Search Results for "acting terms"

It’s a mad, mad, mad digital world out there, and we’re all caught up in it to some degree. No matter how badly we might like to escape from the constant pull of the digital screen demanding our attention, it’s ...

“I remember that Jack Lemmon, who is one of my favorite actors of all time, says that the day he stops being nervous is the day he should leave the business.” –Kim Basinger Let’s be honest: acting is a very ...

As challenging as it can sometimes be to make a living by acting, you have to admit this is a great time to be in the business. There are more channels, more web-based television and film production, more online opportunities, ...

We’re deep into the snowy depths of the holiday season, so graduation is a long way off for most theater students. But for those who are planning to walk up to that stage and receive their degree in 2018, keep ...

The audition, and specifically the monologue audition is probably the most discussed–and stressed-about–aspect of being an actor. And with good reason. No matter how long you’ve been in the game the monologue audition remains a challenge. But here’s the good ...

“When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, ‘It’s in the script.’ If he says, ‘But what’s my motivation?, ‘ I say, ‘Your salary.’” –Alfred Hitchcock There are lots of old jokes about stupid ...

New York, or L.A.? It’s the perennial question asked by up-and-coming performers of all stripes, as well as people working in the myriad of other jobs associated with the entertainment business. Do you prefer sunshine and glamour, and don’t mind ...

In an unseasonably warm Autumn in New York, one can only imagine fashionistas peering shrewishly up at the beaming sun, still wearing last summer’s shorts and t-shirts, frustrated in their desires to switch to that smart new fall sweater that’s ...

When we talk about the tools actors need in order to secure auditions, the first thing most people think about is headshots. And of course, having a quality headshot is vital–as is getting the latest casting alerts and submitting your ...

A few years ago the brilliant “Key and Peele” sketch comedy show featured a hilarious parody of “Les Mis” that had even fans of the musical rolling in the aisles. To give you some idea, it currently has some 8 ...

There isn’t an actor out there who doesn’t want to perform. That’s why we got into this game: we love to create characters, we cherish the connection with an audience, we adore making people laugh and cry–and face it, we ...

It’s a common cry among newer actors: “How do I get an agent?” But it’s also not all that uncommon among actors who have been around for a while. Sometimes you and your agent don’t see eye-to-eye on what sort ...

Ask any actor who has attended an open audition lately: the acting business is crowded. Every day more and more starry-eyed dreamers leave behind their small town successes and head for Hollywood or New York, seeking to parley their star ...

These days, social media is everywhere you look. From the president’s multiple daily tweets to your grandma’s endless Instagram photos of her favorite cat, it seems like everyone is constantly on social networks these days. With all the time we ...

Probably for as long as acting has existed, there has been a common trope regarding how dumb actors are. The dizzy blond, the vacuous pretty boy–there are jokes about these stereotypes dating back to Shakespeare’s time and likely beyond. And ...

Typically, the way we think of actors is as loud, outgoing, fully extroverted people. And of course there’s some truth to that–if you’ve ever been part of a big dinner with the cast of a musical, you know that getting ...

We refer to our bodies as our instruments and this is an instructive way to think about how we as actors must commit to caring for ourselves if we want to succeed. If you play a violin or a saxophone, ...

We talk a lot about auditioning and the challenges actors face in going out for “job interviews” on a weekly or daily basis. And most actors would probably agree that the one aspect of the audition that is probably the ...

Acting is of course performing in such a way as to mimic genuine human emotional life, and one of those emotions is sadness. But despite the huge, diverse and rich tapestry of human emotions, many actors are hung up on ...

Acting is acting some say, no matter the medium. And there is some truth in that; we all come at it from different directions and we all have our own unique backgrounds. Some started in theater, some started off on ...