors won’t self tape… and honestly- I’ve been open to skipping the self taping and just bringing people in from talent reels… but this is how I work. It’s not always up to me. I just am trying to get the best people in the room. I may want to suggest.. self tape to the best of your ability, but the goal is an in-person callback. (For theatre)

Alison Franck (CSA) is a casting professional with over 20 years of Broadway, Off-Broadway, Touring, Regional Theatre, TV, Film, Commercial and Voice Over Casting experience. For a decade, she was the Casting Director for the prestigious regional theatre Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, where she cast over 50 productions with some of the theatre community’s finest talent.

Notable credits at Paper Mill include the Broadway transfer of I’m Not Rappaport starring Judd Hirsch and Ben Vereen, Anything Goes starring Chita Rivera, The Baker’s Wife starring Alice Ripley, The Chosen starring Theodore Bikel and John Lloyd Young, Baby starring La Chanze, Norm Lewis, Carolee Carmello, Michael Rupert and Chad Kimball, The Full Monty with Elaine Stritch, The Importance of Being Earnest with Lynn Redgrave, and was the original Casting Director behind the Broadway transfer of Godspell, which included Telly Leung and Uzo Aduba. Off-Broadway Projects include It’s Just Sex and the original replacement casting for The Donkey Show (directed by Diane Paulus).

Tony Nation is a partner at the Actors Connection, and a professional actor who has worked in all areas of Show business. You can currently see him on HBO’s THE REHEARSAL in the pilot episode, in season 3 of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL and in an upcoming animated feature film in 2023.

As a voice actor who is auditioning/working in animation…

Identify what relationship you are playing in regards to the main character. Character contrast makes a story exciting and becomes storytelling. As an actor, identifying your relationships – will help you discover your character arc in the storytelling. All great acting is about the relationship. Understanding that relationship – gives you a reason to move forward in the story.

Characters need to BALANCE each other in a story…

Characters’ ‘push and pull’ interactions move the story along. The evil character is a negative reflection of the depth of the good of the lead character. A mentor character can often push our lead to another level of self-actualization. Each character holds an essential balance for telling the entire story.

5 Characters – Essential to an Animation Story

1. The Protagonist – “I’m ready for my entrance…”

The protagonist is our hero/heroine, and the story is told from their point of view. They have the most to lose and the most to gain. The audience is meant to identify with the protagonist the most. This character does the most growth in the story. Their journey creates the story’s theme, and what they do – moves our story forward.

2. The Antagonist – “Bwa Ha-ha!!’

This character directly opposes the main character and creates obstacles for our hero. KEEP IN MIND – this could be an actual character OR an aspect of the main character’s personality.

3. The ‘Sidekick – ‘Holy H2O Batman!’

Every Batman needs a Robin. Loyal and supportive to the main character, this character’s goals align closely with our main character. Often the sidekick has differences from the main character – but they always compliment the main character.

4. The ‘Mentor’ – ‘Do or do not. There is no try’.

The hero learns from this character. Often the mentor will take our hero on a journey and protect them on that journey. They are the ‘Conscience’ or moral compass which guides our hero/heroine, keeping them on the right path.

5. The ‘Love Interest’ – “Mhwa!”

Our hero is in love with this character, but this character may or may not love them back. They help to set our hero/heroine on their journey of self-discovery. This character is sometimes combined with other characters, i.e., the Antagonist or the Mentor.

When creating an animated character, Identify who they are in the story, and now you are not just playing a character – but a character RELATIONSHIP as well.

Written by Paul Liberti, Voice Director and Casting Director

Paul Liberti – Casting director and voice director for narration for THE RAZOR MAGAZINE. Paul is an acting teacher who teaches all genres of voice over including Commercial VO, Animation, Video Game, Narration and Promo. Paul is co-creator of AuthorDirect Audio, which directs nonfiction reads for Audible.

Paul has taught for many University acting programs annually and teaches sold out competitive classes in New York City, Los Angeles, and nationally and also for the SAG/AFTRA Foundation.

Paul has worked as a dialect coach on film sets, Broadway and London’s West End Theater, and Regional Theater with recent shows like Disney’s Frozen, USA Network – Falling Water, The National Theater’s – One Night in Miami, Greater Tuna, Anastasia, My Fair Lady, Carousel, Brigadoon and many others.

Paul has been a voice actor for Pokemon, Blues Clues, Noggin’s Pinky Dinky Doo, Saturday Night Live Cartoons, and Sesame Street and Jim Henson’s Muppets. He is currently the voice of Curious George & The Man In The Yellow Hat.

Want to be a booking machine this fall? We are rooting for you! Here are some of our tips to be READY to BOOK episodic work in the coming months.

UPDATE YOUR HEADSHOT AND RESUME

Your headshot and resume are your most important marketing materials. They need to be top notch ALWAYS! Update your resume after EVERY job and with every solid new skill obtained. If your picture hasn’t gotten you great results in the last year, now might be the time to get a new one. It should look like you on a good day, but also tell a bit of a story about what type of character you could play. Every actor should have a few different shots that showcases them as the perfect actor for each type of role they KNOW they can play right now. Headshots are SO IMPORTANT and are a worthy investment for actors! Check out some photographers we have worked with HERE.

GET IN CLASS

Say you go to the gym for 4 years to build incredible muscles. If you skip the gym for the following two years, you can’t possibly expect to be in the same physical shape. Same goes for your acting skillset. You need to be regularly using your creative muscles to stay sharp and emotionally agile for the roles you can play. Need to fine some fun classes? We offer over 130 options every month! CLICK HERE to view our list.

KNOW THE SHOWS

What market is closest to you? What shows film there? Who is casting each show? What shows are you a good fit for? Have you watched at least ONE EPISODE of each show filming in your home market? You need to answer ALL of these questions. When it comes to episodics, each show has it’s own flavor and style. In order to be successful auditioning for those shows, you need an understanding of the pace, story arc, and overall feel of the show as a whole. Don’t make guesses– good actors do their research! There’s enough left to chance in our industry– don’t chance your choices being off-brand for any production.

LEVEL-UP YOUR SELF-TAPE GAME

Poor self-tapes will keep you in an eternal booking dry spell. If you want to be competitive and stand out you MUST master this specific skill set. Your tapes MUST be well lit. No distracting shadows. You MUST be heard easily. If your device doesn’t have a good mic, consider investing in a lavalier mic that you can wear. You also need to come right out of the gate with some great specific choices. The best way to ensure you are doing that is to use a COACH! Find a go-to coach to help you with last minute self-tapes so you can be sure that you are putting your absolute best audition forward EVERY SINGLE TIME. Want someone to look at your recent self-tapes and help you determine what you can do better? Contact colleen@actorsconnection.com to learn more about our programs geared towards exactly that!

We hope this info helps you prepare for big successes for the upcoming season. We can’t wait for you to book a great job this fall! Tell Mom and Dad to get their DVRs ready!

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 auditions, producing professional headshots, and acting training for theater and television.

If you have been researching how to get an agent, you know it isn’t easy. There are HUNDREDS of tips and tools out there, but nothing is the magic juice. There are a lot of things that need to fall into place to finally obtain representation and get to the next level in your acting career.

There is no one size fits all tactic and everyone’s journey to finding a great professional rep is different. But there is ONE THING that is important in EVERY agent journey– and that is the ability to answer THIS QUESTION really well….

WHAT ROLES DO YOU SEE YOURSELF PLAYING?

Why is this question SO IMPORTANT?

Two main reasons…

Agents want to know you can book RIGHT NOW. Not 3 years from now or 5 years from now– but what you are right for RIGHT NOW.

This business is about making a profit. In order to have a profitable actor/agent relationship, you need to book jobs and there needs to be job opportunities out there for someone like you! In school, you often play characters that you wouldn’t play professionally until you are much older and that can throw a lot of actors off. Your agent wants you to focus on the age appropriate characters you can start making money playing right away.

&

Agents want to know YOU UNDERSTAND HOW YOU CAN BOOK. So many actors just want to work but have done little to NO research on what they actually can book right now.

They don’t know the shows they are right for or the styles they can nail or at least they can’t articulate it. This screams LAZY ACTOR and it is not impressive to agents. You should be able to name theatre titles and characters, tv shows, writers and types of projects you are castable for at the drop of a dime. This shows an agent what you believe your type to be and that you are always aware of the opportunities you may be right for. This shows heart and hustle. It is SO important.

So ask yourself– can I answer this question? Can I answer it without an “um” or “uhhh”? Can I rattle off 5-10 quick titles or projects? If you can’t— this is your HOMEWORK!

Start researching and understanding what your money making opportunities are! Your career depends on it and there are lots of agents out there interested in hearing your answers!

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 auditions and tryouts with Casting Directors and Talent Agents. Contact Colleen for more information. Photo provided by Towfiqu barbhuiya.