One bit of advice that I was given early on is this: As an actor you should never choose your own head shot. Why? You are typically your own worst critic, and others that are more qualified to do this job, like your agent or manager. Some photographers say to take your favorite five and show them to everyone you know, and make a choice that way. NO! unless you have no agent or manager, then this would be your best approach.

Taking your new proof sheet to your agent or manager is a great thing, and it gets them involved and excited about promoting you, and getting you work. Telling them I want to use this one, and not that one… is not productive… if they are any good at getting people work, they for sure know more about what photo will work than will not. This is what they do for a living. You are an actor, not a head shot selection person. Do your job, and let the others do their job.

I would say that getting new head shots once per year, is about the right thing to do. If you are a kid, every six months…

You should spend between $350 – $500 for quality shots. Remember, it costs money to make money, and your head shot is about the only thing most casting directors will see of you in the start of your endeavor. Its your calling card as an actor, it is VERY IMPORTANT that they work well, and all that means is when you, your agent or manager, send them to people, those people call you in for an audition. The rest is up to you.

If your Head Shots are not good, you will not get auditions.

Also remember that you want to look like your head shot when you roll in for your audition. This means do not over do the makeup, or whatever… look natural, and look like you do in real life.

I have personally helped in casting, and have been amazed at how different people look from their head shots, so much so… that after an audition they just get tossed in the “Rejected” pile… for not looking quite right for the part.

I hope this helps, and remember to check out this web site for a ton more information on this topic. Head Shots 101 !!!

Have fun, and enjoy yourself… life is too short to not have fun!!!

If your name is Joe Smith, why not have your very own website, www.JoeSmith.com

You can put up your resume, your head shots, your reels, your contact information, you name it! And you can print your website address on your resume, to send people for more information.

Twitter, Facebook, and all other forms of social media are nothing more than a great augment to having your very own website. Thinking you will be found on any social media site, unless you are at least a B List Celebrity is a farce. However if you have your own website with your name as the address, you will for sure be found on a google, or any other kind of search.

Having a website now is about as important as having a good head shot. I have heard this from many industry professionals on more than one occasion. Casting Directors now search the web for talent, and the only way to be found in the mess is by having your name as your website address.

Check out my friends at www.myactingsite.com for help, they are a proven company, around for many years and they pick up the phone when you call for help!

My 2 cents!
-Frank

July 29, 2010

To friend or not to friend? That is the question Facebook’s many users are confronted with on a daily basis. It’s even more of a quandary for actors, whose co-workers constantly change as they go from rehearsal hall to temp job to film set. The more names and faces and contacts you collect, the better for your career, right? That may depend on how wisely, and to what end, you use Facebook.

Facebook is the perfect platform for keeping your network of contacts informed about that play you’re in or when your episode of “Rescue Me” or “The Big Bang Theory” will be airing. Do use it to post credits, photos from shows you’re in, and even video clips. Use it to reconnect and network with former classmates and colleagues. But understand its limitations. While it can help you to stay in touch with folks you know, it’s not the best way to network with those you don’t, and it isn’t a substitute for a website of your own.

“A social networking site is not as important as having a site with your own domain name,” says Eric Brownstone of MyActingSite.com. “To me, it crosses a line that doesn’t make a lot of sense. I haven’t heard of anybody yet getting an audition because of what they said on Facebook.”

Some Facebook users draw a clear line between the site’s personal and professional uses. “My personal page on Facebook is just that,” says casting director Marci Liroff. “It’s for friends and family only. I don’t think an actor who tries to befriend me on Facebook, or then tags me on their videos to get me to look at them, is networking. It’s pretty annoying, actually.”

Liroff recommends that actors wishing to contact her through Facebook do so via her fan page. “My fan page is a great place for me to interact with actors and give them advice,” she says, “or steer them towards great blogs I’ve read about acting, a heads-up on an open call, deals on headshots…all sorts of things.”

If you are connected with colleagues through Facebook—and really, who isn’t?—keep that in mind and watch what you post and comment on, especially if you’re wound up about something. Lambasting a director for an ill-conceived staging of “Timon of Athens” calls into question your discretion if she happens to be on your friend list—or the friend list of one of your friends—and it won’t encourage her to cast you in future shows. Word choices could also offend. Tony winner Alice Ripley created an uproar recently when she used a gay slur in a status update that was responding to a criticism of her performance in “Next to Normal.” (She’s since apologized.)

As with most things in life, common sense and discretion are key. Don’t reveal specific details of contracts and compensation or dish about what happened in the rehearsal room that morning. Err on the side of caution when it comes to the Internet. And save the diciest details for margarita night.

July 29, 2010

Thanks to the Internet, a headshot and résumé don’t have to be an actor’s sole calling card anymore. A website can help you raise your visibility and spotlight your talent. And just as a quality headshot and résumé can brand you an astute pro, so can a top-notch website. But the opposite is also true: A confusing or inferior site can frustrate casting directors. So consider the following advice from some Web-savvy sources.

Cost

Not only is there the cost of designing and building your website to consider; there’s also the fee for registering the domain name (the www.yournamehere.com address) and another for hosting your site on a server, as well as the cost to update the site regularly—unless you’re tech-savvy enough to do it yourself. Expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $1,000 or more, depending on the designer and how much content you have, and around $50 a year for hosting.

Another way to go—one that’s less expensive, at least up front—is to design and host your website by using an online service, such as MyActingSite.com, that offers a variety of design templates from which to choose. (It’s similar to setting up a blog through Blogger or TypePad.) At MyActingSite, the cost is $39.95 for setup and $19.95 per month thereafter.

Layout

It’s hardly surprising that websites that are straightforward and easy to navigate yield the best results. The challenge is assembling such a site out of nothing. Although an experienced website designer can suggest ideas and steer you in the right direction, you should go into any consultation with a basic idea of what you want your site to look like.

“I’ll tell any client to look at other people’s websites and see what you do and don’t like,” says Mark Ledbetter, a website designer and actor, who currently understudies male lead Gavin Lee in “Mary Poppins” on Broadway. “As an actor, it’s another way of putting yourself out there as a professional. Its style should demonstrate who you are as an individual and who you are as an actor. You want to have a nice mix of the two.” That individuality can come in your color, design, font, and layout choices.

Every actor’s website should have a few basic sections: bio/news, photos, résumé, clips/reel, and contact info. All should be clearly listed on the homepage. “You don’t want to have to go more than three clicks to get to where you’re going,” says Ledbetter, who has designed sites for performers such as Barbara Cook and Matt Cavenaugh.

While it’s fine to have a links section on your site, don’t send a casting director to another site to find your pertinent information. “I like the ones that have all the info actually on the website,” says West Coast casting director Marci Liroff. “Putting a link that takes you to another website for your videos, for example, takes you off of the actor’s website, and that’s not good. You want to have everything self-contained.”

Contact Info

List an email address but also a phone number where you can be reached. “Get something that isn’t your cell number, so you’re not putting that on the Web for the world to call,” advises actor Kimberly Dawn Neumann, whose Broadway credits include “A Chorus Line,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “Ragtime.”

“I have a service number I’ve had for years,” she continues, “and I keep it just so I have a number that no one can trace me at but that they can always reach me at day or night. I also have an email that is nondescript and goes through my website to my Palm Pixi. If someone contacts me through the site, I have instant notification. Sometimes time is of the essence.”

Photos and Credits

You’ll be doing yourself and your potential employers a huge favor by including a downloadable résumé and a high-resolution headshot. Once you’ve done that, you can list on your site any credits you don’t have room for on your résumé. Your website can also contain several different photos, but be sure to select only those that show you at your best and that add to the overall picture of yourself that you want to create. “A casting director only maybe wants to see six different looks,” says actor Eric Brownstone, who operates MyActingSite.com.

Reels and Clips

Don’t expect to get cast in the Broadway company of “Wicked” based solely on the rendition of “Defying Gravity” that you posted on your website. But in certain instances, a good video or audio clip may get you an offer without having to attend an in-person audition.

When Brad Alexander and Adam Mathias were casting a workshop of their musical “See Rock City & Other Destinations” last June with director Jack Cummings III, they tried to find performers whose work they knew, because they didn’t have a budget for auditions. One role proved problematic, until Cummings’ wife, actor Barbara Walsh, recommended a performer named Josh Young, with whom she’d done a production of “A Little Night Music.”

“The only way we were able to see him was by finding video of him online,” says Mathias. Unfortunately, Young was unable to return for this summer’s Off-Broadway production of “See Rock City” by the Transport Group, as he’s playing Che in “Evita” at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

How Much Is Too Much?

One of the most appealing aspects of the Web is the huge galaxy of space it offers to tell the industry everything you can possibly tell about yourself. But that doesn’t mean you have to include every little detail. “We have some actors that put up a full feature that they’ve been in,” Brownstone says. “A casting director will tell you three minutes is enough.”

“The biggest don’ts are putting up things that have nothing to do with your work as an actor, and clients who want to put up everything—every photo from every show,” says Ledbetter. “You want to be careful and make sure it’s something that you feel good about and represents who you are.”

I try to support the Actor, and try to point them in the direction of things that will help them in that endeavor, I ask for nothing in return!!! Nothing, no pay pal donation links, no banners for pennies… NOTHING! I am just trying to help point Actors in the direction that has helped me in the past. I was once a newbie, and I was taken for $1,000′s of dollars. I want NO ONE to experience that negativity of the business. The SCAMMERS are EVERYWHERE, and only the strong survive, and it takes balls to tell it like it is!

The companies that I do not like, which are listed on this blog, are their for a REASON! THEY Steal money from Actors! This has been proven by me, or by one of my friends, and then shared with me. the Companies that I like are also their for a reason, they work, and are NECESSARY!

Keep these things in mind, and be true to your goals and you will do well! I appreciate the positive response I have received since starting this blog!

Thank you and do well, and feel free to ask me anything!!! Always happy to help!!!

-Frank

You need to stay in the game, and FOCUS!!! Do not worry about what is going on with others. Focus on the task at hand, and make it happen!

Yes being observant is not a bad thing at all, but doing the “will they give me the instant callback” song and dance, will destroy your focus. This is yet another reason I like to watch world class Tennis, the players are about the most focused individuals I have ever seen, and it totally relates to what we do as actors. In fact I read a good book recently, that really shows one “HOW TO FOCUS” its called “The Inner Game of Tennis” it has not that much to do with Tennis, but more on the order of How to Focus on the task at hand, its F’ing brilliant, and applies to most all of life.

Anything that helps you stay focused and true to what you are doing, is worth it! Do not waste your time wondering what someone else is doing, do what you do, and the rest will fall in place.

-Frank

When you are ready to get a website, USE YOUR NAME!!! like Gregory Franklin did… see him here www.GregoryFranklin.net

Do not let a substandard company sell you on the idea that, this is your own website if your domain name looks something like this… www.somecrappycompany.com/gregoryfranklin

or this.
gregoryfranklin.somecrappycompany.com

or this
www.somecrappycompany/whocanfindme/gregoryfranklin

Anything other than www.YOURNAMHERE.com or .net is BULL!!! and you will NOT BE FOUND by casting people on that net.

This is the gods honest truth! I have nothing to gain by giving you the truth, expect to give you the TRUTH!!!

Watch out for the scams… there are TOO many of them out there wanting to separate you from your hard earned money!!!

-Frank

If you do not understand this, look in a mirror or video yourself asking a simple question. If, upon playback it sounds like a question YOU GOT IT! if not… get busy figuring out why its off. Casting people will love that you can do this, trust me!

I just did acting as a reader for a few hours with a casting director, and 75% of the actors that read for the part… made questions sound like statements. HORRIBLE!!! None of them will be called back.

Simple fact of the business, you need to know how to read and comprehend the material.

-Frank

No audition always makes me HAPPY!!!
-Frank

I do not even need to rant about why this is so pathetic… but I will just say this, What kind of Woman can turn a man gay, after years of marriage, this is the worst idea EVER!

I had such high hopes for ABC, oh well.

-all in my opinion as usual
–Frank