Monday, June 19, 2006
film actors take note, part two
Hi all,
I went to see a movie at Frameline, the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival here ins San Francisco, this weekend. The movie was called Boy Culture, and was directed by the same director who had made a film thst I saw last year, called Eating Out. Eating Out was uneven, but had some marvelously funny dialogue, not to mention some very strong acting. The leading woman in it, Emily Brook Hands, was particularly strong. She was also in this movie, Boy Culture, albeit in a much smaller role, but nevertheless probably the most memorable performance. But she was there in person, and appeared in a talkback afterwards. After the talkback, I approached her, eager to enthuse about her work and ask her where she had trained. She responded that she had grown up in Kansas, and had done musical theater all her life as a kid. Then she took some classes at the University of Kansas, and then after that, she had moved to L.A.. She mentioned the names of a couple of people she had studied with there, who weren't familiar to me, so I asked her what kind of stuff they taught in their classes. She said that they did a lot of clown work, very physical in approach. She said she also did a lot of "scene work" as well. I thought it was so interesting that she emphasized the importance of her clown work in her training, and that she had stood out so strongly. For those of you who read my earlier post, "film actors take note", you remember that the jist of it was that another actor had stood out to me in a movie, and when I looked into his background a little bit, I discovered that he had done a lot of very intensive physical training as well.
All of this to say: actors of all stripes, GET SOME PHYSICAL TRAINING! There are lots of ways to go: yoga, T'ai-Chi, capoeira (see the resources page of utteracting.com to read about this one), Pilates, Alexander, Feldenkrais, modern dance whatever. But it's so important to do something. I teach an approach that begins with from things like "internal" stuff, for lack of a better word, but the goal is to articulate a way of looking at our characters and scenes that activates us viscerally, at the cellular level, as a teacher of mine used to say. Everybody associates "emotion" with acting, and of course it is somehow important, but what is fundamental is that in the end acting is a mind-body trick. Think Black Mamba's mountaintop training regimen from Kill Bill. It is this kind of training in focus and responsiveness that really makes somebody stand out as an actor. We've all lived and suffered, we all have those emotional wellsprings to draw on but what we need is turn-on-a-dime kind of alertness, agility and strength. There is nothing like rigrous physical training to develop this.
Cheers,
Andrew--
Monday, June 12, 2006
casting call for indie feature
This casting notice came my way, wanted to pass it along.
Best,
Andrew
New actors welcome! Great opportunity to build your resumé
Interested? Send us an e-mail at: Production_estrella@hotmail.com with following information and we will contact you with the casting date.
-Name, gender, ethnicity, languages spoken, phone number
-resumé if available
-Headshot
-let us know if you have a specific talent
The setting of the story is South America. Action feature.
Rate: no pay. Low budget project. Film reel available upon request. Tentative shoot starts August 7th.
Role 1
-Tristanne, Main female character, Natural beauty, slim build, (ability to drive motorcycle, sing and play guitar is helpful but not required).
Description: female, Latino Age: 20’s language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 20
Role 2
-Montana, South America’s Mafia Boss, tough-looking,
Description: Male, Latino Age: 40 to 60 Language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 10
Role 3
-Montana’s man 1, Diego
Description: Male, Latino Age: 30 to 40 Language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 9
Role 4
-Boucher, big guy, Mafia guy
Description: Male, Caucasian Age: 35 to 50 Language: English
Shoot Days : 8
Role 5
-Tribe Chief, a regard show experience in life,
Description: Male, Latino Age: 50 to 70 Language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 8
Role 6
-Montana’s man 2
Description: Male, Latino Age: 30 to 40 Language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 8
Role 7
-Carlos, Taxi driver, funny guy,
Description: Male, Latino Age: 40 to 50 Language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 6
Role 8
- Army guys
Description: Male Latino Age: 20 to 45 Language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 5
Role 9
- Natives people and extra
Gender: Male/ female Age: All Language: no matter
Shoot Days : 5
Role 10
-Paramilitary chief
Description: Male, Latino Age: 40 to 45 Language: English, Spanish
Shoot Days : 4
Role 11
-Guard 3
Description: Male, Latino Age: 30 to 40 Language: Spanish
Shoot Days : 4
Role 12
-Guard 4
Description: Male, Latino Age: 30 to 40 Language: Spanish
Shoot Days : 3
Role 13
-3 Prostitutes
Description: Female, Latino Age: 25 to 30 Language: Spanish
Shoot Days : 3
Role 14
-Lise, Pretty, slim build
Gender: female, Ethnicity: all Age:20 to 28 Language: English
Shoot Days : 2
Role 15
-Wife’s tribe chief,
Description: Female, Latino Age: 50 to 60 Language: Spanish
Shoot Days : 2
Role 16
-John, prisoner,
Description: Male, Caucasian Age:28 to 32 Language: English
Shoot Days : 2
Role 17
-Door man, huge man
Gender: Male Age: 40 to 50 Ethnicity: all Language: English
Shoot Days : 1
Role 18
-Nurse
Gender: female Age: 25 to 40 Ethnicity: all Language: English
Shoot Days : 1
Role 19
-5 Kids playing soccer,
gender: Male/ female Age: 10 to 15 Ethnicity: Latino
Shoot Days : 1
Role 20
-Emile, Canadian Mafia boss
Description: Male, Caucasian Age:55 to 65 Language: English
Shoot Days : 1
Role 21
-2 Body guard,
Description: Male, Latino Age: 35 to 45 Language: English
Shoot Days : 1
Role 22
-Bank male attendant,
Description: Male, Latino Age: 40 to 45 Language: English
Shoot Days : 1
Role 23
-office’s man
Description: Male, Latino Age: 40 to 45 Language: English
Shoot Days : 1
Role 24
- airline attendant
Gender: Female Ethnicity: all Age: 25 to 35 Language: English
Shoot Days : 1
Role 25
- Cab driver
Gender: Male Ethnicity: all Age: 30 to 45 Language: no matter
Shoot Days : 1
Sunday, June 11, 2006
gettin puffy with it
I saw an indie film last night called The Puffy Chair that I wanted to pass the word about. It's a low budget offbeat road movie. Couple goes on road with guy's brother to buy a gift for father's b-day (a copy of the purple recliner they had in the house as kids). Hijinks ensue, tensions simmer and boil over, hip talk happens, all the stuff we look for in an indie comedy. The acting is pretty decent. Definitely worth a look. Playing at Landmark's Opera Plaza.
Cheers,
Andrew--
Sunday, June 04, 2006
audition announcement
The Thunderbirds are a wonderfully talented group of folks who believe theatre should be fun! They are right. I worked with them on Lusty Booty in 2004, and it was fabulous because: the cast and crew were Magnifique!, we had amazing supportive audiences that belly laughed from beginning to end of the play and the run of the show, the whole experience was about joy and entertainment. They are holding auditions next week fo Release the Kraken!
Details:
AUDITIONS!
Thunderbird Theatre Company Auditions for "Release the Kraken"
Original comedy from the company that brought you "Lusty Booty" and "Las Vega-Nauts"
Audition Date: Sunday, June 11th, 2006 (hour-long auditions 9am – 5pm)
Location: Westin St. Francis Hotel, Union Square, San Francisco
Needed: 12 actors for roughly 6 male roles and 6 female roles.
Show Dates: August 10th - August 26th, 2006
Audition Details: http://www.thunderbirdtheatre.com/
-or- (415) 289-6766
Show Synopsis: Zeus, Aphrodite, Athena and the other Greek Gods on Mount Olympus challenge our hero Perseus to slay the Kraken, the last of the Titan monsters! but wait? Perseus works in a strip mall?
A comedic modern retelling of the Perseus Myth where the good must overcome challenges as the mighty Medusa, the creepy Three Stygian Witches, two-headed dogs, and overwhelming desires to play XBox or Ultimate Frisbee.
Can our hero Perseus meet the trials given him by the Gods, or will he lose all that a minimum wage clerk holds dear in life?
Audition Details: http://www.thunderbirdtheatre.com/ -or- (415) 289-6766
P.S. Please help spread the word and forward this to other actors ...you will earn karma points.
Cheers--
got laughing squid?
Cheers--
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