Carrie Lee Martz | Actress
carrieleemartz@hotmail.com

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Acting Appropriately After the Audition

8/20/2014

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Post Audition Panic
 Auditioning is the same as interviewing for a job, but different.  So basically you need to treat it like a job interview with a slightly different set of rules.  This also means that after the audition, you need to continue to behave professionally as if it were in fact a job interview, because it is.  This week I’m giving you some simple DO's and DON’Ts that outline appropriate ways of behaving post-audition, from immediately afterwards to a few weeks out.

DO:  Smile and thank those who were present at your audition, answer any questions they have, and make a quick but graceful exit.  Then sit down in the waiting room to collect your thoughts before leaving, hanging around just long enough in case they call you back in.
DON’T:  Dash out of the room without thanking anyone and head straight to your car.  This will only leave them wondering if there is something wrong with you.  This is not the way you want them to remember you.

DO:  Take note of what happened and how it went.  Analyze your audition from your own perspective and make notes on what you can do differently or better next time.  Learn from the experience.
DON’T:  Try to decipher what the Casting Director or Director thought.  It’s an impossible task and there are way too many variables for you to make sense of anyway.

DO:  Forget about the audition the minute you walk out that door.  Assume you did not get the role and move on to preparing for the next thing or focus on honing your craft.  Then if you do book the job it’ll be a lovely surprise.
DON’T:  Continue analyzing your audition for the next 3 days.  It’s a self-defeating behavior that will take your mind away from your goals and prevent you from quickly taking your next steps.

DO:  Send a note thanking the people who auditioned you.  This can be done by snail mail or email.  Include a headshot with your thank you, this will remind them about you and your audition, which they hopefully loved.
DON’T:  Attempt to call the Casting Director or show up at their office to say thank you.  This is akin to stalking – Creepy!

DO:  Touch base with the Casting Director in a few weeks or months with a simple note that tells them what you’re up to and reminds them that you’re still around and would love to audition for them again.  They may have a perfect role for you and end up calling you in.
DON’T:  Send a note like this too often (more than once in 4-8 weeks).  You want them to remember you for all the right reasons, not for being a pest.

So there you have it – 5 simple and straightforward tips that you can use the next time you audition.  While you don’t need to do all the DOs all the time, you should never do any of the DON’Ts.  These tips will help you to behave appropriately and professionally after any audition.  The more you do them, the more routine they will become.  And before you know it, you’ll be auditioning without a care in the world!  (Well, mostly anyway.)


No Post Next Week

Next Post:  Authenticity in Acting

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Blog Post Delayed & No Post

8/18/2014

 
Clock - Ticking Time
This week's blog post is going to be delayed as I've been busy putting the finishing touches on my latest audiobook, "The Case of the Killer Divorce."  It will be released soon!  Click for a sample.

The following week there will not be a blog post.  My time will be spent filming a new web series and memorizing lines and rehearsing for the play "Scattered" by F.J. Hartland.  The play debuts in September at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival.  I hope you'll join us there to see this lovely and heart-wrenching piece.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

photo credit: Brandon Christopher Warren via photopin cc /Added Border

Mind Your Acting Manners

8/10/2014

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Mind Your Manners Book
In life and in acting there are things called manners.  We all need to have them and use them.  I’ve been very fortunate in my acting career to work with a great number of amazing and wonderful people.  Actors as a whole tend to be a very amiable and fun group.  So it’s very rare that I meet an actor who is so nauseating that their very presence makes me want to run for the hills, but it has happened.  These people need to learn to mind their manners, treat others with respect, and stop acting like they are the only ones on this earth that matter.  The fastest way to tank your career and lose friends is to become one of them.  If you’re an actor and your career matters to you, then people should matter to you.  After all, you are going to spend most of your life pretending to be other people, and to do that you need to understand other people and you need to care about them.  Not only that, but while we can’t all be perfect all the time, don’t you at least want to be known as a nice, kind, and caring person who is fun and easy to work with most of the time?  I know I do!

Trust me when I say that being a good person with good manners is just as important in the pursuit of your career as being a good actor is.  Follow these tips for behaving appropriately amongst other actors.

1.  Always come to rehearsal or set prepared and ready to work.

It goes without saying that you should be prepared to do your job.  You need to come to set with ideas about your character, your lines memorized (by the required time), and a full understanding of the storyline.  Sure there may be a few holes that may not get filled until things start to come together, but you should have a very good outline in your head of exactly what is going to take place.  If you show up unprepared, you are letting your fellow actors down.  If the other actors have shown up ready to work and you haven’t, then everyone else has to wait for you to get up to speed.  This can slow down or even halt production and it’s unfair and incredibly inconsiderate to everyone else involved.  You need to be responsible for the role you are playing and that means fleshing it all out ahead of time.  So take the time to properly prepare so that no one else’s time is wasted.

2.  Show up with a good attitude and a can do spirit.

You should always try to show up with a positive mental outlook and a willingness to work towards a common goal.  Now don’t get me wrong we all lead imperfect lives where things go wrong and we have bad days.  And sometimes it just isn’t possible to be Suzy Sunshine, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try.  Whether it’s being overly negative about your own work, someone else’s work, or just life’s mishaps, nothing can tank a production faster than having a team member who constantly brings negativity into the workplace.  Coming in with a bad attitude can bring everyone else around you down and that will show in the work you’re all trying to accomplish together.  So if you’re having a bad day or you’re just generally a moody person, check yourself before showing up on-set.  A bad day here and there can be forgiven, but anything more than that and you run the risk of being known as a Negative Nelly.

3.  Be friendly, kind, and inclusive.

People are people and we’re all different.  Despite our differences, we all have the ability to be kind to one another.  Greet everyone each day, make a reasonably good effort to be kind, and try your best to include each of your cast mates in the process.  This will go a long way towards establishing good will amongst you all.  We may not always like everyone we’re working with, but that isn’t an excuse to treat anyone poorly.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should try to make friends with every single person you work with.  In fact, I think that’s a horrible idea.  You should only be friends with the people that you want to be friends with.  However, there is such a thing as common courtesy and just because you don’t like someone doesn’t mean you should be disrespectful or rude to them.  I can’t think of a single person who is all good or all bad, so instead of focusing on another person’s negative attributes, try focusing on their good ones.  You don’t have to all wind up as friends in the end, but you should at least be capable of parting cordially.  And who knows when you may have to work together again?  You don’t want that uncomfortableness hanging over your head.

4.  Cheer on your team.
You should always highlight the things that your cast mates are doing well.  Praise them when they deserve it!  After all, you’re a team and you want to make something amazing right?  Celebrating your cast mates’ contributions helps to foster trust and a team spirit.  Casts who share these positive feelings with one another are practically unstoppable.  Not only should you cheer for the folks on your team when things go well, but you should keep it to yourself when things aren’t going so well.  It’s hard not to judge other actors, in fact it’s often encouraged and helps us to become better actors ourselves.  But it is not your place to openly judge another actor or their performance.  This is the director’s job.  So don’t correct another cast mate if you think they are doing something poorly.  It’s not your place and it breeds distrust and animosity.

5.  Bring the drama when it counts.
Drama is great, it’s amazing and wonderful as long as it’s not over-the-top.  We need it and thrive on it on the stage, the screen, or over a microphone.  So be present in your work and bring your best self to play with the other actors.  If everyone is working at their best and highest intensity, it’s brings a contagion and joy to your work that is unmatched by any other feeling in this world.  Remember though that drama belongs on the stage or screen.  Don’t bring that same intensity into the relationships you have backstage.  While backstabbing, false friendships, and catty behavior on stage can make for an amazing show, participating in any of these behaviors behind the curtain can derail everyone and make for a miserable experience.

So remember that your manners matter.  Having good ones can open doors for you that will lead to a much more fulfilling life and career.  Pull up these 5 tips the next time you’re on-set to ensure that your manners are working for you, rather than against you.


Next Week:  Acting Appropriately After the Audition


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How Do I Get an Agent?

8/3/2014

 
Lego Talent Agent
I mentioned in an earlier post that I get lots of questions from other actors in need of advice.  I thought I’d take this week to answer another one of those questions here.  How to get an agent is one question I get asked often, so I recently promised Actor X (you know I never reveal my sources), that I would write a blog post about it.  Here it is!

Getting an agent can be very hard or it can be very easy.  Whether it’s hard or easy is due to different factors, some you can control and others you can’t.  One factor you have no control over is The Roster.  Agents often have a stable of actors that include different types that they send out for various auditions.  If you happen to submit to an agency when the roster for your type is full, you probably won’t get signed – it’s the luck of the draw on this one.  And it also works in reverse, if you happen to submit to an agency when they have an opening in their roster for your type, you have a good shot at getting a contract.  Don’t bother trying to figure out if and when these slots open up though, you’ll just make yourself crazy.  Alternatively, if you keep hounding an agency every week to find out if they have a slot, you may drive them crazy.  Both of these scenarios will result in frustration and/or desperation – neither of which is attractive to an agent.

There are plenty of other factors that are out of your control when it comes to getting an agent, but I don’t want to waste any more time on them.  After all, they are out of your control, so let’s talk about what you can control instead.  Even with lots of uncontrollable factors in the mix, you can make getting an agent easier if you work on the things that you can control.  That said, it takes work to get an agent.  So while I can suggest a pathway for you to follow, you need to be the one who does the work – there is no magic pill that will get you representation.  You need to be prepared, motivated, and persistent.


1.  Make sure that you are ready

Don’t just walk into an agency’s open call and expect to get a signed contract.  There are several things that you should do before you even attempt to get in touch with an agency.  This is only the first step, but in my opinion, it is arguably the most important one.  So, I’m going to spend the most time on it.  Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.  You need to get good experience, have good headshots, a decent resume, know how a professional set works, and be a professional yourself before you can even attempt to start working professionally.  I know, it seems bassackwards, but it’s not.  If your goal is to get an agent and work professionally, you need to make yourself as attractive as possible to an agent.  You can get experience in many ways – work on student and independent films, work in community and semi-professional theatres, work as an extra on a big studio production, etc.  All of these jobs will help you to gain experience, hone your craft, and build your resume.  Check out my post on Gaining Experience.  You need to have good headshots, but don’t get new professional headshots just to attract an agent (unless you really need them).  Reason being that once you do get signed with an agency, they may require you to get new headshots that will match the parameters that their agency sets for your type (and you don’t want to be out the cost for 2 new sets of headshots).  Check out my post on Headshots.  As far as a resume goes, you don’t need to have hundreds of credits, but having about 10 good ones will go a long way towards establishing that you have skills, that you know how to do the job, and that you are capable of booking in auditions – all things an agent is looking for.  Check out my post on Resumes.  As far as understanding how a set works and knowing how to be a professional goes – the only way to truly gain this knowledge and skill set is to take classes and then get out there and get working and observing how things are handled.

There are a few other things that you need to take into consideration in order to make sure you are ready to get an agent.  Are you in a position to go to auditions whenever your agent calls you?  Are you able to work during any hours for which you may be needed?  Are you physically and mentally prepared to handle taking the huge leap into the professional realm of acting?  Are you willing and ready to give up control of part of your career to another person – your agent?  Have you thought about what you want your relationship with your agent to look like?  Do you have a list of requirements that an agency must meet before you are willing to sign with them?  Do you know what your work boundaries are – what you are or are not willing and able to do for a job?  Are you ready and willing to give up all no pay or low pay work in the categories in which your agent represents you?  Are you willing to sign an exclusive contract?  Is your acting at a high enough level to compete in your market?  There are tons of questions that you should be asking yourself and the ones listed above are important ones.  I can’t stress enough that you should really be READY before you even contemplate looking for representation.  You also need to know yourself, your type, and what marketing strategies work for you.


2.  Find agencies that fit you

Ok, so assuming you have met all the above, asked yourself any necessary questions, and you are indeed ready for an agent, you now need to decide which agencies are right for you.  You can do this by researching the agencies in your area.  Check them out on the web, look at their stable of actors if available, ask all of your actor friends who have representation what their agents are like, ask directors and casting directors that you trust for advice.  Finding the right agent is just as important as finding an agent.  You need to make sure that they know how to represent and market your type.  Find out what they specialize in.  If they rep models and actors, but their focus is on modelling, they may not be right for you.  If you are a gorgeous model-type actor, who is capable of doing print ads, then this type of agency may be great for you.  You also need to determine if you are right for them.  If you’re 5’1” and bald and an agency has a stable of 5’10” blondes, you aren’t going to be able to do much for them or them for you.  Once you’ve narrowed down the list to only the agencies with which you could have a mutually beneficial arrangement, then and only then should you start a targeted marketing campaign for representation.


3.  Get an appointment
This is sometimes easier said than done, but there are many ways you can go about contacting an agency.  Some people will suggest that you do pay-to-play showcases, however, I never recommend going after an agent in this way.  You should never have to pay anyone anything to get an agent.  An agent should pay you.  So use this method at your own risk.  Some reputable acting classes will showcase their actors works-in-progress at the end of the class (for free – no one pays to attend – not the actors, not the agents) and will invite talent agencies to attend this showcase as a means of showing off their talent and helping them to find representation.  The showcase will often be followed up by a mixer where you can meet and mingle with the agents and other actors on a personal level.  This is the only time I advocate using a showcase to help you meet an agent.  I don’t, however, recommend that you try to sell yourself to an agent at this type of function.  Instead, use this as an opportunity to find out about the agent and get to know them a little bit.  Start building a relationship with them, then maybe seek them out at a later date to talk about the possibility of representation.
  Consequently, this is how I met my agent for the first time.  I was bold and open, but instead of talking about how badly I wanted representation, we talked about the craft of acting and our thoughts and opinions on various acting techniques, methods, and motivations.  Eventually, when I felt ready to get an agent, I submitted myself through their website and attended their open call.  I like to think that I made a positive impression in that first meeting at the showcase, because they sent me a contract to sign within a week of that open call.

Other methods that can be used to contact an agent are as follows:  ask a friend to set up a meeting between you and their agent (only do this with a close friend whom you trust and believes in your work), submit yourself through their website or send a well-crafted email with all of your information, attend an open call to meet with and/or audition for the agency, and you can always send a snail mail marketing packet with all of your information and a well-written cover letter.


So there you have it.  While actually getting an agent to sign you may be difficult, the process itself is really that simple.  It just takes time, determination, and most importantly – Preparation.  Preparation is the key and it is what will help you to stand out in the sea of actors who are begging to be seen.


Next Week:  Mind Your Acting Manners


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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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