Acting Class by Milton Katselas

Several weeks ago, I was approached with an offer I could not refuse. I was asked to review a new book by legendary acting teacher Milton Katselas. I was out of town when the book arrived and did not have a chance to read it till several days ago.

But then… I was sitting on my couch reading when news came to me that Milton had died that previous day at the age of 75.  It was a weird feeling reading a book that is so vibrant and full of life and knowing that the author had just died. It would have been even worse if the book had stunk. Thank God, it didn’t.

Here is the review of Acting Class.

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An Evening with… Tamara Hunter

Tamara Hunter, a casting associate with Sarah Finn, has worked on some huge films. Iron Man and W ring a bell?

There wasn’t much we learned (she likes to do the work and get out we think - which is great) but here are a few tidbits:

- She’s from the Bay area and went to UCLA.
- She likes postcards

- You can do dropoffs but thinks they are to expensive (especially with gas being so expensive right now) Since film is much slower, she just recommends mailing your headshot.

Managers, managers, managers

We don’t usually do this but Backstage has this article on when to get a manager and thought it might be timely to write about this.

Several of us here have had managers throughout our career.  For some, the relationship has been great. They formed a working and fruitful partnership where they could hone their craft while the manager developed them on the business side. Together they went and found a great agent and all three are still working together to this day.

For others (me, the writer) it has been utterly disastrous. My last manager was the classic “all talk, no action.” I won’t go into specifics here because that’s not what this column is about (but if you want to know who this awful person is, send us an e-mail) but always be wary with who you partner up with. You might be the greatest person in the world but if your manager is abrasive and hated, guess what? You might be put into that category as well simply because casting and agents don’t want to deal with your people.

Check out the article. It’s informative and a must read! Backstage Manager Interviews

An Evening With… Lisa Essary

Lisa Essary currently works with Heidi Levitt on feature films. She is currently working on the film, Vivaldi. When she isn’t working with Heidi, she moves to other offices…but she always carries her workshop files with her!

Background: While in New York attending graduate school, someone asked her to help them cast a Coen Brothers film. After that, she then went to commercial casting while also casting student films at night.

She was then offered a chance to cast a pilot for Dreamworks which brought her out to LA where she finally landed with Heidi Levitt. (She’s also worked with Danny Goldberg).

An Evening With… Marlo Tiede (Donna Rosenstein Casting)

Marlo Tiede (formerly Hughling) runs her workshops like an audition - the only way you’ll get a redirect is if you earn it.  She wants you to make a choice - if not, she won’t redirect you.  She has also been known to ask what the objective is in the scene.

If you get an audition for any of her shows, you must know the tone of it. Read more

Amy Lyndon’s Advice to Actors on Cold Reading & Booking Jobs

When you are starting out in your career, you must first understand that it is a career, not a job. Your job is to work your career. A career spans a lifetime and the only way that you will fail, is if you quit. With that said, make sure you think of yourself as if you are in training for the Hollywood Olympic Committee. You need to practice everyday. Go out on as many auditions as possible so that you become an expert at booking. Learn how to work a room. Learn how to work your techniques. Learn how to book. Keep your work simple.

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An Evening With… Orly Sitowitz

Orly Sitowitz (Painkow/Sitowitz Casting) told a story about having to find and book an actor on July 4th to work on a film in New Orleans that next day. The previous actor had to drop out and they were in a major panic.

She looked through her workshop files and because the actor had his phone number on his resume, he booked the part and was on a plane at midnight (read our previous article on phone numbers on your resume).

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Resumes: The Phone Number Dilemma

Ever since I moved to LA, I’ve always been told never to put your phone number on your resume.

I could totally understand part of the logic. You don’t want your number to fall into the hands of some deranged whacko. There are thousands of stories of headshots ending up in strange places. Back in 2003, a casting director was found to have sold “left over” womens headshots on EBay (you can read about it here).  Even today on EBay, I found this auction - click here.  It’s crazy.

I could even understand it from my agents point of view - they don’t want casting directors to call you directly. It could take away part of their income and you could potentially lose money if you negotiate with them for a booked job. Of course, they tell you the latter. It’s really all about the money they are losing!

So, I kept it off.  Until I took a workshop with a popular casting director.

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