Thank you very much for that exceedingly

long theme song.

Wow.

It's nice to see you while.

Thank you so very much for being here.

I'm Jeffrey Dreisbach.

And you're listening to the podcast,

cassing actors cast the podcast for

actors.

I am thrilled that you are here today.

And I hope that this will be not only

of some fun, but also informative, that

we're going to give you some

information that hopefully you're going

to find useful.

But I have to say that this event would

not be possible at all without the

amazing sponsors backing up this event.

First of all, the Broadway podcast

network.

If you're not familiar, you must be

familiar.

This is Alan seals, head of the

Broadway poscads network, and he is a

sponsor for the show.

And I couldn't be more excited that

he's here.

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00:01:09,69 --> 00:01:13,6

And of course, we have to acknowledge

actor's connection, your link to people

in the industry

linking you and talent to people in the

industry.

I think that that's pretty

amazing that they're supporting this

presentation tonight, so that I hope

it's fun for you.

I also have to say, it's really amazing

to see pants

because I've been seeing people from

the waste up for several months now.

And it's nice to know that people have

like, you know, bodies,

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00:01:37,63 --> 00:01:37,397

you know.

And I'm saying, it's a really, really

good thing.

Because I don't know, have you had this

experience where you are meeting

somebody in the industry, or you're

seeing them after post COVID, and you

say, gosh, I didn't realize that person

was so tall.

Isn't that weird, how that is?

That never used to be a thing,

it's now a thing, I guess.

So today, I thought the subject would

be really helpful, and that is about

mindset, especially when it relates to

auditioning

audition.

Mindset seems to be one of those things

that's really, really important for

actors.

And we all say to ourselves, yeah,

yeah, yeah, that's really important.

But the reality is we don't really, in

my opinion, spend enough time, really, in

investigating

what mindset is for an audition.

I also have to say that I have a couple

of audition stories that actually

happened.

So I'm going to share a couple of

those.

But the person who's seen more

auditions than any human being on the

planet is here.

Pat mccorko, my lovely wife

of 35 years

as here, buccorical casting.

Yeah, she cast me as her husband 35

years ago.

This is an amazing journey.

And right now our office is extremely

busy, which is beats the alternative.

We are doing our 4th hallmark movie.

Yeah, you know, whatever you might

think about hallmark, let me just say a

couple of things.

It is crazy, popular

with people.

People are just like, crazy for this.

our office gets paid well and early.

So

that does count for something.

I also have to say, the thing that I

like most about the project is that,

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in reality,

we have an opportunity to give more

actors that are not necessarily names

opportunities to be in these projects.

And that's really rewarding, that's

really gratifying.

But suffice it to say that all of these

actors have to audition.

And the audition process has changed

dramatically from when I was an actor.

I was an actor for twenty years

before I decided, well here's how this

happened.

The last Broadway show I was in was a

few good men, and I was the original

cast of a few good men.

I did 500 performances.

And when that show closed, two things

were really, really clear.

One is, I had the worst aircut of

anybody in America,

because I played a marine.

I was shaved on the sides.

And then I had this flat top.

I mean, I looked like a cue tip.

And I really knew that at that point I

had to let my hair grow out.

And I also did a couple of weird odd

jobs and things, just to kind of get my

head back.

And that's when pat said to me, why

don't you?

Why don't you join me

in the business?

Why don't you just, you know, she said

honestly, she said, you look like a cue tip.

Why don't you just kind of helped me

out in the office.

And, you know what, I haven't looked

back.

It's been an amazing journey

for transitioning, for being an actor,

to now being into casting.

It's been amazing.

One of the stories I have to tell is

enpat.

You know, I've known her for so many

years now, and one of the things that I

was always struck by is how she really

appreciated actors.

I mean, she really loves actors.

I don't know if you can say that about

every casting director you've ever met.

Sometimes actor seemed to be a means to

an end,

you know, no disrespect intended but

you know what I'm saying, but pat has

always, I mean, she married an actor,

so that gives you some indication of

what she thinks of actors.

And so

we were in the office one day, and she

had just come back from an audition

session.

And I'm looking down

at

her list of all of the actors who

auditioned that day, and right next to

one of the actors, now, she never talks

badly about an actor, ever,

right next to the name was blab

lablatian.

I was like whoa,

I got her.

I got her.

So I picked up the paper and I walked

into her office.

I said,

you say you never talk badly about an

actor.

He'd got blob LA bla written next to

the actor's name,

and she said,

that was the name of the song they sang.

I was in the dog house for a

substantial period of time after that.

So the other audition story is a good

friend of my, Philip Galinsky, he talks

about getting an audition and going.

It was downtown, and it was kind of a

strange situation, but he got an

address to go to this audition.

He goes to the audition,

and

he goes up the four flights of stairs,

or whatever.

And he goes in and strangely, everyone

is like sitting around in, like these

bleacher kinds of situations.

And he kind of was a little late, so he

kind of got in and sat down, and he

says, oh my gosh.

This is kind of weird, because actors

are now standing up and auditioning

in front of everybody else.

That's like, obviously an unequity job,

because you wouldn't be doing that in equity.

But so Philip says, he was like, it

was, like, he was kind of strange.

It was kind of weird.

So one person gets up and starts doing

and does their monologue, and they

start emoting,

and it becomes really emotional, and

he's going, like, what the heck is

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going on?

And then that person sits down, and

everyone applauds and he's like, what's

going on with this person up?

The next person comes up,

starts talking, does their mile along,

very emotional, very highly charged.

Then they sit down and he's like, what

the hell's going on with those people

they're just ridiculous.

And the person says, why are you here?

And he says, well, I'm here for the

audition.

He says, this is an aa meeting.

Auditions are one flied up.

Did you?

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You saw that coming?

I don't know.

Maybe it was in the delivery, I'm not

quite sure.

But, you know, what's amazing is, the

actor's mindset for auditioning is such

an interesting thing to see.

And now, of course, we're doing

everything on self tape.

We're now doing zoom auditions.

And it's challenging in a lot of

respects, because suddenly the actor

has to have all of this technology

right in their head.

They have to know how to do all this

stuff.

And I feel very empathetic towards

that.

I feel

sympathetic for the situation that

actors have to find themselves.

As suddenly you have to be a lighting

designer and a scent designer, and now

you have to know all this up, you know

how to frame yourself, all of that

stuff.

In addition to that, you have to spend

the most amount of time on the most

important thing, which is how you're

going to play the part.

And we compromise ourselves in our

heads.

We say to ourselves,

I don't have this technical thing down,

but I'm going to try and work it out.

And suddenly

it's an hour and a half later,

and you're hungry, you're angry, you're

lonely, and you're tired.

That spells halt.

See what I did just there.

Hungry angry longly tired.

That that means you have to stop.

You have to stop and really take and

assess the situation from a casting

director's point of view.

All we are interested in, I promise

you, it's not your background, it's not

what kind of lighting you have.

It's not the fact that you have a

background that's busy or.

It really comes down to how you are

playing the part.

We need to see you in the role period

end of story.

And what happens, in my mind, based on

the hundreds of submissions that we

get, we see actors that are so

preoccupied with the technical stuff

that that bleeds into their audition.

And so we have to talk about what we

say to ourselves.

I don't think,

as an actor, I just know, I beat the

hell out of myself all the time, after

every audition.

I mean, I would be in the elevator on

the way home, reauditioning in my head

wondering, what did I do in the

audition?

Because I don't quite remember.

I was nervous.

Things were happening.

I didn't know if they liked me or not.

And so that's what I want to change.

I want to change the mindset just a

little bit for yourself.

First and foremost,

I said this to my students, and we have

some students here from my school that

I teach at, which is really awesome.

I'm so glad to see you guys.

Glad you made it.

The thing of it is,

an audition is not an event.

If you make a big deal out of your

audition, you're setting yourself up

for failure.

Why?

Because you're making a big deal out of

it.

You say things to yourself, like, if

you're anything like me, like, if I

don't book this job,

then

I'm less, then then it doesn't, then I

don't belong, then I was wrong.

And that kind of mindset can be very,

very damaging to ourselves.

So an audition is not an event.

Well, then, what is it?

The best way to approach an audition,

in my opinion, is, you treat it

like it's the first day of rehearsal.

Remember when you booked the job

and you showed up on the first day of

rehearsal?

You're kind of like,

nice to meet you.

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Yeah, glad you hear, oh, nice to see

you on board.

You know,

are doing this, like, kind of puffy

thing going on.

And then you have the read through of

the show, and then you're like, yah, I

think this is a pretty good guest.

And you're inside, you're going,

you're so happy.

It's such a joyful experience.

But the more important thing about that

first day

of the rehearsal

is that you're in a collaborative frame

of mind.

You're saying to yourself,

I really like

the idea of me not being less than in

this environment.

I like being a peer.

I like being in equal footing.

And the director is not a parent,

right?

They are there to collaborate with you,

to fulfil the vision of whatever that

project is.

And that, my friends, is what is really

valuable for you.

It's not

tricking yourself psychologically.

It's just reframing

where you are.

Common things that I hear

actors are still doing.

And are you one of these actors?

I wonder what they're looking for.

If I knew what they were looking for,

then I could play that.

Because I'm an actor,

I'm a chameleon.

I'm malleable.

Oh, good word.

Malleable.

I love that.

Every once in a while, a word just

comes out.

I can't help myself.

But being that

person who is investing in what others

are thinking is denying opportunities

and focus and energy on you,

how you are going to play the part.

You see, casting is really an

interesting

job, because in reality, we are there

to fulfill the vision of what that

producer or director is looking for.

That's it?

We are personal shoppers.

We go out and find the right fit, cut,

color fabric.

We bring those choices in, we show the

producer of those choices, and the

producer says, oh, that's

not so much, and that's really, really

good.

And so based on that,

the creativity with casting comes when

we have a producer that says things to

the effect of,

I just want to see good actors.

When the casting

requests are so sort of narrow,

I have to be Frank with you, that's a

little less interesting.

It's still, you know, something we are

obliged to do and do it as well as we can,

but we still have some kind of

malleability

when the director says, or the producer

says, I just want to see good actors in

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the part.

That's when we like, you know, we get

really excited.

That becomes really fun.

So as far as it relates to your mindset

as an actor,

it's what we tell ourselves.

So, saying to yourselves, I wonder what

they're looking for it's just a waste

of time.

Replacing that with the subtext.

I can't wait to show you how I'm going

to play this part,

if that's your subtext.

When you come into the room, you've now

established collaboration

there's a level of energy and

excitement.

And that, my friends, is what puts you

in the best head space for an audition.

And guess what I'm hearing.

Call back,

just like residuals,

right?

Call back.

And that's the gift I think, that you

give yourself.

You see, the reality is the call back

isn't the prize

booking the job isn't the prize.

The prize is showing up,

delivering the goods and saying,

I've done the best I can.

I feel really good about the

interesting choices that I've made.

Because in fact, your uniqueness

is what's going to book you the job.

How you are different, how you are

unique, how you approach the work, if

something that has to be internally so

satisfying

that you can walk away

and then just let it fade away, or

get ready for the callback.

One of those two things,

we know an actor that after every

audition,

especially if it's a callback in its

live, and this is a well known actor,

he'll be done with the sides.

And then as he's walking out of the

room after the audition,

he's ripping up besides and throwing

him in the waist can, it's like, it's

like he has to do it, like a physical

thing, like, thank you very much.

soup sie exits.

Now that sounds really weird, right?

But you know what?

It's so cathartic,

wouldn't you love to have the guts to

be able to do that?

I wouldn't suggest you tried unless you

rehearse that first.

But nevertheless,

so the other reality for acting is the

way that we are perceiving it in self,

tape and on zoom.

And let me just talk a little bit about

the value of that.

Rather than the negative side, we

cannot we get the negative side, that

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interpersonal connection is gone.

Not seeing people wearing pants that's

always sad.

But when we have an opportunity

to see you in a zoom environment, for

example, please understand a couple of

things.

One, I can see more actors in one hour

over zoom

than I could in person.

That means that there's literally more

opportunities being given to actors

because of that that's something to

celebrate, as far as I'm concerned.

Two, you could be anywhere in the world,

and you could be zooming your audition.

That means those opportunities are even

more available to you as a result.

So that's something to celebrate as

well.

I think that actors who have a lot of

theater in their background, a lot of

theater training in their background,

and I see this all the time, there's

this disconnect between your approach

to zoom because of your theater

training, as opposed to really

embracing the zoom environment because

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of film and television.

And approaching it with a film and

television frame of reference is so

much better, as far as I am concerned.

Little things like being asymmetrical

in your frame

that's really important.

There's the camera.

And I'm just slightly off center, and

I'm looking across the lens of the

camera, and I'm putting the other in

the palm of my hand, just that far.

That means I'm not shouting.

If you've ever had somebody say, oh,

it's really easy to act on film and

television, all you do is bring it

down, make it smaller

that's complete nonsense.

You don't make it smaller.

You do everything you need to do as an

actor, but now you're just doing it to

the person that's eighteen inches from

you.

So your energy and your focus and your

concentration.

But being a symmetrical

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guess what?

You're now framing yourself in the way

that you're going to be shot when it's

a film and television show you're

auditioning for.

So embracing the zoom environment as if

it's a film and television audition,

even though it might be for theater,

is just an advantage.

Because you're going to find that when

you're not having to hit the back row

with your voice,

that your energy doesn't have to

penetrate the walls, that it's just

simple right there.

That you're going to find more

interesting choices available to you.

And to me, that's what makes a good

audition on zoom.

And self tape is the same.

There's no real

difference between self tape and zoom

as far as I'm concerned when auditioning.

But again, it's what we tell ourselves

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before we close.

I just do question in answer.

So we have question in just a moment.

But before we close, I just want to

share this with you

it's really

what actors do to themselves.

And I was in this very room,

just so go, because I was doing an epa

for a musical.

And, you know, epa is one person.

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No, sorry.

E, c, c, just singer after singer.

They all come in, they do one song, and

they're gone.

It's like, they all have, like, a

minute.

It sounds exhausting and terrifying,

right?

But for me, I kinda like it.

I'd like, what other job do you have?

Will you get to be entertained at for

eight hours?

You know?

I mean, it makes all of those reality

contest shows ridiculous.

Anyway, so this lovely young girl comes

in and she's smiling and she's very

nice, and she starts singing her

beautiful song, lovely boys.

I'm going, wow, that's really true.

And she hits the money note,

she hits the high note,

and then, boom down, she goes.

She faints,

den away.

I have never I'm like,

what to do?

I mean, so I'm behind the table,

of course, the accompanius is now

picking up the phone and dialing 911.

I'm thinking, why are you dialing 911?

Somebody just faded.

And there's somebody, this was in pearl

studios, like, right here.

And so you could just go and get don't

find somebody at pearl, bring them in.

And of course, I brought water over to

her.

I'm not, and I'm trained in cp.

R.

But I didn't think an audition had to

go that far.

It wasn't, like, in my mind.

So she just took a sip of water, she

regained consciousness, and she just,

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she was so mortified.

She was just like, her life was over,

because em.

And I just reassured her, please,

you have.

I mean, like, you have a lovely voice,

you are really talented.

I just want you to know that

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it was really.

And so she took someone, apparently,

she jest she didn't have any breakfast,

and she was nervous.

And we can fill in those blanks really

easily.

It wasn't her fault, but I'm thinking,

you know,

how did that experience for her end up

afterward?

How did she feel about that afterward?

So I have to tell you that I wrote her

an email,

and I explained to her that these kinds

of things are part of the human condition,

that these things are, although it's

never happen, I was honest.

This has never happened to me before.

Like, I can probably guess it's never

happened to you before.

But I just want you to know it didn't

take away from your wonderful talent

and your beautiful, singing voice.

We have to treat ourselves better.

We have to be good to ourselves.

We have to keep that

part of our talent,

precious

separate away from the noise and take

care of it.

Nurture it.

Feel good about who you are and

how you feel about your work.

The last thing I always say this four

times, the last thing I'm going to say

is, what I really appreciate in any

audition, is when I see the actor bring

the joy of performance into the work,

remembering why you want to do this in

the first place,

if you could make that part of your

process,

I promise you better results.

Because you're going to have the

freedom to create, you're going to have

the freedom to make an impression, and

you're going to show me how you're

going to play the part.

But when you're doing it with joy, you

become somebody that I want to hire.

You become somebody that takes it to

the next level, which is the callback.

And then after that, the booking.

And then after that,

residuals

come on, this giving up for residual

thank you very much.

Everybody.

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Thank you.

Now

it's a little strange, because I'm

really miced up.

I have microphones in just about every

place you could imagine.

And so what I'd like to do is take some