Post by MJ Ferruzza on Jul 30, 2007 20:09:01 GMT -5
It was a long weekend. I had a commercial shoot for 2 Frebreze ads in Cincy. We had the Brickyard 400 qualifications & parties Friday night and all day Saturday. But I was dreading Sunday. Not due to any physical hinderance, it was just set up to be a long day.
I have a great group of classes for kids and adults on Sundays. The kids have been working on a filmed satire of America's Funniest Videos by creating their own staged ones. The adult class has been working on marketing for the past few weeks (they all want to be professional talent) and were ready to get in front of the camera to show off their chops.
Teaching professional actors is a mixed blessing. I teach them and the class gets to network on current jobs, agents and auditions. Unfortunately, being working talent I can lose a student to a play (4-6 week committment), a film, a commercial or some outside interest at any time. So, when we get together it is no nonsense. It is time to work.
Going back to the adult class, we have been doing a scene study with a film I wrote a few years back. I selected some of the strongest interactive scenes for three of my students. One read the part of the happy go lucky loser, another was his ex-fiancee flashback from college and a third read the frustrated live in girlfriend. All of their reads were a bit over the top, but solid. I had picked the right material for those three at least. We covered that material for a couple of classes. Then it was time to bring out the big guns.
In 1990, I wrote a TV series. Not just the pilot, but an entire 13 episodes of a television series. I had a partner for this project back then and we had a deal. I wrote the material and he sought out his connections to option it off in Los Angeles. I had imagined that we could have this series up and running by 1993 at the latest. I soon found out that my business "partner" had NO connections and that he wanted to just be in the show. I was so furious that after a few feeble tries at re-establishing contact with my own connections (I optioned 2 other series Marshall Logan: Last of the Cowboys in 1984 and The Embassy in 1985) I just put the whole thing on the shelf.
I have used the scripts in my acting classes over the years. There were different character types throughout the series and it gave actors a chance to explore building characterization. Students also learned about script reads for TV, the inner workings of blocking and timing, and best of all, they learned about conception. In conceiving a project, you can have the best ideas but when you start to include others the whole concept can change dynamic. Happy Days was a good show. Add Fonzie and the dynamic changes. M*A*S*H was a great show. Kill off Henry Blake and the dynamic changes. When I use my scripts for class (remember I have shelved them for over 15 years), I can see what about each episode could have survived the test of time. What material had universal appeal. I could see what was the real dynamic of the show. It was the characters. They are as universal today as they were almost two decades ago.
I treated the exercise like a real TV experience for the class. We had a sit down/read through. We had blocking and staging. We had a shoot schedule. Costumes. We were ready to film on Sunday!
The first call I got on Sunday was from the actor playing the young male lead. He had a photo shoot on the other side of town and was not going to make it. Response? We'll shoot around him and pick up his scenes next class. Next. The actress playing the young girl shows up but isn't secure on her lines for the scene we were focusing on. Response? Have others work on lines with her before the cameras role and hope it is nervousness. Third actor shows up in costume and prepared. Response? This may work! Fourth actor arrives. She brought the wrong costume, seems frazzled and has a boyfriend in tow who needs to be at the airport in less than an hour. She can only film for 45 minutes, but that's all right, it's only a 20 minute scene, right? 5th actor is ready and off we go to the studio.
It took at least 10 minutes to go over the blocking again, to refresh the actors what they were doing while they were reciting the lines. Then it took another 10 minutes to explain..."Watch me this time as I explain the blocking again!!!" We filmed for 10 more minutes before the "take me to the airport" girlfriend's cell phone started ringing. We got the master shot (a full run through of the scene) and were starting close ups when Airport Girlfriend had "to really go!" She leaves.
Back to filming close-ups. Looking back on scenes we shot, the rest of the actors pointed out something I had missed all day. Airport Girlfriend (playing the domineering office woman) has a horrible tic. She makes a clock tic before she speaks. Tic "Hello all!" Tic. "This is important!" Tic. Ok I can edit those out. But this is an acting class. How did I miss those tics from previous reads? She was just nervous. I make her nervous. She also doesn't like being typecast as an agrressive older woman. She sees herself as a good girl character. What she is missing is that this character has a lot of depth to play around with, but she feels stuck. We will work on this next class. Next Full class.
Professional acting classes. When you come to my class, you will learn from a very educated man. I have over 1500 acting credits. I have done film. I have done TV. I have done stage. I have done commercials. I have done radio. I have done promotions. I have done print. I have done training films. I have done public speaking. There is little that I have not done in my 40+ years as a professional talent. One thing I do point out in my classes is that what you learn from me is equal to what it would take years for you to experience in the real entertainment industry. I am firm, but fair. I have worked with directors, clients and producers who have been anything but! I have worked with screaming, sarcastic laden, nervous, naive, green, tired, bombastic, head up their butt directors for over 4 decades. If I had to give a percentage to nice directors vs bad ones, I'd say bad ones win 66.6% of the time.
In my professional classes, I tone it down a bit, but express that there will be no pampering when it comes to showcasing. I can watch the scenes and give loving supportive notes. I can film and let the actors take scenes into any direction they'd like. But that does not happen in the working world of an actor. Better to get a stern critique from me than a client who is paying a crew $10,000+ an hour on the set and you have taken them to overtime.
Now! After all that being said. My talent do get work. They have the best agents and they know how to set goals for themselves. They know how to prepare for roles. How to pick up characterization quickly during an audition. And they don't get flustered when they are reprimanded or feel discouraged on the set. My talent are the best because I am the best coach for them. If I felt any other way, I would give up coaching tomorrow. And that is not going to happen.
So I get a little less sleep with full classes and projects. I wouldn't have it any other way!
If you'd like to find out more about acting, acting coaches, classes and you, I might suggest...
Information on acting go here: www.actindy.com/advice
I have a great group of classes for kids and adults on Sundays. The kids have been working on a filmed satire of America's Funniest Videos by creating their own staged ones. The adult class has been working on marketing for the past few weeks (they all want to be professional talent) and were ready to get in front of the camera to show off their chops.
Teaching professional actors is a mixed blessing. I teach them and the class gets to network on current jobs, agents and auditions. Unfortunately, being working talent I can lose a student to a play (4-6 week committment), a film, a commercial or some outside interest at any time. So, when we get together it is no nonsense. It is time to work.
Going back to the adult class, we have been doing a scene study with a film I wrote a few years back. I selected some of the strongest interactive scenes for three of my students. One read the part of the happy go lucky loser, another was his ex-fiancee flashback from college and a third read the frustrated live in girlfriend. All of their reads were a bit over the top, but solid. I had picked the right material for those three at least. We covered that material for a couple of classes. Then it was time to bring out the big guns.
In 1990, I wrote a TV series. Not just the pilot, but an entire 13 episodes of a television series. I had a partner for this project back then and we had a deal. I wrote the material and he sought out his connections to option it off in Los Angeles. I had imagined that we could have this series up and running by 1993 at the latest. I soon found out that my business "partner" had NO connections and that he wanted to just be in the show. I was so furious that after a few feeble tries at re-establishing contact with my own connections (I optioned 2 other series Marshall Logan: Last of the Cowboys in 1984 and The Embassy in 1985) I just put the whole thing on the shelf.
I have used the scripts in my acting classes over the years. There were different character types throughout the series and it gave actors a chance to explore building characterization. Students also learned about script reads for TV, the inner workings of blocking and timing, and best of all, they learned about conception. In conceiving a project, you can have the best ideas but when you start to include others the whole concept can change dynamic. Happy Days was a good show. Add Fonzie and the dynamic changes. M*A*S*H was a great show. Kill off Henry Blake and the dynamic changes. When I use my scripts for class (remember I have shelved them for over 15 years), I can see what about each episode could have survived the test of time. What material had universal appeal. I could see what was the real dynamic of the show. It was the characters. They are as universal today as they were almost two decades ago.
I treated the exercise like a real TV experience for the class. We had a sit down/read through. We had blocking and staging. We had a shoot schedule. Costumes. We were ready to film on Sunday!
The first call I got on Sunday was from the actor playing the young male lead. He had a photo shoot on the other side of town and was not going to make it. Response? We'll shoot around him and pick up his scenes next class. Next. The actress playing the young girl shows up but isn't secure on her lines for the scene we were focusing on. Response? Have others work on lines with her before the cameras role and hope it is nervousness. Third actor shows up in costume and prepared. Response? This may work! Fourth actor arrives. She brought the wrong costume, seems frazzled and has a boyfriend in tow who needs to be at the airport in less than an hour. She can only film for 45 minutes, but that's all right, it's only a 20 minute scene, right? 5th actor is ready and off we go to the studio.
It took at least 10 minutes to go over the blocking again, to refresh the actors what they were doing while they were reciting the lines. Then it took another 10 minutes to explain..."Watch me this time as I explain the blocking again!!!" We filmed for 10 more minutes before the "take me to the airport" girlfriend's cell phone started ringing. We got the master shot (a full run through of the scene) and were starting close ups when Airport Girlfriend had "to really go!" She leaves.
Back to filming close-ups. Looking back on scenes we shot, the rest of the actors pointed out something I had missed all day. Airport Girlfriend (playing the domineering office woman) has a horrible tic. She makes a clock tic before she speaks. Tic "Hello all!" Tic. "This is important!" Tic. Ok I can edit those out. But this is an acting class. How did I miss those tics from previous reads? She was just nervous. I make her nervous. She also doesn't like being typecast as an agrressive older woman. She sees herself as a good girl character. What she is missing is that this character has a lot of depth to play around with, but she feels stuck. We will work on this next class. Next Full class.
Professional acting classes. When you come to my class, you will learn from a very educated man. I have over 1500 acting credits. I have done film. I have done TV. I have done stage. I have done commercials. I have done radio. I have done promotions. I have done print. I have done training films. I have done public speaking. There is little that I have not done in my 40+ years as a professional talent. One thing I do point out in my classes is that what you learn from me is equal to what it would take years for you to experience in the real entertainment industry. I am firm, but fair. I have worked with directors, clients and producers who have been anything but! I have worked with screaming, sarcastic laden, nervous, naive, green, tired, bombastic, head up their butt directors for over 4 decades. If I had to give a percentage to nice directors vs bad ones, I'd say bad ones win 66.6% of the time.
In my professional classes, I tone it down a bit, but express that there will be no pampering when it comes to showcasing. I can watch the scenes and give loving supportive notes. I can film and let the actors take scenes into any direction they'd like. But that does not happen in the working world of an actor. Better to get a stern critique from me than a client who is paying a crew $10,000+ an hour on the set and you have taken them to overtime.
Now! After all that being said. My talent do get work. They have the best agents and they know how to set goals for themselves. They know how to prepare for roles. How to pick up characterization quickly during an audition. And they don't get flustered when they are reprimanded or feel discouraged on the set. My talent are the best because I am the best coach for them. If I felt any other way, I would give up coaching tomorrow. And that is not going to happen.
So I get a little less sleep with full classes and projects. I wouldn't have it any other way!
If you'd like to find out more about acting, acting coaches, classes and you, I might suggest...
Information on acting go here: www.actindy.com/advice