Audition Tips, Videos

Video: On Camera Audition Tips : How to Talk in On Camera Acting Auditions

Actors and Actresses need to be well-spoken. Get advice for nailing your first time acting audition in this free video clip about on camera auditions.

Series

How to Build Self-Esteem Part 1: What is Self-Esteem?

Today is the beginning of our Self-esteem series. If you want to be a successful actor, you must build up your self-esteem because starting out is hard. You will get rejected, casting directors will say things to hurt your feelings and sometimes you won’t understand at all why you didn’t get the part.

We are going to give you some tips on How to Build Your Self-Esteem. Here is Part 1: What is Self-Esteem?

How does self esteem work?

Tracy has been in and out of relationships for so long that she is beginning to think that no one is out there for her.  No matter how she tried, and no matter what kind of guy she goes steady with, it always ends up with a big bang, and the door is usually slammed at her end.

She has blamed herself for her failed relationships because she was so kind or nosy, or forgiving, selfless, clingy.  You name it; every single bad thing that happened to the relationship was her fault.   Up to now, she could not help but wonder what went wrong.  She has done everything to make it work but nothing she does seems to make a difference and she still hasn’t found “Mr. Right.”

At first glance, there is really nothing wrong with Tracy, nor with the men in her lives.  But as you probe into their day to day activities, you realize that Tracy looks okay on the outside, but has very low regard for herself on the inside.  She seems like an ordinary girl next door but she is actually suffering from what we call low self esteem.

Self esteem is how you regard or value yourself in terms of your job, your accomplishments, your relationship with your peers and your family and your place in the society.  It is actually the image you have of yourself.  Having high self esteem means you have a high regard for yourself while low self esteem means you perceive no value of yourself. Read more

Actor Interviews

Interview with Gregory Michael from “Greek”

Gregory Michael plays Grant on the ABC Family series Greek. The actor discovered his love of acting at a very young age. When he was a teen, he got involved in community theatre and then he landed a role on the soap opera As the World Turns.

Grant wasn’t the first and only role on Greek he auditioned for.

IESB: When and how did you get into acting?

Gregory: Honest to God, I was about two or three when I told my mom, “I want to do that.” We were at a little concert and this group was singing “La Bamba,” and I remember yelling, “I want to do that!” I wanted to be up on stage with those people. It was one of my first memories, but I remember being at that show and getting up on stage and they handed me the microphone. We have it on video. And, I sang the song and loved that feeling of being in front of all the people and getting the acclaim and adoration.

Even though it was very primitive, I remember that feeling. As I grew up, I loved singing and doing shows. I put on a show for every day. There were so many shows that I did for my family that they must have been driven crazy, but I wanted to do it. When I got a little older, I wanted to be in the Mickey Mouse Club. I wanted to be in a kids’ group so that I could sing. It was always something like that. I remember having that acclaim with that first performance. I bit the forbidden fruit.

IESB: Was anyone in your family in the business?

Gregory: My mother was a professional singer, but I never knew her as a professional singer. She gave it all up, before I was born. She was in the business and the business burned her really bad. Being a woman in the business, back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, was not a good thing. It was always a man’s business. So, she got burned really bad. She had a manager who was giving jobs for my mother to his other clients that were men.

My mother sang with Frank Sinatra and opened up for The Monkees. My mother is this woman that I never really knew. She’s been a different woman, my entire life. But, after being burned, she said, “You’re never doing it. You’re never getting into singing. You’re never getting into acting. You’re just not doing it, period.” And, the more she said, “Don’t do it,” the more I wanted to do it. The good thing was that my mother, even though she didn’t want me to do it as a child, was very supportive of me doing it on a community level with community theater and being active in school.

She wanted me to have a childhood and a real life. She was very young. She started when she was 8 or 9, so she did it for her childhood and she just wanted me to have a childhood and grow up and be somewhat normal. When I hit 18, I went to Penn State University for about a year and a half, and then I said, “You know what? I really want to do what I’ve always wanted to do.” So, I left school for a bit and went to start auditioning in New York City.

IESB: Did you get hired right away?

Gregory: One of my first auditions was for the Walt Disney Company and I booked a role working at Walt Disney World in Florida, where I did theme park shows. I did singing and dancing. I played Prince Charming. I did the castle show in front of Cinderella’s Castle. I absolutely loved that kind of stuff, but I didn’t really know what kind of jump I could make from that into what I really wanted to do, which was film, television and Broadway musicals. I knew that it was a start, so I did that for a year. It was amazing.

And then, I got recruited from that job at Disney to work at Universal doing the same thing. I had a contract there. At that point, my manager, who’s my manager now, told me to go to New York City. I was like, “You’re crazy! I’m going to leave just to go to New York?” And he said, “You should totally do it. I’ll get you set up and I’ll have you meet agents.” So, that’s what I did. I had my sister, who was living in Manhattan at the same, say that I could stay with her, so I ended up sleeping on her couch in her studio apartment and I started auditioning.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Audition Tips, Videos

Video: How to Prepare for Acting Auditions, What to Expect at Acting Auditions

Are you a young actor or actress just starting out in the world of acting? Learn what to expect from an acting audition in this free video with tips from a casting director.

Acting Tips, Videos

Video: The Audition (The Acting Lesson)

A film director berates an actress with a wonderful twist at the end.

Casting, Disney Movies

Video: “Real Steel” Open Casting Call

The open casting call to play Hugh Jackman’s son in “Real Steel” is getting a lot of buzz. Here’s a video clip about the auditions. The auditions are February 14th in Chicago or on February 20th in New York City.

The role is for a boy between 10 and 14 years old. You can submit a video audition at RealSteelCasting.com whenever you want!

The movie is “A future-set story where robot boxing is a popular sport and centered on a struggling promoter (Jackman) who thinks he’s found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he also discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father.”

Is anyone auditioning for this role?

Audition Tapes

Hey GLEE Casting Peeps! – Check out Alexander Ray

Alexander Ray’s favorite show is GLEE and he wants to be on it! Check out his audition tape. Help him get on the show and tell all your friends. You can find out more about Alexader Ray at his website www.alexanderray.com.

Disney Stars

Twist March 2010 Issue – How They Got Started

The March 2010 issue of Twist talks to teen stars and asked them how they got started in the biz.

Demi Lovato: ‘I went on open casting calls. When I was six or seven, my mom and I would check for open casting calls. There’d be hundreds of kids who all wanted the same part. At that point, the odds are against you. But, when I auditioned for Barney, they really liked me!’

Kellan Lutz: ‘I started as a model.’ When Kellan moved to LA after high school, he knew he wanted to act. But since jobs were scarce, he turned to modeling to make a name for himself: ‘I did a few modeling campaigns, one was for Levi’s, another was for Abercrombie & Fitch.’ He finally was cast in TV roles on shows like Summerland and Heroes, and in 2007, auditioned for Twilight.

Justin Bieber: ‘I made YouTube videos. I started singing just for fun. I never did it because I had to. I entered a local singing competition because it was something to do, I never tried to be famous. I put videos on YouTube so my friends and family could see them and see what I was up to. Now I realize this is what I was meant to do, but I just didn’t know it then. It’s sweet!’

Tips

Tips for New Actors

Well you’ve decided that you want to be an actor, and really want to make a go of it. You realize it’s going to be a lot of work and that it won’t be easy. Here are a few tips to help you on your way.

First, get a computer. You’ll need one when you start writing your resume, for scanning your headshots and to search for work. Create a website for yourself, something as simple as johnsmith.com will work. This is where you can really market yourself. Post your headshot and resume on it. Include some audio and video clips. Include your latest jobs on it. Make is as professional as possible. Make sure you include this web address on your resume.

Don’t let one day go by that you don’t actively search for work. There are many sites online (which is one of the reasons you have that computer) for you to check, Playbill, Actors Access and Craigslist just to mention a few.

Stay close to where the acting jobs are. Join a theatre group or acting company. This is a great way to remain fresh in your acting and also a great way to network, you never know who knows about a job that could be great for you. Continue taking acting classes. They always help and look good on your resume, and again, a great way to network.

Make sure you have a variety of monologues prepared. Also, always carry a copy of your resume and headshot with you. It’s also a good idea to have your resume, headshot and cover letter ready to be mailed whenever a potential part comes up.

About the Author

This article provided courtesy of http://www.acting-school-locator.net

Audition Tips, Videos

Practicing Audition Monologues : Monologue Examples

Searching for monologue audition tips? Watch a sample monologue in this free video clip about performing monologues for acting auditions.