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WHY TABLE READS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS AUDITIONS

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By Marci Liroff

I’ve seen actors win big at the table read, and I’ve also seen them get fired. It can be an exhilarating and dangerous place.

A table read is when actors sit around tables in a large room (or sometimes your living room!) and read through the script aloud. Each person plays a different role, and sometimes they play several roles. We have table reads for a few different reasons. When we’re trying to get the project off the ground, we invite investors and put together our favorite actors to help sell the material. Sometimes the writers and the creative team need the screenplay read so that they can hear how it plays. They often invite other writers so that they can discuss it after and do a “punch-up” for dialogue or for comedy. When I’m casting a feature film or television project, we invite the newly cast actors to a table read for the creative team, along with the studio and network executives. These readings can be very scary for the actor—even if she’s already been cast.

Years ago we had an all-star table read with the main actors, a superstar producer, the president of the studio, and all the executives, along with our director and writer. The hot young love interest of our lead female actor arrived wearing a baseball cap slung low over his eyes. I knew that he was somewhat new to this experience, so I suggested that he take off his cap when we did the reading so that we could see his face. Our director also told him to take off his cap and spoke to each actor to make sure they acted at “performance” level during the read-through. Our producer had some of the best weekly read-throughs on his series, so we knew his expectations would be huge.

Sure enough, our guy didn’t heed our advice, kept his hat on, and mumbled through the script at half-volume. Not only could you not hear him, he was basically just reading the lines—no intention or character choices. I think fear gripped him. Sadly, I knew he’d be replaced by the end of the day and started going through my mental Rolodex for choices to cast instead. As I suspected, the producer and director came up to me afterward and asked me with whom we’d replace him.

Another actor I asked to help us out at a table read made disparaging comments about the material in front of the writers, studio executives, and producers. She was not asked back and will most likely never be hired there again.

On another film, we weren’t fully cast but we staged a table read to hear if the material was working, using all the actors we had cast thus far. It was voiceover for animation, and one role was particularly difficult to cast. I knew we weren’t going to persuade the actor I wanted to audition for the part; I couldn’t get the studio to just make him a straight offer. I convinced the actor and his agent to take a leap of faith and help us out with our table read—knowing that if everyone liked him he would probably end up getting the part. Sure enough, he was brilliant and they offered him the role.

So many things can be tricky on a film. You always want to serve the material and be your very best. You never know.

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.

Please share your comments/stories on table reads. We’d love to hear your experiences

Glad you’re here – Marci

HOW TO LEARN TO LOVE SELF-TAPING

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By Marci Liroff

Self-taping your auditions—it’s all the rage. We ask you to self-tape your auditions for several reasons. Sometimes we can’t audition you live due to simple logistics: I’m in Los Angeles and you’re in Sydney, Australia. Or it’s an open call situation and we want to discover someone new and audition the masses (like the new “Star Wars” movie). I’ve also noticed several casting directors using the self-tape as their pre-read. Instead of having the actor come into their office to pre-read for them, they’re asking for self-tapes only. For me, if I’m in the same town as you are, I’d rather have you come into my office so that I can work with you.

Apparently the whole notion of not only having to act in a scene, but direct, be the grip, gaffer, and editor is a daunting task for some. I want to urge you to get comfortable with this because it has become a necessary part of the audition process these days. We’ve all heard how Eddie Redmayne self-taped his audition for “Les Misérables” on his iPhone. There are literally hundreds of these stories out there.

Several of my coaching clients and actors I’m auditioning have expressed a paralyzing fear of making these self-tapes. This surprises me because I thought being in control of the situation would be freeing—unlike in the audition room, where so many elements are out of your control. You can do as many takes as you like until it’s something you’re happy with submitting. Here are a few ways to keep self-taping from being overly stressful.

Identify what’s scaring you.
Is it the technical aspects of actually making a good-quality audition? OK, that’s easy to fix. You can spend some time learning how to do it by practicing with your camera, lighting, and a scene partner during downtime, when there isn’t the urgency of a deadline for an audition. I blogged about the technical aspects of self-taping a while ago, and it’s still one of my most-read blog posts.

Know thyself.
If you simply aren’t good at technical issues and have no interest in learning, how about taking that aspect out of the equation? It’s easy to find a friend or a service that can tape you professionally so that all you have to think about is being the actor.

You’re lost/a perfectionist/too many choices.
Next to getting thrown by the tech issues, the actors I’ve talked to say they tend to shut down when faced by the void that exists when you don’t have a casting director or director in the room to guide you through the scene. Yes, this can be daunting, but remember that it’s a level playing field because everyone is dealing with the same issue and we understand that. On the other hand, this frees you up to make your own choices and put your personal and singular stamp on the role. We want to see what you bring to the role, and nothing better shows us your instincts than the choices you make from these tapes.

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.

Please share your comments on self-taping and how you overcome any problems you’ve experienced!

Glad you’re here – Marci

 

HOW TO BECOME A MASTER SLATER

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By Marci Liroff

I’m seeing an epidemic of extremely uncomfortable actors in casting offices across the globe. Actors who are seemingly adept at tackling Shakespeare to Mamet have one major problem—slating. One would think, “My gosh, how hard could it be? You just say your name, height, representation, and whatever other info is asked of you.” Yet, time and time again I see actors tripped up by this simple task. Grown men brought to their knees by merely having to say their name to the camera.

Let me help you be a pro. Instead of standing there and feeling like you’re naked and the skin on your face is being peeled back, try slating as your character. As an actor, it’ll give you something more to grab on to.

I’ve talked to several actors about this phenomenon and they tell me that standing there just being themselves is sometimes too intimate for them to handle. They feel vulnerable and miss the security of being able to slip into another’s skin to play a character. They feel silly and awkward and it shows.

If you’re self-taping, follow the directions exactly. For my office, we ask for a full body shot, so make sure your camera is far enough away from the actor to be able to pan down from their head to their feet in one shot. If they ask for a profile make sure to do that as well. Then come back up to the actor’s face in a medium close-up (chest up) and look right at the camera and state your name, height, present location (i.e. I want to know if I’ll need to fly you out from Kansas if that’s your location), if you can be considered a local hire, and your representation. Many casting offices ask for your age but, truth be told, that’s actually illegal. If you’re under 18 and a minor you should state that. Likewise if you’re under 18 but can work as “legal 18” we need to know that.

Keep the audition scenes separate from your slate.

Make sure to keep your slate as a separate scene and not roll right from your slate into the scene—that signals an amateur.

Nowadays, many casting offices already have your profile page set up online ahead of time so you don’t have to slate. Nonetheless, it’s a good skill to develop so that you’re comfortable with it.

Australian actor Lucy Fry, whom I cast in the upcoming film “Vampire Academy,” is probably one of the best “slaters” I’ve ever seen. She seems self-assured, confident, and truly connects with the camera. She shared her process with me. “It’s the only chance you ever get to look directly at the lens, so I try to channel the energy of the character with warmth and confidence so the people watching it can see the way the character sits in me through the eyes. I try to let myself be seen without pushing a fake smile or worrying about what anyone thinks. I am nervous, so I take a breath before I speak and wait a microsecond to feel ready to speak so I am not rushing into it. I guess I treat it like a scene. I try to fill it with the same energy that I would any action as the character because focusing on energy, the breath, and the character makes it feel easier.

Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can take 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.

Please share your comments on slating and how you overcome feeling awkward!

Glad you’re here – Marci

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