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
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.
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?
...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:
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
Conscious Based
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
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...
Two Types of Goals
Achievement Goals and Habit Goals
Achievement Goals- One Time Accomplishment
Habit Goals- Regular Ongoing Activity
“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
Measurable
Reasonable OR Risky
Time-Oriented
Exciting
About Heidi:
Social Media can be an AMAZING TOOL.
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...
“Leave the good aside and focus on the GREAT”
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...
The Truth is: The point of Power is in the present moment.
Staying in the moment in acting is the same way in life and humanity.
Anxiety is about not wanting to take responsibility in the moment, and not accepting the reality in the moment, and feeling a lack of control.
Once I ask myself what am I not accepting? What is it that I’m trying to control but can’t?
Then things have the space to shift.
The fact of the matter is we are going to have these feelings and these situations are going to come up, so the only thing we are left with in a productive way is, “How can we best deal with it?”
3. “I will never be given more than I can handle, but I will be given more than I can control.”
4. What do I think I can not handle in this moment?
Live life on life’s terms.
3 Energy Levels
The...
1- Post-Covid: Movie Tickets— Research a theater near their office/ home
2- Gift Certificate— Research what do they actually like (ie: Starbucks vs. Dunkin)
3- Charity— Ask which charity they support
4- Food Bank— Possibly to one in their hometown
Go through you contacts
Type up writers/ directors/ producers/ agents/ managers/ CD’s
The Benefits of Postcards
Separate commercial/ print list from theatrical list
Forward moving energy, put all your resources towards what will move you forward.
No E-Cards
About Roger:
If New York City is the voice-over capital of the world, then Roger Becker is the Mayor. “Hizzoner” has been working steadily in every aspect of the business for two decades. With a background in post production, Roger left that world in the 1990’s to direct talent at a prestigious NYC talent agency. Along with running their in-house studio, he worked in the Broadcast Promotions division to bolster his understanding of talent/producer relationships. In 2005, he returned to directing voice-over full time at a casting house in New York City, eventually accepting the position of vice-president of the company. He has cast for major accounts in all arenas of the business, from commercial to film to narration to animation…and has taught children and adults about all facets of VO work.
Your audition Space must be comfortable. You’re going to spend all of your time in your booth setup.
Overview of 3 things to Up your VO Game: