site
stats

ARE YOU YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY?!

By Marci Liroff
Last week, after an excruciatingly painful day in Hollywood where my ass was kicked to the ground and stomped on – I realized I was stuck. Stuck in the morass that I had made for myself. “People are horrible!” kept running through my mind, along with various versions of “Woe is me…!
The doorbell rang and I peered out my window to see a man standing there with a leaf blower strapped to his back. “What does this guy want?”I came out to find a pleasant looking guy in gardener gear. He explained that one of my sprinklers was leaking below the ground. “It’s either a broken pipe or it’s the actual sprinkler.“ Aargh!” I said to myself. “Can nothing go right in my life?!” Then he said something amazing. “Well, I’d be happy to dig it out and see if I can fix it for you.” “Sure!” I said. Heproceeded to dig out the sprinkler about a foot down into the soggy earth. Turns out it was a cracked sprinkler unit. I was on my way to Home Depot (one of my favorite stores btw!) and I told him I’d take the broken sprinkler and replace it.  Then he said something more amazing. “I have one in my truck. I can connect it now and you can just give me the replacement next week when I come, or whenever.” I ran into the house to get some money for his trouble and work. When I came outside he was just finishing up. We tested it and the sprinkler worked great. Then something truly amazing happened. I offered him the money and he simply refused to take it. I kept offering, “C’mon, you really helped me and I SO appreciate what you did – I’d love to pay you for your time and your work.” He was firm. “No Miss – it was no problem.” What a nice guy. My current gardeners have not been so great lately. “Are you available to work here on Tuesdays?” I said, hopefully. Nope. He’s way across town on Tuesdays and booked up completely. We shook hands, introduced ourselves and I said I’d see him next week with a new sprinkler to replace the one he gave me. Jaime walked away, soaking wet and covered with mud.
I went back into my house and was walking around in circles kind of stunned. People don’t do nice things just for the heck of it. They just don’t. I was sure. I was positive. Then I realized I had created aself-fulfilling prophecy – the exact thing I always call out my coaching clients and students about. I work with so many actors who are positive they won’t get the job, they never get “these kinds of roles”, “I’m not good at comedy”, “I won’t be able to cry in this scene at the audition”…the list goes on and on. We all want to be right don’t we? If our inner voice tells us these things, we pretty much make sure it happens by the energy we put out and by our sheer will because, at the end of the day, we want to be right. See? I told you so! I told you I’d never be able to ______ – fill in the revolving door of excuses.  Our ego gets involved and wants to make us right and thus begins the never-ending cycle of the self-fulfilling prophecy. 
A positive or negative prophecy, strongly held belief, or delusion – declared as truth when it is actually false – may sufficiently influence people so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prophecy.
An hour later the doorbell rang again. It was Fed Ex. Oooh, a package! I opened the package to find a gift from an actor student of mine. I taught a class last year and was particularly taken with this particular actor. Early 20’s, handsome, and he just totally “got it”. Meaning, he sat in class and nodded his head to whatever I was saying and I could tell that whatever I was saying was completely resonating with him. We worked on one scene throughout the three 3-night classes. He was spot-on in the first class, and just kept getting consistently stronger throughout the process. Several months later he reached out to me for a career consultation – being new in L.A. and to the business he was having problems with patience. He was really good, having successful auditions and getting great feedback but not getting jobs fast enough for his taste. “Why isn’t it happening for me already?!” We had a long talk about the acting journey and how it takes years to build a career. I checkedin on him several more times over the ensuing months and never heard back from him. What a slacker I thought. I gave him my very best – I had even taken the time to check-in with him several times and not even a response to my emails! Not professional!!
He finally contacted me a few weeks ago through an email to tell me that he was battling Stage 3 melanoma. Cancer. And, no medical insurance. He’s home with his family and going through surgeries and treatment and fighting the good fight with this wicked disease. He reached out to tell me that he thinks about me all the time and that some of his best work was done in my classes. Also, he’s a whiz at Photoshop so if there’s anything I need…he can help me out. Anything Ineed?! Incredible. OK, back to the package. He sent ME a gift. A few gifts actually. He explains:  “A deck of cards. The cards were from the first Casino I ever went to and won $500 from a BlackJack table…the best of luck to you! The Shakespeare book is part of a collection of notebooks I own. The cover picture is also printed on the pages and when they’re stacked up all 12 books form the Shakespeare picture. I put all of my audition sides in the book and write notes and flesh out the beats and stuff when I audition.And finally the magnificent picture of you!”(he had reproduced the photo of me from the ArcLight Cinema series of filmmakers posters and made a smaller poster for me).
So here I was after receiving some terribly disappointing news about my job, convinced that people are shit and horrible, and within one hour of that the Universe sent me not one but two incredible events to kick me in the ass and remind me that yes, some people are horrible, but most people are actually pretty great if you just open your eyes and your heart to see it. Stop focusing on all the crap, shift your mindset bit by bit and the good will come. Surround yourself with healthy, happy and loving people who have your back. Let me know if this works for you.
Now go out and do it! 
Do you have any questions for me? Feel free to ask them here!
Want more tips and general thoughts on life? Be sure to bookmark my blog and follow me here!
 
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
 
Glad you’re here!
Marci

8 Ways To Survive The Dreaded Waiting Room

By Marci Liroff
You’ve prepared. You’ve rehearsed. You’ve worked with your coach and picked out the perfect outfit to wear on your audition. You’ve even arrived slightly early and found “Doris Day” parking right in front of the casting office. You’re all charged up and ready to go and you turn the corner to find 10 people sitting in the waiting room for the audition. Aargh!
I know exactly how this feels because I have to interview/audition like you do for a job sometimes. When I come to an office to meet a producer or director and I’m all pumped up and have to wait awhile, I get totally deflated.  All my energy and enthusiasm gets sucked out of me. Here are a few things you need to do to protect yourself from the elements and stay in your creative zone to do your best work.

1. Be on time and expect to wait.  Many times, the director/producer will show up late and screw up my meticulously scheduled day. Or we get stuck on a time-sensitive phone call about securing financing for the project. You may have to wait a long, long time and we get behind. Sometimes we get WAY behind and you have to wait an hour.  It’s horrible. It’s important that you do what you need to do to keep yourself from losing your energy and it doesn’t affect your attitude – whatever it is that works for you. I recommend using headphones or earbuds because it drowns out what’s going on in the room. Furthermore, if you have your earbuds in, no one will talk to you! It’s like your own form of privacy.
2. Don’t get caught up in the “scene”. There’s always that one guy/gal who’s bragging about all the auditions they’ve been on lately. It can sometimes make you feel “less than” if you’ve only had a few in the last several months. This is where the earphones come in handy! Don’t get sucked into the weird energy that sometimes exists in the waiting room. Concentrate on your scene and your character.
3. Stand up if you feel like it. For me, sitting too long just drains all my energy and I leave it on the couch or chair. Stand in the hallway (don’t go to far so that we have to come hunting you down when it’s your turn though!). After auditioning for years, you’ll know what works for you in terms of preserving and protecting your energy and state of mind.
4. Be careful not to diss the material – you never know who’s in the waiting room. It could be a friend of the writer or the producer’s wife.  You literally never know. 
5. Try as hard as you can NOT to listen to the other actor’s audition thru the door.  It’ll make you rethink your own choices and destroy your own reading. You’ve worked hard on your audition with lots of preparation. Stick to your choices.
6. Be nice to the casting assistant.  They are my eyes and ears.  If you’re rude or abusive to them, believe me I will hear about it and not be so inclined to bring you back. This would seem like common sense, but you’d be so surprised of the stories I’ve heard from my assistants. Believe me when I tell you that they will, one day, run a studio or direct your next film!
7. Check in with the assistant when you arrive and check to see that you have the correct set of sides.  Better to find out BEFORE you come in the audition room and hopefully you’ll have a few extra minutes to get up to speed if the version of the sides has changed. 
8. Bring comfortable shoes. This one’s for the ladies. My office moves around from project to project and we sometimes get offices that are buried deep into the studio lot and parking is miles away. If you’re in high platform heels, your “dogs are gonna be barking” by the time you get to our office and all you’ll be able to concentrate on are your aching feet! Throw a pair of sneakers or flip flops in your car for the walk.
I’d love to hear what other ways you cope with the waiting room in the comments below. It’d be great to share with each other what works for you!
  
Do you have any questions for me? Feel free to ask them here!
Want more tips and general thoughts on life? Be sure to bookmark my blog and follow me here!
 
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
 
Glad you’re here!
Marci 
 
(you can also read this article on Back Stage Magazine by clicking here)

WHY ACTORS NEED TO GET ON TWITTER

twitter-logo

 

By Marci Liroff

Twitter, you ask? Do I HAVE to?! Yes, you do and I’m gonna tell you why.

I came to Social Media kicking and screaming in 2009. Being an extremely private person, I was deathly afraid of opening up too much of my life to the public. My friend Angela Shelton just about chained me to a chair and taught me what to do. Dragging my feet and protesting, she made me sign up for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, a YouTube channel, and a Vimeo channel. I knew I had to make the leap of faith because if I didn’t jump on this Social Media train soon, I was going to be dragged down the tracks by the upcoming newbies in the business.

I was not prepared for how much I love it! OK, truth be told I’m addicted to it! Not only do I use it for work (I interact with my community of actors and find new talent), I learn about all the breaking news on Twitter. Being a news junkie, that’s music to my ears! A couple of years ago I was asked to speak at the #140Conference in NYC on the topic of Social Media and the Casting Director. Here’s my short speech:

 

 

Truth be told, initially my main reason for getting on Twitter was to sell my DVD. Much to my chagrin, I quickly learned that Twitter is not a place to sell yourself. I got my head handed to me on more than one occasion by angry Twitter followers who didn’t like that I was trying to sell them my DVD. I thought, “But, you’re following me! Obviously you want to hear what I have to say!” Turns out that couldn’t be further from the truth and that’s not at all what Twitter is about. I decided to sit back and LISTEN and learn. My friend, actor Ben Whitehair, says that in the beginning you should “use Twitter as a listening device, not a megaphone.” Sound advice indeed!

 Once I stopped squawking about myself and started listening to the folks I was following – a world opened up.

I learned that Twitter was a place to CONNECT to my community – a place to learn from those that I’m following, hear their needs, and contribute great content. Since I’ve been in the biz for over thirty years I realized that I have a lot of great info to give. I’ve become quite the “content curator” over the last few years. I’m finding some really interesting stuff for actors—from other people’s blogs or other casting directors, producers and directors I know, or open calls that I hear about across the country—and mostly posting useful information that has nothing to do with me but will be helpful to actors. It’s about sharing great content. Twitter is limited to 140 characters, so you have to be concise and to the point. You basically want to give a headline and a link to something.

Casting Directors used to be an elusive and exclusive bunch. That business model is outmoded these days and I think you’ve noticed the abundance of Casting Directors who have made themselves available to teach/coach/and advise you on the acting business. You may hear on Twitter that they’re casting a project – but follow their lead and go about the usual channels to procure your audition. Here’s a list I put together of CDs who tweet. You’re welcome! Here’s another list from Wayne Chang (@wonderfulcow on Twitter) of CDs who have websites.

Last year when I was casting my movie The Sublime and Beautiful  I was contacted by an actress in Los Angeles who had been following me on Twitter and Facebook. She said she could be considered a local hire and were there any roles for her? (We were shooting on location in Lawrence, Kansas and had no money in the budget to bring actors from L.A. except for the lead characters). She sent her demo reel,which was very good, and I sent her the sides for the role I thought she’d be right for along with our script. Within the week we had auditioned her and hired her for a pivotal role in the movie. I had not even known her work before she introduced herself on Twitter. Here’s what she did right: she used good Twitter Etiquette. She was polite and had already established somewhat of a “relationship” with me already on Twitter and Facebook before tweeting her request to me about the role in my movie.

A couple of years ago I got a tweet from a woman in Akron, Ohio who was in charge of hair and makeup on a theatre production of A Christmas Carol for a charity which sends kids fighting cancer to summer camp. She was put in a bind by the producer when she was told (two weeks before their preview) that he had NO budget for hair and makeup and that she would have to get it herself…somehow!  She tweeted  asking for donations of hair and makeup for her play.  I contacted her to make sure it was legitimate, then reached out to my makeup connections from my movies and TV shows and in a few days I received a GIANT box from one of my makeup artist friends full of make up, wigs, and facial hair.  Another makeup artist friend hooked up the Ohio woman with a deal from MAC makeup.  Everybody came together in a matter of days…all through the power of Twitter.

OK, so I was now officially hooked!!  Hey, this thing really works! I love how a very large community of strangers became a small community of friends, helping each other. Twitter just made my world a little smaller and I loved it!

Many people mistake Twitter as their own personal P.R. firm and they talk about “me, me, me” all the time. Isn’t it boring to hear someone talking about themselves non-stop? Don’t repeat the same EXACT tweet. It’s against twitter rules and you could be reported & kicked off for spam. For example I always get these kinds of tweets: “@marciliroff are you casting anything?” Then I check the tweeter’s feed and see that they have asked this same question to 50 people. That is considered spam and I block and report them. OR – if you get a tweet like this from someone you don’t know – “@marciliroff check out this link http://blahblah.com”- BEFORE YOU CLICK THE LINK – check out their twitter feed and you will probably see that they’ve sent this same link to hundreds of people. This is spam and you should block and report them.

Think about Twitter (and all Social Media for that matter) as a cocktail or dinner party. Would you barge into a stranger’s house and scream, “Watch my short movie! Here’s the link!” So when you’re approaching a casting director or ANYONE on Twitter and in Social Media, get into the conversation and establish a relationship first before asking any favors. It’s just good manners.

Another gem I want to share that many twitter users don’t seem to know is this. I blogged about this a few months ago and it is hands down the most viewed blog I’ve written. What Everybody Should Know About Twitters Dirty Little Secret. I won’t go into detail here, but as I mention in the blog, you may need to read this a couple of times to fully understand the concept.

Another widely read blog is “10 Things Guaranteed To Get You Unfollowed on Twitter”.

In the beginning you’ll notice that you don’t have many followers. Don’t worry, your twitter follower count will grow when you start following people and get in the conversation. You should also retweet (RT) content that speaks to you and that you think others might benefit from. Thank people for RTing your tweets – it’ll encourage them to RT for you in the future. But it’s really not about your “follow” count. It’s about interaction between you and your followers. It doesn’t matter if you have thousands of followers if you’re not responding to their questions or RTing their content. It’s about joining the Twitter conversation and content is king. I’m not interested in following someone who just blasts out tweets and doesn’t interact with their community.

If you want to learn from some of the best on Twitter, here are some good people to follow to learn more about Social Media.

I’d love to hear (in the comments) how you’re using Twitter (and other Social Media platforms) in your work. Let me know what’s working and what’s not working!

Do you have any questions for me? Feel free to ask them here!

Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can view it on your laptop or your mobile device and your subscription gives you lifetime viewing privileges for this course. I’ll be adding lectures throughout the year.

Glad you’re here!

Marci

 

 

 

 

« 1 ... 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 »