Brooke Thomas & Mary Egan continued (page one)
What should actors be wary of when paying for seminars with casting directors, and what can they realistically expect?
Brooke & Mary: Any advertised class that promises to “make you a star” is way high on the cheese factor. Avoid them. You should always ask around and get opinions of what are the best seminars and classes to attend and they’re often smaller classes like ours. Always ask if you can audit the class. If not, you can ask for references. Often, the best way to find a great class is through word of mouth.
Do you open unsolicited headshots? Should actors do large mailings to commercial casting directors, or is it better to target commercial agents with mailings?
Brooke & Mary: We read all our mail. Actors should target both casting directors and agents with mailings. Target a little of both, no need to go crazy trying to send something to everyone in one mailing. Here’s what we suggest. Send to five casting directors and 5 talent agents every week. Keep a record of whom you are sending to and follow up with a postcard every 30 days.
Everyone’s always talking about “trends” in the commercial world. Can you catch us up on the latest trends?
Brooke & Mary: As mentioned, the commercial trend is for “real” looking people. But we would also add that the industry wants people with improvisation skills. If you haven’t taken an improv class, now would be the time to do it. Improv skills free you up from self-consciousness and provide the ability to make quick decisions in support of the copy. When it’s good, this is sort of the X-factor that wins the hearts of directors in viewing call-back auditions.
It’s often hard for an actor to decide where to spend their time and energy. Should an actor target commercial work to the exclusion of other kind of acting work, or is it important to commercial industry folks to see that the actor is also pursuing stage and legit work?
Brooke & Mary: It is very important to pursue a variety of acting work. Keep working however and wherever you can. The old adage that “work begets work” is true. When it rains, it pours! It’s annoying to listen to actors complain about the lack of work and then turn down extra work because it’s not the type of acting they want to do. We know several actors who have done extra work and made important connections on the set that has led them to lucrative jobs.
Lots of actors feel that talking into a camera about a product feels “phony”. Is there a way to get more comfortable with that?
Brooke & Mary: This is something we deal with in our class and we provide techniques to overcome it. Suspension of belief happens to a viewer watching an actor, and it follows that an actor needs to suspend his or her belief when acting in the context of promoting a product. Hawking a brand may not be the most artful thing an actor can do, but there is exceptional skill in the act of doing it successfully.
A guy I knew used to memorize commercials and practice them by saying them into his mirror. Do you recommend that?
Brooke & Mary: Only for extreme narcissists. We don’t recommend that. Commercial copy is always changing. It can change in the middle of your audition and you need to respond freely to that. Use the cue cards. That is what they are there for. Secondly, reciting copy into the mirror is the worst thing you can do. In order to succeed in commercials you must develop the ability to get out of your own head and stop being self-conscious. Looking at yourself in a mirror promotes self-judgment and memorizing locks you into something that often changes at a casting.
What are the biggest mistakes people make when they walk into a commercial audition?
Brooke & Mary: Not listening and sensing the scene. So many times actors come in to audition and they are so nervous or excited that they completely miss any direction that is given to them. Acting is just as much about listening as it is about speaking your lines. Pay attention and get a sense of the copy, consider the brand, watch the temperament of the casting director, and listen to his or her direction and suggestions.
What’s the most audacious choice an actor has made in your audition room that won him/her a commercial job?
Brooke & Mary: Talented actors, many of whom have improvisation training, have sealed the deal with something additive to the copy when reading in an audition. That is why we recommend improvisation classes to all our students. Improv gives you the confidence to make daring choices and commit to them. To be sure, it’s a risk to go off the copy with an improvisation that an actor thinks improves his chances of getting the job, because they can fail. But without the risk there’s less reward.
Brooke Thomas
Brooke joined House’s on-camera division in 2002. She brought to the team a decade of experience she amassed as a casting director at Liz Lewis Casting Partners, where she was responsible for casting campaigns for the likes of Diet Coke, Verizon, and Volkswagen, as well as correspondents for The Daily Show. Brooke also teaches an on-camera commercial class—with House colleague Mary Egan—tapping into the city’s undiscovered talent. In 2005, Brooke appeared as a guest casting director on Martha Stewart’s version of The Apprentice, hosted and moderated panel discussions at the first New York Television Festival, and was recently featured on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.
Mary Egan
Mary came to the commercial division of House in 2004 with eight years of casting experience in New York. She has cast independent features and television shows, including MTV’s Damage Control. And she’s worked on the other side of the camera, too, offering casting advice on E! and the Learning Channel. Her expertise is in comedy, and often it’s the so-far undiscovered students in the commercial acting classes she teaches—in a side project with House colleague Brooke Thomas—who book the commercials she casts.
What did you think of this interview? Let us know.
Feedback@actorslife.com
