Self-tape Challenge and Getting Out There
How is everybody’s weekend going? I have been reading a lot of acting blog’s lately, notably The Working Actress, who no longer posts, but it is still interesting to see what happens for a working actress during pilot season. It’s kind of hectic and crazy but also something to aspire to. Anyway, she was posting mostly short posts pretty much every day, which I am thinking of giving a try. So don’t be surprised if I start posting more frequently, they should be pretty short and sweet 😉
So, in last Tuesdays class, we were 2 people short, which you would think would mean we finished early, but we always seem to go over when there are less people, because everyone gets a little more time. I got to do my Birdman scene 5 or 6 times, and while I thought I had it figured out, there were so many things to work on. First of all, it is interesting to pretend you are standing on the edge of a roof for an adrenaline surge when you are actually standing in front of the camera in an audition room. Second, tone makes all the difference. I haven’t seen Birdman yet, so I saw the scene as a kind of teasing, flirty encounter, when really it was kind of not. Anyhow, I got to do the scene a bunch of times, in different ways, and think I learnt a lot, and had a lot of fun. The talking in between takes and after class were also a treat 🙂
Tuesday is also the day I joined in on Bonnie Gillespie’s Self-Taping Challenge. For the rest of the month of February, every day I will be putting myself on camera, either doing a scene, an audition, a monologue…I am testing out different methods of taping on my own, instead of my dad’s camera setup that we do for self-tapes that I am actually submitting. So far my dad’s way is still the best, but finding a reader is a bit of an issue. Also, if you follow me on facebook or twitter, I only post a screen capture of the video, so you can’t watch it. If I do a monologue that is awesome, I might post the whole thing, but for now you just get a picture.
Speaking of submitting myself, unless you get the part, you don’t really find out what people think of you or your work. I don’t have an agent to call and get feedback, so I just assume that if I didn’t get the part it is either because I wasn’t good, or wasn’t what they had imagined for the character, I look too much like another lead, I remind them of an ex-girlfriend…basically I have no idea. This time, however, I did get the part, but before that, I got an email that wasn’t intended for me, where the guy said my reel was impressive, and describes my range of emotions. Pretty awesome, right?
On Thursday, we had a rehearsal for the play, where my note kept being to go bigger. I thought I was being big, because I am used to on camera work. On stage, however, you have to exaggerate things so the person in the back row can see it. Especially in comedy.
On Friday I worked at McGill and caught up with Morgan, as well as chatted with a bunch of fellow actors, sometimes about roles and classes and submitting, but sometimes about things that have nothing to do with acting. Since we started pretty early, I decided to go to a cafe and write to avoid traffic. I did write a little bit, but in writing down my goals for the next few years, I also formulated a 4 step plan to get me where I want to be career-wise. And maybe also life-wise. I will share more as I put the plan into action 😉
After work, I had supper with my cousin so we could find a hotel and stuff for our trip to New York. We met up with another friend for a bit before I went to see The Nisei and the Narnauks. I didn’t really know what it was about going in, but it was soooo good. If I had kids, I would go back and bring them, but even for adults, it was really interesting. The set and the puppets were beatiful, the actors were incredible, the story was incredibly touching, and the moral of the story was really thought-provoking. I recommend that anyone in Montreal go see it before February 22nd, at the MAI.
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
– Muhammad Ali
