Tips and Tools Blog Posts

If you’re a SAG-AFTRA actor auditioning and working in television and film, here’s a situation you may find yourself in: It is expected of you to read and know all the terms of the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Contract, but there isn’t… Read More

Actors are often told to “be authentic” in their performances. After all, the ability to bring life to characters by tapping into one’s own personality, emotions, quirks, and experiences is key to achieving excellence in acting. Indeed, the great Stanislavski… Read More

Anthony Hopkins once said, “Once you know [the script] so well that you can improvise and make it real, it’s easy. You can’t pretend to know it—it’s impossible to and I couldn’t do it.”  If there is one skill actors… Read More

British-American actress Lily Collins is known for the versatility of her roles, playing an out-of-place fashionista in Paris (Emily in Paris), a young woman suffering from anorexia (To the Bone), Snow White (Mirror Mirror) and Ted Bundy’s girlfriend (Extremely Wicked,… Read More

With all the social distancing and self-isolation occurring these days, many people are forgoing their old makeup routines and enjoying the chance to go sans warpaint. Salma Hayek, for example, recently told Barefaced Beauties, “My favorite days are the days… Read More

It feels like an eternity since the good old days when actors flooded into crowded lobbies and auditioned in person before a roomful of casting professionals. As social distancing requirements continue to keep auditions online, here are a few tips… Read More

It’s the holiday season and instead of gathering together with loved ones with lots of hugs, presents, and joyful singing, people are hearing more calls to limit any socializing. After enduring so many months of historic social-distancing mandates, it’s no… Read More

Imagine booking your first television role, only to be told the night before the shoot that your scene partners will be two Oscar-winning actors. This remarkable scenario actually happened to Georgia-based actor Kurt Yue in the spring of 2016. Yue,… Read More

“As a physical comedian, I had always been worried about waking up with a whole different body one day. That fear became my reality. After those forty-five seconds on the ‘SNL’ stage in May of 2001, my body would never,… Read More

Murphy’s Law asserts if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Well, that definitely applies to virtual auditions. A viral video is making the rounds of an anonymous director mocking Lukas Gage’s apartment during a Zoom audition. Gage, who… Read More

In a recent interview with The New York Times David Fincher spoke about the apparent friction between himself and Jake Gyllenhaal on the set of the 2007 thriller Zodiac.  “Jake was in the unenviable position of being very young and… Read More

Five-time Artios winner Cindy Tolan is known for casting films such as Straight Outta Compton, If Beale Street Could Talk, as well as Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story. In an Awards Daily interview, the New York-based casting director discussed… Read More

With so many auditions taking place online in hopes of minimizing the spread of the coronavirus coupled with fewer jobs coming to fruition, how much has your productivity level changed? It’s fair to assume there’s a whole lot less time… Read More

Does the size of the casting office play a role in your audition? I’ve had actors travel the room—behind us, around us—even when the camera’s been rolling! Misusing the space can be a disaster in an audition. Every casting office… Read More

Preparing for a role requires a lot of commitment including deep research and imaginative work done independently while at home. But the process of getting into character is not simply a solitary act. Rather, it is a collaborative process that… Read More