Audition Tips For Actors New To Auditions

Even though we're nearing the end of Pilot Season, the audition process continues in Hollywood. Many actors haven't been on a lot of auditions since they arrived in town just in time for Pilot Season. As a public service to our new neighbors, here are some tips to remember when you land an audition.

1. Make sure you have a current headshot and resume with you.  You'll be remembered more for forgetting your headshot than for any of your acting skills.  Plus, make sure the headshot is current. It won't take the casting director long to remember the guy (or girl) with the photo that is 10-15 years old. It's also a good idea to make sure your phone number and email address are current on your resume. The casting director won't always check the sign-in sheet for your personal info.  Make sure you can be found if you book the part!

2.  If you haven't memorized the sides, don't act like you've memorized the sides!  There's nothing worse in an audition than an actor trying to fumble his way through the material he should have already committed to memory.  It's better to read the lines with the pages in hand than act like you've memorized the scene.

3.  Make your first 30-45 seconds count!  You only have a limited amount of time to make a good first impression.  Win the room over to your side by being confident and ready to go.

4.  Take direction in the room.  Don't assume that the casting director asking you to read the scene another way is a sign that you made a bad choice.  The casting director might want to see your acting range or comedy skills.  Go with the flow and you'll make a good (and lasting) impression.

5.  Never turn down an audition.  It doesn't matter if you think you don't have a shot at the role.  Any chance to audition is a good learning experience as well as a chance to be seen by a casting director. Take advantage of the opportunity to showcase your talents.

Break a leg and get the part you've always dreamed of at your next audition!

I just updated the headshot and resume of this actor.

A New Headshot Makes The Man (Part 2)

A headshot is one of the most important items in the arsenal of an actor.  The right headshot pops off the 8x10 page and grabs the attention of casting directors, agents and managers.

Finding a new headshot photographer is a lot like online dating.  There are plenty of choices and many of them seem right when you first see them.  It takes some research, as well as a broken relationship or two, to find the right person.

Here are some items to consider when deciding who to pick for your headshots:

*Is the photographer open to your ideas?
*Does he specialize in Kids? Adults? Couples? Indoor or Outdoor shots? Color or B&W photos?
*What time of day does the photographer work? Are you a night person and he is a day person?
*Does he only do serious shots or is he open to a variety of expressions and poses?
*Do you feel a connection with the photographer? (You'll be spending a lot of time together!)
*The price (Of course!!!)

We've been lucky with Zach because he's had two photographers that A) are good at what they do and B) he felt a personal connection with them.

His first "headshot guy" was Lance Tilford in St. Louis.  Lance is easygoing, open to ideas and patient when dealing with "first time headshot" clients (just like Zach).  Lance handled Zach's first couple of headshot sessions and did a great job.  Lance is able to put everyone at ease and bring out the personality of the subject in every shot. You can find Lance at Lance Tilford Photography.

A young Zach Louis captured on film by Lance Tilford

Once we moved to Los Angeles, we had to find a new headshot guy for Zach.  Teenagers have an annoying habit of growing up and changing their looks.

The search for a photographer to handle his new headshots was a long process.  Los Angeles is filled with folks who claim to be professional photographers who specialize in headshots.  I've heard many a horror story about sketchy studios resulting in no photos received after the money was spent.

Dana did her research and found a great photographer named Kevin McIntyre.  Kevin has shot two rounds of headshots for Zach.  They got along on the first shoot about a year ago.  The second headshot session (two months ago) was like two old friends reuniting after a year apart.  They laughed and talked and goofed around and made silly jokes and discussed acting and took a great set of headshots.  In fact, Kevin sent us over 600 photos to choose from after the session!

One of the great things about Kevin is his ability to capture the range of a personality.  He gave us some fantastic options to use since no two auditions are alike.

Not only am I smart (look at my glasses) but I'm also cute and accessible.

Hey girl, tell me all about how your man done you wrong.

Need a host for your next comedy show?  I'm the guy for you.

I'm intense yet vulnerable.  Do you ladies like that combo? Any of you girls need a hug?

My boyish look.  I can still play young but also work as a legal adult.

The winner of the main headshot!  I love this photo!

I recommend Kevin to anyone in the LA area looking for a headshot photographer.  (FYI...He is not paying me to say this!!!)  You can find Kevin at his website.

Enjoy the headshots because the kid keeps growing into more of a man.  Looks like we'll need a new photo session at this time next year.

You've Seen His Headshots. Check Out His IMDb Page.

  

What's A Typical Week Like For The Artist?

Whenever I talk to friends across the country, they always mention Zach and how great it is for him to just hang out and audition for parts.

Yes, he does get his fair share of auditions but there's more to the life of a busy teen actor than "hanging out".  I was challenged by a fellow blogger to share a typical week in Zach's life.

Strap in because here we go!

1. Monday:
*Up and off to college at 8am.  It's time for midterms and today is the final study day/prep day for his classes.  Zach normally gets out at Noon but is staying until 3pm today to earn some extra credit.

*Home at 4pm and then a quick dinner because he has acting class from 6pm-10pm.  The timing of the acting class came in handy since he landed two audition notices today via email.

2. Tuesday:
*The first audition was for a Nickelodeon show.  He's auditioned a few times for it/the casting director but nothing has landed yet in the "booked" pile.  It's a good sign they keep calling him back to the casting office.  It means they like him but haven't found the right fit (yet) for him.  The audition is in a building with super comfy chairs in the lobby so it's one of my favorite spots.

*There was no time to rest after the Nick audition.  Zach had to get home to write a 6-page essay about Michael Mann and the climate wars, a 3-page essay about women in the 20th century and also learn 6 pages of dialogue for his next audition (a movie with A-List backers and producers).

*We wrapped homework, scene study and a late night snack by 1:30am.  Which leads us to....

3.  Wednesday:
*Up and off to college at 8am. Midterms until 12:10pm.

*Off to North Hollywood by 1pm for a private acting lesson before the audition.

*Back to Sherman Oaks to change clothes and get ready for the audition.

*Drive to the audition in Hollywood.  We arrived at the casting office to a note telling the actors not to enter.  Just sign in and someone will be out for you in a little while.  A casting associate appeared after about 15-minutes and took Zach away to another floor.  I spent my time waiting for him making up answers to any question I was asked by strangers.  "I think the insurance office has moved to the 6th floor."  "They've already left for the day but said to leave any packages outside their door."  "I'm pretty sure I saw Chris Evans and the Russo Brothers just leave for a meeting to discuss the new Spider-Man."

*Hit Jack In The Box next door to the casting office for a soda after the audition.  Run into good friends and spend the next 20-minutes discussing acting, churros and cosplay.

*Head straight to his acting class after we chat with our friends.  Zach takes a power nap while I make my way through Laurel Canyon traffic.

*Pick him up at 10:15pm (after acting class ends) and finally call it a day

4. Thursday:
*What should have been an easy day turned busy thanks to another audition with lines to be learned. That task had to wait since Zach had a stand up gig that night.

He's been so busy with school and various classes that he had yet to find time to write a new stand up set.  Not only did he have a stand up show, his girlfriend was planning on seeing his show for the first time.

No pressure to be funny!

His show went well that night with the other comics enjoying making fun of Zach and his teenage posse.  The teenage posse was starving after the show so it was time for a trip to In-N-Out Burgers. Thankfully his audition was late on Friday afternoon so we decided to save studying the lines until the morning.

5. Friday:
*The last day of school work before spring break!  A quick essay about some English subject I don't remember and then time to study for the audition.

The audition was in Studio City so it only took us 15-minutes to get there.  I finally realized there were two separate auditions going on because I kept seeing men in their 70s (and above) walking out of the casting office wearing bathrobes.  I hope it was for a different audition because I don't remember that character in the script!

That's a typical week for the kid.

Success in acting is not something that just falls in your lap.  You have to be prepared to put in the time and effort to get noticed enough to land an audition.  You also have to be ready to rearrange your schedule at the last minute to make the audition.  It's kind of a crazy lifestyle but worth it if your actor is having a good time while getting better at his craft.

It also helps if there are good places to get snacks near the casting offices!

This Actor Is On Spring Break

What's The Deal With No New Posts Lately???

Hello from Hollywood!

Sorry for the delay between posts.  Real life has prevented me from having the time to let you know about what's been going on in the land of movie magic.

If you want to hear me complain about traffic, see new casting notices or read my snarky comments you should come back next time for a normal blog post.  For once, I'm just going to discuss our lives.

Dana went in for routine surgery on March 16th.  She's been dealing with a few ailments since November and it finally came time for surgery.

I won't go into too many details about the procedure.  It's what happened after the surgery that has shaped our lives for the last few weeks.

Dana was getting ready to be discharged the night of the procedure.  In fact, she had the discharge papers in hand when her blood pressure started to drop.  The staff decided to wait a little longer to release her so they could observe her a little while longer before she was sent home.

If her hospital experience had been in a movie the stage directions would say, "Cut to":

*Two blood transfusions to keep her heart rate out of dangerously low territory
*Dana coding twice
*A frantic code team working on keeping her conscious
*Dana suffering from internal bleeding as blood pooled on her clothes and down her side
*Me being forced to go home with a 102 fever as not to give Dana yet another medical problem

And all of the above is just the beginning....

We've been keeping a low profile the past few weeks due to the three of us being a bit traumatized by the events of her surgery.

Mark:
I've been a bit off when it comes to daily chores.  My motor skills were way off for about a week.  I kept dropping my keys each time I went to open the door.  I would trip over stairs, burn dinner from a lack of focus and forget simple things like my phone number and address.

Zach:
It's not an easy thing for a teen to realize he almost lost his mother.  He's better now but he spent a good 3-4 days acting out to us.  I couldn't figure out why he was acting like a jerk especially since his mom was still recovering.  Dana and I finally realized he didn't know how to cope with his feelings and was acting out in frustration as well as letting out his feelings.

Dana:
Besides recovering from her surgery, she's also been dealing with the after effects of the blood transfusions and the (two) near death experiences.

Even though we told them not to come, thank goodness Dana's parents made the trip for her surgery. They helped us keep it together for the first few days we returned home from the hospital.

I'm certainly not trying to sound all doom and gloom with this post.  There's just been a real dose of life and death around our place lately.  We've all pulled it together.  Dana is recovering more each day and is almost in fighting shape again!

The entire experience has given us a greater appreciation for each other.  The dog has not left her side in weeks!

I'll be back soon with a new post full of casting notices, stupid jokes and observations on life in Hollywood.  And I promise it will be upbeat!  But for now, I'm keeping my head low and my eyes on my family.

This Actor Has New Auditions I Need To Blog About Soon!