The Gift of Time

Some years ago, my sister worked a not-quite-soul-sucking day job. One of those jobs where, if there were no customers to assist, the managers would try to cut costs by sending employees home. Not all employees are fans of getting cut, as less hours means less money, but one particular manager framed it in a very memorable way:

"I give you the gift of time."

Although I know it was met with mixed reviews, I have to agree that time is valuable and something that we can never generate more of. Everyone knows this, and yet, it's so easy to forget it!

Today, NYC is hunkered down for a blizzard, which means most of us are dealing with a (mostly unexpected) gift of time today. Might I suggest that, while also using this Snow Day for some relaxation and Netflix, set aside a good chunk of it to do something to further your career or your art in a way that you normally wouldn't have time to do?

Some ideas for how to use your gift of time:

Start writing that webseries you've always wanted to create.

Learn that monologue that you just haven't had time to work on.

YouTube tutorial that makeup look and hairstyle you wanted to try for that audition next week.

Read a play! (None on your bookshelf? Check out an e-Book online, or go to Project Guttenberg for free classics.)

Prep your meals for your busy week ahead.

Clean your apartment (with some great music or a podcast on), so that you have less stress the rest of this week.

Call your family to let them know you're okay!

No matter how you choose to use your gift of time today, I hope it will be productive and fulfilling!

Looking for a Shakespeare Coach to help you prepare for

that upcoming audition or performance?

Email me at ShakespeareCoach@gmail.com

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#Priorities

As I write this, things are picking up for Audition Season 2017. It's the time of year when many actors are getting up at stupid-o'clock-in-the-morning to try to get as many auditions done around their day-jobs as they possibly can; braving the freezing winter air for an hour or two in the line outside Ripley-Grier because they weren't fortunate enough to snag a spot on the brand-new online signup system that seems perpetually overloaded, and NEVER with enough coffee in their systems to deal with that crazy person that is just dying to know what your opinion is on their audition material while you wait in line. 

The struggle is real, my friends.

Or maybe it isn't this year. I wouldn't know because I'm doing this hip new thing I like to call:

BEING A PERSON FIRST.

I love being an actor, but sometimes, you gotta take a step back and evaluate your #priorities. 

Note: if you happen to be reading this out loud (I don't know why you would, but maybe you're just awesome like that), then be sure to note that #priorities should be read "hashtag priorities." It's more fun.

I'm getting married this year. I don't want my wedding to be a hot mess, so I need to spend time on it, because it matters to me. And so does my work as a Shakespeare Coach. And so does sleep. And so does actually spending time with my awesome future husband. Auditioning for shows that happen between now and my wedding is not in line with my #priorities, so I'm staying out of the audition scene for the most part and getting stuff done.

Do you need to stop killing yourself over auditions and be a person first? 

If you got let go from your day job tomorrow, would you be able to pay your rent and eat something other than ramen noodles? If not, maybe you should skip or cut down on your auditioning to get some savings. #priorities

Is NYC driving you just a little bit bananas? Did you not see your family over the holidays? Do you just need a break so that you don't flip out at people? You can take a break if you want! Your mental health, your family, and your overall happiness can overrule your need to get in the room. #priorities

Has your significant other stopped feeling significant because you're so wrapped up in your career? Taking time off, even just a day or two, can help you gain some balance. #priorities

It is very easy to let the feverish energy and pace of audition season make you feel like you are constantly in a race with all the other actors in NYC to be the first in line in the morning, the first to book a gig for the summer, or even to be the actor that managed to get seen at the most auditions on any given day. If we're keeping with the race analogy, remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint, and you're not actually competing against anyone... so it's not really a race, which is why that metaphor is kinda lame. There will always be more auditions. Really.

If you're someone who thrives on the four hours of sleep you're getting the night before an audition, God bless you. Very few people, if any, can sustain that for the 3 months or so of audition season. There is no shame in realizing that your #priorities are not in auditioning for every single thing or everything you're perfect for or anything at all right now. Be a person first, and an actor maybe fourth.

Much love,

Emily

If Auditioning is in your #priorities,

get your SHAKES together

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Two Contrasting Monologues

You guys! I have an approach to audition prep that just might change the game for you. It starts when you read the phrase:

"Please prepare two contrasting monologues."

If you went to drama school, you've probably been taught to have one comedic piece and one dramatic piece just for these sort of situations, and you might mentally catalogue speeches, to be called upon when the need arises. "This is my 1 minute comedic contemporary monologue", "my dramatic classical verse monologue", "my Tennessee Williams monologue", etc. 

While those descriptors are certainly helpful in determining which speeches are right for specific auditions, if you're like me, and pretty much only audition for Shakespeare, you can wind up feeling somewhat stuck when you need to prepare two contrasting monologues.

There simply aren't a ton of inherently "funny" monologues in Shakespeare, particularly for ladies. (Several of my students have made this observation.) The situation may be hilarious in the context of the scene, but strip it down to a single actor giving a speech, and a lot of the time it seems like complaining. Of course, it's possible to make these speeches work, but it can be daunting, and sometimes, the jokes just don't land.

I was prepping for one of these "two contrasting Shakespeare monologues" auditions recently, and I felt stuck with my options for what was truly "contrasting". It's not that I don't have the material, but there just seemed to be a lack of imagination and play if I was doing the monologue that always gets a laugh and the really sad, impassioned speech where I cry. I felt stuck because, as an actor, I am so much more than laughing and crying... and you are, too!

Then, I had a thought that got me completely unstuck from the funny vs serious rut I was in:

What if the contrast wasn't just about the pieces I did, but about the DIRECTION?

I took the two pieces I was most excited about (and sure, one was from a comedy, and the other from a tragedy; both by Shakespeare and in verse), and decided to approach them as though they were directed by two totally different people, with different signature styles!

For my "dramatic" piece, I decided to go super traditional Shakespeare: a little slower than I personally prefer, but honest and earnest, as though the director was Trevor Nunn.

This offset my "comedic" piece, which was ultra-modern, with pauses, emphasis, and physicality that fits right in with the hip, indie Shakespeare scene that Eric Tucker has made his reputation on. 

During my prep, I also imagined what the sets, costumes, props, and lighting would look like, whether there was music, and which actors were playing the people I was speaking to. It really helped me build a whole world in my imagination for my characters to live in, and added to my specificity in the audition. These two ladies were now absolutely NOTHING alike.

By focusing on the make-believe directors for my monologues, I managed to take a lot of pressure off of myself to "be heart-breaking" or to "be funny", and I showed a broader range of what I am capable of when I'm in a show - and I'll bet it will help you showcase your skills, too!

I want to know: did you find this idea helpful? Would you try it out in your own audition prep? If you try it, let me know how it worked for you! How did it make you feel?

Want to go from scared to PREPARED with Shakespeare?

Email me at ShakespeareCoach@gmail.com

to schedule a coaching session, and be ready for your next audition!

How to Survive Audition Season (and Keep Your Sanity)

Audition Season. You're sitting for HOURS on the holding room floor, while girls around you gossip loudly while curling their hair, and you're probably on 4 hours of sleep because you had to close at your restaurant job last night. Let me give you some tips that I use to keep my focus and my sanity and have a great audition season!

1. Arrive Early to Open Calls

I know, it's absolutely bonkers that every year we have to get up earlier than the year before just so that we can be seen at an EPA. I used to refuse to show up for a call before 8 AM, because I really do think it's out of control. Guess what? It sucks, but that is just how it works, and if you sleep in, you are way less likely to be seen. 

2. Only Audition for Things You Want and are Right For

This amounts largely to doing your research. If a theatre is doing an all-male production of The Taming of the Shrew, I'm not going to the audition. It's a waste of my time and theirs. If the dates don't work for me, or the pay is too low, or there's a plan for the production that I don't morally agree with, I won't go. This frees up my time to go to an audition I'm excited about, or work on something else, or sleep in, etc.

3. Be Prepared

Of course, this means having your monologues or sides ready to rock the day of your audition (and if you need some help with that, hit me up), but you'd be amazed how many people show up to an audition without their headshot and resume stapled together, or ladies without their hair and makeup done how they would like. They get frazzled, and that energy follows them into the room. Why would you do that to yourself?! Get it all done in advance. I prep my headshots on Sunday; I always keep at least 5 ready to go, and 10 on a week I know will be busy. They go in a dedicated folder that goes in my audition bag. I also keep a pen, a highlighter, my notebook, my phone charger, any spare clothes I would need, and anything else that would make my life easier IN THE BAG. I know it's there and I don't have to worry!

4. Invest in a Pair of Headphones

Those gossipy girls, the crazy dude who wants to chat, and the nervous, unprepared person who wants your opinion on which monologue they should do will be at the audition. Put on your headphones and tune them out! Listen to music, or a podcast, or your lines that you've recorded for rehearsal, but ignore all those people and get centered. You're not a jerk; you're there to work. Don't get distracted from your purpose (but make sure you're listening for instructions from the monitor).

5. It's NOT "Rejection"

If the casting director picked someone else for the job, DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. Hundreds of people auditioned for a handful of roles. Just because someone else got the job doesn't mean you suck. You weren't the right person this time. Recognizing that there are more factors at work than just your talent will keep you from getting burned out, and help you last longer in this industry.

6. Take Care of Yourself

Drink more water. Get enough sleep. Listen to your body. Getting sick isn't going to help you book jobs. Make your health a priority!

7. Have a Life Outside of the Biz

Keep some balance in your life by spending time on things you love that aren't acting. I love to go hiking, and I make sure that every week I see a friend in person. An added bonus is that it gives you something interesting to talk about! One CD remembers me because when she asked me what I had been up to since she had seen me last, I told her that I had climbed three mountains in the last month. Be a real human that just happens to be a great actor, and you'll be much more memorable.

With these tips and your talent and hard work, you're all set to have a great audition season! Go forth, and kick ass!

Wanna step up your Shakespeare game this audition season?

Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first session!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!

My First Broadway Audition

I was 19, and auditioning all the time. This is back when I was attempting to get my "big break" (whatever that is) in the musical theatre scene. I had arrived ridiculously early at the Actors Equity building, and had been waiting all morning with hopes that whatever I was auditioning for would have time to see me. After a few hours on the wooden benches, the monitor came to us to let us know that there would not be time for us to be seen, BUT, the audition for the upcoming Broadway production of Wonderful Town was wide open.

The audition for Wonderful Town was being held at Chelsea Studios, which is 20 blocks (about a mile) from Equity. It was a beautiful day, and I figured I could walk over, which would be faster than the train due to construction. I wanted to be quick, in case word got out that the audition was empty and every actor in New York decided to head that way, too. I didn't even change my shoes, in order to save time.

I walk/jogged to Chelsea, signed in, and was seen right away. As I walked to the piano, the Casting Director was staring at my shoes, which were these tan platform things that were new, clunky, and didn't really match my dress. As I sang, the Casting Director kept looking at my feet, and I was beating myself up about wearing the "wrong" shoes. I don't remember how well I sang or acted or anything... Both the CD and I were clearly thinking about my unfashionable footwear.

Puzzled, I gathered my stuff and got as far as the bathroom when I saw it: thick, crimson, blood was all over the side of my tan wedge shoe, and still continuing to pour out of my left foot, right where the strap and buckle were digging into my flesh. I hope I wasn't making puddles on the floor of the studio as I auditioned. In my excitement to audition for Broadway, the adrenaline pumping through my body, and my knowledge that sometimes shoes need to be broken in, I didn't even feel the tear in my skin that was upstaging me during my audition! I was horrified, but I shrugged it off as a memorable first audition for Broadway; comforted by the thought that my future auditions for the "Great White Way" would probably be less gory.

Do YOU have a crazy/memorable/embarrassing/hilarious audition story?

 Share it in the comments below!

Save yourself from a Shakespeare audition horror story with my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions - available here!

Breaking Down the Bard - Scansion

Our patterns of speech have various rhythms, made up of combinations of stressed or unstressed syllables or words. In reality, the amount of emphasis we place on words and syllables is a broad spectrum. Some people will delve into those different levels of emphasis when it comes to poetry, and that is totally cool. However, when we're looking at classical verse text, particularly Shakespeare, we generalize with either "unstressed" or "stressed" syllables.

If everything was emphasized to the same degree, odds are good you would sound like a robot... which IS a choice, if that's what you're looking for. But for the other 99.99% of the time, you're gonna need to pay attention to the patterns of speech.

Let's look at the following sentence:
I never said she stole my money.

The choice of which word to emphasize in this sentence changes the entire meaning.
I never SAID she stole my money. (But I wanted to.)
I never said SHE stole my money. (It was Ava, not Isabella!)
I never said she stole MY money. (She stole Jaxon's.)

How you choose to deliver your lines can also change how your character is perceived, and possibly even the plot of the play! Therefore, it's important to pay close attention to the weight you give your words.

"Scansion" is the name for the markings you'll make in your script to remind yourself where you'd like the stresses to fall in your lines of verse. (You "scan" a line of verse, the markings themselves are "scansion".)

SUPER IMPORTANT:
THERE IS USUALLY MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SCAN A LINE OF VERSE.
It's not about "right" and "wrong", it's about telling the story clearly and effectively. In a show, this is usually a collaborative effort.

There are many ways to mark your verse, but the most common in America (right now), is:

If you were taught something else, or prefer something else, that's okay! Formatting gets all kinds of cray on a computer, so if I can't handwrite something, you'll SEE me TYPE like THIS. it CER-tain-ly ISn't i-DEAL, BUT it GETS the POINT a-CROSS.

Let's look at some scanned perfect iambic pentameter:

See how the unstressed and stressed syllables are clearly denoted? It's super easy to follow, especially with that tricky word at the end of the second line, "deserts". It's not DESerts, like the Sahara, but it's pronounced like "desserts" (like cake), and it means merit, or claim to honor and reward.

If you're not dealing with iambic pentameter, it might look like this:

This poem by William Blake is a great example of a different kind of verse.

Additionally, some people find it helpful to mark where the end of each "foot" is. The foot is kind of like the measure, if you want to think of this as music. It's even marked just like a measure ending is in sheet music, with a vertical line:

There you have it! The easy intro to scansion - which will make you look like SUCH a pro when you walk into your next first day of rehearsal!

Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?

Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule a lesson!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!

Easy Inspiration

When was the last time you went to see a show? I'm not talking about the latest Bond movie (although I'm sure it's great), but an honest-to-goodness live piece of theatre? Where you're in the same room as the performer(s) - you can see them, they can see you, and it will only happen exactly that way with exactly those people ONCE?

I see several shows a month. My minimum is two shows per month, but I often exceed that. I absolutely love live theatre, not just because I'm an actor, but because of the stakes involved in each performance. There is no "take two". It's all about NOW, what's happening in the moment. All of us are in the same room, part of the same shared experience, but I might walk out loving the show and the guy next to me might leave at intermission because he hates it so much. There's subjectivity. It's personal, even though there may be hundreds of people in the audience.

I'll see just about anything. I tend to lean toward Shakespeare or other classical plays because it's so useful to me to see what choices are being made in performance. I'll see the same play by different companies over and over and over, because no two productions are ever the same. It's great to see different interpretations of these stories. Last night, I went to see something more experimental: a rap/hip-hop version of a Shakespeare play, and it was a lot of fun!

Let's be real, the hundreds of plays I've seen over the years haven't all been successful (though most of them were). I've seen some shows that really fell flat on their faces, but these shows taught me just as much if not more than the shows I enjoyed. In seeing shows that I didn't ultimately enjoy, I also got to consider what about it wasn't working for me, and why, which can inform my future work as an actor.

A few years ago, I was preparing for my first production of Much Ado About Nothing, And while I knew the show inside out, I hunted down videos on YouTube, re-watched the Branagh film, saw the Joss Whedon film the day it came out, as well as the BBC TV version and every live production I could catch in NYC, all before rehearsals started! Knowing what others had tried helped inform my choices, so that I could have even more tools in my toolbox as I went on to find how I would put my stamp on the character. For example, I learned that I didn't like Beatrice if she didn't smile in the first scene. The lines are a sharp and witty, but I found that if Beatrice smiles, I like her, and if she doesn't, I just think she's a jerk, which is tricky when you have to root for her character. It's a seemingly simple thing that I might never have discovered if I had not had so many productions to compare.

Lately, I've been going to the opera. The Met is pretty much the ultimate theatrical experience - it is bigger than Broadway in every way I could think of, without microphones!

At The Met on Friday, November 6th, to see Tosca

I initially thought that a night at the opera would be more about being seen by others than about what's happening onstage, but the acting, musicianship, and storytelling of these masterpieces is stunning. When Tosca jumped from the tower, I gasped aloud. I was very worried for Gilda's safety during intermission of Rigoletto. Opera has very little to do with my career, but I have found myself wrapped up in the storytelling every time, and learning just as much from these performances as from any other.

I think everyone, especially actors, but EVERYONE,  should see as much live theatre as possible. Even if you hate it, it will teach you something. It will inspire you. It will give you motivation. It will make you feel alive.

Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!