NYCastings – DirectSubmit

At The New York Horror Film Festival, I had killer conversations with several directors and got to speak face to face with a man who played Jason Voorhees! Straight from their twisted minds, I got secret advice on how actors can rise to scream king/queen level and become masters of horror…

They want you to die…

The horrifying truth from Frank Sabatella, director of Blood Night

Immediately you see vulnerability in a hero and an underlying menace in the killer. Something unique. Something stimulating. Horror films are very physical so there has to be something physically stimulating about the characters. It’s a tough act to pull off, to adapt to the circumstances and react as themselves would. To help, as a director, I made it as real and surprising as possible. We shot in an abandoned, haunted sanitarium. Everyone was on edge and frightened. We shot at night and actors got hit with blood. So much blood that they weren’t prepared and they really screamed. The best kinds of chilling horror scream, come from the throat, very shrill. It breaks up and jags people. Then the actor’s eyes sell the scene. You see sincerity, despair. Actors in horror films are meat for the killer and the audience wants them to live or they want them to die.

Boobs sell…

The candid and comical POV of Stacy Davidson, director of Sweat Shop

Don’t be timid. In many kinds of films you can give a little of yourself, but in horror you have to leave it all on stage, every drop, in order to be believable. There is a school of thought in horror that boobs sell. It’s true, hard bodies sell whether a guys or girls, or interesting people who may not be considered pretty in other films. And then horror actors need to find something that terrifies them or makes them sad and feel real terror, real sadness and pull it out at a moments notice. Because blood and guts can be hysterical in person. Heads are rolling around. You’ve got to be really good at turning the intensity back on, bringing yourself into the moment. And when it comes time to scream, many women can not produce a feminine scream. But the best screams are feminine, high-pitched, ear piercing, and shrill.

You don’t know it, but a zombies coming after you…

Heed the words of Nathan Cox, director of Resurrection of Officer Rollins.

Quickly, you have to convey an emotion or idea. You have to be smart. Fearless. There’s definitely a fearlessness needed because what’s expected isn’t something that happens on a day to day basis so there has to be a trust, a commitment. Great actors are courageous. And their scream is visceral, guttural. It comes from that scary place that doesn’t happen every day. You only have a certain amount of time to grab people and in horror its all about the sounds and noises. In a good horror or zombie film, the actors have to play it as straight as possible. The audience is in on the joke but the actor can’t be. The actor doesn’t know a zombie’s coming after them; they don’t know what a zombie is. That’s what makes it scary to them and believable.

Terror grows…

Cutting right to the point with Ron Millkie who played Officer Dorf in Friday 13^th

The inner truth, finding it and intensifying it makes a horror actor believable. Before you start the scene, if its terror, get yourself in an intense state, get yourself revved up. And when the most horrifying moment comes, don’t scream. Think like your body has been shot with Novocain, as if you’re in shock. And as the horror sets in… let the terror grow.

Come up with some sick things in your head…

A legend speaks… Steve Daskawisz who played Jason Voorhees in Friday 13^th II

You have to have a sinister mind when you approach horror. When killings are going on, in my mind, it’s happening. An actor isn’t supposed to know its horror; that someone’s hiding behind the door. You have to be afraid. And if you are supposed to be mean reach back to a situation when someone really pissed you off. Listen to the dialogue and then react. You are the character. In my mind, I created a lope. I didn’t run. I loped. When playing a character that’s a monster you have to come up with some sick things in your head to make it work.

For more information on The New York City Horror Festival, visit www.nychorrorfest.com

Keeping it real with casting directors Brooke Thomas and Mary Egan

In a chic Hell’s Kitchen loft, I sat down with the dynamic duo known as Brooke and Mary within the commercial industry… to chat about their opinions as casting directors, teachers and fun-loving women.

Brooke Thomas and Mary Egan have built a lifestyle out of casting and teaching NYC actors. Their casting office, HOUSE, is literally a warm, welcoming living room and their classes often integrate wine, cheese, and conversation into the agent/CD/manager meet & greets they offer students. As a team, Brook and Mary have a motto of why do it if you’re not having fun, and they believe that anyone can do commercials, if they are relaxing, enjoying and being honestly themselves.

Speaking honestly, Brooke and Mary shared a lot of straightforward advice about commercial auditioning. And in line with their fun style, they scripted an on-the-spot… 30sec commercial bit that gives an inside look into the mind of casting director during audition experience! Stay tuned for that improv commercial piece, after the main show of questions (Q) and answers with Brooke (B) and Mary (M). Take one…

Q: To break into commercials, why are classes important?

M: Commercial training is different. There is a method to it. There are people who have won Tony Awards who can’t do commercial copy.

Q: Why can’t you just practice commercial copy on your own?

B: You are your own worst enemy. You can’t really judge if you are doing well.

Q: When it comes to improv at auditions, I know you are fans of it… but should you stick to a minimum?

B: Anything goes. It’s your audition. Don’t get too far off that you’re not making the points. But it’s about making it your own. If you get into your head about how far you can go then you’re not being you. You should not be judging yourself.

M: Also realize that improv doesn’t always mean being funny.

Q: Is there a commercial ‘type’ ?

M: There are no types anymore.

B: Anyone can do a commercial if they can capture that honest you. It’s about real looking, every day people.

Q: Any networking advice?

B: Do one thing every day to market yourself.

Q: How important are agents to getting work?

B: It’s important but…

M: …it doesn’t seal the deal.

B: The goal should not be to get an agent. The goal is to get work. If you go out and get work agents will come.

M: Well said.

Q: After you meet with an agent, should you keep in touch? See them again after it’s been a while?

M: It’s about the vibe. If someone said keep in touch then keep in touch. If they didn’t – don’t.

B: Some agents are sign only. We had a student who got signed after a year and a half because she kept in touch. But, you have to follow social norms.

Q: Once you get work, if you are not represented should you reach out to an agent immediately to handle to contract?

M: If it’s an agent you connected with sure.

B: But you shouldn’t just hand an agent a job. It can appear desperate. It happened before that a student gets a big job and then an agent wants to take them on. It’s discrediting. If an agent says, they won’t take the commission for that job, that’s integrity.

M: Agents like Carole Ingber and Phil Cassese have said they won’t take the commission in those situations.

Q: What are your thoughts on actors joining unions?

B: Join a union when you have to. When you can’t do a job unless you join. You are not going to be turned away because you’re not in a union, commercial speaking that is.

Q: I’ve heard you say that when an audition feels wrong to an actor, sometimes that’s when they book the job. Why?

M: It’s not about thinking you did it right. Actors want to think they nailed it. But if they were being themselves they didn’t perform it. Then they get the job.

Q: As teachers, what do you offer in your classes, specifically?

B: Our class deals with who the person is and getting them to be honestlythemselves.

M: That’s a great answer.

B: Thank you dear.

Q: In your class, you tell students to speak like their saying the commercial copy to a friend. Did you come up with that? How did it originate?

M: I think that is ours. We just started saying it in our teaching.

B: It creates believability.

Q: Long after a student takes a class with you, they still get emails from you about commercial audition opportunities. Why do you offer this?

M: We have great students.

B: As casting directors, we are always looking for new talent. Why not take advantage.

M: And if a student books the job we get to tell them, they got it.

Q: What has changed with your teaching methods over the years?

B: We started with four-hour classes, with ten students, putting everyone on camera and having them watch it. We don’t do any more recording. It’s about getting out of your head.

M: We put the camera on so everyone can see how it’s working on screen but we don’t tape it. Once you see everyone in class getting it, you get it.

B: That’s a good one. I liked it.

M: Thanks.

Thanks to Brooke and Mary’s belief in fun, they agreed to put together an impromptu 30-second commercial that represents an ideal audition. This quick glance through the eye of a casting director gives a straightforward example of why one person books a job over another…

INT. WAITING ROOM — DAY.

30 people sitting. A red head girl gets up and walks into the casting room.

INT. CASTING ROOM

RED HEADED GIRL

At Mickey D’s @#!

(she swears during her audition)

CUT TO:

Another person saying the same copy being happy, another sad, another angry,

etc. Make it funny. Put a rabbit in doing the copy at one point. A man bringing in

a baby.

END WITH:

One person coming in and saying the same copy as themselves. We see why

that person gets the job.

When it comes to booking a job, a waiting room full of people might be all the same type, but they’re not the same read, says Brooke and Mary. They believe that being natural is the best choice for commercials because… the talent’s in you.

From the inside, out, Angela Mickey knows the art of acting. She studied drama at NYU and went through the auditioning process before shifting roles to work at Liz Lewis Casting as their receptionist. Swiftly, Angela built a career at Liz Lewis and today she is their Senior Casting Director placing actors in commercials for major brands (such as Walmart, GAP, American Heart Association, and CHASE), as well as in Broadway shows, short films, and some indie features.

With a multilayered perspective of the business, Angela offered up her insight to NYCastings.com on how actors can make the most of every audition…

Since auditions can be nerve rattling, Angela recommends you give yourself time to breathe, give yourself space. Arrive early, get the script. Take that moment. And then walk into the room knowing that some CDs may not seem warm but they need you to do well, they want you to do well.

It’s empowering for an actor to say to themselves this room is mine, Angela says. Those are your five minutes. Have a nice smile with a little bit of mystery to keep them wanting more, wanting to ask you that next question.

When it comes to the question of how to best present yourself, Angela suggests to know who you are. Bring your own self in. We are all more quirky and weird than we like to admit. Same as when we see someone acting odd in the subway but in their business life they’re totally normal. Be aware of your oddities. Especially comedic actors.

Most importantly, You have to have fun with this stuff. If you are a Barbie, in a mold, you are selling yourself short and not embracing your individuality. Successful actor Kevin Sussman accepted he was always going to be the nerd. Establish what you are and then people will let you grow.

As Angela grew from actor to a newbie at Liz Lewis, she got an even deeper understanding of how hard, yet comfortingly predictable the audition process can be. She recalls being most surprised at how many people are seen a day for a job. And she also found it amazing the confidence people did have when they walked in. How some can make a lobby feel like their 2^nd living room.

There are so many actors out there and it’s hard, that constant shilling of yourself, Angela acknowledges. As helpful advice, she recommends these empowering steps…

• To a certain extent realizing you’re not in control helps. Do the best you can on that day. Sometimes you’re given a lot at an audition and sometimes not. It’s also a numbers game. If you audition 90 times and book one it’s considered good.
• Listen to what is said and if you don’t understand ask. If something isn’t clear these are your 5 minutes. Could be that the CD was clear to the last 5 people and forgot to mention something this time around.
• If not given any direction you have to take a chance on where to go. If you are a good actor, with training, any choice will be interesting.
• Be proud of call backs! It shows your ability. Booking depends on so many things; demographics, who looks like who.
• Be aware, keep a log of people you meet; their temperament, if they are open to chatting or not, and the environment. If you know the environment wasn’t conducive for you last time take more moments to prepare so there are no surprises.
• Don’t under estimate special skills as a way of getting work. Like languages. If you are conversational become fluent. Or sports if you are really good at it.
• Create your own work. Its one reason improv/sketch blew up. People were getting together and making themselves laugh and now they are staples, writing in LA. There’s a power in presenting yourself how you want to be seen.
• If direct submitting via mail – write a letter on why you should be seen specifically like I perform every night at…
• Remember it’s a small business once you really get down to it. You may be working with someone who has representation that will come to your show. Ask the people in your cast if they have agents or managers.
• Get to know Casting Directors because agents are hampered with what they have.

Having the best audition also includes making the right first impression. As a Casting Director Angela Mickey wishes actors would take more responsibility. Is there a script? Find it and read it without needing to be walked through everything.

Other behavior pitfalls to avoid…

• The inability to adjust to an idea. Directors say to actors at a call back lets do it another way’ and the actor says this is how I did it before.’

• Not memorizing a script when you are supposed to.

• Being mean to another at auditions, that one upmanship. It’s apparent and awful.

• Calling people the wrong name.

• Speaking about acting when interviewing. You need to speak about what’s not on your resume.

• Submitting for things that are wrong for you. Like it says speaks fluent Spanish and you don’t. Or submitting for an Asian male when you are clearly not.

• Also with beauty submissions – there’s a difference between model pretty and normal pretty.

The pretty sweet part of being able to learn Angela’s perspective is that she’s been on both sides of the casting desk and she cares. With a warm smile she reminds us that you can’t do anything about someone else’s bad mood. If someone has a chip on their shoulder it existed long before you and it’s not about you. – very empowering and true!

If you want to learn more from Angela Mickey, check back with NYCastings.com for info on her future classes.

A playful conversation with Casting Director, Producer, Consultant – Jodi Collins

In New York there is something in the water that breeds a comedic sensibility, says Casting Director Jodi Collins who specializes in the funny business – aka… casting comedic actors in career changing, paying gigs.

Jodi Collins began as an actor. She graduated from NYU Tisch with a BFA (minor in Communications) and lived in New York when the comedy scene really started thriving. Later on, she combined her love for acting with a passion for teaching and casting. The result – Jodi Collins Casting which brings NY talent in front of major networks (including Comedy Central, HBO, FOX, VH1, etc), film, theatre and web projects. From both an acting and comedy background, Jodi believes that the road to paying work… begins with freeing yourself.

It all comes down to playing smartly, Jodi says. Be free and open, use your imagination, allow that to wander and have fun. That is how anyone begins to explore anything and at it’s best it’s comedy. Many brilliant dramatic actors originated in comedy. People like Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Greg Kinnear, and even Judi Dench – all can be intense, dark, dramatic – but also brilliantly funny. It goes back to the idea of originating in play, spirit imagination and throwing yourself in totally.

Becoming totally, seriously, funny takes a certain skill set and Jodi shared with NYCastings her funny bone insight…

Q. Can anyone be funny, or just those who drink NY water and eat the bagels?

A. Anybody that goes into acting probably has the ability to play – and whether someone can land the timing or not can be developed by studying text and being able to feel things and really let go.

Q. Improv is huge now. How does it help actors let go and be hilarious?

A. When the improv scene came to NY in a bolder way, I was casting more commercials, broadcast network pilot presentations and some of what I was drawn to were groups; Burn Manhattan, Instant Girl (who were like Ivy League chicks on acid), and a show called Exit 57 with Amy Sedaris and Jody Lennon. They were all based in improv and sketch. Later, UCB began to mill about, and to me there was something about it that incorporated the actor’s position of being in the moment, the comic’s mind of thinking in the moment, and the creative mind of being able to play and move a story. There was something exciting about someone who could incorporate improv and make something brilliant. It allowed personalities to be very clear. In the commercial world, which is so type driven, improv also allows you to snap your signature onto something. It gives a sense of personality in conjunction with the actor. And for that actor it’s empowering to beallowed the room to put their own identity on things. It not like they are only reliant on sticking within a specific box. It allows room for an authentic point of view from the mind and the artist’s core.

Q. Should an actor always break out their improv tool set?

A. They have to use it wisely. You can’t minimize the writer’s need to have his words articulated exactly. But where there’s room for it… its cool. It depends on the audition, on a case-by-case basis. Many of my auditions have improv in them because of the directors I work with. There are many actor / directors that love working improvisationally. It’s always smart to ask unless you’ve come in for an improv audition.

Q. When at a comedy audition how do you dress the part as funny yet smart?

A. You have to embrace the total package; the tone of the project, the characters that live in it and be super specific the same way you are super specific in details creating a role. Be super smart about your choices and make sure your choices are clearly seen and felt.

Q. Beyond auditions, can creating original content help actors get noticed?

A. That’s really important – if they have something to say. As an artist, you have a need to express yourself and the more you can get your work out there and not rely on someone to hire you the better as long as its quality not just to have something to showcase. Have something to say that you’re passionate about, a point of view that’s specific.

Q. As a Casting Director, you also teach classes. Are these auditions – or a place to learn freely?

A. It’s a case by case basis. Casting directors are always looking. Like actors, we are always working, staying fresh for whatever that next job may be. When you are watching a 1 time at those facilities like One on One – I would consider that an audition. But I teach a 4 week class for comedy people to be able to take their craft at whatever level and apply it to auditions. I am there as a teacher to really nurture the best out of people and hone what I see as their craft. By the same token, if I see someone who is right for something I have going on you better believe I’m bringing them in. I’m not going to hold someone accountable for making a wrong choice because it’s a learning experience but I will reward those who are making high caliber choices if they are ready to be in the professional world.

Q. Can an actor break into this business by performing in local plays or shows?

A. Yeah I think a great thing for actors coming up is to be in a show, in a decent feeling space. And if there is someone in the cast already working it identifies to the industry what kind of work they are going to.

Q. How do you spot comedic talent?

A. Some casting directors are born with an intuitive feeling and others develop it by doing what we do over and over. It’s not unlike an actor who gets better at their craft by doing it for a long time. For me, my entire background helps me. What do I find interesting as an audience member? That helps me spot talent.

New York’s streets are paved with comedy gold and Jodi is always attending shows, networking, and helping actors grow.

Whether you are a main character, background, or even a waiter at a restaurant, everyone gets noticed says director Oren Moverman. He sees that everyone’s different and has a wise point of view on how actors can stand out in every role and every day.

I sat down with Oren Moverman to discuss his directorial debut on THE MESSENGER a story about U.S. Army officers who inform loved ones of fallen soldiers and face many emotional and ethical dilemmas. The film, which he also co-wrote with Alessandro Camon, won several awards on the film festival circuit and features rivetingly real performances by Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, and Samantha Morton. From both a writer and director’s perspective, Oren says that as actors we must believe ourselves in order to make a subtle yet powerful impression.

It starts with the script, but then it’s all in the hands of the human being, Oren says. He didn’t force his actors to be a role. It’s not about getting script right. It’s about shaping the character for you. What gives you the most and brings the character out of you.

In order to bring the character forward, Oren suggests, listening and being open to changing things in the moment. We are making movies and it’s a chance for actors to use their instrument, their face, their eyes. If an actor is deep in the character and meaning, who they are will show up. If they believe the role, their eyes are the characters.

Oren realizes that not acting – can be tough, and he recommends living as way to become more deep and versatile. Do a lot of living, listening, interacting. By learning from our surroundings, we can see what others are doing and bring that learned knowledge into our craft.

Working on craft is important because although they say you never know, a lot of times you do know, Oren says. He casts every person, a lot of New York actors. And he knows an actor is right for his project because something in the interaction makes him feel good.

One encouraging example of Oren noticing a New York based actor is Jeremy Strong who went from Oren’s waiter to getting a role as a returning soldier in THE MESSENGER, years later.

Even as an extra on set, you’re not just background, what you do is very important, Oren says.  Sometimes you feel like furniture but as a director he sees everyone as an actor and when a background actor doesn’t listen or follow direction it’s like someone moved the furniture.

Every role makes an impact on set and every moment counts in this profession – that’s what I learned from living, listening, and interacting with Oren Moverman. It’s a subtle yet powerful message that can help all actors exist in the moment and increase their chances of getting noticed.

[To learn more about Oren Moverman’s style, check out THE MESSENGER in theatres nationwide starting November 20th as well as his past screenplays: I’m Not There, Married Life, and Jesus’ Son. Currently, Oren has two new films in production.]