We get auditions that ask us to drive, fight, fall down, kiss, & so many more physical challenges.  

I often see actors get confused & half commit to it because they're scared of looking silly or just simply don't know how to approach these things simply & clearly.

The short answer is: 

Commit 100%

If you get punched in the face, how would you react/feel in your body in real life? You can't moan or half grunt to "pretend" it's happening, that's when we feel silly & inauthentic. You have to commit fully to the physical reaction.

Watch a fight scene & see how truthfully the actors put their whole body into it.

Now a way to simplify our physical work in auditions is to:

Adjust the physicality by 50%

So if you're supposed to fall to the ground (you'll fall out of frame if you do that) then just fall halfway back against the wall or backdrop. 

We'll dive deep into all of this at the Self-Tape Workshop: Physicality on Saturday, April 15th on Zoom. No...

First off, let me tell you this is a skill that can be developed. To read this blog & expect to do it in tomorrow's audition is highly unlikely.

I learned how to do this by studying the Meisner Technique. Sanford Meisner teaches you to create an Imaginary Circumstance & place the most important person in your life (or even yourself) in the middle of that Circumstance. 

Step 1: Create or "craft" the Circumstance

Step 2: Fill in every single detail 

Step 3: Close your eyes & Visualize it

Step 4: Believe it

That last step is really the key. Your Imagination is the most powerful tool you have as an actor, but if you don't believe your own circumstances, it won't evoke your nervous system to allow the emotional life to come to the surface.

I love Meisner because we never drum up trauma from the past (which is another way of crying on cue), we don't bring in today's life challenges into our work.. it's totally separate, using our...

Do you ever find yourself lost in the desert of 2nd takes? I liked this picture because it feels like we have to search so hard when Casting asks for a 2nd take in our Self-Tapes.

1 way is by making an opposite emotional choice from what is obvious on the page.

For instance, if there are multiple capital letters & exclamation points, you might instinctually start yelling & feeling physically alive. That can absoutely work. 

But not everyone who becomes upset in life raises their voice & gets aggresive. Some people get very quiet & calculated. So you could do another take where it's the same circumstance, but you're iginiting your inner life instead of your outer life, delivering the dialogue in a very quiet & grounded way.

There are multiple ways of finding 2nd takes & it's not something we should stress over as actors. I'll teach you a few more ways at our $22 2 Takes in 2 Seconds Workshop Saturday, Feb 11th on Zoom.

And if 1-day Workshops are your...

I often hear actors debate the question of whether to sit or to stand in an Audition. As a coach, my answer is to them is often "What will you do when you get to set? Do that." 

When we get away from the mindset of auditioning, & get into the mindset of creating a scene, we'll no longer ask that question of ourselves.

I recently attended an Agency Showcase in a hotel conference room where actors from various markets presented a scene to the agencies. Imagine a hotel conference room.. the lighting isn't great, the walls are sorta bland, the room is big. 

I noticed that the actors who chose to stand & create a scene that had a real beginning, middle, & end were exceedingly more captivating than the actors who chose to sit. In this case, the space played a major part in the end result. 

So keep the idea of "playing the space" in mind if you're still wrestling with whether to sit or to stand in your audition work. You may also err on the side of "which...

Learn how Bill booked 53 National Commercials & experience his full Level 1 Course in 1 day!

Saturday, Dec 10th

12 pm/EST, 9 am/PST

6 hours

$150 to participate, $50 to observe

https://www.eebstudios.com/adults

If you do the work, stay focused, & believe.. your life can change at any moment in this industry!

How do we take control of our own Happiness when we're not getting Auditions? One way is by creating our own content. 

When we're consisently focusing on a creative project that we're excited about, we're really filling our own Creative Cup instead of waiting for the industry to fill it. 

Then when we do get the audition opportunities, we're extra jazzed because it's just icing on the cake we've already made!

So I started rehearsing for a play this week & it reminded me what a kick-ass Training ground Theater can be.

I think we forget when we get too deep into Film & TV how valuable theater can be for #upleveling our career, because we're often working on 100+ page scripts.

So many times when we're starting in Film & TV, we're getting 2-3 page scripts...heck even when we've been at it for years, we may still be working on those. And that's not to discredit those opportunities, but you've got to get to a point where your Memorization skills are off the chain!

I work with so many Actors who get stressed out if they get 5 pages or more for an Audition, so the question really is...

What are you Training for?

Are you Training for that Co-star today or are you Training long-term for a Series Regular where you've got 30 pages/night to tackle?

So I encourage you...go do a play. Remember what it's like to master 100 pages of...

One of the most amazing projects I’ve ever been a part of is coming out in theaters this month....it’s called Mine 9. It’s the combination of 3 coal mining disasters that have happened in the United States  

Embarrassingly enough, I almost didn’t even go to the audition. My agent & I had decided to focus on bigger projects & it was a SAG low budget film. 

The only reason I went to the audition was to get in the room & work with the Casting Director & the Director. With Self-Tapes taking over the industry, we rarely get this opportunity anymore.

Boy am I glad I went! The stars aligned & I was fortunate enough to work with an amazing Director, Producers, Casting Director & some of the most kick-ass Actors I’ve ever worked with.

And the icing on the cake?? This was a story that really mattered. We got to bring to light real people & their real life experiences.

The Director took some of the cast members to Appalachia, 3/4...