I chose prospera's monologue for my Tempest audition. I chose this because I wanted to explore the adapted character for this performance and felt that I could challenge myself using strong vocals and movement to suit the theatre in which we will be performing. Prospera is originally a male part (Prospero), and our performance will be adapted to suit a modern day society and show a strong female lead as oppose to male, this is another reason as to why I wanted to sound strong in my voice. I knew prior to the audition that we will be performing at Brighton Open Air Theatre, and BOAT is a large outdoor space, therefore sound doesn't travel easily and that was another thing I took into consideration in this audition. I tried to lower my voice to sound stronger as well, because naturally my voice is a high pitch and this makes it difficult to project in large spaces, so I tried to use my diaphragm to allow my voice to travel as if I was in BOAT.
I felt that the first time I did my monologue, my movement was minimal because I was focusing on my lines, and I was asked to perform it again and add more movement, as if there were people in a still image position whilst I walked around the stage, and I tried to exaggerate looking around and trying to communicate with these people using imagination to try and make it clear to a large audience.
Overall, I think that my audition went well because I was able to adapt to what I was asked to do, as a professional actor would. I also think that I was able to develop my characterisation throughout the audition to suit the site specific performance, allowing my voice to travel and still have dynamics in my lines. To improve I would like to adapt my movement and try to exaggerate the way my character will walk and talk to suit the theatre where the performance will take place.
I feel that Casting Call Pro allowed me to update more skills that I could present at auditions, and I was able to create a wider range of jobs that I would be suitable for within the industry. Whilst some skills aren't as strong as others, I feel that it would give me a chance to work on them, should an audition come up requesting one of the weaker skills. However, I feel that these different skills would be best for stage performances, and I would mainly like to work on TV and Film projects, and therefore I think that it could decrease my chance of having a casting director who is looking for an actor to offer me an audition because a lot of the time they are looking for someone who is more natural. However, I do think that these different skills could benefit me because I could get more jobs for stage which ultimately, could give me the opportunity to gain a following and status so that I can be offered more auditions for television and film.
Spotlight Skills Audit:
I felt that spotlight didn't give me as much options in terms of skills, but this also makes it look more slick and professional. I think that a casting director would be able to look at my CV and find what skill they are particularly interested in, which will save them time. I marked my skills in which I am highly skilled in, such as gymnastics because this increases my chances of being noticed on spotlight because a lot of actors and dancers can't do much gymnastics and acrobatics, which allows me to gain more opportunities. In September 2016 this confirmed my theory of this, as I was asked to audition for a feature film based on a gymnast, whose skills improve throughout the film. I had to send a video of me performing my gymnastic tricks and I had to tell the casting directors about myself over another video. This was so that they could review my own personality and they could compare it to the characters.
My accents on both audits are the same, and I haven't updated them recently. This is because I am not highly skilled in accents and therefore this is something I wish to improve on. I think that learning more accents will increase my chances of getting more auditions because it shows my ability to portray a wider range of characters.
When taking the multiple intelligence test I ensured to answer it truthfully and with my ambition of being an actress in mind, this was to ensure that my answers would reflect on my future as an actor and how it may effect it, either positively or negatively so I know what to work on, and what I can use as a strength to give me more opportunities.
When I was answering the questions I noticed that a lot of my positive responses were towards more practical activities which could suggest that I work better when I am free to express myself through characters and movement which will be good for stage work, and jobs with dancing involved. The questions about theory classes such as maths, I answered more negatively which I think resembles the fact that I become passionate about performance and practical work that I neglect other things, which could affect my ability to learn lines which is something I now need to improve on.
The results of this test showed that my three highest intelligence areas were:
-Interpersonal (social)- suggested that I could communicate well with groups which will be good for working within the professional acting industry because I have to communicate with the director to gain an understanding of scenes, and talk to supervisors such as script supervisors to talk about anything within the script that I might be uncomfortable with, which is a common issue with actors. I also would need the ability to communicate well with the other actors because this would emphasise the relationships between our characters (if there is a relationship) and also it helps when you know the person you are working with so that you are more confident in their scenes, and can portray a good friendship both on an off set/stage. I think that I would also need this skill when working as an extra or ensemble member of a cast, because being in the background often means reacting to what is going on, or communicating to other ensemble members. Overall having this skill allows me to understand everyone better which will result in a more positive rehearsal/production. This in time will give me a better reputation as an actor as it is more professional to get involved with what everyone in the cast and crew are doing. Looking at this website: http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm, I noticed that it says next to Interpersonal- Other peoples feelings, which means that I would consider other peoples feelings over my own when in a working environment. I feel that this is both a positive and a negative. The positive side of this is that I am always aware of how other people are feeling, which emphasises my point on communication and the importance of it, however it also means that I don't always focus on myself when working in terms of how I am feeling, which I think can be the case from past experiences. It is easy for me to get caught up in what other people are doing/feeling/thinking, which ultimately effects my overall performance and rehearsals because I am more worried about others. Whist it can be good to support others, it is also important to ensure that you are focused on what you are doing as an actor and so I would like to improve this.
-Visual/Spacial- When my scores added up to visual/spacial being one of my top intelligence areas, I put some thought into how I could interpret this into benefiting my career as a performer. I think that the visual part of this skill will help me to interpret more into my characterisation, because I often use my imagination to create background stories for characters which benefit my acting in a positive way. I also think that visual/spacial is good for stage acting, because unlike film and television where you have different sets, you only have one site for stage and that is at the venue chosen, therefore you have to visualise where you are using the space to create the atmosphere for the audience. I feel that this is one of my strengths which backs this test up, because I am often able to create the location my character is in, in my head, and visualise it to create the environment for the audience. When looking on the same website as before (http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm) it just said images/space, which is how I had interpreted it within my analysis. I feel that I can use this to benefit specifically my career on stage, but can also interpret it into my career on film and television as well, by creating the illusion that the crew aren't there and it is just me and the characters/ space.
-Linguistic- This means 'words and language' according to http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm which I can assume in my area of study is scripts and character analysis. I think that this relates a lot to my ability to learn lines, quickly simply because of the 'words' part of the description however I also think this could link to my strong improvisation skills, and as an actor on stage I am often asked to interpret my improvisation in live performances, due to the fact that I can become completely in character. This could boost my career as an actor, because directors, producers and casting directors are immediately interested in someone who can bring something to their piece that is different, and obviously improvisation becomes personal to you and your character. I think that it could be a strength also because I can learn more about my characters through it which allows me to portray a more convincing performance towards an audience.
My first preference as to what mediums I would like to work in would be indie films, and studio films, because these are the types of jobs that could boost my status as an actor and are often well paid, therefore I would be able to make a living out of it. Preferably, I would like to pursue a career in comedy films, as comedy is one of my strengths when acting, as I like to portray abstract, vibrant and weird characters that the make the audience feel uncomfortable but also make them laugh. I am inspired by actors such as Catherine Tate, and Rebel Wilson, both different in how they portray characters as I would be too, but similar in what they do with the characters, which is to make them as abstract and loud as possible to get an understanding from the audience.
My second preference would be to have a job on a TV sitcom. This is to increase my status as a comedian and I would eventually like to write a sitcom as well as act in one. This is so that I can gain a following as a comedy actor and then pursue my next choice which is to get jobs and auditions for TV movies, which aren't always as big as studio films (my first choice) but still get you known within the industry which increase your chances of being picked up by a casting director for new projects.
Along side these two preferences, my third choice of a genre for acting would be on stage. This is because even though I enjoy being on stage, I prefer being more natural with my performances, and despite wanting to portray bold characters, I also wish to play them more naturalistic in terms of movement, for example comedy actors on film only have to use facial expressions and voice to create humour, whereas on stage you have to create a lot of movement as well to make the performance more clear towards the audience, and I feel that for me personally, this will draw me away from being natural and will not make me as successful in getting 'laughs' from the audience. I would however, like to play parts on stage as I do enjoy it, however I would prefer to be an actress and comedian for film. I think that working on stage would promote me well as an actor and boost my chances of getting more auditions for film and television work.
Timeline
For my first year of freelance I will work on acting in stage productions to create a status for myself as an actor, and hopefully gain attention from different directors and casting directors through inviting them to watch. I would like this to last a year, because I want to ensure that I move quickly past this part of my career and move on to more television work.
I would then ask my agent to apply me for jobs in commercials and small roles in film and TV. This is because I think it would be good experience to watch other actors in films and TV to become inspired and gain an understanding on what is expected. It will also raise my status as an actor within the industry and more people will know who I am, such as casting directors, and will hopefully know to hire me again. I am not sure how long this would last for as it can vary depending on how often I am working, and how quickly I can gain this status. I feel that it would be sensible to forecast this as 2 years, because this gives me time to audition for a lot of different things.
I would then like to move on to do indie films, and student films that are low budget, so that I can experience bigger roles as an actor and understand the demands by experiencing it and not just researching it. I think that this would be useful because if I was to eventually land a good part in a studio film, I would know exactly what is expected of me and I would have the correct professional attitude towards work. Due to the fact that it is difficult to land roles on films like these, and acting jobs in general, I think that this would take 2-3 years, because I would have to audition and gain a status from it. I feel as though my CV that would have built up from my timeline would benefit me in allowing me to land roles more easily, and increases my chances of being recognised by casting directors.
Eventually, my biggest ambition is to land a role in a studio film, big or small. I think that this would benefit my career because it will be increasing the chances of being hired again, and by different people because a wider audience will see what I am capable of. I think that the experience leading up to this will help me achieve this goal because I would be more prepared and understand what I might expect.
Platforms I would Like to use to market myself
The best platforms for marketing myself to pursue a career in these mediums would be to hire an agent in order to have contacts within the film industry and to gain a knowledge on different companies and statuses of production companies, and also to increase my likelihood of getting an audition out of my applications, due to my higher status as an actor who is being represented by an industry professional.
I would then have to complete a showreel which would showcase my talent as an actor towards casting directors. I would have to make my own showreel as an actor and I would put in previous experiences that I have so that it is showing my agent and casting directors what I am capable of through past experiences. However, this showreel could work for getting me an agent, and then usually agents like to create a showreel for each person they represent that also promotes their agency. I have a video of a showreel made by my agent below:
I think that this showreel represents my agent in a professional way and the fact that I filmed it in front of a white screen creates a plain background, so that the main focus is on me and what I am doing. This showreel has been successful because I have had a lot of auditions from it throughout the last year that I have had it, however I feel that it doesn't show everything that I am capable of. For example even though the script was a comedy, I felt that the small space didnt allow me to represent my character in a funny way, and therefore the jobs I am more likely to get are characters in a school, or just teenage characters in general. Whilst I think that any experience is good experience, I think that I should be pushing myself to apply for roles that suit me more such as comedy and therefore I am going to aim to create my own showreel displaying my experience from the last three years, and particularly the comedy characters I have played.
Another thing that would benefit me in getting job experiences in these mediums would be updated headshots. I think that for someone my age, headshots can be updated every 6-12 months, because I am still able to change in terms of growing and developing as an adult. When I was younger I would have to update my headshots every 6 months as children are always changing, however due to the fact that I am nearly an adult, I shouldn't have to worry as much about how I am changing in terms of facial features, but instead change them if I dye my hair, or change the way I look drastically. This way the casting directors are always aware with what I look like to avoid getting a bad reputation for 'lying' in my headshots, because the casting directors will be expecting me to look like my headshots and update them when I change. I also think that I should only change my look and/or headshots between jobs and when I am applying for new jobs because then this will avoid confusion between casting directors, and myself.
I think that it would be useful to update my social network on a regular basis to gain a following on Instagram, Facebook, twitter and YouTube. I have already created an Instagram page in which I have nearly 700 followers and a Facebook page where I have 103 likes, and already this has given me the opportunity to audition for a short film, and I got the part from it. This was from promoting myself as an actor and comedian using hashtags, and uploading funny videos on YouTube. I link my email to these pages so that casting directors can contact me directly, and I also leave my agents details incase they wish to contact him as well.
I would like to keep an updated CV also, so that when I turn up to open auditions I can present it to whoever is there. This is because open auditions are usually self promotion for yourself as an actor and you find out about them through social network. I usually get auditions through my agent which are closed auditions, and the casting directors already have my headshots and CV through sites such as spotlight, and casting call pro, but open auditions are where you just turn up, so you have to be aware of how you are promoting yourself. I keep my CV updated on paper to present to casting directors at open auditions, and constantly update my agent if anything changes, so that he can update it on spotlight.
Schedule
Below is my weekly schedule in which I try and balance college work, extra curricular activities and working freelance as an actor:
I think that my schedule shows commitment to my career as a performer because everyday I am working on self promotion. The yellow boxes are the hours that I am in college, however I don't think that this slows me down in promoting and working on my acting skills, because I study musical theatre and drama which means that I am gaining new skills on a daily basis. The blue boxes show that I dance every day of the week (except sunday), which shows my commitment to learning new skills and adapting different performance skills that could benefit me and increase my chances of getting a professional job within the industry. The orange boxes show my commitment to my YouTube channel. Usually I film, edit, and upload the video in one day which takes me the majority of the day, however I would like to start committing to this more and uploading more videos onto YouTube to gain a bigger following from people as a comedian, as YouTube allows me to express myself in my own way. The majority of the table is green, which is the time I commit to updating my social network. Everyday I ensure that I take new pictures and videos at both college, dance and at home to put on instagram and Facebook to promote myself as an actor in training, and ready to work. I use hashtags to promote my updates to different people in the industry and spend a lot of time following industry professionals to gain their attention. Like I have previously mentioned, this has worked before as I gained the attention of a casting director, who emailed me to audition for a small company in Brighton for a short film, and I was able to land the main role in the short film after a successful audition. The crew in the film also complimented me on my comedy YouTube videos and a few had said that they recognised me from YouTube which shows how my videos have reached different people.
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.
I created this CV to give to Casting Directors and Directors/ Producers at open auditions. This is because usually at open auditions, you are representing yourself and so by presenting an updated CV you are showing the production company that you are auditioning for that you are confident in yourself that you have enough experience for the role, and that you are well trained. I think that I could have added my current training to my CV as I have trained with renowned actors and teachers in Britain, however I wanted to keep my CV on one page, so as not to draw away the casting directors attention.
I kept my experiences at a minimum and only included jobs that I have had in the previous 3 years, as I feel that this shows how often I am in work, so that the people hiring me are aware of what I am capable of and know that I have been updating my work experiences to prove that I am ready to work. I feel that if I added all of my experiences not only would it be too long and 'boring' for the casting director to read, but I think it would be pointless because in the previous years I had only worked on ensemble and children roles in stage productions and Television, and this wouldn't express my capabilities now as an actress.
Due to the fact that it is my ambition to work as an actor/ comedian for film, I felt that it was important to update my television experience for the last few years due to the fact that this would raise my chances of landing a good role in the industry. Therefore I have mentioned both student projects, and short films that I have done, and I didn't expand on the companies I have worked for due to the fact that they aren't well known within the industry, and would take away the attention of the person reading it.
I added my smaller roles within the past three years such as being a 'Dancer' in The Wiz, and Paparazzi in CATS, because I feel that this would show a casting director my ability to work in an ensemble part of the cast as well as featured roles, and this could land me smaller roles as extras, or just supporting roles in productions due to the fact that I have had this experience. I have kept the smaller roles on my CV as a minimum however, because I personally am aiming to achieve main roles in stage and film as this is an ambition of mine.
Overall I am happy with my CV because I have represented my professionalism throughout by having clear contact details, agent details, headshot, and experience. I also think that the font I used represents professionalism because it is bold and clear.
