Actors, Please! Make it easy on the world...
Rather than do casting calls - which tend to attract the bold and untrained- I've been attending plays to get a sense of who's acting out. Orlando is quite the transition spot, not all actors do plays, but I'm interested in play actors as they're actively working their craft.
This said, what the f*ck are you doing? There is absolutely NO WAY TO GET HOLD OF ANYONE if you see a play and even want to commend them on a job well done, let alone see if they'll want to be in a movie. NO WAY POSSIBLE. It is terrifyingly frustrating. Talking to actors after a play seems akin to interviewing a runner after the Boston Marathon. They're spent, they've just done something requiring great concentration and memorization, that's not the best time. I can't talk to anyone before a film screening, and I'm just as bad after a screening. It's nervousness and anxiety on my part. I assume actors have the same deal going on. They want to see friends, not meet strangers.
So, here's how actors can make it easy for me, dammit, and for their lives.
First, HAVE A PROGRAM. On that program, where it has your bio, HAVE A MYSPACE, or a WEBSITE address. Rather than thank folks, put some contact info! Thanking folks is good for here and now. Contact info helps you through the future.
If there is no program, volunteer to make it. TAKE AWAYS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS THE PERFORMANCE. No one expects amazing design. They do expect information, like contact info.
If there is a flyer, ask the designer to put the stage co.'s or producers URL on it, and more importantly, make sure that URL links to you in some fashion. Even if the webdesigner doesn't know html, fine, just have your contact info on there. It's mandatory that you're URL be on your bio.
Believe it or not, I do follow actors and will see a play more on who's in it than on who's directing. With movies it's the opposite, but with plays it's actors. Even if I hate the play, at least I can see what folks did with it. It's not egotistical on an actors part to post contact info. It's a simple courtesy to place your addy on that program so folks can visit, see what play you're in next, and perhaps go and see it.
Privacy is overrated and non-existent. Acting is not a private pursuit. You owe it - as a courtesy to folks actually going to a theater- to make it easy on them to see what you're in next. Don't be so lazy.
Naysayers: Isn't that conceited? Um, you're on stage. You've self selected yourself to act in front of other people. For craft, for attention, so what- you're in a public performance so allow the public to reach you. Making it difficult is conceited.
It's not the norm. Because people are short sighted. You don't have to some silly fan club page to elevate you above the audience. Just be simple, direct and sincere. Here's the upcoming plays you're in. I shot this bit. Here's what I'm excited about. That's it.
Let's flashback to 1995. Websites were just coming on the scene. Websites were great because they allowed anyone, anywhere, to find out more about what you were doing. So if I heard of a movie, I can hopefully find the website and find more about that movie. I wasn't bound to my location, my circle of friends and flow of information. I could go to that URL, and wowsie! I'm in the know. I can contact the producer or filmmaker. That's extremely poweful stuff!
It's 2008. Websites are less popular than say a myspace. Let's look at the pros of myspace.
MYSPACE: It's free. It takes all of 2 minutes to sign up. You don't need to know ANY coding. It's actually better to go with generic template because all that flash nonsense clogs up browsers. And flash doesn't play on iPhones. Best of all, it's as private as you want it to be. Most folks don't blog on myspace. Nope. They just put pictures, make friends with their friends, and that's that.
Please use your stage name as your myspace name. "Guyzluvme" doesn't help anyone trying to contact you if they use myspace's miserable search function. And yes, myspace has the WORST search function ever. So you have to specify your full name multiple times within your about me, profile, and whatnot.
In terms of casting, myspace is great because (ideally) you'll have plenty of photos - standard worthless headshots and more critical casuals shot by family and friends and maybe some with an avid photographer. Self portraits are great, too. Cell phones, digital stills, etc. Use it. Don't overly photoshop it, and if you do, please state that you do. "Photoshopped" seems to be the norm for captioning.
Video would be nice, too. Even goofy cell phone videos are nice. It gives a sense of your physicality, your voice, movement, and sense of humor.
From an actor's p.o.v., privacy is of grave concern. Myspace has it's own email system built into it. That's why I love it. It's a closed loop, if you will. You tell folks to go to your myspace, and they can send you messages. No one can spam your regular email address... You go on living your regular life, and myspace is there for your acting life, or trying to hook up with folks from High School and college you keep wondering about.
WEBSITES: You should ideally have MYSTAGENAME.COM If you register through 1and1.com, it's $7.99 a year. Cheap! You spend that much drowning your sorrows at ABC liquor, or renting 2 movies you're not acting in at Blockbuster. What's even better, is that once you get into your controls on 1and1.com, you can point your URL to your myspace page.
Specific directions:
Log in. Navigate to Domain Overview. Select your domain name. This brings you to "Domain Destination Settings"
Select Destination > Edit From here, make sure you follow this info:
Destination: > Forward your Domain.
Forwarding Destination: http://www.MyName.com
Forwarding type: HTTP Redirect
Wait ten minutes to reset. For example, if key into my browser "TonyElGuapo.com", it'll land at the myspace page.
GOOGLE. This is so difficult and so miserably simple. You must sign up for a flickr.com account, which requires you to sign up for a yahoo account first. Both are free. Post all photos of yourself. From vacation, from ... Keep significant others, kids, and so forth out of the shots. This flickr is about YOU. Put your name on every photo. Google searches flickr quite well. Make sure you put your name as your flickr id, if possible.
For me, I was lucky enough to get Flickr.com/photos/anthonytorres This links back in my contact info to AnthonyTorres.com
This helps boost your search engine placement. Keep in mind that if you have a more common name, you need to use search terms within your pages/photo captions.
So search "Anthony Torres" I should come up 5th with my URL. How you like me now? (Actually, that's really awesome! It used to be dominated by the Ultimate Fighter dude. Now I'm back up. Go!)
Actually, I use job titles with my name in content. So when I write a bio it says "filmmaker Anthony Torres does..."
Or "...writer / director Anthony Torres." Why? Because those are search terms to narrow the selections. In actor's case, you should always use "Actor Your Name" because those are the qualifiers one would search for.
Search "filmmaker Anthony Torres" and I come up first, second, maybe third. That's the point of qualifiers. Think of how you search for people. Then make sure you use city, job title, and whatever else in sentences to describe yourself.
Here's the final bit...
It's great to get good reviews and have those pop up online. But I would argue the review is moot, because the review does NOT have your contact info. It has your name. But if you don't have your name emerge in the first page of Google, who has the time to play detective? (I did last night. And I still got no where.) So in terms of advancing your career, or craft, you would be just as well to have NOT done the play. It's a missed opportunity.
In business, let's say I've come up with a soft drink. And I decide to promote it in Orlando. Well, I get crazy press. But no stores stock it. So, sure, I could use the press to leverage MAYBE getting a few accounts. However, the smart money would be to get a few stores, then get the crazy press, which would then be fresh in people's minds when they go to the store. Some diehards may bug their store about getting the product, but who has the time. That's not the public's job. That's my job.
And it's your job to make your present and future performances readily available. How can you build a following if folks don't have any crumbs of info to follow?
If you don't want to hear what other's think, that's a normal defense mechanism for fear of rejection. However, this fear of rejection prevents everyone else from expressing approval and support, and perhaps a genuine interest in working with you in the near future. Even if you think it's a throwaway role, or just stupid, put your name on it and myspace address or .com to it. And if the best the play can do is a simple postcard flyer, get yourself a rubber stamp made with your contact addy and go to town.
This is not a unique sad situation related to actors. 1st Thursdays at OMA have been going on for about 7-8 years, and they have YET to sort out that web addresses are better than phone numbers. I want to see more work, see what shows are coming own the line. I don't want to make a phone call.
To beat the horse dead and then some, if you've got the role, you now have a captive audience. That audience may or not be interested in you as a person, but they are interested in you as an actor. 10-14 letters is all they need. "YourName.com" or "Myspace.com/YourName" Quit looking at PerezHilton.com and make your info accessible on line. You'll be golden.
Best,
Anthony Torres
http://www.anthonytorres.com
This said, what the f*ck are you doing? There is absolutely NO WAY TO GET HOLD OF ANYONE if you see a play and even want to commend them on a job well done, let alone see if they'll want to be in a movie. NO WAY POSSIBLE. It is terrifyingly frustrating. Talking to actors after a play seems akin to interviewing a runner after the Boston Marathon. They're spent, they've just done something requiring great concentration and memorization, that's not the best time. I can't talk to anyone before a film screening, and I'm just as bad after a screening. It's nervousness and anxiety on my part. I assume actors have the same deal going on. They want to see friends, not meet strangers.
So, here's how actors can make it easy for me, dammit, and for their lives.
First, HAVE A PROGRAM. On that program, where it has your bio, HAVE A MYSPACE, or a WEBSITE address. Rather than thank folks, put some contact info! Thanking folks is good for here and now. Contact info helps you through the future.
If there is no program, volunteer to make it. TAKE AWAYS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS THE PERFORMANCE. No one expects amazing design. They do expect information, like contact info.
If there is a flyer, ask the designer to put the stage co.'s or producers URL on it, and more importantly, make sure that URL links to you in some fashion. Even if the webdesigner doesn't know html, fine, just have your contact info on there. It's mandatory that you're URL be on your bio.
Believe it or not, I do follow actors and will see a play more on who's in it than on who's directing. With movies it's the opposite, but with plays it's actors. Even if I hate the play, at least I can see what folks did with it. It's not egotistical on an actors part to post contact info. It's a simple courtesy to place your addy on that program so folks can visit, see what play you're in next, and perhaps go and see it.
Privacy is overrated and non-existent. Acting is not a private pursuit. You owe it - as a courtesy to folks actually going to a theater- to make it easy on them to see what you're in next. Don't be so lazy.
Naysayers: Isn't that conceited? Um, you're on stage. You've self selected yourself to act in front of other people. For craft, for attention, so what- you're in a public performance so allow the public to reach you. Making it difficult is conceited.
It's not the norm. Because people are short sighted. You don't have to some silly fan club page to elevate you above the audience. Just be simple, direct and sincere. Here's the upcoming plays you're in. I shot this bit. Here's what I'm excited about. That's it.
Let's flashback to 1995. Websites were just coming on the scene. Websites were great because they allowed anyone, anywhere, to find out more about what you were doing. So if I heard of a movie, I can hopefully find the website and find more about that movie. I wasn't bound to my location, my circle of friends and flow of information. I could go to that URL, and wowsie! I'm in the know. I can contact the producer or filmmaker. That's extremely poweful stuff!
It's 2008. Websites are less popular than say a myspace. Let's look at the pros of myspace.
MYSPACE: It's free. It takes all of 2 minutes to sign up. You don't need to know ANY coding. It's actually better to go with generic template because all that flash nonsense clogs up browsers. And flash doesn't play on iPhones. Best of all, it's as private as you want it to be. Most folks don't blog on myspace. Nope. They just put pictures, make friends with their friends, and that's that.
Please use your stage name as your myspace name. "Guyzluvme" doesn't help anyone trying to contact you if they use myspace's miserable search function. And yes, myspace has the WORST search function ever. So you have to specify your full name multiple times within your about me, profile, and whatnot.
In terms of casting, myspace is great because (ideally) you'll have plenty of photos - standard worthless headshots and more critical casuals shot by family and friends and maybe some with an avid photographer. Self portraits are great, too. Cell phones, digital stills, etc. Use it. Don't overly photoshop it, and if you do, please state that you do. "Photoshopped" seems to be the norm for captioning.
Video would be nice, too. Even goofy cell phone videos are nice. It gives a sense of your physicality, your voice, movement, and sense of humor.
From an actor's p.o.v., privacy is of grave concern. Myspace has it's own email system built into it. That's why I love it. It's a closed loop, if you will. You tell folks to go to your myspace, and they can send you messages. No one can spam your regular email address... You go on living your regular life, and myspace is there for your acting life, or trying to hook up with folks from High School and college you keep wondering about.
WEBSITES: You should ideally have MYSTAGENAME.COM If you register through 1and1.com, it's $7.99 a year. Cheap! You spend that much drowning your sorrows at ABC liquor, or renting 2 movies you're not acting in at Blockbuster. What's even better, is that once you get into your controls on 1and1.com, you can point your URL to your myspace page.
Specific directions:
Log in. Navigate to Domain Overview. Select your domain name. This brings you to "Domain Destination Settings"
Select Destination > Edit From here, make sure you follow this info:
Destination: > Forward your Domain.
Forwarding Destination: http://www.MyName.com
Forwarding type: HTTP Redirect
Wait ten minutes to reset. For example, if key into my browser "TonyElGuapo.com", it'll land at the myspace page.
GOOGLE. This is so difficult and so miserably simple. You must sign up for a flickr.com account, which requires you to sign up for a yahoo account first. Both are free. Post all photos of yourself. From vacation, from ... Keep significant others, kids, and so forth out of the shots. This flickr is about YOU. Put your name on every photo. Google searches flickr quite well. Make sure you put your name as your flickr id, if possible.
For me, I was lucky enough to get Flickr.com/photos/anthonytorres This links back in my contact info to AnthonyTorres.com
This helps boost your search engine placement. Keep in mind that if you have a more common name, you need to use search terms within your pages/photo captions.
So search "Anthony Torres" I should come up 5th with my URL. How you like me now? (Actually, that's really awesome! It used to be dominated by the Ultimate Fighter dude. Now I'm back up. Go!)
Actually, I use job titles with my name in content. So when I write a bio it says "filmmaker Anthony Torres does..."
Or "...writer / director Anthony Torres." Why? Because those are search terms to narrow the selections. In actor's case, you should always use "Actor Your Name" because those are the qualifiers one would search for.
Search "filmmaker Anthony Torres" and I come up first, second, maybe third. That's the point of qualifiers. Think of how you search for people. Then make sure you use city, job title, and whatever else in sentences to describe yourself.
Here's the final bit...
It's great to get good reviews and have those pop up online. But I would argue the review is moot, because the review does NOT have your contact info. It has your name. But if you don't have your name emerge in the first page of Google, who has the time to play detective? (I did last night. And I still got no where.) So in terms of advancing your career, or craft, you would be just as well to have NOT done the play. It's a missed opportunity.
In business, let's say I've come up with a soft drink. And I decide to promote it in Orlando. Well, I get crazy press. But no stores stock it. So, sure, I could use the press to leverage MAYBE getting a few accounts. However, the smart money would be to get a few stores, then get the crazy press, which would then be fresh in people's minds when they go to the store. Some diehards may bug their store about getting the product, but who has the time. That's not the public's job. That's my job.
And it's your job to make your present and future performances readily available. How can you build a following if folks don't have any crumbs of info to follow?
If you don't want to hear what other's think, that's a normal defense mechanism for fear of rejection. However, this fear of rejection prevents everyone else from expressing approval and support, and perhaps a genuine interest in working with you in the near future. Even if you think it's a throwaway role, or just stupid, put your name on it and myspace address or .com to it. And if the best the play can do is a simple postcard flyer, get yourself a rubber stamp made with your contact addy and go to town.
This is not a unique sad situation related to actors. 1st Thursdays at OMA have been going on for about 7-8 years, and they have YET to sort out that web addresses are better than phone numbers. I want to see more work, see what shows are coming own the line. I don't want to make a phone call.
To beat the horse dead and then some, if you've got the role, you now have a captive audience. That audience may or not be interested in you as a person, but they are interested in you as an actor. 10-14 letters is all they need. "YourName.com" or "Myspace.com/YourName" Quit looking at PerezHilton.com and make your info accessible on line. You'll be golden.
Best,
Anthony Torres
http://www.anthonytorres.com
posted by AET at
6/21/2008 11:31:00 AM
2 Comments:
Very good advice on how to write an actor bio! I have a site www.HowToWriteBio.com that provides fill-in-the-blank bio templates for a wide range of professions. Your readers may find the resources there helpful.
Barbra- Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated!
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