Contacts

Useful Contacts:

Casting Websites

I think that it would be useful as an actor to apply for different profiles on casting networks across the country, which will ultimately increase my opportunities for auditions and acting jobs. I think that by applying for jobs via a website will put me in a category with other actors who are committed to putting themselves out there into the industry and promoting a professional and sophisticated reputation. I feel that whilst it would be impressive for a casting director to whiteness an actor promoting themselves, I feel that one con to this would be that usually actors can apply themselves to wrong jobs, as they are not experienced in finding jobs that are best suited to them, their skills, and their looks as a performer. Therefore I have researched into what my agent applies for that he feels suit me, and what I would apply myself for, and the difference between. I think that by doing this I am being more percautious by selecting auditions that are more likely to suit me, resulting in casting directors being more likely to read and accept my applications. I think that one negative point about casting websites is that they can be expensive, and as an actor you need to take care in saving money for applications to people such as agents, who will apply you for bigger jobs and auditions which will increase your experience and paid jobs.

Equity

Equity are an online casting website used by an array of industry professionals around the world. I have not put Equity in the same category as other casting websites, as their approach is a lot more professional. I think this because the website states that it is well known and appreciated both nationally and internationally, therefore I feel that it would be useful to create a profile on Equity in order to promote myself worldwide to a vast range of casting directors for acting and comedy. Whilst I think that Spotlight is the most respected casting website in the country due to its popularity and demanding applicants, I think that Equity shows the level of commitment that performers wish to pursue into their chosen art, and the lengths that they will go to promote themselves to get a job. I think that by applying for equity I can link my other current profiles and show to casting directors that I act professional and I am serious about pursuing a career within the industry. I think that it would be useful to promote myself via Equity as it will increase my chances of gaining a reputation as an actor in the performing arts industry and also increases my audition experiences and opportunities. 

My Current Contacts:

Agent

I am currently on the books of a Guilford-based agency, who specialise in representing young actors and performers for television and films, and occasionally theatre productions such as musicals, pantomimes, and shows. By having an agent I feel that it gives me a stronger reputation as an actor, as I am able to contact casting directors via my representative, which makes the experience overall, more professional. Agents represent their clients via different casting websites, contacts of their own depending on who they know within the industry, and often make showreels and headshot for their clients.

I became in contact with my agent when I was 15 years old, and was given the opportunity to audition for them via a Youth Theatre that I was once apart of. The Youth Theatre itself had, and still upholds an outstanding reputation within Sussex, and they were able to attract the attention of the agency, Platform Talent Management, through exchanging of emails, after my drama teacher at the time was searching for opportunities for the children involved in the Youth Theatre. When preparing for the audition we were asked to prepare a monologue and be ready for an interview, therefore to brace myself for my first professional audition experience I learnt and memorised my monologue within the first day of being handed it by my teacher, and from then on I worked on adding characterisation and movements for it. I feel that throughout the process of learning this monologue I begun to understand that I was stronger in comedy acting as opposed to another genre of acting, and this remains the case today. The audition was obviously successful as I am on their books to this day, and their comments were inspiring towards me, by saying things such as 'you remained focused throughout which was impressive', which was what I was already conscious of prior to the audition, and 'you have a naturalistic approach to your acting as someone who has had so much stage experience' which was important to me as acting for film (which is my ambition) is a lot different than acting for stage.

My agent switched management when I was 17, which meant that I had to make preparations to introduce myself to a new agent and try and make a good impression on them so that they were more likely to apply me for professional jobs. Unfortunately, due to college commitments, I wasn't able to contact my new agent for 4 weeks, however he was understanding and discussed how he can work around my college plans. I feel that my role as an actor when working along side an agent is to be committed to attending auditions that I am sent, to uphold my reputation as an actor, and his reputation as an agent. This has had a 50:50 effect as I am also committed to college and my qualifications which he understands, however it means that in the past year I have had to turn down two auditions, which would have caused him to explain to casting directors that I am unavailable which effects my professionalism, and his.

My name on my agents client list on the website. The link on the picture links to my spotlight CV which will allow any professional who is interested in seeing me for an audition can view my experience via a professional casting website, and then contact my agent. 

My new agent has obligated to making me a showreel to promote my skills as an actor by filming a comedy monologue with a plain studio background, which is his themes for his other clients as well. The showreels look professional as they represent each actor as individual, however they have the same look to them so that it represents a smart and sophisticated company which will gain the attention of industry professionals such as casting directors.

My Showreel by Platform Talent Management.

Usually depending on the popularity of the agents, they can get around 5-6 auditions per year for film and television, and vary in numbers of auditions for commercials and smaller jobs. This has been successful for me as I attending several auditions in the past year and was successful in two auditions. My goals for the coming year, it to land a role in a paid film as my previous film experiences are in student films and commercials which were unpaid. To do this I phone my agent and discuss my plans and he tells me what is achievable and what isn't. I think that it helps when I speak to my agent regularly as it shows my commitment and passion as an actor and how eager I am to work within the industry, and I am going to commit more to my auditions when my college commitments are finished for the year.

Spotlight

Spotlight is one of the most well-known websites within the performance industry, as it is used by the majority of agents, casting directors and other industry professionals to promote, represent and find performers for auditions which range from jobs as small as commercials, to jobs for top film companies, and West End Productions.

The restrictions to spotlight are that to apply for an account an cv page as an actor, then you must have either had training at university with a BA honour degree, have an agent, or have already had professional experience as a performer in which that title would mean that you should already have paid work. I feel that without having an agent it would be difficult to find an audition for a professionally paid performing job, therefore would decrease your chances of applying for spotlight, however by obtaining an account for spotlight via a qualification from a degree that motivated you to work hard would be a big achievement, however I feel that it would delay your experience as a performer by holding you back 3/4 years depending on how long the coarse is, ultimately postponing your experiences with auditions, nonetheless, balancing out the cons, it will allow you to gain more knowledge into both the industry, and what it expects from you as a performer which could increase your chances of successful auditions.

Fortunately I am a member of spotlight, being represented by my agent, as an actor, singer, and dancer. I have recently begun discussing with my agent that whilst I sing and dance, I would rather promote those as skills other than career choices, and instead focus on acting jobs and comedy jobs. I asked him that it would be wise to keep my singing and dancing skills on my CV, so that should an audition for a job that requires an actor to dance or sing, I would have a better chance of being successful and he agrees. My agent is the contact who applies for my auditions via spotlight, and he often emails me lists of audition applications that he has sent to keep me informed and updated, and to also prepare for if one of the casting directors on the other side of the application would like to see me for an audition so I tend to keep the dates free to prevent seeming unprofessional.

Above is a shortened list (as I could not capture all of it) which was sent to me by my agent, which state what auditions I was applied for in the month of November. I feel that it was effective for me to be notified on this, as it gives me an insight of what I am heading towards, and I can therefore give my input to my agent as to whether I feel that the jobs are appropriate for me as an actor.

My Spotlight CV, in which casting directors can view in order to decide if my look and skill set are what they are looking for. They can also view my experience as an actor and contemplate whether they would feel comfortable hiring me and my experience. The photos on the CV show different looks such as school uniform photos, different facial expressions, and a dance photograph to portray my different characters that I could play and to represent my skills.

Casting Call Pro

Casting Call Pro is another online casting website in which actors can apply themselves for jobs, with no qualifications, experienced, or professional representation such as agents. I think that this allows performers to start their careers within the industry and gives people an equal opportunity in applying for jobs that they think they are suitable for, and personally speak and contact the casting directors themselves when chosen for auditions. I do however, feel that due to the fact that anyone can create an account for Casting Call Pro, it will reduce the amount of larger production companies advertising their upcoming auditions, because they would mainly wish for professional actors. I also think that it seems more unprofessional applying for jobs by yourself as a performer because it will mean that you need to represent yourself in a positive way, but be truthful of your skills and abilities to prevent unexpected auditions, for example, applying for a musical without dance experience and not realising that it requires dance, causing you to experience a negative audition.

I was previously on Casting Call Pro for a platform for my agent to represent me with, however when the terms and conditions of Casting Call Pro changed with a new update, my agent decided to move on from Casting Call Pro and instead use mainly Spotlight. I decided to keep my Casting Call Pro account, because I think that it will boost my opportunities to get my name out into the industry, and allow people to refer back to my commitment as an actor. I looked on my profile recently and I have noticed that due to the fact that I am used to my agent applying for my auditions and updating my CV, my profile appears old and unprofessional which will reduce the chances of being contacted for an audition. Therefore I am going to update my profile with new headshot, update my CV, and update my 'about me' section to appear more focused and professional.

PROFILE

CV

SKILLS AND ABOUT ME

Professionals

Agent- In my first year of working freelance as an actor and comedian I think that I need to know an agent, which I have already achieved, so that they can apply me for jobs that I cannot apply myself for, and to give me a higher status as an actor because I am represented by a known agent within London.

Actors- I would like to get to know other freelance actors who have already had professional experience so that they can give me advise, and I can also learn what they have achieved and how they achieved it. I know a few actors who have been in well known films and television programs who have inspired me to work harder as an actor, and I would like to continue to keep contact with them so that I can reference them to different industry professionals.

Directors- I think that it is important for me to get to know directors around the industry so that it increases my chances of being called for an audition. This is because a lot of directors know who they want to cast before auditions even start, and knowing a director and having a good relationship with them will promote me as a motivated and committed performer.

Potential Restrictions Imposed on the Production

Licensing of the Play- Due to the fact that Shakespeare's play were written mainly in the late 1500's and early 1600's, the right's and licensing to his play's were his, and when he died in 1616, the plays became free for us to use nowadays. Therefore there were no licensing restrictions which saved us money in budget, and also meant that we were able to adapt it to suit our theme of physical theatre and allowed us to cut scenes that didn't fit with the story line and our adaptions to characters, for example making certain characters female as opposed to male, to create contrast between the 1500's and 2017, where equality between men and women is a strong standing and ongoing protest in today's society.

Venue- 

The venue chosen for our performance of 'The Tempest' was Brighton Open Air Theatre in Brighton, which is a modern thrust stage with a large audience space and stage space. It claims to have enough room to fit 425 people. 

Screen shot from the information sheet provided by the theatre venue. 

This is a screenshot of the website, and I understand that the seating is suited for up to 425 people because it says 'BOAT is a 425 Capacity Open Air Theatre in Dyke Road Park, Hove'. This then allows me to think about how we could advertise the show in order to save money for the cost of hire, by selling a large amount of tickets. To do this I advertised the poster for the show on social networking sites, and gained interest from a range of audiences. I also posted pictures on Instagram of the rehearsal process, along side the link to the tickets on the BOAT website, so that people could gain an interest.

The cost of hire for the Theatre for the day, is £425. This would give us time for the whole day to rehearse the show twice, and also practice in costume within the space, interpreting the stage and audience to see if the costumes are practical for the space. During the day rehearsals, I learnt that I couldn't run down the audience 'stairs' in my dress as it was a tight fitting dress and I was also in bare feet so I couldn't run comfortably on the grass to get round to the top. Therefore we were able to make adaptions to my blocking, and change it so that I ran around the back of the audience whilst saying my line on the wooden surface so that it was more comfortable and practical. I think that to make up the cost of hire, set and costumes, our main focus should have been selling tickets, therefore like I said, I advertised it on social network, however I do think that to improve this for the future, I will also approach member of the public and give them posters personally, like we did in Shoreham festival. The venue sent a contract, in which it states that they are not responsible for loss in profits which means that, again, we were responsible for selling enough tickets to make a profit, which is why my idea of social network advertisement was effective. 

Restriction on funding and refunding. Screenshot from the regulation sheet provided by the theatre venue.

The conditions for the hire were listed and emailed to the hirer, and we were sent them to read over, to understand the risk assessments. I am glad that I read the risk assessments prior to the date in which we were to use the theatre, as I was more aware of potential risks and restrictions. For example, if any damage was caused to the venue or facilities then the hirer would be responsible for paying for repairmen's. For example, they provide us with a hut to use as a dressing room, and facilities such as kitchen appliances and toilet facilities to use throughout the day. To prevent accidental damage we set ground rules on the day and applied them to how professional we were to act, both as actors, and hirers of a venue. This worked well as there wasn't any damage caused. Rules were set out by the manager on the day of the performance, that we were to clean up litter straight after the performance. This is because the venue is set in the middle of a public park, and due to the fact that it is an 'Open Air Theatre', which is outside, it would be easy for rubbish to blow over the fences and reach the public areas which is not environmentally safe. We were also warned that it is a common occurrence for dogs to find a way through the fence and enter the premises, however we decided that if an incident like this was to occur, we should approach the situation calmly and responsibly to show professionalism and reunite the dog with the owners. We did run into an innocent in which we had to drive through a public park to get to the venue car park and one of the vehicles raised concerns to a dog owner. The woman was angry and handled the situation poorly, however we approached her with a calm and respectful tone, and rounded everyone up to stay away from her whilst individuals handled the situation. This meant that it was convenient for both the public, us, the woman involved, and the theatre staff, as the calm tone of the individuals prevented a bigger problem.

Post Show information and procedures. Screenshot from rules and regulation sheet provided from the venue.

The information here about the Hut rules and restrictions also suggests that by cleaning up our rubbish, we will prevent attracting unwanted wildlife which could cause destruction to the theatre.

Should there be a hazard in the venue, for example a fire, then the risk assessment states that we were to find the nearest emergency exit. After reading this I ensured that I made myself aware of my surroundings on the day and spotted two exits that could be used in the case of an emergency. Luckily due to our caution there were no hazards and we secured and handled every potential hazard (for example, the hedgehog and other wildlife) to ensure that we remained safe and respectful to the venue.

Emergency Evacuation Procedure. Screenshot from the risk assessment and information sheet provided by the venue.

Other restrictions that we ran into during our experience on the day were smokers just outside of the venue, who were making noise. We continued to stay professional and chose to ignore these people, which meant that they did not distract from both the rehearsals, and the performance. We also had issues with wildlife at the beginning of the day, as when we were setting the stage and sorting out the electrical uses such as sound, we found a hedgehog by the plugs which, if we had not found it, would have caused the hedgehog harm. To prevent harm to the hedgehog or ourselves we called an animal specialist who came to the venue and handled the hedgehog, and safely returned it to its habitat in another wooded area outside the venue. This meant that we were able to carry on with the rehearsals without a major distraction or allowing situations to get out of control.

Due to the fact that the venue is an 'Open Air Theatre', the weather was unpredictable. Therefore we had to prepare for the worst of weather prior to leaving the college. To do this I ensured that I had warm clothing, and blankets for others so that it would prevent anyone from becoming ill before the performance. This was effective as the weather was low throughout the day, and it was very cold and difficult to focus. I had to work on my focus throughout the day as the cold weather was causing me to shake and shiver, which distracted me from my performance. During the show I was required to wear bare feet and only a thin cape, and due to this I lost circulation in both feet, causing them to go numb. I was however, prepared for this and provided myself with blankets and warm layers to wear backstage between my scenes, and this allowed me to focus during my performance and maintain my professionalism.

The venue provided a schedule for the show, and our allowances for times we should be in and out of the theatre. This made it easer to devise our own schedule and how we could plan our time to create a rehearsal and break schedule to prevent chaos and stress on the day, which was useful because it allowed us all to maintain our professionalism and focus throughout the day and also prevented people becoming frustrated from stress.

Schedule provided by the venue.

Shoreham Shakespeare's Festival- When we performed our chosen scenes in Shoreham, we performed it in part of Shoreham's annual Shakespeare's Festival. Differently to our performance at Brighton Open Air Theatre, the festival in Shoreham was dedicated to just Shakespeare and the anniversary of his death, so the audience of the public were expecting shakespeare monologues and performances. This meant that our performance samples and monologues with the stylised approach would have stood out to the audience because it was different compared to the classically performed shakespeare monologues. I feel that this would have drawn attention to our performance and gained a following prior to our performance for Brighton Fringe. To ensure that I attracted audience members, I gave leaflets to several members of the public and explained our performance to them so that they would be excited as to what to expect. This was effective because I was able to give away information to potential ticket buyers, further promoting our show. I feel that the performance in shoreham went well, as when I performed my scene I ensured that I used more projection to what I am used to in a theatre, to therefore reach the attention of more audience members over the sound of the public market, and the pedestrians and cars going past. This was effective because pedestrians began to stop and watch, therefore drawing more attention towards our ticket sales for our then, upcoming, performance at Brighton Open Air Theatre for Brighton Fringe.

Brighton Festival- We had the opportunity to perform the tempest as part of Brighton Fringe at Brighton Open Air Theatre for our main performance. The difference between this performance and Shoreham Shakespeare's Festival's performance is that Shoreham's audience would be expecting Shakespeare monologues, whereas Brighton Fringe Festival varies in the performance styles, genres and play writes. Therefore we allowed time throughout the process to adapt the performance to a modern day audience, and developed different themes to portray the storyline and narrative to the audience so that it was clear what was happening during the performance. This also created a stylised approach to our performance that made the performance stand out because of how creative and interpretive towards the theme and narrative which made the audience understand the storyline better. I think that due to the fact that Brighton Fringe Festival is a popular and renowned performance festival, it immediately added pressure to our performance, and I feel that it motivated me personally to work harder during rehearsals to ensure that my performance was slick and professional, whilst maintaining the energy. I think that whilst audiences attending Brighton Fringe performances would expect a slick and tidy performance, I feel that it would not work for our specific show, because of our interpretation of physical theatre, and room for improvisation. Therefore I made sure that I was confident with my lines at the early rehearsal process, and only familiarised myself on the blocking and my interaction with other characters, so that when I improvised comedy throughout the rehearsals and during the performance, it was more unexpected and automatically raised the energy levels and pace.

Picture from my performance.

Producing Ideas to Move the Project Forward

Costume- When designing my costume, I was asked to make it link to Prospera's through the use of leaves. I also think that by using leaves it connected Miranda to nature, and allowed the audience to understand that she has been raised on the island. I thought that because leaves are green, this could be a theme colour, and I could use different colours of greens to make it look more naturalistic. When cutting the leaves, instead of using plain green colours, I used old T-shirts with patterns to make the costume fit in with our adaptations with the script to suit a modern audience, as it also made the costume look more abstract and interesting. I learnt that Prospera had a cloak in her costume, and to link Miranda and Prospera's costumes further I added a blue transparent chiffon cloak to create elegance and innocence towards the character of Miranda, but to also make a link to the fact that Miranda and Prospera are related.

I think that it was also effective during the performance, when the cloak flowed in the wind to represent the idea of nature and to allow the audience to understand where the play is set, which is outside and on an island. 

Set- When we were told that we were using 3 blocks at the front of the stage for our set, I immediately linked them to status and thought about how I could use proxemics to create status for Miranda at different points in the play. During the Performance, I improvised and stepped onto the front block when Miranda subtly proposes to Ferdinand, as it would have been seen as 'wrong' for a woman to propose to a man in the 1500's as there was inequality towards woman and nothing was done about it in those times. Whilst I used the block I felt that it worked effectively because it raised my character's status towards the audience and made it more clear what I was doing, as the sound of the wind and cars in the background could distract the audience from my dialogue, therefore this would have allowed them to understand what was happening within the narrative at the point in the script.

Example of the Improvisation in which I interpreted the stage blocks, and Myself and Max used exaggerated facial expressions to add humour.

Throughout rehearsals I ensured that I was constantly contributing ideas towards my scenes. Due to the fact that my character requires little interaction with the majority of the cast, I felt that it was appropriate to make the decision to create a dazed characteristic for Miranda, which also added comedy. I decided to use comedy in my performance because it is one of my strengths and would therefore naturally bring the pace and energy up throughout my scenes, and I also feel that it is important when working as a duo act that you bounce of what the other character is doing and saying using improvisation, to prevent the scene loosing energy, and since Max had made the decision prior to me to make his character a comedy character, I made the decision also based on this to create a contrast between my character and Max's character, and my character and Izzys' character.

Miranda's relationship with Prospera is mother and daughter, therefore I made my first scene in the show with Izzy portray this by adding levels in my voice to show frustration that the stereotypical character has with their parents in the beginning of the scene, but when Prospera begins to tell Miranda a story whilst manipulating her, I decided to show a weaker side to Miranda by talking slowly and quieter, and changing the dynamics of my movements. I think that this worked well for our performance because when I spoke to a member of the audience, they were able to see the effects of manipulation from Prospera towards Miranda in this scene and it helped them understand the narrative more.

I changed the 'cover' character I used when Miranda interacts with Prospera, for when Miranda and Ferdinand had their own scene, where they met and talked behind Prospera's back without her approval, from the moody teenager that I have previously spoken about, to the awkward and confused character which creates comedy. This was to represent the fact that Miranda begun to realise who Prospera really was, and started to focus on who she could trust. This worked well because in the performance at BOAT, the audience were laughing during the scene to confirm the humour, and this impacted the energy and pace in a positive way.

During the performance, I realised how I wasn't interacting with them as much as I have in previous classical productions. I think that the reason for this is because usually it is easy to interact and get the audience involved in classical theatre because that is how they were performed during Shakespeare's era, and a lot of characters had the opportunity to do this during the performance, but for Miranda, her own storyline involved trying to find someone she trusts and to not interact with the audience clearly shows that she is looking for something. I did however, interact with the audience when Prospera begun questioning Ferdinand when he and Miranda were trying to flirt and impress each other. This was an impulse decision during the performance which was a result of the high energy created, and I feel that it worked well because I was speaking aside, and letting the audience know that my character was embarrassed, but I wanted to portray the idea that she didn't want Ferdinand to see that she was embarrassed. This also created humour  and therefore made it successful because it linked to the atmosphere of the scene and characters.

By adding comedy to my character, Miranda, specifically in the scenes with Ferdinand, I feel would have made the performance more appealing and interesting to a modern day audience. This is because usually classical language is hard for a present day audience to keep track of because it represents a whole different language almost from the different time periods, therefore makes the audiences loose interest quickly, and I feel that the comedy and manic energy between the characters brought the energy up, which would have made it more interesting for the large audience. I think that due to the fact that the stage was so large, as were the audience seating, it was difficult to maintain the energy of the scenes because they were blocked with smaller movements to fit the theatre at college, therefore during the show myself and Max used improvisation to create movements and gestures to create comedy, and used exaggerated facial expressions to make the gestures more clear to the audience. For example, during the scene where Miranda and Ferdinand meet for the first time, Max held my back, and I leaned backwards in a slight back bend, whilst showing a tense and awkward facial expression, whilst Max begun grimacing facial expression to represent his character attempting to kiss Miranda, but wasn't sure how. This worked well as it emphasised both of our characters, mine as being awkward and unsure around other people, as she has never met a human other than herself and Prospera, and it emphasised Max's exaggerated 'dumb' character. This was effective because the audience laughed. To improve this I would have liked to have made it more clear for the whole audience, as the stage is a thrust stage, therefore the audience are at the majority of angles. To achieve this I would have faced the back to make Max's facial expressions more clear, or face sideways to the front section of the audience to make two sides of the audience, and the front see at least one character.

Examples of our improvisation, in which we tried to emphasise our awkward characters through the use of comedy and facial expressions.