So, this is a very interesting class. Our teacher, Josie DiVincenzo, started out with how to talk about ourselves when an agent or CD asks us, "So tell me about yourself." (Which does not mean recite your resume.) Everyone in the class had really interesting stuff to say, but I completely sold myself short on this, became all insecure and shy, and basically made my life and myself sound really boring. As I listened to the others talking, I started thinking about all the things I could have said: When I was a kid we lived in England for two years, and my mom always thought it was funny because we'd leave for school in the morning with a southern accent and come home in the afternoon with a British accent. (We moved there from Virginia, and I don't have either accent anymore.) I've travelled to France, Germany, and Russia. I spent a month camping and hiking in the wilderness on Outward Bound. I lived and worked on the south rim of the Grand Canyon for six months, moved to Colorado from there, and then drove cross country by myself from Colorado back to California when I moved home. I took clowning classes, and auditioned for the Barnum & Bailey Clown College, where afterwards the director was going around shaking everyone's hands saying, "Thanks for coming." and when he got to me, he said, "Thanks for coming, what was your name again?" Which I took to mean he really liked my work, huzzah! Even though I ultimately did not get into the college, which was okay, because if you get into the college, your pretty much assured to get a job with the circus afterwards, and I would not have liked living on a train at all. I got to be the Easter Bunny one year, and I loved it! (Even though the costume was really hot.) I could have said everything that's in my profile here on my blog. It really bothers me that somehow I've detached myself from all of these experiences, I haven't allowed them to be a part of who I am.
Josie said it's extremely important on an audition, if a casting director asks you about yourself, to be confident and friendly, because they're deciding if they want you to be on their team, if they want to work with you on a set every day. You have to be confident and show that you're a team player, and if you come in shy and insecure, "Gosh, I hope they like me." they aren't going to pick you. And I've been thinking about that a lot lately anyways, if I continue to sell myself short the way I do, panic everytime I meet someone that I look up to, how on earth will I be able to hold my own if I do happen to get cast on a movie with a big name?? I thought I was doing really well with my self-esteem, but it is so clear to me now that I still have so much work to do.
The second half of the class we talked about type-casting. Josie said that as actors starting out, we will be type cast, and then as our agents and the CDs see what we're capable of, we'll be able to break out of the type somewhat. She asked us to write down what we thought we could be cast as, and then had us stand in front of the class, and everyone threw out what they thought we could be cast as. So I wrote for myself: "Quirky, lovable girl-next-door; Goofy with an edge; honest and sweet; nerdy push-over." Then the class gave me: "Mom; Every Woman; character actor; hard worker that never gets the credit; always the bride's maid, never the bride; caretaker; sister; period pieces." That really helped create a clear picture in my mind of the types of roles I should be submitting myself for, also the type of headshots I should get, and even monologue choice (not that you are asked to perform monologues very often for TV/Film.) It's one thing to categorize yourself, but another to have other people tell you what you look appropriate for. And I also found it interesting that the type casting is based a lot on your personal energy, who you really are as a person, because a lot of what the class called out for everybody was who that person really was, stuff that was really in their personal lives.
Next week, we need to bring in headshots and resumes if we have them, plus come dressed for an audition with a memorized and prepared one minute monologue. I'll be using my "Life During Wartime" monologue, I have a lot more ideas of what to do with it now, how to make better choices for it, how to be in the moment with it.
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