YOU HAVE TO SHOW THE WORLD YOUR WHEELHOUSE

 

Please write it down again, especially the new folks: My choice of material speaks before I do. In this world of self-records, formerly known as “Self-tape”, but there’s been no tape for 30 years! My lighting speaks before I do. My background speaks before I do. Before you even open your mouth, we make a decision, based on what we’re looking at. Think about what buddy looked like at the beginning of the scene and then when he lost lights in the background, he looked like he had never been on camera in his life. We know him and we know what happened, but guys, you get to cast yourself in the material that you pick. Cast yourself with microscopic precision. If you’re playing “Well, yeah, it’s not really how I would be cast, but I like it! I go: “that’s called community theatre. That’s called community theatre.” You have to show the world your wheelhouse. You can do 3,4,5,6, we talk about having 6 monologues, couple of songs in there or more, but each one has to be a perfect fit, because if it’s not a perfect fit, you’re not a precise storyteller and now it looks amateurish and that’s the difference. That’s the difference. You know, folks, to work particularly in film and tv, but also on Broadway. I’ve coached people that have made $20,000-$30,000 a week on Broadway. Your specificity is proportional to your pay scale.