Tag Archives: Skype

MasterClass (or Another Online Community)

Posted on May 22, 2015 | Comments Off on MasterClass (or Another Online Community)

I mentioned yesterday how my mentoring circle is really pushing me to better myself in my acting career. Now that I finally have a second day job with regular hours, I’m finally able to save up for acting classes.

I’ve been wanting to take improv classes for a while and each level of classes at the school I want to go to is $400. I’ve been saving up and had about $100 saved, but then another great opportunity came my way.

A friend of mine told me about a new online class called MasterClass. And one of the classes taught online is a course on acting taught by Dustin Hoffman.

The idea of MasterClass is that it is a video class taught by professionals in that particular industry. Besides the videos there are homework assignments, workbooks, and online communities to help you in the class.

I checked it out a bit and read some reviews from people who already started (nobody has completed the class yet since it only went live last week) and decided that this would be something worthwhile to spend my money on. The classes cost $90 for the entire thing and you will have lifetime access to it. So I can go through each video as many times as I would like to. There are 24 videos and it’s designed to be a 6 week course.

As soon as I purchased it, I downloaded and printed my workbook and watched the first video.

MasterClass

I’ll admit that I’ve only gotten through the first video, but I’m already loving it! The first video was more of an introduction type of video and the next few are watching Dustin Hoffman instructing 2 actors in a class setting. And after that are classes on script work.

But I have gone through the workbook and have looked at the homework and other assignments. Some of the assignments are watching movies and taking notes and some are working on scripts with friends or other MasterClass participants over Skype.

You can comment below any of the video classes and interact with other students and there is also a Facebook community for those taking the class. While I haven’t gotten to the part of the class where I need to work with other students, I love that the community is there and that the work can be done either in person or Skype.

Right now, I have a few friends who are also doing the MasterClass program, but we aren’t doing things at the same pace. I’d love to do the 4 classes a week like it’s laid out to be, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. But I’m going to go through them at my own pace and when I complete it I complete it.

While this did deplete my savings for the improv class that I want to take, it went to something that I feel is worthwhile and can almost hold me over until I have the money saved for the improv class. With having 2 regular jobs now (and hopefully getting some occasional babysitting work), I’m hoping to have the $400 saved before my birthday. And if not, I will be using birthday money to pay for the class.

I like that I have a plan and a new class in my life. It really makes me feel like I’m taking steps to better my acting career and not just waiting around for things to happen. Even though I wasn’t waiting around, now it feels like there is action and progress being made. And that alone is motivating me to do more and more.

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Skype Audition (or Maybe I Should Have Worn Regular Pants)

Posted on May 7, 2015 | Comments Off on Skype Audition (or Maybe I Should Have Worn Regular Pants)

I had my very first Skype audition this week!

I have put myself on tape in the past, but when you do that you can take as many takes as you want and edit it down to just be the best one. When you have a Skype audition, it’s pretty much as close as you can get to a regular audition, just done virtually.

This audition was for a national campaign that I actually auditioned for several months back. But my agent resubmitted me when she saw that they were looking again and the casting team remembered me and had me audition again! So that made me really happy.

The script was pretty short (only about 10 lines), so I didn’t stress about working on it too much. If I practice too much, it sounds canned and not natural.

Because the casting team is based in NYC, my audition was a bit earlier than I’m used to. But it was fine since I get up early most days.

Since I was only going to be seen from the chest up, I dressed nice on top but wore my workout pants (with bare feet) on bottom.

Audition Outfit

I spent the 15 minutes before the audition time practicing my lines and making my computer screen as empty as possible. I didn’t want any weird distractions (or noises) while the audition was going on.

When the audition time came, I opened up Skype and waited for the audition call to come it. That was more nerve-racking than waiting in an audition room.

Skype Audition

I had moved my laptop to be in a place with better lighting and a blank backdrop, and when I saw how I looked on the Skype call I think I made the right choice.

The audition went very much like a regular audition. We chatted at first about some things, they asked me if I had any questions about the material, and then I auditioned. I had to do it twice because the first time I made a mistake, but the second time went well (I think).

The only thing that might have been a bad choice on my part was the bottom half of my outfit. They needed to see as much of a full body shot as possible. Since my house is so small there is only so much room that I could back up into. So they never saw that I was barefoot (unless they are reading this blog is which is always possible), but I wish I wore better pants.

I had my script up on my computer screen instead of printing it out to hold in my hands. I think that was a good choice. And when I was auditioning I made it so I couldn’t see myself on the call. I don’t want to watch myself acting while auditioning. Maybe some people like that, but I don’t. I’m not a fan of watching myself on screen at any time. But by hiding myself on my side of the call, I was able to audition without any additional stress or nervousness.

And within a few minutes, my audition was done and I was able to get ready for my day job.

If I get a callback, it will be in LA, so that will be nice. That would be in a week or two, so hopefully I hear back soon. And it doesn’t shoot for about a month so there is plenty of time before they have to make their decision on this. That’s a bit unusually since most auditions are for projects shooting in a few days.

Either way, I survived my first Skype audition and now feel prepared to do them again in the future if I need to.

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