SPECIAL SKILLS

I am 16 and am seriously considering becoming an actress. I've looked at some samples resumes on the internet but have a question. What kind of things count as special skills? I'd to develop some useful ones but am not sure what I should do.

Suzie

Hi Suzie, thanks for checking out my acting tips. You ask a great question. I've never heard of anyone pro-actively aquiring special skills for their resume, but more power to you. People usually brain storm all the things they can do that might be useful to a film or theatre role.

On resumes I come across I see a lot of people listing accents they can do, languages they speak, sports they play, physical abilities such as gymnastics, acrobatics, stage combat or juggling, and also practical things like: (in New York) valid driver's license, valid passport, or any kind of certification or licensing that might come in handy on a film shoot or stage show.

I've heard mixed things from casting directors about the special skills section. Some say they don't put too much thought into it, but I've been called in to auditions for items placed on my special skills section. Accents are big, if you're actively trying to aquire special skills most US actors should be able to do a British accent and most UK actors should be able to do a US accent. Also any kind of physical ability can be listed as special skill, from motorcycle riding to bdoing backflips to being able to whistle the Star Spangled Banner. It might sound silly but a casting director might be on the lookout for actors in your age range who can do all three of things just mentioned.

In terms of developing a strategy to aquire the perfect special skills the only thing I can think of is to do three things: keep researching resumes on the internet to see what people list, watch theatre, film, television, and commericals and take note on the special skills you see the actors possesing, and look at audition notices and breakdowns to see what specials skills casting directors are looking for. Casting directors often list the special skills of roles they are seeking in the breakdown of the roles. Some places to check out online audition notices are Backstage.com and ActorsAccess.com

The general rule for special skills is that they should only cover two lines on your resume, also the last item should be something wacky (and truthful) that gets the reader's attention, i.e. "mother of twelve."

And lastly, never lie in your special skills. You'll eventually be called to perform one of your special skills in an audition. If you list "backflips" and they ask you to do a back flip, everyone will be embarassed.

So in conclusion, to answer your question what counts as a special skill, anything that you can do that you think might be needed in any aspect of performing a role. So pretty much everything counts as a special skill. And if you look at enough resumes you'll see people put down everything to fill out those two lines.

Thanks again for your question and good luck!

TOO MUCH ENERGY

A reader writes:

Hey! I am a Freshmen in high school and am continuing with my passion for
acting. I am taking a theater class and as well as continuing to Theater 2
next year.I have made both the musical and drama this year! We have been
doing an improv unit which I think is AWESOME!!But I tend to get extremely
excited before I act. I am not sure if nerves play a role with this or
affects my performance negatively. I guess I have sooo much energy that
wants to let loose. Plus I love and look forward getting up. I was wondering
if you think that this could hinder my performance in any way, and if there
are any exercises that could help.Or maybe it's okay to feel like that?!

And I say:

Thanks for checking out my Acting Tips page. Congratulations on making it to Theatre 2 with both the musical and the drama.!

I always get nervous getting on stage (or in front of a camera) but after a while you get more comfortable and find ways to get around the jitters. Some people recommend tricks to psyche yourself up--I think Laurence Olivier used to curse out the audience from behind the curtain before he entered--but I think the best way is just to keep getting on stage.

You say you think you might be brining too much energy to the stage. A good director will point it out. In improv its very easy to let it loose be loud and crazy to the point of distracting your castmates and the audience. But I think the number one thing in improv is listening to what is going on in the game or the scene. Try to watch out for talking over another person or doing what the comedy pros call 'showboating," where you take all the attention away from the other performers by performing siomething wild and crazy.

If you like improv because it gives you a chance to yell and run around, I would recommend doing this as an exersize before you perform to get it all out. you really need to be focused on what your castmates are doing so you can react and play off what is presented in the game or scene.

A lot of people are tempted to just be loud. I am guilty of this is as well. Nine times out of ten, this just doesn't work as the performer would like. It's best to hone this energy, but the only thing I can think of is just to keep getting out there.

Also, don't feel bad about having too much energy if you wait and pay attention to what is going on you'll find a way to use it.

Don't do it.

I just got this email a few days ago. An anonymous reader writes...

Hello Jeremiah
I just had a question regarding acting agents. Is there a fee when meeting an agent. I am asking because a guy i met was saying he could introduce me to his agent and all i would have to do is pay a two hundred dollar fee. The guy that I met would also be getting a certain percentage for introducing me to the agent as well. IS THIS TRUE? I am thinking its a scam. What do you think? Please write me back whenever you have the chance. Thank you.

Hello Anonymous Reader,

Yes, this sounds like a scam or at the very least a rip-off. From my experience when people introduce their friends to a talent agent there is no fee. You should never pay an agent money upfront. Talent agents make money from getting their clients work. If they charge you a fee to take you on as a client, you shouldn't trust them. And my theory would be once you forked over this ridiculous amount (two hundred dollars!), the agent would string you along with other fees, like making you get headshots from a friend of his or paying to be in some talent book. Talent agents make money from the money they get for you. So don't pay them unless its a 10% fee from a job they got you.

That being said there are places like Actors Connection in New York City (www.actorsconnection.com) where you can pay to meet talent agents and casting directors. I know this kind of contradicts what I just said, but this is a legitimate business that makes money for having sessions and classes where you pay to meet agents (and its something like $35 a pop). I would never pay an agent or a "friend" directly for such services.

Thanks for your question and save that $200!

Jeremiah

Accents

Hey - could you please help me out with tips and hints on perfecting
accents? All I can do is imitate them, but they are too exaggerated! I NEED
HELP!

Accents aren't my specialty. I think the best way to perfect them is to imitate them until they sound right. That's probably not the answer you wanted to hear. Once I had an audition for an Irish play and I could imitate the accent like you're doing but I didn't feel confident in it. So I went to a bookstore and in the Performing Arts section found a book--I forget the title and I really wish I remember it, for both oursakes. Anyway this book gave very detailed descriptions of the accents and how to position your tongue in your mouth. The note on where to put the tongue in the mouth was very helpful. The book also recommended finding the rhythm of the language and just focus on the rhythm while you're learning the accent. Of course you're going to have to find places to hear the accent as well to get a grip on it. I recommend watching the news of the country where the accent is that you're trying to copy or documentaries made in that country. I wish I remembered the name of that book. Maybe go to a performance arts bookstore and ask if they have a book on accents that gives detailed descriptions on how to form your mouth. You might feel weird, but if they work in a performance arts bookstore they're probably used to it.

Monologue Suggestions

Hi Jeremiah,
I am a person with no little or no experience in the field of acting. I send my CV and headshots to a lot of agents and by sheer luck one of them responded. They asked me to come to an audition on the 1st of April. They asked me to come prepared with an audition piece. This is taking place in London.

Would you have any audition piece with you that I would be able to perform with relative ease bearing in mind that I come from India and have an Asian accent.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please help me.

Thanking You
Sanjay

Hi Sanjay,

I hope you get this in time to be helpful. Congratulations on getting the call from the agent. First of all, the big question is do you want to do a comedic or dramatic monologue. Secondly, you should identify which type of parts you want to play: Leads, character roles, the sad boyfriend, the angry drill sargeant, etc. I would go with something that is at least a little funny if you chose a dramatic monologue because if you can make someone laugh that's a good way to hook them in an audition. Also, don't choose a piece where you're yelling. Nobody likes to be screamed at, especially agents in their offices. And I would also recommend getting a monologue from a play you have read and seen. If you can't think of any plays you know that you want to take monologues from I'd consult a collection of one acts by various authors. Actually, I think the best thing to do is to go to a bookstore that specializes in plays and the performing arts. Tell one of the bookstore people that you're looking for a monologue. Ask if they recommend an anthology of one-act plays that have good monologues. The person will probably ask you what type of monologue you are looking for. Tell them what type of roles you see yourself being good at and ask if they know of any monologues that would be good for those parts. I know you probably wanted me to mention a specific monologue but I can't think of one. Some people think that collections of monologues are a bad source, I don't think so if you can make it sharp. But you should know the play. I hear a lot of people recommend the Humana Play Festival Anthologies for monologues. It's a one-act play festival done by the Actor's Theatre of Louisville. Best of luck!

Jeremiah

Getting a Job Abroad

Hey there,
My name's Alex, I'm in high school and I live in Australia.

I was wondering if you knew whether or not an agency would be able to assign me a role for somewhere overseas e.g. America? Or would I have to move over there and find an agent there?

I don't have an agent as I am only just beginning to prepare a resume, but in the future I intend on pursuing my career over there. I know it will be difficult so I was just wondering, do you have any tips for me? Anything is greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much,
Alex.

Hi Alex,

Greetings to you and your fair country. You bring up an interesting career issue. A lot of actors do very well when they travel other countries. But it's a lot harder to move from Australia to Los Angeles than it is to move from Chicago to Los Angeles. You asked if you could an agent to cast you in a US acting job. This would be the best possible thing to happen to you. It's a longshot but not impossible. Basically if you want to get into the biz in the United States, there are a couple different ways, in my limited knowledge, I think you can go about it.

Option 1. A lot of American film companies shoot movies in Australia. Do some homework and find out who's doing this. You can research this by reading the American Trade magazines like Variety or Hollywood Reporter. When you find out what American movies are shooting around you find out who's casting them. Then send them your headshot, resume, and a cover letter saying who you and that you are local and that you would like to audition for them.

Option 2. Move to the United States and pound the pavement with the rest of. I don't recommend this. You need to finish High School and go to college or have some other post college education, you might want to do that in the US to get a grip on how things work here while in the comfort of an education atmosphere.

You asked if you could get a US agent from Australia who then could get you a job here. You could mail US agents your headshot but I think this is a long shot. Agents are salesmen and like to meet and get to know the people they sell. If you're based in Australia I would try to get a relationship going with a local agent and stress your interest in going to the States. Or save up some money and come to study here for a little while.

Any tips? Let' see. Work on your American Accent. Get the regions down. Work on a Midwest accent, this is the accent that most movie leads speak in, like Hugh Jackman and Mel Gibson. It's seen as kind of neutral. Work on a southern accent, the slow drawl and the faster drawl. The Southern accent is probably the second most popular one. Get some monologues with these accents and really get good at them. Build up your resume and get a decent headshot. If you have your accents, your monologues, and your headshot and resume, you're ready to at least audition and this will start to take you where you want to go.

Good luck and thanks for writing.

Paying to Find An Agent

A reader asks:

I want to know if I can find an agent by paying? And if yes what website would you consider?

My answer:

Thanks for the question. I'm going to contradict myself but here it goes. Generally it's bad news if an agent asks for money when they first meet you whether its to be in their bogus talent book or insist you have headshots taken by a friend of their's (where you pay the agent the money for the headshot--lots of agents can refer people to good photographers where you just deal with the photographer). I would steer clear of these types. They are bogus.

There are however places like Actors Connection in New York where you can pay to meet an agent. Usually this costs about $30 for a "seminar." You shouldn't go into these things thinking you are going to walk out with an agent but rather that you are expanding your network of people you can contact with career updates. Actors Connection's website is www.actorsconnection.com

There are other similar places where you can pay to meet an agent or casting director. Youg et five minutes to read sides, do a monologue, or chit chat. I think this is sleazy but you do get to meet the agent face to face and ask them questions. This is the only instance where I would pay to meet an agent.

Unfortunately, the best way to pay for an agent is to buy research materials, do you homeowrk, find out which agents are looking for what, and keep in contact via mail as to what you're doing.

There is no website where you can plop down $300 and wwalk away with an agent and if there were it would be a scam (a very profitable scam). Agents gain their street cred by the quality of talent they represent. If they started representing people because they could pay a fee, casting directors aren't going to waste their time auditioning their clients.

If you're deadset on getting an agent (as you should be) I would use a multi-pronged approach. If you're in new York, I'd check out actors connection. I'd get Ross Reports and mail your headshot and resume to every agent in their who interests you. If the agent's listing says no dropoffs or visits, drop by their office and quickly and politely drop off a headshot. Keep track of who you've sent your headshot to and every month or so send them updates as to what shows you are and any callbacks you have recieved.

Ross Reports is a little magazine that lists agents and casting directors in New York, LA, and some other cities.

Thanks for your question and good luck!

Jeremiah