Spencer, who plays the dad in
the broadway production of “Next to
Normal”, was nominated for a Tony Award for this role.
Brian D’Arcy
James, the original Off-Broadway cast member, will
replace him starting May 17. This rock musical directed by Michael Greif is
currently playing at the ****h Theatre. -Written By Sharon Dreze

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****h
Theatre, Broadway, Off Broadway, Performance

OK, so you’ve heard that you can make good money doing TV commercials. In reality, there are those actors who make six figures doing them. On the other hand, many, many actors never seem to break into this world. In some ways it has completely different rules than other type acting gigs. It requires an ability to be spontaneous, upbeat (for the most part) and have a sense of humor. Second, having an ability to instantly read the audition copy-like it came from you-is crucial. Finally, knowing who the right casting people are and having an agent who actually sends actors out on commercials is a necessary ingredient. Check out a class or two with a busy Commercial Casting Director like Rebecca Yarsin of House Productions and you will be that much more ahead of the game. TVI actors studio can help.

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Acting Schools, NY Actors, TVI Actors Studio

OK, so you’ve heard that you can make good money doing TV commercials. In reality, there are those actors who make six figures doing them. On the other hand, many, many actors never seem to break into this world. In some ways it has completely different rules than other type acting gigs. It requires an ability to be spontaneous, upbeat (for the most part) and have a sense of humor. Second, having an ability to instantly read the audition copy-like it came from you-is crucial. Finally, knowing who the right casting people are and having an agent who actually sends actors out on commercials is a necessary ingredient. Check out a class or two with a busy Commercial Casting Director like Rebecca Yarsin of House Productions and you will be that much more ahead of the game. TVI actors studio can help.

Technorati Tags:
Acting Schools, NY Actors, TVI Actors Studio

Voice-overs and voice acting is something that everyone seems to have interest in. What could be better, reading into a microphone, not being seen, lot of money….As it is with most things in the show business world, there is much more to it than that. First is, of course, an ability to perform consistently, in a studio environment. For many, this may not be as easy as it seems. Directors, audio technicians, Ad Reps., Copy-writiers, can make a pressured situation worse. Next, the actor must be able to offer several interpretations of the same script. Third, getting the job by having a great audition and demo-tape that has “professional” written all over it are essential ingredients that make a Voice-Over career a realistic pursuit. Finding out if you’ve got what it takes may simply be a matter of taking a class with a professional instructor who can help you.

Pictured is Jeffrey Dreisbach at TVI Actors Studio

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Acting Schools, Acting Training, TVI Actors Studio

Producers of Broadway’s West Side Story had two reasons to celebrate this week.
Not only did the production at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway) break the theatre’s box-office record two weeks in a row — but two of the show’s stars have renewed their contracts well into 2010.
Tony Award winner Karen Olivo (Anita) and Tony Award nominee Josefina Scaglione (Maria) have both renewed their contracts.

Casting this Tony award winning production is Stuart Howard, well known toTVIas a guest teacher/instructor.
Congratulations Stuart!

Three general rules that might help you understand membership!
1) An actor can join SAG through the Taft-Hartley Act, which makes it possible for an actor to work on a SAG-recognized project for 30 days, even if he or she is not a member.
2) An actor may be able to joinSAG if he or she can prove that they have worked or are expected to work on a SAG-recognized project.
3) Actors may be able to join SAG if they can prove that they have been a member of another actor union, such as the Actors’ Equity Association, and they have had a lead (principal) role while a member of that union.

The New Group’s The Starry Messenger, With Matthew Broderick, Extends Limited Run. See story on Broadway.com

Sorry for the grammatical error in the title, true believers.  I hope it makes sense anyway.

As the summer’s first month concludes I’m starting to see a real difference in the happiness and satisfaction of those that are taking advantage of the usual industry slowdown at this time, and those that seem to be taken advantage by it instead.

As I wrote a few months back, this is the perfect time of year to take a look at the big picture and address whatever isn’t working.  You don’t need to be pounding out those auditions, cold mailings, open calls, and other such daily and weekly activities designed to get you opportunities.  Quite simply, there’s very few opportunities available.   Your time can be better spent.

Rather than spin your wheels and suffer the frustration that inevitably results, this is a good time to do any of the following:

1.) Improve your marketing materials.  Especially if you’re not auditioning as frequently as you like.

2.) Take an acting class.  Especially if you rarely get callbacks.

3.) Take an audition technique class.  Especially if you get callbacks but rarely book.

4.) Network with casting directors and agents.  Especially if you book lots of work on your own and feel like you have gone as far as you can go without the help of industry people.

5.) Save up some money– especially if you can never afford to take a class, or network with agents and casting directors!

The people that are doing these things (the titular “dos”) are feeling good these days.  They have specific goals for the summer that are being addressed, and by achieving these goals they will be more competitive when the fall casting season rolls around.  They’re accelerating their careers.

Those that ignore this kind of advice are languishing through the industry’s slowest time of year, doing nothing to improve their situation.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday weekend!  Be sure to catch the baseball action– lots of good divisional rivalries are yours to enjoy.  I’ll see you next week.

It’s amazing how much can happen in a week!  I’ve just found out that I’ve booked not one but two jobs.  The first is another theater gig, this time one that will allow me to commute every day.  The second is a co-star role on an episode of one of NYC’s popular primetime television series.

I’m beginning to wake up to a certain mentality that some folks have when they walk in the door here.  Part of my realization is that, to varying degrees, even the most reasonable of us can be guilty of this particular mentality.  It’s based on an assumption that goes like this– “anybody can eventually become a sucessful actor!  But only the really awesome people can become successful quickly.  So if I’m going to hire a career coach to help me, shouldn’t the point be to increase my awesomeness so that I become successful really fast?  Otherwise, what’s the point?”

It’s a tough assumption to deal with for somebody like me that is constantly preaching patience.  I have to admit that on the surface this assumption actually makes sense.  The problem with it, and why it is so difficult to turn aside, is that only people with thorough industry knowledge can recognize the inherent fallacy.

The truth is, as an actor you are a risk commodity.  High-profile (and top-dollar) vendors– feature films, television, Broadway– are only interested in working with commodities (actors) that carry with them a minimum of risk, if any at all.  If you’re just starting out you are a high-risk proposition.  There’s no way around it– you have no experience, little or no training, no name recognition.  You are the dictionary definition of “high risk.”  The only vendors that will want to hire you, therefore, are those that have no choice but to take big risks.

As times goes by and you establish a track record of booked work and build a network of industry contacts the risk associated with hiring you goes down.

The primetime television job I have just booked is with a casting director that has known me for over two years, ever since I took an eight-week audition class with him.  He has called me in frequently.  I have always earned a callback.  Twice I have been put “on-hold” only to not book the role.  Now, finally, I have broken through.  What the heck took so long if the casting director clearly really liked me?  The answers vary, but part of the equation is unquestionably the risk associated with hiring me as interpreted by this casting director’s bosses– the producers of the show who make final hiring decisions.

The good news is that, as this will be my second primetime television credit, my “riskiness” will go down in the eyes of future television casting directors and producers for whom I will audition!

It’s an incremental approach.  Perhaps not the most exciting, but it’s worked wonders for me.  And it’s why the pursuit of a professional acting career takes so long, even when you have somebody awesome like me to assist you.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a post with a baseball theme!

The Yankees have made the playoffs every year since 1995 (that’s twelve consecutive seasons). This year, however, as they presently sit a game below .500, many analysts have already counted them out of October play. The team currently consists of a mix of mostly aging position players and very young pitchers, and for every step forward they’ve taken a step back.

Ambition is something every actor must have. We believe in ourselves and we believe we deserve a shot at the top jobs within whichever sector or sectors of the industry we wish to engage. We’re talented, we’re smart, we’re armed with the awesome knowledge gleaned from Entertainment Bleekly and other sources like it. And yet, we struggle. Early on, we struggle mightily. It’s frustrating and it’s not fair.

Brian Cashman, general manager of the New York Yankees, faced a tough decision this past year. He could either trade away the organization’s several talented young rookie pitchers to acquire a single ace veteran pitcher, or he could hold onto his young guns and cultivate them for future play. He chose the latter.

Although the team is struggling now I have to admire the long view that Brian Cashman took. It was brave of him– as the team continues to underperform expectations he faces a daily battle for his job. A battle he may yet lose. Despite this, he maintains that he made the right choice and that the team will be better for it, even if it means not going to the playoffs this year.

I encounter on a daily basis ambitious young actors that want it all but want it right now. They often become quite discouraged and wary when I tell them the path to where they want to go is not short. I fear their reasoning may sometimes be, if I can’t promise them a quick route to success, what good am I?

If a man like Brian Cashman is willing to risk his several-millions-per-year job on a conservative, long-term approach to success, shouldn’t the rest of us pause to notice? Brian Cashman knows that success in baseball, even at the highest level, is rarely a single player away. That ace veteran pitcher wouldn’t have made all those listless aging veteran position players swing their bats any better.  And if that ace had been acquired, and then become injured or otherwise ineffective, several talented young arms would have been lost for nothing.

We must recognize our talents and be patient as we develop them. We must treat the industry seriously and not fool ourselves into thinking that a single bold initiative will deliver us into the promised land of major booked work.