Blog

Embracing the Future as a Graduating Young Actor and Keeping the Freak Outs to a Minimum By Becky Keeshin So it’s happening. It’s finally happening. I am a Young Actor. As I lay here in bed at 1 a.m. in New York City, awaiting my senior showcase at DePaul and anxiously recalibrating the recent auditions I’ve been on (how could I have taken direction in a different way, what was…

Acting Skills are Life Skills.Youth acting classes can make a difference! by Sarafina Vecchio Sarafina Vecchio has been working as a performer and teaching artist in Chicago for over 20 years. She holds a Post Graduate Award in Teaching Shakespeare from The University of Warwick, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, in Coventry, England. She also earned a Bachelor’s from Roosevelt University and studied classical acting at Richmond College in London. Sarafina…

6 Tips to Help You Memorize Your Lines by Christy Arington As an actor who does a lot of Shakespeare, I’m often asked the question, “How do you memorize all of those lines?” I’ve found that there are a lot of different techniques that can help you along the path of memorization and believe me, I’ve tried them all. There are a few sure tricks that I can suggest that…

The life of an actor can be exhausting. Auditions, classes, rehearsals, performances, day jobs, relationships, families, pets…sometimes it can be overwhelming. It’s natural that sometimes, we all have thoughts of quitting the business. Gina D’Ercoli offers some insight for those times when you feel like quitting. When You Feel Like Quitting by Gina D’Ercoli Quit for awhile.  See if you miss it.  See if you don’t. Quitting isn’t the end…

   7 Apps For Actors Cell phones. We all have them and we all spend a lot of time on them. In this crazy world of technology, why not use your phone to stay better organized, to learn lines or even rehearse with a partner.  As actors, our lives can get quite frenzied. These 7 Apps for Actors can help you achieve your goals and stay on top of your…

ADR – What the heck is that? By Dave Leffel One of the biggest loves of my job is simply telling people just how we get stuff done. Now I know I am not the only audio guy around, so my opinion and work practices may very well differ from someone else’s. However, with 27 years under my belt, I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of…

8 Tips for Finding Great Monologues by Studio Director Rachael Patterson As an actor, there are aspects of your career in which you are in the driver’s seat and many variables that are completely out of your control.  Your training, education, professionalism, work ethic, headshots, resume, and monologue selection are variables that you can control.  And while finding great monologues is essential, finding material that speaks to you, is age-appropriate,…

How To Rock Your Performance (or audition) With A Sore Throat!  by Kate DeVore You have an audition at 2:00pm and your throat is sore. You have a performance later that night and you’re worried that you might lose your voice. What do you do? Kate DeVore, a speech pathologist and dialect coach extraordinaire, has some useful tips for helping with that pesky sore throat. Performing When You’re Hoarse or…

It’s All In The Timing Advice for the Commercial Audition by Matt Miller Commercial copy is intensely structured stuff and actors often don’t realize how they can use the structure of the commercial to their advantage when preparing their commercial audition. Fun fact: a broadcast TV commercial—and this is a notable designation as commercials made for the internet do not have the same rules—must fit into a very rigid running…

10 Tips for Getting Representation by Studio Director Rachael Patterson Do your homework like a pro & make agents notice!   1. Do your homework. Every franchised SAG-AFTRA talent agency has a website. Read what they’ve written about their agency, then look at the actors they represent. Do you see anyone who looks like your “type?” If you can, look at that actor’s resume and see where they have trained,…