actors – Page 5 – Answers for Actors

Some actors can win, and then lose auditions online as easily as Donald Trump insults via a tweet.

While casting the AEA national tour of a popular musical, a non-union actor’s submission earned attention from among the slush pile of submissions from non-represented actors. The email rose above the first-class talent representation submissions by agencies and managers.

He began well in his initial email submission:

“Hello Paul! I’m reaching out to you about the production of
*****. I have done the show… as the male understudy for all roles…”

Great! I thought. Hiring one understudy for all five of the male roles was a challenge. Various musical instruments are required to be played among the characters. If the actor’s audition was spot-on there’s one major puzzle piece solved. Give him an audition ASAP! But…

The actor wasn’t available for a live audition. I requested he place himself on-camera. A deadline was given. The deadline passed. 9 days overdue. No e-audition received. I contacted the actor again with a reminder. I detailed that the producer and creative team were aware of his interest. There was serious interest on our part. The actor replied:

“Hey Paul! Thanks for following up. Can I ask you about the understudy position? Are there guaranteed performances?”

My response:

“Hello Dirk,

The understudies presently under contract are not guaranteed performances. The contract offers paid weeks, per diem, travel, and hotel accommodations. My discussing more than what the contract presents is premature without first having audition material from the actor.”

His response?

“Hey Paul! Sorry if I have not been forthcoming with the specific tapes. I didn’t want to send it until I was sure I would take the job (if offered). Since there are no promised performances at this time I cannot take an understudy position.”

My initial reaction was, why did you submit for the position?! But, I restrained. I made aware the producer and creative team of the actor passing on the audition, and his reason.

Several days later an additional date was added to the production which precluded a signed principal from performing that added performance. I reached out to the producer to ask if I should inquire of the actor who passed on auditioning because there was no guarantee of a performance but now there was. The producer’s reply? A single sentence:

“I’m totally turned off by the email response.”

Don’t submit for an audition and then try to negotiate the contract prior to your audition. You’ll lose as did this actor. He lost the producer. He lost the director. He lost the musical director. He lost this casting office. He lost potential work that would have kept him employed for 7 months. Next.

Paul Russell’s career as a casting director, director, acting teacher and former actor has spanned over thirty years. He has worked on projects for major film studios, television networks, and Broadway. Paul has taught the business of acting and audition technique at NYU and has taught master classes at dozens of acting programs at universities including Hofstra, Elon, Wright State University, and Rutgers. He is the author of ACTING: Make It Your Business – How to Avoid Mistakes and Achieve Success as a Working Actor. For more information on Paul’s projects, visit www.PaulRussell.net.

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Casting Directors, Talent Agents, Directors & Actors

Love Paul Russell’s Best-Selling Book for Actors
ACTING: Make It Your Business!

“Humorous and witty…

Actors everywhere who are trying to succeed in the business, young or old, on stage or on camera, anywhere in the world, take note:

This is your roadmap!”

— BERNARD TELSEY, casting director – CSA
(The Intern, Hamilton, NBC’s The Wiz – LIVE!, Wicked)

“All the right questions asked and answered…
and with a generous portion of good humor.”

— SUZANNE RYAN, casting director, CSA
(Law & Order, Unforgettable)

“I love this book!

Paul’s book tells you what you don’t want to hear but really need to know

EVERY actor should read this book!”

— DIANE RILEY, Senior Legit Talent Agent
Harden-Curtis & Associates

“Paul’s book made me proud to be a part of this community we call ‘show!'”

— KAREN ZIEMBA, TONY & Drama Desk Award Winning Actress

“Paul Russell’s words are not only blunt & accurate they zero in on all the questions every actor wants to know but is afraid to ask!”

— KEN MELAMED, Talent Agency Partner
Bret Adams, Ltd.

“I had my Business of Acting, BFA Seniors, class do book reports on a variety of “business of acting” books and ACTING: Make It Your Business came out a clear winner—considered to be essential for their bookshelves!

— Dr. NINA LeNOIR,
Dept. Chair – Dept. of Thtr.
Chapman University

Get smarter on the business of acting from legendary Hollywood & Broadway actors and talent agents in a casting director Paul Russell’s Best-Selling Book ACTING: Make It Your Business!

awards_titled

Paul Russell www.PaulRussell.net — Paul Russell
http://www.PaulRussell.net

There are acting awards on an actor’s resume that merit the resume being trashed. There are of course acting awards of merit that matter on an actor’s resume. Which awards are of merit or are trash bin bound?

Recently, there was a heated debate on social media arguing BroadwayWorld awards to be or not to be included on an actor’s resume. Unless you’re a vain, insecure, attention-seeking-at-any-demerit actor: BroadwayWorld awards do not, (repeat) do not belong on an actor’s resume. They hold no merit. Why?

BroadwayWorld awards are beg-for-vote awards driven by actors on social media begging friends and family to vote for performances possibly never seen by the majority of voters. The awards are predominantly for regional theater of which most of the voters haven’t seen the productions. Many of the voters are not industry peers which are vetted for professional related experience. Casting and talent agents know this, as do directors. The inclusion of a beg-for-votes award holds no credibility other than we realize an actor creatively manipulates votes on social media to his or her benefit. And the priority purpose of online voting for actors? Money. The clicks on to BroadwayWorld or similar voting platforms generates review for the website.

If an actor must gain an award via an online poll or an online open voting system that actor devalues their worth as an artist. They’re pandering for votes from the poorly informed—not unlike how Donald Trump disingenuously Tweeted his way to “Hail to the Chief.”

U.S. Acting Awards that Belong (and command respect) on An Actor’s Resume:

Academy Award
Emmy
TONY
Golden Globe
Drama Desk
Drama League
Outer Critics Circle
Obie
Lucille Lortel
Grammy (Only for a spoken, solo recorded performance of a role.)

Regional U.S. Acting Awards that Belong (and command respect) on An Actor’s Resume:

Joseph Jefferson (Chicago)
Ovation (Los Angles)
Carbonell (Florida)
Helen Hayes (Wash, DC.)
Barrymore (Philadelphia)
Elliot Norton (Boston)
IRNE (New England / Boston)
Ivey Awards (Minneapolis – St. Paul)
Kevin Klein (St. Louis)

Awards of merit are ones in which professional peers as voters are screened and/or are accredited by a review panel. As example with the TONY awards: TONY voters are working Broadway professionals chosen through a stringent vetting process. Likewise with the acting awards that are noted here prior to be included on an actor’s resume. That professional peer review is why such award recognitions are respected over the “Vote for me anybody” BroadwayWorld-type awards.

Awards that include, or are predominantly recognizing, community theater companies (hello Ostrander and Perry awards) do not belong on a professional actor’s resume. High school acting awards are just as offending. I’ve been horrified at seeing high school “Best Actor” awards on the resumes of 30-something ‘professional’ actors. Next.

How to Place an Acting Award on an Actor’s Resume:

Using the Industry Standard Actor’s Resume (pg. 86 in ACTING: Make It Your Business – How to Avoid Mistakes & Achieve Success as a Working Actor) place award(s) as follows on these examples:

Which on a resume is this:

awards_resume_reduced

(The italicizing of the award—and the director—is for the eye to differentiate that additional information, and attract the eye to that information.)

Placing the award elsewhere on the resume (i.e. Special Skills, or Awards categories) may prompt the viewer of your resume to overlook your achievement. With the award placed directly under the credit the achievement is prominent to the viewer.

Beware of placing an * next to a credit to note there is more information to the credit. When there is an asterisk (especially for an award) the resume viewer

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Best-Selling Book
for Actors!

must then search to where that * corresponds to elsewhere on the resume—don’t do this. An actor’s resume is not a game of hide-and-seek.

Just as awards of respectability are handed out judiciously, actors are to be judicious in the level of awards they honor their work with on their resume. Better to viewed as honored by peers than honored by polls.

.Paul Russell’s career as a casting director, director, acting teacher and former actor has spanned over thirty years. He has worked on projects for major film studios, television networks, and Broadway. Paul has taught the business of acting and audition technique at NYU and has taught master classes at dozens of acting programs at universities including Hofstra, Elon, Wright State University, and Rutgers. He is the author of ACTING: Make It Your Business – How to Avoid Mistakes and Achieve Success as a Working Actor. For more information on Paul’s projects, visit www.PaulRussell.net.

Share this:

Casting Directors, Talent Agents, Directors & Actors

Love Paul Russell’s Best-Selling Book for Actors
ACTING: Make It Your Business!