A Good Audition

You find out the night before that you have an audition at 11am the next morning.

You stay up late at night learning the scenes and dissecting it and making choices

You call around at 7pm at night (after finding out about the audition) to find an acting coach who is available at 8am the next morning

You wake up at 5am the next morning to drive far away to pay a ridiculous amount of money to have a guy coach you for half an hour

You then head over to your managers office to show him the scene and get his stamp of approval

You head to the studio (while reciting the lines for the 100th time in your car) and find street parking and walk to the pedestrian entrance

You show them your ID and hope that you don't get lost in the lot as they explain directions

You sit across from the CD's office, waiting and overhearing the CDs talk about you like you're just another name, another number, another "reader".

Then you finally go in and audition. You know these people have heard the same lines done hundreds of times before by many different girls. They no longer laugh at the funny parts. They have the same glassy, stoic look throughout your audition.

Then it finally ends and you look at them for some kind of reaction.

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Usually the reaction is just a general "Great job, thank you and goodbye".

But today, the CD took off her glasses, looked at me and said in a very genuine way "Amazing job. That was fantastic."

I left their office absolutely ecstatic. I call my manager to tell him how it went, and he told me to not care what they say, because often they'll just say things to be nice in the audition room. We hang up and I walk to my car.

He calls back 5 minutes later. The CDs just called him and told him I was fantastic. That they were going to show the tape to network executives and hopefully get me in for a producer's session.

I'm thrilled. There are many steps before a booking (especially for a bigger role) but for the first step at least, I rocked it.

And that made all of this work worth it.

Coincidences

Today's been a strange day of coincidences. It's almost like all of the mini pre-shocks before a big earthquake comes. I'm praying this large earthquake is acting related!

First my work canceled my shift for tomorrow, because they have a new girl in that's going to be training, so I'm really not needed. That was a bummer, but I was thankful to have a day off.

Two hours later, my manager calls with an audition (or appointment, as he calls them) for tomorrow morning. Plus he wants me to do some coaching first, so I need to set aside a few hours. How convenient that my work just happened to cancel my shift on me...

Funnily enough, the last time something similar happened, I auditioned for and booked Disney 365. Hmmmm...

Then he recommended this coach to me, that I've never heard of. I googled her name and it turns out she's a well known acting coach for Disney/Nick shows and she also happens to be a talent manager. I look on her client list and she represents a girl I did a film with a couple months ago...hmmmm...

I was browsing around different actor blogs (because I love reading actor blogs) and as I visited this one http://caligirlfromva.blogspot.com/ I saw my car on the top of the Paramount lot! How funny...that was the same day I went in to film Big Time Rush (which, btw, my scene got cut out of! I was sad).

Many coincidences, all of them.

But now I'm going to get ready for an audition.

Pray for me friends, that I book this project (or a project soon!).

Faith & love,

Diane

Frustration

I'm thrilled for my friends when I find that they've booked jobs or they've upgraded agencies. Really...I am genuinely happy for them, that we get to climb this amazing adventure together.

But after 2 months of not booking any kind of work or even landing a theatrical agent, I'm starting to get pretty bummed. Especially as I see my other friends booking work and changing to great agencies.

I know this business comes in spurts, and I have no doubt that I'll probably book my next 3 projects within a week of each other, but for now I'm pretty frustrated.

As for now, I'll be wishing, waiting, praying and studying. Oh the joys of being an actor.

Audition Adventures

Ok maybe it's just because the weather is crazy, but I've been having crazy audition adventures!

On Tuesday I had an audition on a studio lot. I wasn't allowed to park on the lot, so I had to park on the side streets and walk on. Except that I parked on the total opposite side of the pedestrian entrance and I couldn't find the entrance at all. I think I ended up walking a good half a mile or so. When I got out of the audition, I couldn't find my car! I kept walking up and down streets, looking for something familiar but I couldn't find my car. On top of that, it was raining AND I was supposed to be back at work since I left during my lunch hour. I freaked out, especially since I was downtown, and kept wandering up and down the streets, with my hot pink pepper spray in hand.

By chance I finally wandered onto the correct street, but I ended up coming back half an hour late to work!

So I thought that was bad, but here's today's adventure:

I wake up at 5am for work and leave at 6am, so I can be at my work (which is pretty far away) by 8am. When you wake up at 5am, it's too early to think about hair and makeup, so I left today with my hair in a high bun and no makeup. Once noon rolls around and it's my lunchtime, I check my phone and I saw that I missed a call from my agency. They have me scheduled for a last minute audition at 2:00. Yep, I had 2 hours to get there but I had work until 3pm. What's a girl to do? On top of that, they said to come hair and makeup ready and wearing short shorts and a tight tee shirt.

What?!? With only 2 hours? It's going to take me that long just to get there and find parking, plus I'm supposed to be at work! How am I going to get the outfit and get my hair and makeup done? And it's freezing cold and they expect me in short shorts?

I begged my supervisor, who is incredibly sweet and accommodating, and she let me go early. I then raced to the mall, grabbed the nearest t-shirt and short short I could find, took them in the fitting room and did my hair and makeup in the fitting room while trying on the clothes.

I get to the audition to find that 1)they made us sign pre-audition contracts locking in the rate we get paid and 2)it's for a feminine hygiene product! Haha I couldn't help but laugh as we were told to go in there, show off our thighs in this weird flamingo like stance, then pretend like we were walking through a field of flowers. So cheesy. Thankfully, even if I book it, it only airs in Taiwan and China so no one here will see it and mock me endlessly

Auditions. Crazy things.

I'm failing as a blogger

Hello my few but loyal followers. So I've been incredibly busy training for my new job and I haven't had time to blog (or eat or sleep) so my apologies for that! There's so much to write about, since I've actually been auditioning, but I haven't had time to just sit and write. That should all change next week, when my training is done and I'll just be working nights and Friday mornings/afternoons.

Let's see...last week I had a fun, super quick audition for a video game commercial. It was actually at Space Station casting studio, which is where I booked my first job ever (a Bank of America industrial, which made me eligible for SAG), so it was nice to see it again. So much has changed over the course of a year and a half.

Today I had a pre-read for a guest starring (and possibly recurring) character on a popular Disney show. I've read for this CD before, when I auditioned for a lead in a made-for-TV film, so it seems that they normally cast big kid/teen projects. I ad-libbed a couple lines in my scene, which is a huge no-no, but the CD was such a sweetheart and I thought the scene ended well. Afterward she asked me about my singing and dancing abilities, explaining that it wasn't for this role but possibly for future ones. Hopefully if I don't hear back for this project she'll call me for future work!


Yesterday I went in to do the agent showcase and the agent is such a sweetheart. It was a cold reading showcase, and I had requested to be one of the first ones, since I had to get home early, so I was paired up with another girl and we literally had 15 minutes to prepare 2 scenes. I'm starting to understand how I work as an actress: I first like to do 2-3 run throughs with the scene, just reading it out loud. Then I'll go line by line and try to figure out how to make that line pop. It's a method that I've gotten good feedback on, but I'm sure it'll change as I continue to train and learn and grow.

Even with only 15 minutes, the reading went well. For the first half of the scene, everytime I said my lines, the agent laughed, so that's always a good sign. We talked briefly afterward and I'm getting a really good feeling about her. I'll have to wait and see though. She has my manager's number so hopefully she'll call us soon!

I've been noticing my auditions keep getting younger and younger. I'm in my early 20s, but I know I can comfortably and convincingly play 17 or 18. My last two auditions though have been for 15-16 year olds, which feels like a stretch for me. We'll see...my manager thinks there's no problem with me playing 15, so I trust him. It's just hard to believe when you're sitting in a room next to actual 15 year olds, with their moms there!

I think that's about it for this week though. As always, I'll try to keep you guys updated on my adventures!

Udates and things

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry about not posting more recently. I've been doing a lot of non-acting activities lately so there really hasn't been much to update on. But here's what I've been doing:

-Got an amazing part time job. I'll be working at home on weekday nights and one day a week at the office (perfect for auditions). The office is literally on the beach and I LOVE my new job. It makes me smile everyday I work.

-I had a general meeting with casting for this new ABC show. The location was mind-boggling...that story deserves its own post (with pictures!)

-Fashion shows! I've recently gotten more into fashion (see my previous blogs on style) and a few days ago I went to a charity fashion show where I got to reconnect with old friends and meet some awesome new ones. Next up: I'm heading to a show during LA Fashion Week to see more designs from up-and-coming designers. I just got a super cute dress (thanks to my dear friend Stephanie who helped style me) and I'm excited to go there with some new friends!

-Acting classes: I've decided to start studying with this kind-of-pricey but brilliant acting teacher. I figure, if I'm going to do it, I'll do it right. It's worth the investment to me.

-Workshop and showcases: I did end up going to a CD workshop where I learned quite a bit, which I'm sure I'll share in a future posting. Since I bought a package deal when buying the workshop, I have one more workshop credit that I have to use up, so I'll be using it for an agent showcase. I don't expect much to come out of it, but I'm big on the "4th No" philosophy, so at the very minimum I'll introduce myself to some of the big players in Agent-land.


Also I came up with this rule of thumb to figure out who's what in Hollywood. Here it is:

-if the person is very pleasant but nervous, he's probably an actor.
-if the person is extremely perky or very arrogant, it's probably an intern
-if the person talks 1000 words per minute and rushes like crazy, it's probably a casting director
-if the person is over bearing and nit picky, it's probably a director
-if the person looks extremely bored at the world, it's probably a producer
-if the person seems like a slick know-it-all, it's probably an agent
-if the person seems to find the whole industry a joke, it's probably an acting teacher

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the real world of pretend.

You will work again

Since today was a fabulous rainy day, I decided to take advantage of the bad weather and browse in my local Barnes and Noble (love that place!). I was browsing through the actors section and I came across Margie Haber's "How to Get the Part Without Falling Apart" book (I know, that should be underlined. I can't find the underline button). I briefly skimmed through it, before picking up and buying Stella Adler's book, but I came across a short passage that I loved (I'll probably return to buy the book later).

Since I don't have the book, I can't quote it verbatim, but here's the general idea of rules of auditioning that every actor should know:

1)You will not get every project you audition for

2)Sometimes you think you nailed the audition, and you still won't get the part

3) You will work in this industry again

I love that last rule. Let's repeat that again, shall we?

YOU WILL WORK IN THIS INDUSTRY AGAIN.

I just love the sound of that. Because that was the first time someone's verbalized a fear that I have but never said: I'm terrified I already booked my last acting job.

It happens all the time. I treat each time on set like it's my last, because I'm so afraid I won't work again. What if I never book another job? What if that was the best to come, and I never knew it?

I'm hoping the third rule rings as true as the first two.

So tomorrow I'm heading off on another commercial audition, with a casting director that I saw 2 weeks ago. Maybe I'll get the job, maybe I won't but at least now I know:

I WILL WORK AGAIN.

Finding my mentor

I was in a great acting class that I loved, but I didn't feel challenged enough by it. I had lots of fun and I learned a lot about what to do and what not to do in auditions and I felt like I grew a lot; but then I hit a plateau. I still felt lost when looking at scripts...I knew I had to give them levels, I knew I had to make stronger choices but I didn't know how to.

Enter my wonderful manager. He coached me through a monologue, but he noticed I wasn't getting the basics of acting like I should have been. I knew how to do a cold read, but he pointed out that most auditions aren't cold reads. I could make initial strong choices, but I wasn't getting the depth of out the scenes and I wasn't making them real and organic enough.

So yesterday I went to audit a new acting coach. She's an absolutely brilliant coach, but the class is painfully slow for a beginner. I can't go two weeks on one exercise. If I had a scene I could study it for two weeks, but to improv a simple scene seems too slow for two weeks for me. I'm well aware that acting is a craft, but I don't have 3 years to spend in a beginner class before I move onto scene study.

That too worries me. I've heard the saying, "Don't give it five minutes if you aren't willing to give it five years" and I've heard that it takes ten years to make a career, but how long until I'm able to work?

Surely just studying for 5 or 10 years isn't going to suddenly make you a regular booking actor. It takes time to build up to that, and I'm looking for a teacher that can help me now both learn the basics and teach me how to book those co-star roles. I'm looking for a teacher that will let me do scenes to really explore the character. And I'm mostly looking for a teacher that will teach me HOW to make choices, not just give me choices that I can mirror.

So the auditing search continues.

Finding A Good Team

As my friend Caleb pointed out, Hollywood is like eating a huge elephant. Getting a successful acting career is a huge feat that requires many little steps. Having team members on your side makes it a lot easier.

I used to think that because I was a beginner, I didn't deserve a good team. I had to take whatever came my way, because that was the best I could get for now, and I would eventually work my way up. That's how I ended up with this manager that wasn't the best manager for me. He and I rarely talked; perhaps once a month via email or a super long phone conversation. He did little to help my career and it didn't seem like he really cared about my career. When we talked about getting a theatrical agent, he said he would come up with a list for me to submit to, which I never got. He did send me out on one audition, a fantastic one, but his cons outweighed his pros by a lot.

Fast forward to my new manager. He's absolutely amazing. I finally feel like I have an ally on my side that treats me like more than just another name or number. He doesn't just give me a list of agents; he sets me up on meetings. He doesn't just make resume suggestions for me; he makes my resume for me. This guy has spent hours working with me on my monologues and he was thoughtful enough to set up my IMDB page for me. He suggested a new acting coach that will work specifically on scene study with me, and when I called her, she asked for a monologue for the first class. He was thoughtful enough to talk to her and email me suggestions about the monologue for my class.

The difference between my managers is like night and day. One just looked at the elephant and verbally encouraged me. The other is actually eating the elephant alongside me.

Lesson learned: don't settle. Find who works for you and hold onto him (or her).

Keeping Perspective

It was one of those days. Everything seemed to be going wrong. It's the end of the month and I booked zero acting jobs this month (I've been steadily booking acting/modeling jobs every month since January of this year). I've been moving and the house is just full of boxes that need to be put away (I'm rather tempted to get rid of everything and live like a monk). I spent 3 hours on making 2 dozen cupcakes, just to have the frosting melt and then stick together in the car, rendering them gross and inedible. Summer finally decided to arrive at the end of September, so today was over 100 degrees (probably why my frosting melted). My tail light burned out and I need to replace that. Except I have no idea how to.

Yeah it was one of those days.

On my drive over to work I kept thinking about how badly my acting career is going. I mean it's been a whole month since I've booked anything at all! And I started having all of these bad actor thoughts and I was feeling intensely frustrated and rejected from my lack of work. I get to the church (one of my workplaces) and I just feel this incredible amount of love and support from everyone there. Different people, some I never met before and some I've known for awhile kept telling me about how they saw me on Disney. I do work in a nursery, so I suppose everyone does watch the Disney Channel, but I really had no idea they reached such a wide audience. Tween girls came to the nursery to meet me, and I could hear them telling each other, "That's the girl on the Disney Channel". One of the pastors (who I didn't think ever noticed me) told me that his 3 year old son, who isn't even in my class, recognized me on TV and yelled for his parents to come over so they could watch me together. When I was telling my co-worker and close friend about all of the attention, she told me that she didn't tell anyone (I told her of the filming long before it aired) but everyone at church was talking about it. She called me a celebrity.

I can't help but smile at all of that. I know in reality I haven't even begun to get started yet. I've hardly done anything and there's just so much more I want to do. But it's great to be in such a supportive environment, with people who will always celebrate your successes, no matter how minor. My churches keep me sane. I help a child learn something new or I make someone feel better and my self worth becomes more than just the number of acting jobs I book in a month. It's about keeping perspective.

So my suggestion for all of you actors: find a life outside of acting. Find friends outside of the industry. Have supportive people in your life. For me, all of this comes through my church. For others, it may be through a charity or through a hobby. Surround yourself with positive, loving people.

When I walked into the church, I was a confused, upset mess. When I walked out a confident young woman, once again ready to face the world. That's what a supportive group does.

Thank you to all of the wonderful people in my life.

Quick Tip: Parking

Auditions are unpredictable. Sometimes you're in and out within 10 minutes. Sometimes casting runs behind and you're there for an hour. So do yourself a favor and find residential side streets to park on instead of parking in the expensive metered parking (or the ridiculously overpriced parking garage). Trust me. It's definitely worth the extra block or two of walking.

And read the street signs. If it's street sweeping day and no one else is parked there, you probably don't want to park there either.

If your meter is broken or not working, you can park there! For free! You just have to hope that the parking police don't come by to reset it while you're auditioning.

One of my friends adds money to people's parking meters if they're about to run out. Good random act of kindness idea.

Always, always, always have small change handy.

Happy parking.