Carrie Lee Martz | Actress
carrieleemartz@hotmail.com

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Auditioning - But Where do I go, What do I do, How?

5/25/2014

 
Ahhhhh Auditioning – sometimes it feels like this process will never end.  That’s because it doesn’t – so start doing it and get comfortable.  Even the stars and others who’ve “made it” have to audition for their roles.  Auditioning can often feel like a whole other animal and in actuality it is.  Being able to audition well can make all the difference when it comes to getting cast.
Confused Man
There are many parts of the audition process that we as actors can’t control when it comes to what they’re looking for:  age, looks, height, weight, hair color, and just plain human chemistry are just a few of them.  Some of those things can be controlled to a certain extent, but the moment you start questioning every single thing about yourself is the moment you become your own worst enemy.  You can drive yourself crazy by trying to determine exactly what “THEY” are looking for.  So stop, slow down, and instead think about what you can control – your preparation and performance (even your performance isn’t always completely under your control and is in fact, usually better when it’s not).  A wonderful friend of mine once told me that our job as actors is not to book a role or even to perform a role, but rather to audition and audition to the best of our abilities.  You can decide just exactly what if anything that means to you, but I can tell you that it changed everything for me!  It made auditioning much less scary somehow.  I started having more fun in auditions, I was more prepared, more relaxed, and I started booking more jobs.

Ok, so with all those thoughts swimming in your head, let’s talk about some of the more technical things.

Where do I go?
There are lots of places you can start looking for auditions.  Now again, if you are just getting started, I recommend limiting yourself to student films and community theatre in order to first gain some more experience.  With that in mind, here is a list of some places where you can look for audition notices.  This list is nowhere near complete, but it’s a good place to start.  Many of these will pertain to the Pittsburgh area, but others are available all over.  Also, please keep in mind that you should be careful going to auditions – personal safety comes first – you can read up about it here.  The last paragraph is probably the most important.  I don’t agree with everything 100%, but until I get the chance to write a post on audition safety, this is a pretty good warning.  Also keep in mind that while I am recommending these sites or pages as good resources, I do not endorse every audition posted – you must decide for yourself what you feel is legit and worth your time.

Audition Notices (in alphabetical order) - Note some of these services allow you to create online profiles and some require you to pay in order to submit yourself for auditions.
12 Peers Theatre
Actor’s Access
Backstage
Carnegie Mellon University
Craigslist
Dragonuk Connects
Gemini Theatre
Little Lake Theatre
Nancy Mosser Casting (sign up for free to be listed – they will contact you if interested)
Pittsburgh City Paper
Pittsburgh Film Office
Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Pittsburgh New Works Festival (once a year)
Point Park University
Smithfield Street Theatre
South Park Theatre
Stage Right
The Casting Pitt
The University of Pittsburgh
The Theatre Factory
Throughline Theatre Company

Facebook groups (in alphabetical order)

Actors* Models*
Auditions An'at
Carnegie Screenwriters (not technically an audition resource, but a great group of writers who host staged readings once a month)
Cleveland IndieClub
Greater Pittsburgh theater info board
Pittsburgh 48 Hour Film Project (once a year)
Pittsburgh Model & Actor Castings & Industry Networking
P.O.W. II Secret Group

Before I start, there are going to be some technical terms introduced here that you may not be familiar with, if you do not know what they mean, you should be able to find the definitions of them here.

What do I do?
Well, that depends.  Are you auditioning for stage, film, commercials, industrials???

Stage:  You will be asked to do one or more of the following – a prepared monologue, a cold-read monologue, a prepared scene (with a partner), a cold-read scene (with a partner) – a cold-read monologue or scene may be from the play or it may not.
You should always have at least 4 monologues memorized at any given time – one comedic contemporary monologue, one dramatic contemporary monologue, one comedic classic monologue, and one dramatic classic monologue.  If you already have these, you are prepared for a monologue audition, if not, find some monologues (the library is a good place to start) and get them memorized.
Monologues are the most common form of audition for the stage and a good monologue is essential for a good audition – choose one that provides conflict and energy to your performance.
Cold-reading is a little different and a skill that requires practice.  Aside from practicing this skill in itself, one of the best ways to prepare for a cold-read for a play is to read the entire play.  Familiarize yourself with the characters that you are right for and their circumstances.  You may not know ahead of time which section of the play you will be reading from or which character you may read for, but at least you’ll have a good idea what is happening.
Often your initial audition will be in the form of a monologue or 2 contrasting monologues and generally callbacks will require you to cold-read a scene from the play with a partner.

Film, Commercials, Industrials:  You will be asked to do one or more of the following – a prepared scene (with a reader or a partner), a cold-read scene (with a reader or a partner), a prepared monologue, a cold-read monologue – most often the scene and/or monologue will be from the actual script and these scenes are referred to as sides.
You should read, memorize and prepare the scene as best you can and/or practice your cold-read technique – if possible, practice the scene with your partner, if given one, ahead of time.
For monologues – see above in the stage section – since performing a monologue for film auditions is rare, you can often do a stage monologue, but if you’ve got a film monologue prepared, all the better.
Often your initial audition for film will be in the form of a cold-read of the sides opposite a reader and generally callbacks will require you to prepare or cold-read a scene with one or many scene partners.
Often your initial audition for commercials will be in the form of a prepared scene (usually the whole commercial itself) with a reader and generally callbacks will require you to read the same prepared scene with one or many scene partners.
Often your initial audition for industrials will be in the form of a prepared scene (usually from 1-3 pages of the script) with a reader and generally callbacks will require you to read the same prepared scene with one or many scene partners – although many times you will be cast or not from your initial read.

How?

So how do you go about preparing a monologue or scene and readying yourself for an audition?  If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you should be taking a class and in that class, you should be learning exactly, in detail, how to do this.  Since I think there is no substitute for a class when it comes to teaching an actor to prepare a script, I’m going to just give you a neat little checklist to work with – I call it the Five FFFFF’s

The Five FFFFF's

1.  Figure out your character.   (Character substance, etc.)
2.  Find your motivations.  (What are you doing in the scene?)
3.  Fix it in your mind.   (Memorize your lines.)
4.  Feel relaxed.   (Calm yourself and trust that you got this.)
5.  Forfeit your fears.   (Give in to the process and most of all have fun.)


Next Week...  The Actor Resume - The Who, What, When, Where, Why?
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A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities Cover

Be sure to check out my very first audiobook, a humorous personal memoir collection entitled "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities" written by Barbara Venkataraman.  It's available through Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.

Also available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes:
"Death by Didgeridoo" by Barbara Venkataraman


The Age Old Question and What to do About it!

5/18/2014

 
Woman Masking her Age
Hey guys, so I know I said this week’s blog post would be about auditioning and I didn’t forget.  I’m going to take a detour this week though and post about something else.  Next week will be about auditioning.
I often get asked questions by other actors about how to do things or what decisions to make in certain situations.  I got one of these questions this week and I realized – That would make a great blog post!  In fact many of these questions are great for posting, so from time to time, I may answer some of these questions here.  Names and details will be changed/left vague because I don’t want to “out” my friends for being smart enough to ask when they need help.  I've also added a bit to my answer to make it more relevant for all.


Here’s the question:

They are casting for a movie in X city, asking for 18-24 year olds to play highschool students. I am 25, but I play much much younger on screen. Should I still submit, or will that glaring number 25 make them just throw away my submission on first glance? I'm always a little unsure of these things. I don't want to lie, about my age, but I look younger in real life and play younger on screen. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Here’s my answer:
This is a great question and one that gets asked frequently!

My advice?  LIE!  I'm not someone who ever likes to lie or tell others to lie, but we are in a business of lies (or at least stretching the truth a bit), and if you don't, someone else will and they will get the part.  Casting directors aren't always turned off by a person's real age, but many can be, and why give them a reason NOT to hire you?

Have they asked you for your age?  If not, then you don't have to lie, just don't offer up your age
– take a page from the Military's book:  "Don't ask, don't tell."

If they do ask, there is another way of getting around this that doesn't involve lying if you don’t look your age.  If you have to fill out a form with your age, give them your playing age range.  If you play 15-21, then put that on the form instead of writing 25.  If it makes you feel better, you can even add the word “range” or “playing” next to age on the form so that it’s clear what you’re telling them.  You can do the same thing if they ask you personally.

I hate lying myself, but I almost never play my own age, so this is a method that works well for me.  I've never been questioned about it, because I always make sure that the age range I am giving is both one I can play and one that I look appropriate for.


Ultimately what they want/need to know when they ask for that age is whether or not you can "ACT" that age.  The only time this becomes an issue is if you are a minor and lying about your age – that can get you into trouble, so don’t do it!  Since you’re not a minor, you’re fine.  You can “ACT” the age they are looking for and since you look that age anyway, they won't question it.  Not only that, but think of it this way.  There is no other job in life where they will ask you your age when you interview.  In fact, it's technically illegal to ask someone for their age when hiring
– the law views it as discriminatory.  Don't try to fight it though, because for whatever reason the entertainment industry gets away with it.  If you try to fight this, you’re “bucking the system” and it will only end badly for you, because YOU are not going to change the entire way the industry operates.  You will only come across as someone who is difficult to work with.  Sorry, that's just the way it is!  If you’re feeling unsure or unsettled about all this, just remind yourself that you're giving them what they are really asking you for and that your "real" age is none of their damn business!

Some important caveats:  Remember to be honest with yourself when choosing an age range.  If you are 45 and they're looking for someone 25, you're probably kidding yourself and they will notice.  Stretch the truth this far and that company may never audition you again.  And your age range can be between 5-7 years, but any longer than that and it starts to look ridiculous.  Also, if this is something you find yourself needing to do in order to have a great acting career, make sure that your "real" age isn't easy to find.  Don't post it on websites, social media, or any other accessible area.  And be consistent about it, pick a range and stick with it.  Use this range on everything you fill out or submit.  You can occasionally add or subtract a year as needed.  Also, remember to update your range as you get older.  If you aren't sure of your age range, start asking people how old they think you look.  And if you know someone else is playing roles that differ from their "real" age, don't out them – it's just plain rude and unprofessional!


Next week…  Auditioning – But Where do I go, What do I do, How?
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Point me in the Right Education Direction.  Pretty Please???

5/12/2014

 
Arrow Direction Sign
There are many ways to educate yourself as an actor.  Some of them include:  reading books, checking out websites and blogs, watching films and plays, reading scripts, taking classes, and working gigs.  In order to most effectively train yourself, you should be doing a combination of these things, if not all of them.

1.  Books
There are many books available to actors about learning the craft.  Who I am kidding – there are tons of books out there about acting!  There are biographies and autobiographies written by actors who have come before, there are books that teach different methods of acting, and there are books full of exercises aimed at making you a better actor.  All of these books are beneficial!  Yes, I said ALL of them – you may have been told not to read this book or that book, but I disagree.  While it’s true that some books do a far better job of helping and teaching an actor in some respects, any book you can get your hands on is going to teach you something, even if it’s “what not to do,” and sometimes these are the most valuable lessons of all.


“There is no book so bad, but something good may be found in it.” – from Don Quixote de la Mancha. 

Acting is a very individually-based career.  As I’ve said before, what works for one person may not work for another.  This should always be foremost in your mind when educating yourself.  Just because you read or learn about a particular way of doing something, doesn’t mean it’s the right way for you.  You need to take everything you read with a grain of salt.  I recommend trying everything, every method or tip, try them over and over, but when you find that something just isn’t working for you – move on!  And if you’re only reading what everyone else is reading, how will you ever grow further and set yourself apart?  There are no bad books, only bad advice and it’s up to you to determine which advice is bad for you.

Here’s a few books to get you started:
Breaking Into Acting for Dummies
Audition
Sanford Meisner on Acting
An Actor’s Work
Respect for Acting
The Actor and the Target
How to Sell Yourself as an Actor
Voice Actor’s Guide to Recording at Home…And on the Road
Actions:  The Actors' Thesaurus

I consider most of these books to be essential reading for an actor.  The last book is a handy reference you'll use often throughout your career.

2.  Websites & Blogs
The same rules apply here as for books.  Everything has something to teach you.  Read it all, but keep your wits about you!
 

Here’s a few websites & blogs:
Backstage
SagAftra
Actors' Equity
Dragonuk Connects
Casting Call Pro
NY Castings
Acting Up Blog

I highly recommend Backstage first as an excellent resource for the beginning actor.  Some of these sites are provided as actor listing services, but they all contain content to guide actors in their careers.

3.  Watch Movies & Plays – Read Scripts
This seems obvious and self-explanatory.  Watching other actors work can be a very powerful tool in your education.  And the more scripts you read, the more you get a feel for the industry and what to expect on the page.

Here’s a few script resources:
Dramatists Play Service
The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb)

There are a ton of resources for scripts – search the web and you’ll find them.

4.  Taking Classes
Taking classes is extremely important because it allows you to apply what you’ve learned.  There are lots of classes out there and just like books and websites, they are all going to offer you something.  Again this is something you just have to try out and see if it works for you.  Different teachers use different methods and motivate their students differently, so again what works for one person may not work for another.  As I’m based in Pittsburgh, I’m going to share with you some classes that you can take in the Pittsburgh area.  There are classes available all over though, so if you’re not in Pittsburgh, do a web search, join actor groups, ask friends, but find a class and get started!

Here’s a few Pittsburgh classes:
On Camera:
Nancy Mosser Casting – Randy Kovitz
Pittsburgh Filmmakers – Jeff Monahan
Acting Skills:
Donna Belajac Casting – Jill Wadsworth
CCAC – Donna Perkins
Voiceover:
Market Street Sound – Amy Hartman
Improvisation:
Steel City Improv – Justin Zell, Kasey Daley, Greg Gillotti
Movement:
Point Park University – Ben Blazer & Carin Bendas

I have personally taken all but one of these classes at some point and I’ve learned valuable lessons from each.  I have not taken the movement class, but it's taught by a friend and colleague, Ben Blazer (who I've worked with on more than one occassion), so I feel confident about recommending it to you.  There are other classes available in the Pittsburgh area, but I am only including those that I have experienced.

I encourage anyone to comment to this post with any other books, websites, blogs, script resources, and classes (in and out of Pittsburgh) that you can personally recommend.

Next week…  The Age Old Question and What to do About it!
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Happy Mother's Day!

5/11/2014

 
Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms out there!


Pink & Red Roses
Due to a busy Mother's Day weekend and the need for Website Policies on the site prior to posting my latest blog entry, this week's post will be delayed.  I hope to post Point me in the Right Education Direction.  Pretty Please??? on Tuesday at the latest.  In the meantime, have a great week!
photo credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via photopin cc /Added Border

I Want to Act, but Where do I Start?

5/4/2014

 
Hollywood, Star, Film Reel Clapperboard Cupcakes
Ok, so you want to become an actor or actress, now what?  This post is going to be a very basic outline of where to start.  There are so many options and schools of thought on this that it’ll make your head spin.  The traditional route, though there really is no traditional route, is to go to school and get a degree in acting, move to a big city – i.e. LA or NY, get a job and apartment, look for an agent, and work work work.  If you are young and planning to go to school anyway and/or you have the means and opportunity, this is a great option.  But let’s be practical, this option just doesn’t easily work for many of us.

It didn’t work for me because I already had a degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and I wasn’t about to go back to school for another 4 years.  Not because I wouldn’t love the chance to get a degree in acting, but because school is expensive!  Since I was still paying off the loans for my college education, I didn’t want to take on any more debt.  Acting classes can be expensive too, but at least you get to choose when you’d like to take a class, as opposed to being locked in for 4 years.

I’m going to guide you through what to do using my own experiences – many people will agree with me that this is the way to go, while just as many will disagree.  So far it seems to be working for me, but it may not work for you, so just be aware that there are other options and ways to go about becoming a great actor.

1.  Stay Put
Stay where you are for now, unless you have the means to make a move and continue to support yourself.  Don’t move to the big city right away because you think it’s where all the action is – there is a lot of work available in regional markets – take advantage of that while you’re starting out.  Competing in a regional market can be difficult, but just imagine how much harder it is in the larger markets, teeming with other actors – all of whom will likely be more experienced and polished than you at this point in your career.  This also means don’t dump your day job right away.
I did leave my job, but I also had a husband who was willing and able to support me financially in pursuing my dream.  I am VERY lucky!!!

    
2. 
Educate yourself
Start reading, watching, and listening to anything and everything that you can get your hands on about acting.  Educate yourself on just what it takes to be a successful actor.  Unless you do community theatre or student films for fun, you want to make a career out of this, which means making money.  Find out what the average actor makes, what it takes to become marketable and maintain that marketability, and the emotional toll that it takes to pound the pavement every day.  Don’t lie to yourself – this is important, no really – you need to be very honest with yourself about whether you have what it takes in regards to raw talent, the ability to invest time and money, and the emotional strength to handle loads of rejection.  If you aren’t honest with yourself about this, your dream could quickly become your nightmare.

I’m incredibly persistent and determined by nature, so I knew that while rejection would be hard, I could muster up the courage to keep going.  I read about all the statistics of what actors really make and I decided that I had what it takes to beat the odds.  I also believed that I had raw talent and my friends and family agreed.

So at this point you’ve read up on acting, made any arrangements for your living and expenses and you’ve decided to dive in. 

3.  Get Educated
Get educated by learning the skills that it takes to become an actor.  You can learn some of this from books, but the best way is to be able to read and then practice what you learn.  Find a class in your area that is set up to accommodate and teach the beginning actor.  Take it!  This class will be your first real foray into acting.  Do the work, show up on time to every class, and see how you feel.  Use this class as a barometer.  How does the instructor respond to you?  How do you respond to the material?  Is this something you really enjoy?  Do you really want to do all this work?

I actually took my first acting class about 2 years before I started acting, while I was still working my day job.  Then I did almost nothing with my acting in that time, while continuing to suffer in said day job.  That was how long it took me to come to terms with the fact that YES, this was for me, and I wanted it badly enough to make any and all the necessary sacrifices.  But once I decided, that's it, I was off and running!

Still with me?  Ok, good – then you have more than a passing interest – keep reading!

4.  Keep After that Education
At this point you may want to continue taking classes with the same instructor you started with.  Or you may want to try another beginning class with a different instructor so that you can compare their notes and find out what works for you.  It’s a good idea to make sure you have the basics firmly down before trying to move to the next level.  And you can also…

I actually found a different class that was also teaching the basics – I felt I would get a more rounded view of what was really important when it came to basic acting skills this way.

5.  Start Auditioning
Yes, I said that.  Start auditioning.  Yes, it’s scary – do it anyway.  Learn monologues, memorize sides, whatever it takes.  But get out there!  The sooner, the better because auditioning is a really vital part of being an actor – and the sooner you start failing at it, the sooner you’ll learn how to do it well.  Don’t go for the paid gigs right now.  But wait… didn’t you say I want to make money?  Yes, but you are very green at this point, so you are really looking for ways to practice and hone your newly developing skills.  Think of it as an internship.  This is a great time to seek out roles in community theatres and/or student films.  Go out there and audition for everything you can at this stage.  Just exactly what that first gig is, isn’t nearly as important as the confidence boost it will give you and the opportunity you will have to practice all the things you’ve been working so hard to learn.

This is where my opinion really seems to differ with some.  I went out and started auditioning right about the same time that I started taking classes again.  My instructor begged me not to because I “didn’t know what I was doing yet.”  I went anyway and boy am I glad I did, because I did in fact book a few jobs.  Those jobs were instrumental in giving me an outlet for all that learning.  I’m a very hands-on person, so the experiences were invaluable.  I also formed great relationships that thrive to this day!

6.  Repeat Steps 4 & 5 Over & Over & Over to Build a Resume
This is really a ridiculous oversimplification of the next steps to take, but this blog post is about how to get started, so I’ll leave you right here this week.  Next week, I’ll break down these steps a little further.



Point me in the Right Education Direction.  Pretty Please???
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    Carrie Lee Martz

    I'm an Actress with a voracious appetite and passion for my work and life.  I believe that hard work coupled with determination is a good recipe for making your dreams a reality.

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