By: Brian Gilleece
Often actors will discuss how a scene made THEM feel but lest we loose sight on what the objective is here...
I'm reminded of a quote:
People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
–Maya Angelou
Actors are in the business of making people FEEL something when often times we can think we're in the business of saying someone else words "in a way" or in a way they will "Like" or that will make us book the role.
CASTING: From the nano-second you walk on property casting needs to feel something from you... Something different, something the other 65 actors they saw in the last 2 days did not show them. Fear, anger, sadness, love, disgust - but they also need to feel trust. Trust in you that they are in secure hands with the feelings they may feel during your scene, during hiring you, during your time working with their client, during your time as a reflection on their skills as a casting director. They need to feel connection and feel like they found something, even if they don't know exactly what it is.
AGENTS: Your agent needs to FEEL things from your as well. They need to feel that you are 90% more invested in this then them. They need to feel your passion for the job. They need to feel you are grateful. They need to feel that you are reliable. They need to feel that if and when they pitch you on a project the tape or performance they will be sending to casting is as good or better then expected, preferably better because they need to feel their reputation will remain at a minimum, in tact. If you have a GOOD agent, meaning they have been making a living at this for a while now, you better make sure you run a tight dam ship.....Im telling you.... I can not tell you how disappointing it is to see the back and forth with agents and managers working hard to get casting to bring a client in or put them selfs on tape for what they think is a GREAT opportunity and then the client sends a poor performance on tape or an email that says "It was fine, I was somewhere between underprepared and over prepared." This is the stuff that hurts trust and trust is something much easier to loose than get back. Your job is to make them FEEL, you are a thing, you are worth their time-investment.
EVERYONE YOU MEET: Jess had the opportunity to go to an event were a client had worked with quite a few prominent people in the industry on a big show, with a big showrunner. Everyone she came in contact with, from the camera op, to a writer, to crew, to makeup, had remarkable things to say about this client. They went out of their way to not only say how much they enjoyed working with them, but how talented they are, what a good choice Jess had made in terms of a person to invest time into. They did not have to do this. It is very easy to say "it was really great working with you" but to elaborate on it, in detail, to put their stamp on that person with their expertise? that is what this all about. This client did their job, they made people FEEL great working with them, feel confident in them, feel like the production was far better with them than without them.
That's the Job. Yup. The job is saying words, hitting marks and playing with the camera. Yup. Its connecting with the other actor, coming up with clever deliveries and showing up prepared. But, mostly what the job is, is making people FEEL. The audience, your team, everyone you interact with.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK! SHORT ONE BUT ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!
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