Acting Tips
What I Learned From My First Time Behind the Casting Table
After three years of auditioning for other people's projects, I finally produced my own short film and sat on the other side of the casting table. Here is what I learned watching auditions instead of giving them, the good and the bad.
Acting Tips
You Can Buy Craft. You Cannot Buy a Booking.
An acting coach advertising that he will help you book more is selling an outcome he does not control. Credits do not make a good teacher, but a promise of bookings is a business claim and it needs business evidence. Here is what to ask before you pay, and what coaching can honestly give you.
Acting Tips
Pay or Play, Pay to Play, and Paying to Be in a Movie
The article clarifies the meanings of "pay for play," "pay or play," and "paying to be in a movie." It defines "pay or play" as a contractual guarantee for actors, while "pay to play" involves fees for casting access, often leading to fraud. Genuine investments require ownership, while mere payments yield no recourse.
Acting Tips
How to Network as an Actor Without Sounding Like You Want Something
I was at Film Bar Mondays a few months back. A guy walked up to a director I know, introduced himself, and asked to be...
Acting Tips
Nobody Owes You a Role
Hard work does not entitle anyone to a role. Here is why believing you are owed one hurts your work, and the mindset that makes you happier.
Acting Tips
The Different Levels of Independent Film
Not every independent film is the same opportunity. Here are the levels, from reel-builders to the ones that get you noticed, and how to tell them apart.
Acting Tips
Bad Manager vs Good Manager: What the Difference Actually Looks Like
I fired one manager and signed another who does the actual job. Here is the difference between them, and how to find one worth signing with. That runs about 135 characters, so it works as both the WordPress excerpt and the Yoast meta description without trimming. If you want a version that leans harder on the Pugh/Scorsese names as a hook for the listing page, say the word and I'll write that one.
Acting Tips
The Competition Is Fierce and It’s Not Getting Any Easier
Breaking into film is harder than it was five years ago. Here is what you are up against, and why even actors who did everything right struggle to get signed.
Acting Tips
Things New Actors Should Know
I posted this my first year of acting and thought I would repost this with some updated information. You will not “make it big” doing...
Acting Tips
How Real Casting Works (And Why That Email You Got Is a Scam)
Someone got an email from "Avy Kaufman" today. It was a scam. Here is how real casting actually works.