The Acting Business Boot Camp Podcast
Episode 115: The Notebook Every Working Actor Needs
The Three Pillars
- The Core Work
- The Quality of your acting Training
- The Language of the Agents and the Casting Directors
Your Audition/ Meeting Notebook
Get a little notebook!
- Date
- What was the Audition/Meeting for?
- What was the Type of Audition? (OC, Industrial, Print)
- Who was the Casting Office? Specific Casting Director?
- What Material did you do? (Script, take a picture)
- What did you wear? Hair? Facial Hair? Make Up?
- Where was I emotionally?
- What did I do well?
- What is my intention for my next audition?
- Additional notes
Your follow up list
Episode 114: How to Get the Most out of Your Acting Class with Scott Freeman
About Scott:
For the past twenty-five years, Scott Freeman has taught at many of the nation's premiere actor training programs and is recognized as one of the leading acting teachers in the country. Mr. Freeman was a member of the founding faculty of The Actors Center in New York City, where he taught throughout the eleven years of its existence.
In addition, he enjoyed a long association with The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco as a core faculty member of its MFA program and a member of its acting company. He also served as the founding Head of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program. He has also taught at Rutgers University, NYU, SUNY Purchase, The Atlantic Theatre Company, and The Stella Adler School of Acting.
As an actor, theatres he has worked at include The American Conservatory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, New York Theatre Workshop, Mark Taper Forum, The Magic Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare,...
Episode 113: Your Life's (and Career's) Potential
“How you do one thing, is how you do all things”
We want to start making the uncomfortable, comfortable.
The Three As
- Awareness
- Acceptance
- Action
Used as a tool to change so you can fulfill your life’s and career’s potentials.
Awareness: In order to change we must become aware of what needs to be changed
Acceptance: Once we are aware, we need to accept where we are at with it.
Action: You can’t take action without the first two.
Definitions:
An intention: the message you give yourself about what you are planning on doing. It is how much and what type of energy you have to put towards it.
Consciousness: You awareness of who you really are as opposed to the “you” that you believe you are or were taught that you are
3 Circles Intersecting that make up your Consciousness
- Who you are—Your Awareness
- What you do— The Acceptance
- How you do it— The Action
How do you describe yourself?
How do you move beyond them?
Ask These...
Episode 112: Three Steps to Learning an Accent with Amanda Quaid
About Amanda:
Amanda Quaid has over 15 years of experience teaching speech, dialects, and language skills to actors and other speakers from around the world. In addition to her coaching on plays, films, and television, she maintains a thriving private practice in New York City. She's been featured as a dialect expert on WNYC, and her book, American Accent Drills for British and Australian Speakers was released in 2020.
1. Oral Posture: Position your articulators are in for the Duration of the Accent
ie: A low jaw, pursed lips
2. Signature Sounds: The vowels, consonants, and intonation
Axis of Expressivity (Pitch variety)
How Amanda approaches American Accent Acquisition (as opposed to accent reduction)
3. Find out what the Accent brings out in you
Techniques for rehearsals, performances, and auditions
The Importance of Breath
Inhale— The act of taking in the partner
Exhale— The act of giving a part of yourself
The Miller Method
Episode 111: Affirmations, Energy and Truth & Our Consensus
The Power of Affirmations
Principle: Energy attracts like energy.
Gandhi, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
"Be the change you wish to see in your acting career."
We attract and create our world.
Focus on what can be.
We do this through affirmations and self-talk.
Create a healthy, productive, and friendly neighborhood in your actor brain.
Living an abundant life begins with believing in and focusing on an abundant world.
Assignment: Practice gratitude in your acting career.
Creating a gratitude list with at least 5 things on it
If we focus on lack, that's what grows.
Truth: the world is an abundant place and there are enough resources for all.
"Winners focus on winning, losers focus on winners."
Truth exists regardless of belief or consensus.
- Truth vs. truth
- truth: ego’s truth
- Truth: Universal Truth
Empowering Question: Sit down, set a timer, focus on this question for 15 minutes.
If I did _______________, for my acting career, what would be possible for me?
...Episode 110: Why Your Sound Sucks, Common Mistakes Voice Actors are Making from Home with Frank Verderosa
About Frank:
Frank is a 30 year veteran of the music and post-production industry, which a long list of IMDB credits from TV networks, feature films, and animation companies like Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
He spends his days making commercials, cartoons, TV shows and more at Digital Arts in NYC. At night, he’s on a mission during Covid Times to get everyone up to speed so we can continue working together!
First thing: Get a coach, take the classes, learn the craft!
Common Biggest Mistake:
- A home studio is not a USB mic, a laptop in the middle of your living room
- Your mic isn’t connected
- Think outside the box
- Forgetting to turn phantom power on
- Turn the Rolloff off
- Mouth noise tricks
- Stop ruining your sound by over processing it
Episode 109: How to Maintain Your Actor Goals
Values: What Motivates you to Pursue your Goals in 2021?
They make you tick or drive you
Fear Based Values vs Conscious Based Values
Fear Based
- Take action to avoid
- Half Truths, I have to do this, I have to do that
Conscious Based
- Allow you to take positive actions
- Want or need to choose
- Comes out of wanting to fulfill that goal
Are you choosing from your passion or choosing from your fear?
Empowering questions to ask:
My objective: Help you to be more true to your conscious values
- Think about a time in your acting career when things were really good. Ask yourself, “what value was being expressed or honored at that time?”
- Think about a time in your acting career when you were really upset. Ask yourself, “what value was being challenged at that time?”
What is really important to you? Why are you doing this?
When do you compromise your values and why?
What stops you from doing your best?
What will it take to get you off your goal?
Let’s look at the...
Episode 108: Goal Setting for the Actor
Two Types of Goals
Achievement Goals and Habit Goals
Achievement Goals- One Time Accomplishment
Habit Goals- Regular Ongoing Activity
- Requires maintaining a practice
- You want them to begin with action verbs
- Want to have a start date
- Frequency
- Time Trigger
- Streak Target
“Right Goals” and Action Plans: AIM
A-cceptable- What is the acceptable minimum?
I- Ideal- What is the acceptable maximum?
M- Middle. What is a reasonable stretch?
SMARTER Goals
Specific
- What is the first step you are going to take?
- Make it really simple!
- “Anyone can eat an elephant one bite at a time.”
Measurable
- Action-Oriented (ex: run 3 miles 2 times per week)
- Verbs!
Reasonable OR Risky
- How reasonable is it that what you’re say8ing you’re going to do, you’re actually going to do
- Out of our comfort zone
Time-Oriented
- By when exactly will you complete the first step of the goal
Exciting
- Compelling
- Does it ignite your imagination?
- What will you feel like when you...
Episode 107: Social Media for Actors - The 5 Things you Absolutely Need to Know with Heidi Dean
About Heidi:
Social Media can be an AMAZING TOOL.
- Build Relationships
- Research
- A Virtual Stage for you to Perform
First thing actors need to know on social media?-- People are looking you up!
Social Media Profiles are a direct reflection of you and show you’re a team player.
5 Things You...
Episode 106: The 3 Must-Knows Before Beginning Your Content Creation Journey with Bill Timoney
“Leave the good aside and focus on the GREAT”
About Bill
Bill Timoney has worked in the Arts & Entertainment industry for over four decades. As an actor, his extensive resume includes Broadway and regional theatre, films, prime time & day time TV, commercials, and voice-acting (he specializes in dubbing English language versions of foreign language movies, TV shows, and animated programs). Bill’s eclectic and wide-ranging work experience also includes producing independent films, writing (including a screenplay for the Nickelodeon Channel’s TV movie division), directing, stand-up comedy, brief stints working for both a casting director and a talent agency, advising film festivals, and even coordinating stunts for low-budget Horror flicks. For the last five years, Bill has operated a coaching service for actors and a script coverage & assessment service for producers and talent agencies (by recommendation only). He often works with his longtime...
