Acting: When is it Time to Quit? How long is too long to pursue an acting career? (By Carmichael Phillips) How many years should an actor wait for their big break before…

“I was auditioning a lot and waiting for other people to give me a chance. And now, with the internet and all these other outlets, you can write your own things and act…

The Callback is Not the Time for Experimenting Why tinker with a winning formula? (By Jim Webb) The callback is not the time to start taking chances. Unless otherwise instructed, try to do…

How to Audition When You Know the Role Has Already Been Cast You still have an opportunity to introduce people to you and your art (By Carmichael Phillips) One of the hardest things…

What is a “Background Actor”? (By Tonya Tannenbaum) A “background actor” is an actor who performs in view of, but usually away from, the foreground, in a non-speaking or non-singing capacity. Commonly referred…

“Auditioning sucks hippo d@#k. Everybody knows it and no one will say it. It’s the worst part of the business. If there were a way to do it better, we would have figured…

Don’t just pursue an agent. Study the craft. Do good work. Then, invite them to pursue you. (by Jim Webb) Pursuing a talent agent is one of the more unsavory, yet necessary, aspects…

Don’t focus on HOW you say your lines. Focus on WHY you say your lines. Once you understand your character’s “why”, you will naturally emphasize words based on that “why” (by Tonya Tannenbaum)…

What are “Sides? (by AM Staff)   The term “sides” usually refers to a small section of a larger script, used by casting directors to audition actors for a role that must be…

“If you want to work on anything, just work on being a better actor. Stardom? You don’t have any control over that. You may think you do, but you don’t. If you can…

Actor Stories: How Luke Perry Almost Gave Up on Acting. “Literally within a week, he was getting ready to go back to Ohio and join the fire department.” (Arranged by AM Staff) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________…

Find Your Paragon Actor Don’t Be A Boat Without a Sail (By Jim Webb) It is difficult to achieve any big dream. It is especially difficult to be a successful actor. Consider this:…

  What is an “Obstacle”? (By Tonya Tannenbaum) In acting, an obstacle is a person or object that stands in the way of the character achieving his or her objective. Obstacles can also…

“Don’t give up. Whatever you do. Just don’t give up, okay? It took me ten years to get on SNL. I walked around and no one knew who I was. Then I got…

Being-in-the-moment “Being-in-the-moment”, usually refers to the abstract event when an actor feels genuinely connected to their character. (by Tonya Tannenbaum) ____________________________________________________________________________ “Being-in-the-moment”, usually refers to the abstract event when an actor feels genuinely…

Booking Ratio (by Darryl Green) A “Booking Ratio” is a two-number combination that represents the number of bookings an actor receives, relative to the number of auditions the actor went on in the…

  Check your ego at the door, but always bring your confidence into the audition room. And bring lots of it! The audition process, in many ways, is like the job interview process….

“Do not run for the sake of running or suffer for the sake of suffering. You must not act in a generalized way, for the sake of action. You must act with a…

Why Natural Actors Still Need Training While an actor might be a natural performer, he or she is also a human being. (Jim Webb) ____________________________________________________________________________ Training is vital to the actor’s life. Being…

Actor Stories: Jenna Fischer’s First Day in LA, as an Aspiring Actress It was my first day in Los Angeles and everything felt perfect. Then, nothing happened for six years. (Arranged by AM…

The Super-Objective Unlike short-term or moment-to-moment objectives, the super-objective influences and guides the character’s actions throughout the entire course of the story. (By Tonya Tannenbaum) ____________________________________________________________________________ The “Super-Objective” is the primary goal that…

    “There’s a wide, wide, wide river of actors and actresses. But there’s only a tiny pond of real talent.” (Charles S. Dutton)   ____________________________________________________________________________ Dutton went on to explain: What I…

The Unbroken Line. When this line is broken, Stanislavski believed, the actor gets “lost” in the role, the life of the character “stops” and the actor loses the overall thrust of the character….

Don’t Be Afraid to Politely Ask for an Audition Do-Over The goal is not to be nice, the goal is to leave the audition room feeling good about the performance you put on…

  Continuity (by Tonya Tannenbaum) ____________________________________________________________________________ Continuity, as it relates to on-camera acting, is the effort to create the illusion of one continuous time and space, even though the process of filming the…

Atlanta is Becoming the Hollywood of the South If you’re an actor who lives in Atlanta, it may no longer be necessary for you to move to Hollywood to elevate your acting career….

Quote of the day: “You might sometimes act badly, sometimes only satisfactorily (it often depends on your inner mood), but you should always act truthfully.” (Mikhail Shchepkin) _____________________________________________________________________ Brief Bio The “father of…

What is a “Backstory”? (by Tonya Tannenbaum) _____________________________________________________________________ In acting, creating a “backstory” generally refers to the process of inventing details about the history of the character’s life, where those details are not…

  Actor Stories: Charles S. Dutton Charles S. Dutton began his amazing acting career in “the hole”, a tiny, urine-infested, concrete box, reading his first play using light that seeped from under the…

Actor Stories: Tyler Perry Tyler Perry, the actor/director/playwright, proves that you can go from broke, homeless dreamer to Hollywood Mogul if you believe in yourself and never stop trying. (by AM Staff) ____________________________________________________________________________…

Local Hire Can Mean Playing with Fire Why risk it? It’s probably much safer to get creative about discovering new acting opportunities where you live. (by Tonya Tannenbaum) ________________________________________________________________________________ Having family or friends,…

7 Basic Facts About Konstantin Stanislavski Whether you are “Meisner” or “Method” or draw influence from the teachings of Stella Adler, Uta Hagen or others, you are likely studying an offshoot of Stanislavski’s…