Acting Business Boot Camp

The problem is perfectionism is a good thing up to a point. When it crosses that line of paralysis, the excitement burns off, or it becomes too late. A story about learning imperfectly. If I was trying to do it perfectly, this podcast wouldn't exist. When it's imperfect, it's exactly the way it is meant to be. Perfectionism is what stops me from getting the really important things done. Full Focus...

About Melissa: Melissa Berger Brennan has been an agent for Theatrical (Film and Television) since 2002 and is Senior Vice President of the Young Talent Voiceover Department at  Cunningham-Escott –Slevin-Doherty, (CESD ), a talent agency with offices in Los Angeles and New York. Founded in 1967, CESD has been one of the most prestigious and popular agencies for commercial and voice over talents as...

Melody Beattie: The Language of Letting Go "Many of us have someone in our life who challenges our ability to trust and care for ourselves. When we hear that person's voice or are in his or her presence, we may forget all we know about what is real, about how to own our power, about how to be direct, about what we know and believe to be true, about how important we are. We give up our power to tha...

About Anthony: Anthony Arkin is an actor and filmmaker best known for his work on  THE AMERICANS (FX) , nominated for Best Ensemble Cast at the 2019 SAG Awards. His directorial debut (feature documentary  STATE OF ROCK ) premiered at the 2008 Santa Fe Film Festival where he won Best Editing. Since then Arkin has directed and/or edited dozens of films and series. His work has shown at  Sundance, Be...

Business Insider Article by Drake Baer In  Outliers , Gladwell wrote, "10,000 hours is the magic number of greatness." Gladwell also said, "The point is simply that natural ability requires a huge investment of time in order to be made manifest." So Good They So Can't Ignore You  by Cal Newport "What makes ridiculously successful people so successful is that they are experts at practicing." Delibe...

About Mark: Mark Bennington is an American actor, photographer, drummer, and author. After graduating from Mike Nichols's New Actors Workshop in NYC, Mark worked in theater for 10 years, with such directors as Sir Trevor Nunn, Paul Sills, Charles Marowitz, and Diane Paulus.   Mark also did the guest-star grind in LA before picking up the camera in 2004, which quickly morphed into him becoming one...

COVID took energy out of us. A lot of feelings are coming up. How do we dig deep? How do we find the things to help us through this? So you can continue to pursue your dream… I go back to baby stepping. How can I break this down? When you feel exhausted, instead of getting dramatic, get really quiet, reach out to the energy that knows best, and say, "Please guide me in this day, I invite you into...

About Steve: STEVE HARPER is a playwright, TV writer, producer, and actor who writes about the "invisible things" (like race, sexuality, politics and religion) that people don't usually talk about. He currently serves as Co-Executive Producer for the CW series Stargirl. Steve has written for God Friended Me (CBS), Amazon Prime's Tell Me Your Secrets, ABCs American Crime (created by John Ridley), a...

Impostor syndrome  (also known as  impostor phenomenon ,  impostorism ,  fraud syndrome,  or the  impostor experience ) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent  internalized  fear of being exposed as a "fraud". Letting Go of Shame by Patricia S Potter-Efron and Ronald Potter-Efron "Shame is more than a feeling, it is a...

About Andy: Specializing in voice-over, Andy Roth is one of New York's busiest casting directors with a career that has spanned over two decades.  After several years as the in-house casting director for one of the country's top commercial talent agencies, Cunningham Escott Slevin & Doherty (CESD), where he did the voice casting for over a thousand projects for animation, commercial, television, f...

From the book: Wisdom by Andrew Zuckerman "Tennis taught me so many lessons in life. One of the things it taught me is that every ball that comes to me, I have to make a decision. I have to accept responsibility for the consequences every time I hit a ball.   It also taught me about delayed gratification. No matter how you look or how much money you have, you still have to learn your craft. You ha...

Joel Steingold is known for his work on  HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, HAWAII FIVE-0,  and  SHAMELESS. You can see him in numerous other Films and TV shows both on camera and as a VoiceOver actor. Catch him currently in  THE CHI. Be an asset to the environment that you're working in. What are you doing daily, weekly, monthly, to enhance your career? "Work begets work." Specialize in the slow game D...

Burnout means you are at a point where an extended period of time has gone by without you taking care of yourself. Whatever you put before taking care of yourself, you're going to lose. When you're burnt out take a step back and observe. Take time out to think about where you are in your life and where you wanna go. What my ego thinks I can get done and what I can actually get done are very two di...

About Eric: Eric Nelsen  is a multiple  Emmy  Award winning  and  Tony Award  nominated  American actor and producer. He is best known for his work as an actor in  Hulu 's  revival of  All My Children  playing  AJ Chandler,  and most recently, his recurring role in season 4 of  Showtime 's  hit drama  The Affair .  On stage, Nelsen portrayed Brett Sampson in the original  Broadway  production of ...

So many feelings come up around the opening I'm not ready... How do I do this? Will I sound like a fool talking to real people? There is a special anxiety around it. There was anxiety around the pandemic because it had never happened before…but that same anxiety is around opening up because it's never happened before either. What are the things we can do to take care of ourselves emotionally while...

About Mark: Mark Ivanir has been working as a professional film and television actor in Los Angeles since 2001. His first major film role was in Steven Spielberg's 1993 Oscar-winning epic SCHINDLER'S LIST. He rejoined with Spielberg twice, first for a cameo appearance in Terminal, then again for his much anticipated Tintin. A pivotal role in Robert Deniro's 2006 film, The Good Shepherd, landed Mar...

Think of something that happened to you that you've held with you throughout your career and created some sort of thought attached to it. Think about how that instance is holding you back. "Forgiving is not forgetting, it's letting go of the hurt." Resentment- the only person it's hurting is you. Think of resentment as a replay on a football field. When you have a resentment, and replay what happe...

About Ed: Ed Lewis is a Voice Director for Video Games, Animation, Audiobooks, Commercials, Documentaries, Promos and for pretty much anything else you want him for. Ed's extensive experience casting Film, Television and Theatre for ten years, paired with his actor training from the University of Michigan give him a unique perspective on how to approach Voice Over projects. He treats his work as a...

When are we doing too much? When are we doing too little? What is our responsibility and what isn't? My Part vs. Not My Part The Serenity Prayer Grant Me the Serenity to Accept the Things I cannot change I cannot change other people, places, or things, or outcomes. I did my part but I can not control how that director took my performance in my callback. Courage to Change the Things I can, I can on...

About Maria: Maria Dizzia currently teaches an ongoing scene study class at The Freeman Studio in NYC. She has taught both Public Speaking and Acting at the University of California at San Diego as well as master classes at Wheaton College, Penghao Theater in Beijing and the Sichuan People's Art Theater in Chengdu, China. She was a Beinecke Fellow at Yale School of Drama and a 2011 recipient of th...

Email  actingbusinessbootcamp@gmail.com  to get a replay of the Webinar. "If we treated our friends like we treated ourselves, we'd all go to jail." There are no mistakes. I use my mind to govern my brain. The mistakes stem from my brain, or my heart, or both. Why is it so bad to give yourself a break? Ask yourself what was the lesson, what can be learned from this experience? The next time I'm in...

Sign up for the FREE Webinar  HERE . How David got into casting. The only thing you can control is the work that you do in the room. When you need a surgeon, you want someone who knows anatomy. When you need an actor you need someone who knows the anatomy of a scene. Acting is a craft and you have to learn your craft. The Three Jobs of an Actor: Becoming the best actor you can be Learning the busi...

Sign up for the FREE webinar   HERE Helen Keller, "to keep our faces towards change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate, is strength undefeatable." Why is it so hard to be ourselves? Big T Truth vs. little t truth When you let your ego drive, you give up your power Giving yourself the courage to be yourself. You can not buy peace of mind, it needs to be earned. Truth, is infinitel...

Sign up for the FREE Webinar  HERE . Malissa's Motto, "One foot in front of the other." In this episode Malissa and I talk about: Why you MUST invest in a self-tape setup. What it means to be a bicoastal manager. What she looks for when looking for new talent. What a pitch deck is for actors looking for representation. The importance of following up. Your resume and skills should be honest. Qualit...

Sign up for the free webinar  HERE The Language of the Agents and the Casting Director is spoken in:   Your Resume Your Pictures Telling agents and Casting Directors you are not green. Have a good follow up, how, when and what you say in your follow up. Your Demo Reel, how it's edited, where is shown, what you put on it.   Website— always put your direct contact info, even if you have an agent. Th...