Are you ready to rock?

Posted on 16. Dec, 2009 by sethcaskey.

Ask yourself honestly, Am I ready to rock?

• There’s no wrong answer to this question!
• We are all at different levels in our careers. Know that everyone is growing at his/her own pace and be honest with yourself about where you are.
• Are you ready to work now?
  • If you have never seen Rachel McAdams taped audition for The Notebook - watch it now. She was ready to work.

Use workshops as a chance to shine

• Pick the best material to showcase your primary type
• Consider cold-reading training

Consider audition training

• Holly Powell Studios
• Margie Haber Studios (I have not personally studied with Margie, but have several friends who have and have great things to say about her audition class)

iPhone version of video

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Do your homework

Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by sethcaskey.

Where to go?

Following is a partial list of places where you can take casting director workshops. There are dozens of workshop locations in Los Angeles. Each has their own unique format and membership requirements.

• The Actor’s Key (in the interest of full-disclosure – I work here)
• AIA Studios
• Act Now!
• Actor’s Co-Op Group
• One on One Productions
• Talent To Go
• SAG Foundation Casting Access Project (free to SAG members! Frequency restrictions do apply, so check out their site for more info. I work here too.)

Talk with your friends about where they go

• Check with people in class, on set or online
• Showfax discussion board
• Hollywood Happy Hour

Find out about fees

• Prices can range from $35 – 50+ per workshop
• See if there is a discount for purchasing multiple workshops at once
• Ask about any membership fees

Ask about an audit

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Why Workshop?

Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by sethcaskey.

For the Actor

• start building relationships with casting offices
• showcase your craft
• meet other actors

For the Casting Director

• start building relationships with actors
• replenish their supply of trusted talent
• additional income

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Man, I was way off…

Posted on 25. Nov, 2009 by sethcaskey.

I had an audition last Friday, and in my opinion – did not do a good job.

“A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing.”

I had just been given a Glengary opportunity, and I did not feel like a closer.

I called my manager, to let her know the audition was over, and as best I could said, “It was great.”

“Ok, well I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from them.”

I love her attitude.  She’s so caring, optimistic and unflappable.

No less than an hour later my phone rings, and sure enough it’s her letting me know that they put a pin in me, and that we should know on Monday whether or not I had booked the part. WHAT?! Seriously?

My self-doubting mind immediately kicked in, and I replayed the audition over-and-over again. Each time, I felt like I could have done so much better.

Flash forward to Monday afternoon when my phone rings again and it’s Tina letting me know that I had in fact booked the job and will shoot the week after Thanksgiving. After calling my wife, and doing the Balki Bartokomous Dance of Joy, I stopped to think about what had just happened and came to the following conclusions:

• We’re our toughest critics. As actors, we are not qualified judges of our own work. It’s impossible for us to be objective.
• As much as we may think that we have it figured out – there really is no telling what “they” are looking for.
• When we stay present, and go with whatever moment presets itself – we open ourselves up to let something greater come out.

So with tomorrow being Thanksgiving there is so much to be thankful for. One is for the many relationships that I have built over the last two years working at The Actor’s Key. Those relationships are no doubt what got me in the door, and I can only imagine what helped me book the role.

The journey up until now has been exciting, frustrating, thrilling and exhausting. I have wanted to quit and throw in the towel many more times that I’d like to admit. But just like 2009 -I’m not dead yet.

Happy Thanksgiving, and next week I start a new video series on Casting Director Workshops and how to make the most of them as an actor.

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2009: I’m not dead yet…

Posted on 19. Nov, 2009 by sethcaskey.

42 days and counting.

That’s how long we have until it becomes 2010. (Which raises the question is two-thousand-ten OR twenty-ten?) Verdict still out.

Anyway, a friend of mine posted to Twitter a few weeks ago that he was disappointed that he hadn’t reached one of his goals for 2009. Now granted it was a lofty one, but an attainable one none the less.

My first response was to say, “2009′s not over yet. There’s still time.”

That was met with a, “Yeah, but it’s not likely to happen.”

Grrrrr…..

One of my favorite things to do over the holidays is to sit down and write out my goals for the coming year. I buy a new notebook, get a new pen (I’m a bit of an office supply nerd) and spend a couple days thinking through the areas of my life and come up with goals I want to accomplish.

A few days ago I went back and looked over those that I set for 2009 to see how I am doing. (I try and do this at least once a quarter to stay on track)

I opened them up and realized that it’s November and I haven’t yet reached many of them. Most of them are acting related, and when it comes right down to it, I really have no control over. I can’t “make” someone hire me for a “minimum of one co-star role on an episodic television show.”

So what’s my point?

2009 is NOT DEAD YET!

While there may only be a few short weeks left, why not close out this year with a bang. Why not hunker down and spend the next 42 days taking some specific steps to achieve one of your goals.

You may not reach it, but I guarantee the New Year’s mojito will taste much sweeter knowing that in these last 42 days you really did something and “mint” it.

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