Actors acting tips / advice

Commercial Castings: Leave your dignity at the door…

There’s nothing quite like a commercial casting to make you feel like an idiot. If you have a commercial casting, leave your dignity at the door because you won’t be needing it. My favourite commercial casting moment was being asked to walk across the room like a piece of cheese. I always knew my type casting was dairy produce but little did I know it would be taken so seriously. In the THREE recalls it was treated like a Mike Leigh film and it was all I could do not to live in a tub of margarine for a week to get in to character. After all that I was not selected. That’s a bit of useful advice actually while I think of it. Do not get your hopes up.

Commercial Terminology

A pencil: This means they are asking ten other people and you’re basically in a short list.

A heavy pencil: This usually means you are in the last three.

A heavy pencil and request to make sure your passport is up to date: This means you’re in the last three, and they’d like the client to choose you but they probably won’t.

In the case of the cheese incident I’d all but put my makeup up in to a see through plastic bag and packed some loose trousers for travelling before I learnt that I’d lost out to someone else.  It was only when the ad was screened that I saw I’d lost out to an animation. Not even flesh and blood! “What was the point of missing work for all those recalls?!” I hear you cry. What indeed. In the end it comes down to a bunch of advertising scum bags and equally scummy clients spewing their creative ideas up the wall as per usual while asking poorly paid actors to dance for them in the casting process. Not that I’m bitter….  

Auditions/Castings/Generals

Auditions, like jobs, come in all shapes and sizes and are known by several names. Auditions for commercials are known as castings, general meetings which are not for a specific job are imaginatively entitled generals and theatre auditions are still bog standard auditions. As a general rule the less a company are willing to pay you the more they expect from you. Recently I have noticed this more and more. Manys the time I’ve come across a theatre company who want their actors to talk three languages, play an instrument, drive a van and merrily promote the show at old people’s homes and all for £75 a week. Or the fringe auditions where you’re expected to take a day off work, learn three monologues and a song and partake in a sweaty workshop for 6 hours on the trot and then wait to see if you’ve been recalled. I have reached the point where I say NEVER AGAIN when these situations arise, and I would urge other actors to do the same. Having said that, I’m still a sucker for humiliating commercial castings…..more on this next time!

Top 10 Resting Jobs for Actors

1. Call centre operator. It’s a classic. Telesales, market research, customer services, these are the kind of jobs that actors are apparently good at because all you need to be able to do is talk to people on the phone. Call centres love actors and they can be very flexible. Just don’t expect to have a soul when you’ve worked there for any length of time. I lasted six months and then decided never again. Personally I would rather slice my toes off than go back to that line of work, but for some (particularly young) actors it works really well.
2. TA. Nope I don’t mean the Territorial Army, although you may want to consider this as another option if you’re good at movement and fencing. Being a TA, or Teaching Assistant, can be a great in between job for actors if you like children. Flexible and at times challenging, this is a good option for lots of people. The pay is quite low however so make sure you go with an agency who won’t completely fleece you.
3. Workshop Facilitator. Many a canny actor offers their own workshops to schools/adults and if you have the skills and the experience go for it!
4. Role Player. It takes ages to get in to a role play company unless they are looking for your specific casting type, but if you persevere, it’s worth it. Role play generally pays quite well, but be prepared for early mornings, repetition and /or emotional trauma. I’ve done role-play for police training and there’s only so many times in a day you can confess to be abused by a family member!
5. Waitress/Waiter/Bar tender. This is pretty self explanatory. Find a pub/cafe/restaurant where you like the staff and the tips are good and you’re sorted. You’ll probably have to do a lot of hours to make the rent though so make sure it’s bearable.
6. Receptionist. My favourite so far. If you’re taken on as casual staff/temping it’s flexible enough and can almost be quite pleasant!
7. Promotions Worker. Some people (ie tall men and good looking girls) are great at this. For the rest of us it’s hard work. I still have flashbacks of handing out free newspapers that no one reads at 5am getting pushed and pulled by grumpy commuters. However, if you’re a glamorous type you might end up giving out shots in a bar. Apparently that can be fun…..I’m not convinced.
8. Box Office/Front of House Staff. This is a good one. although there’s often not a huge amount of shifts going in some theatres. However you do get the chance to see lots of plays….However you do get the chance to see lots of plays that you’re not in so make sure you’re ok with that. I once witnessed an angry out of work actor forced to watch some D list celebrity in an Ibsen play for the twentieth time and it wasn’t a pretty sight.
9. Teaching in Drama Schools/Supply Teaching/Language Teaching. All of the aforementioned teaching need training to some extent. To be a supply teacher you’d need to spend a year doing a PGCE. It’s a huge committment and you have to be genuinly interested and good at teaching, but for some people this works very well.
10. Access Work. This is flexible and often very interesting. As an access worker I have worked with several people who have disabilities and need an able bodied person to assist them in various ways. For instance I have worked with visually impaired people who need me to help guide them and describe things for them. You are there as an extra support and it’s your job in this role to keep very much in the background and not to take over, so don’t do it if you’re loud and wacky! There can be a fair amount of waiting around until you are needed and it can be a tiny bit frustrating for some people not to be able to contribute much, but if you don’t mind this it’s a great job.

Resting Jobs for Actors

When an actor is training, the last thing you think you’ll need to worry about it resting work. In fact it is so important to find the perfect non-acting job that it should be part of the average Drama School’s curriculum.

When I first moved to London I couldn’t even get a minimum wage job. Surprisingly a knowledge of German expressionism and the ability to break a Mammet script in to beats and intentions wasn’t top priority for Gregs the bakers. As the years go by many actors manage to figure out what their ideal non acting job is, but it does take time. Here is the most important criterea in my opinion for the ideal resting job.

* It must pay enough to scrape by. If it’s a low hourly rate that’s fine but if that is the case then you need to know that you can handle/obtain enough hours to get the money in.

* It must be bearable, but not too bearable. A job you enjoy or get something out of is great, but if it’s too satisfying you may not want to leave and it could take over completely. In other words your Plan B could become your Plan A. If this does happen it can become the best thing that ever happens to an actor. Lots of ex-actors are deleriously happy after going in to new careers (”what, you mean I can have regular wages, holiday pay, respect from my colleagues and a general sense of wellbeing without being constantly rejected?!”), but just make sure it’s your choice and not an accidental slide.

* It must be flexible. Evening work is good as most auditions are in the day time. Or casual work in which you can book shifts last minute and cancel without a problem. Some actors find a flexible job by building a great relationship with their employer who wants to work around them by letting them have the odd morning off. This takes a while however and if you’re lucky enough to have regular castings this may not be realistic.

Next time - Top 10 Resting Actor’s Jobs!

Lynne Scruples Review of Ghost Stories at Riverside Studios

Apparently this is meant to be frightening. The man I sat next to jumped three times so on the third time I punched him in the face and told him to grow a spine. I have actually seen and conversed with several ghosts and I can tell you that they were scary. The guilt and rage I feel every day as I contemplate whether or not to end it all, now that’s frightening. If a piece of theatre can not live up to the horror of my life then what is the point? Don’t answer that, it was a rhetorical question. I was going to give this 2 stars and then I heard a West End transfer was in the offing and I didn’t want to jeopardise the chance of free champagne and nibbles on press night. My income hasn’t been great since…the incident, so free food is neccessary. Also unfortunately all of the other journos loved it. Loved it! So I had to up my star rating to 3 in order not to become more of a social outcast than I already am. Ghost Stories. Pah! Not as scary as real life stories more like!

Lynne Scruple’s Review of a children’s play.

Before my court case I wrote for the broadsheets mainly and the odd piece for the Metro/Time Out when I was desperate. In the main these were reviews of theatre, in all its many ridiculous, pretentious forms. Now however I take what I can get. And so it was that I found myself inside a children’s theatre reviewing a f***ing children’s play. I always feel utterly mortified for the actors in these situations with their forced jollity when you know that inside their stupid hearts are breaking as the phrase “why aren’t I playing Hamlet? I was born to play Hamlet!”  resounds in their feeble minds.

And so it was with some trepidation and considerable disgust that I took my seat in the theatre. Thankfully I was on the end of the row which minimised my contact with children but nevertheless I still had to sit next to one on my right hand side. I just tried to focus on the stage and not to hear the irritating requests for ice cream from the ungrateful little cretin.

The play was all right. There were moments when adults laughed and I suppose I must admit that the left corner of my mouth twitched once. Also it was short so that was a blessing.

I thought I’d give it a reluctant four stars but then everyone knows that children’s theatre isn’t real theatre so I reduced it to one. They’re too young and stupid to be pandered to. They know nothing of life after all.

Websites/directories for actors

 With or without an agent/co op, there are several job hunting sites which are invaluable for actors and each fulfil a slightly different function. The most popular and well regarded directory for actors is Spotlight. It’s widely used by agents, casting directors, producers and actors and it’s essential to get yourself on this asap.

 Some performers aren’t on it, but that’s usually because they make their own work or have their own contacts so don’t need anything extra. For most though, it’s very useful. So here’s the lowdown on resources for actors.

1) Spotlight is 

a) A collection of thousands of performer’s CVs and headshots.           OR

b) A great way of stalking people you’ve once worked with/fallen in love with/met at an audition. You can’t log in and see people’s CVs unless you have a casting director’s password but hey who doesn’t have one of those these days?!

2) Casting call pro - or CCP. Basically like Spotlight but greener and cheaper. Stalking is even easier on this site with the added benefit/downside of being notified when someone has looked at your details.

3) Castnet. Again a collection of actor’s CVs but slightly classier looking (though possibly not as effective) as Casting call pro. Don’t forget to cancel your subscription when you don’t want to be on it anymore, otherwise you’ll notice that £5 is coming our of your account every month and you won’t remember why.   

4) The Stage. Possibly the only newspaper written for and by people in the industry. There is a jobs section which basically consists of three options; perfume sprayers, call centre workers and lap dancers. These are the only jobs an actor is capable of. So go forth and spray/call/dance/sleep with John Leslie.

5) PCR. This is not online. It’s hardcopy. Seriously, it’s typed on paper, actual paper! Insane. Just basically lots of information about future possible film projects and TIE tours. Yawn…

Enjoy!

Lynne Scruple’s Monthly Theatre Reviews

Soap

Theare Review.

Riverside Studios

My name is Lynne Scruples and I’m a theatre critic. I’ve been reviewing theatre, comedy, and a various assortment of pathetic attempts at creating so called drama on a lousey Arts council budget throughout London for many years now. Of course in the goold old days I was writing for the broadsheets but since my court case and all of that….nonsense, I’ve been relegated to the fringe. Fringe! I feel sick even saying the word.

Anyway, I went to see Soap at Riverside Studios. The cast were young, sexual, and ridiculously talented. The show was surprising, joyful, funny, and uncynical. The audience loved it. So for all of the above reasons I have given it 1 Star. The show ended and I felt so old and untalented (why did I never learn to juggle with my feet God damn it) that I wanted to die. I was going to give it 2 Stars but I was delayed on the tubes so I didn’t get in until midnight so it went down to 1.

Joining an actor’s co op

An actor’s co op is an agency for actors run by actors. Sometimes this can work incredibly well and there are lots of advantages to being in a co op, but it can also drive you utterly insane.

Here is a question for you. An actor’s co op is which of the following? 

a) A supportive group of actors who use the same office and resources to promote each other’s career and get a real kick out of getting jobs for each other.

b) A group of creative people who hold regular meetings to discuss which printer cartridge is the best value for money and then actually take the time to vote on it.

c) A strange mixture of energetic optamists, lazy people and bitter manic depressives.

Answer: All of the above in varying degrees depending on the co op.

In all seriousness it can be a brilliant alternative to having a personal manager and, having tried both, I definitely enjoy the control that being in a co op gives you. So here are some tips for getting in to one.

1) Write a letter proclaiming the joys of co ops and how much you love discussing the advantages and disadvantages of different types of fax machines. (Send your CV/Spotlight link and headshot with the letter of course)

2) If you’re in a show invite the co op along, with the aforementioned letter.

3) If you get invited in for an interview, then try not to be nervous. This can be scary if you are faced with 20 other actors judging you and checking you out….but hold your nerve and try to stay calm and very positive.

4) Try really hard not to look like anyone else in the co op. You may want to consider reconstructive surgery. ”Clashing” (or looking similar) with/to another actor is often the reason people get turned down from co ops. Sometimes it’s fair enough if, for instance, you are the same height, build, hair colour and have the same accent as another person. On the other hand sometimes it’s just some annoying terratorial actress who thinks no one else born in the same decade as them should have the right to the same representation.

But that attitude is getting more rare I think.

So go forth and conquer the co ops!

How to get an agent

 Obviously it is possible to be a working actor without an agent, and many people consider it a bonus to have complete control of their own career and not to have to give away any commission. But for those of you who don’t want to go it alone here are some tips on how to get a personal manager.

1)      Write to agents requesting a meeting and include a targeted letter (“to whom it may concern” won’t cut it, so find out their name), and a decent 10 by 8 photo of your lovely/hideous face.

2)      Invite agents to a show you’re in. Make sure it’s something you’re not embarrassed by. I once invited an agent to a fringe play I was in. It was a young male playwright’s response to the Vagina Monologues in which I played a giant scrotum. Schoolgirl error. 

3)      Know a friend who works at a massive talent agency and get in that way.

4)      Have famous parents.

Or

5)      Sleep with John Leslie.

If none of the above works for you or if you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to sit around waiting for the phone to ring then a personal manager may not be the right kind of agent for you. For many people a co op might be the way forward.

So, coming up next - top tips on being in a co op!