Life is busy, both for Ed and myself, but anytime I email him asking for a lunch date, he always gives me a time within the month, assuming that he is in town (that said, for a good portion of the last year, at the age of 81, he has been touring the country, with his one-man show: an honest, dynamic, 90-minute portrayal of FDR).   This lunch is different though, and he knows it.  This one is… on the record.  However, no real agenda exists.   It’s merely an excuse to capture a fraction of his wisdom in print.

I offer to pick him up at his home in Valley Village – he still drives, but judiciously.  It’s a modest house, in no way indicative of the person who resides inside, that, like it’s inhabitant, contains a rich history of our industry.  Every tabletop has a plethora of awards on it, not for need of self-reassurance, but more due to economy and lack of storage space.  The coffee table, nightstand, mantle, office desk, and more all house Emmy Awards.  A furniture piece in the kitchen contains five Golden Globes, all side-by-side.  Another table contains a hodgepodge of awards from TV Guide to TV Land – all denoting some sort of life achievement.   The rest of the mantle, which, as said, is bookended by Emmys, contains a variety of items that can only be associated with an icon.  A handful of dolls representing the likes of everyone from Lou Grant to Carl Fredricksen (his character in Disney/Pixar’s UP), a photo of him playing Celebrity Jeopardy, his grinning mug gracing the front of a Wheaties cereal box, and a handful of photos with friends over the years – from embracing Betty White in a bear hug to playing games with Richard Dreyfuss.  Everything feels commonplace in its space, but it adds up to an extraordinary life.

Even before Ed voices his choice of restaurant, I know where we are going, for often our elders become creatures of habit. The Eclectic Café in North Hollywood is near his house, boasts affordable meals, and the management always greets him with a hug upon entrance.  I can’t blame him for being a repeat customer.  We sit down and order.   I know this lunch will not be as casual as those previous, because as I tell him, it’s my goal to in some small way, communicate to others how special these outings are to me.  “You’re kind of like my Morrie, ya know?”  He looks like he wants to throw up upon hearing that.  I ignore it, and take it for what it is: an expression from a man who knows his bark is part of his charm.  I know, in the end, the conversation will take its own path, as it always does.

“What was your first role?” I begin.  “I was paid for the first time when I joined a playwright’s theater club after getting out of the army.  It was populated with people from the University of Chicago.”  “Do you have a favorite role?” I ask.  “Favorite role.”  A pause, while he searches through a catalogue of parts that is likely well into the four digits now.  “I loved doing KING HENRY IV PART I.  It was my second year at that theater.  It has some of the most interesting speeches in Shakespeare.  I was also highly praised for my Prospero (from Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST).”  I chimed in, “I think everyone inherently expects that you would say Lou Grant.” “Yes,” he starts, “but that is much later.  When I think of the totality of Lou Grant, nothing is even close.  Plus the fact that it is my singular achievement, in being awarded Emmys for portraying Lou Grant as both a comic and dramatic character.  I am the only one who got Emmys like that.”

“You are known for being politically active,” I say, punctuating that this interview will cover a variety of ground, as his career is not one to be summed up in sound bites and easy answers.  “Yea, but only since I acquired fame as an actor,” he responds.  “I would contribute when I could and give my name.  After the success of LOU GRANT is when it started to count – to the point that it led to the cancellation of the series.  I agreed to be on a board supporting medical aid in El Salvador with other actors, including Howard Hesseman and Lee Grant.  We went to New York and Washington to make an announcement of its formation and contribution to provide medical aid.  Because of my popularity in playing Lou Grant, I became chief spokesman.  I read the preamble of the group and we opened up to questions (at a press conference).  The second question was from a cable news reporter who asked if I was in favor of free elections in El Salvador.  I said ‘Yes,’ with which he followed, ‘What if those elections yield a communist government.’”  Ed makes a face, indicating he was both frustrated and taken aback.  “This is 1982 – the second year of Reagan’s presidency – and the question was out of left field.  I gave some sort of waffle answer and went on to the next question, and gave a limp answer there too.  The whole time I was thinking, ‘I have been avoiding putting myself on the line, taking a stance, all this time, protecting myself, to come here now and waffle?’  So I went back to the guy who asked the question and said that I wasn’t satisfied with my first answer.  I said that if that is the government the people of El Salvador choose, then so be it.  But in saying that I knew I was dooming myself, and to a degree, my career.  And in all the controversy that followed, that particular statement was never mentioned, but I was immediately regarded as a Communist.” (It’s true that to date, more than once, I have friends or acquaintances ask me if Ed was, in fact, a Communist.  He is not, though I find it intriguing that belief still occupies a space in some people’s mind above his work and craft.)  “I was accused of giving union money to the organization, which is not true.  I was immediately attacked by Charlton Heston for not properly identifying the fact that I was not speaking as President of the Screen Actors Guild at that time.  Nothing less would have satisfied him than me cutting my throat in public.” (For more information, see this November 1982 feature in PEOPLE).

“Did you and Charlton Heston ever talk directly about your issues?”  He pauses.  “During my first meeting as President (of the Screen Actors Guild), he had assembled a group outside.  The board was about to pass the absorption of extras into the union.  He was outside with news cameras, along with some stuntmen and day players who supported his opposition, fearful that extras would take their jobs away.  I went out there to confront the press.  Charlton Heston acted like he owned the guild up until that point.”

“Were other known actors posing problems?  Any other known actors in the opposition?”  “He was representing the elitist actors.  We had an election deciding the fate of the extras.  It was to decide whether to bring in the 1500 extras who didn’t have SAG cards.  Their union had gone belly up.  The union represented them throughout the east, in Hawaii, and so on, and it was only in California and on the west coast that they weren’t represented.  And the vast majority of extras had SAG cards already.  We had two elections and to be fair, we went as far as to dictate that we didn’t need a majority, but a 2/3 plurality.  But we never got it.  Not then.  After I left office though, it became automatic under some other law.”

“Where do you think the balance is regarding an artist/actor’s position in the greater political sphere,” I followed up, knowing that, in my mind, the line is gray and completely dependent on circumstance.  “Do you mean, should he keep his mouth shut?” he asked, reminding me there is no need for formalities – and he is right, sometimes one should simply say what they mean.   “No,” I respond.  “Not that – everyone is entitled to an opinion.  I just don’t ever want to speak with authority in an arena where I lack education.  But at the same time I do believe that individuals have a duty to use their name and energy and talents to raise awareness for issues that aren’t receiving attention.”  He seems pleased that this is now a dialogue.  He responds, “There is no balance.  Nobody takes into consideration that it is perfectly right for John Q. Public to say, “Who the fuck are you to be telling me what to think?’  Because I am a celebrity, people will open their ears when they might not give the time of day to another person.  But you must also take into account that once an actor takes a position, he may well alienate 50% of his viewing public, and that becomes problematic for the producers.  He is in essence endangering his career.  People don’t consider that.  I won seven Emmys and five Golden Globes before I had the courage to become outspoken.”

I wanted to dive into politics fairly early on, knowing it would eliminate the need for any type of proper question-and-answer etiquette.  At the same time, I also wanted to ensure we dedicate time to what is at the heart of Ed, his work and his craft.

“So many actors, even after they ‘make it,’ fear that it won’t continue.  Did you ever fear that it could stop?” “Sure.  I came to California in 1961.  I worked and worked, getting a little more money, some better roles and such, for seven years.  Then the bottom fell through.  I stopped getting roles.  I went through years of fret and worry.  I had three kids.  I feared I’d have to walk away from my house.  Then that third year was the busiest year I had ever had.  I made $50,000.  And the following year was Mary Tyler Moore.  Young actors now can worry about winning and losing, but it’s always been like that.  How do you get over the fear of not knowing where the next job is coming from?  You learn to live with it.” He adds, as an after-thought, knowing that he should offer something a little more tangible.  “Some actors decide to produce as well.  But there are few successful actor/producers.  Tom Hanks is certainly one.  Danny DeVito is another.  People seem to find that little dwarf exciting.”

“Did you always want to be an actor?” “I didn’t think it was something you did.  I was a bourgeois from Kansas City.  Doctor.  Lawyer.  Even Indian Chief.  But actor?  In college I went to a summer school and decided to try out for a play.  T.S. Eliot’s MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL.  I ended up being the lead.  I was hooked.”

“What are your thoughts on the theater?” “I think it’s the place to start but I don’t care if I ever go back to the theater.  There are as many phonies on stage as there are in front of a camera.  That said, it’s the place to learn.”

“What actor have you most enjoyed working with?” “Mary (Tyler Moore), of course.  Jack Lemmon was wonderful (shared credits include FACE OF A HERO on Broadway, and the Oliver Stone film JFK).  And Steven Weber – I loved working with him (they collaborated on Aaron Sorkin’s STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP).

“Are you a workaholic?  Are you ever going to stop?” “Is that the sign of a workaholic?  What else am I good for?”  I elaborate, “I didn’t know if you would ever reach a time where a 7am call time wasn’t attractive anymore.” “This is probably one of my many gaseous statements but I liken myself to a musical instrument.  When presented with the libretto by an author, I aim to be the best instrument to hit the notes.  I am a specialist.”

“How important is it as an actor to have a career that spans multiple mediums?  At 81, and with your history, you still work in a variety of fields.  Film, TV, theater, video games, music videos, voice-over, etc.”  “You learn from it all.  I feel I can get as great an epiphany from doing a voice-over as I can from being on a stage in front of 7000 people – which is too many anyways.  The ideal theater seats 500.”

“Do you have thoughts on the current state of Hollywood?” “Oh I don’t think we’re progressing at all.  There is more youth-oriented bullshit, more zany comedy – which to me is meaningless.  To expect the appearance of a SOME LIKE IT HOT out of the comedies out there now – not a chance.” I knew that we were entering back into a dialogue, as this topic is one we frequently revisit.  For him to believe that good work no longer exists is, to me, both unbelievable and false, as he himself is still currently a part of great art.  I start, “But you have to admit, there is still a lot of good work being done as well.” “Where?  Like what?” he yells, knowing his answers before I utter my questions.  “Let’s look at the last few years I said. “WINTER’S BONE.  THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT.  For heaven’s sake, what about UP?”  “Yes,” he concedes, “but look at 1939.”  I remind him that believing there is good work now in no way discredits the amazing work that has come before.  I also point out that crap has always existed; we just choose to remember the good work.

We are well into our second hour, so I make the decision to start approaching a finish line of sorts. “What do you want people to remember you for?  What do you want your legacy to be?” He grunts. “You do know you will have one, right?” I kind of sheepishly respond.  “I don’t know anything.  That’s too awesome to assume.”  I tell him that it is with the greatest confidence that I know his career is one that will be perpetually referenced and remembered. “Do you want to be remembered for acting?”  He softens, “I look at Kirk Douglas.  I look at what that son-of-a-bitch has put away in his life.  Lonely are the brave.  He has a lust for life.”

“Who do you still want to work with?” Without missing a beat, he gives his list, “Edward Norton.  Roberto DeNiro.  I would like to see what Philip Seymour Hoffman is like in combat.  Harrison Ford.  I think he could hold his own with me.”

“Do you have a method?” “It’s all innate.  If necessary I will try to change the dialogue if it doesn’t reflect the feeling.  But that’s with inferior writers.  Note that there are also writers who should kill you if you try to change their words.   What I was taught is that it is all about ‘doings.’ Every utterance by you is done to affect somebody.  Be it God.  Or your inner being.  To convince yourself.  To convince your friend.  Active verbs.  Convince.  Demonstrate.  Question.”

“Are you happy?” I question.  As suspected, he answers with an emphatic no.  For even if Ed was happy, I would still expect him to say no.  “Why aren’t you happy?” I follow up.  “Have you looked around you?  The state of our nation?  The state of our world?  We live in a jungle.  You are talking about divorcing our lives from what’s around us.  Maybe someone successful during the Depression could do that.  But I doubt it.  They turned their back on the starving and the unemployed.  I can’t do that.”

I remind him that out of thousands and thousands of actors in the world, his career is in the top 1%.  If he is not happy, with all the opportunities and recognition he has received, what hope does the rest of the acting community have? “That’s their problem,” he laughs. He continues, seriously, “The point is, the work is the glory.  It’s not that there are not rewards, but to be able to have a moment in front of a camera, or on a stage, where you hear the pin drop, that’s what we’re all here for.  Acting is a job like any other, in that, when you do it well, that’s where the joy is.  I think I am being honest.  Yes.  There is the selfish part that is being watched by thousands or millions, and when that leads to money, it’s all well and good.  But it’s like when a tree falls in the forest, you know?  It’s the same as having that moment.  Having that moment in your mind and in your heart – that is when the solace comes.  You will always have that moment.”

We get ready to leave the restaurant.  They inform us that our bill has been taken care of by the joint’s owner.  I know this can’t be completely foreign to Ed, but he still acts shocked and tries to fight it.  Part of his rough exterior undoubtedly comes from the fact that he is continually showered with praise and lifted up so high.  He has to somehow offset it, and indicate that it hasn’t gone to his head.

Ed stops for a second, his expression indicating he wants to end today’s lunch on a challenge rather than a mere statement. “I fear for all art.  There is a wonderful quote from Brecht: ‘Art is not a mirror held up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it.’  Is Tony Kushner our last hammer?” he asks.  “So if you fear for art,” I say, “is it then up to artists to save it?”

“Yes,” he says, “We have to find the artist who will do that.”

Andrew and Ed, on set.

Andrew Carlberg is an independent film and theater producer, currently working for Executive Producer Laurie Zaks on the hit ABC series CASTLE.  He also founded and chairs The 4th Wall, a theater initiative in partnership with The Geffen Playhouse.  Theater: THE MERCY SEAT (L.A. Premiere; VS Theatre at The Ford); WISH I HAD A SYLVIA PLATH (West Coast Premiere; Rogue Machine at The Lounge); 110 STORIES (L.A. Premiere at The Geffen Playhouse); DAVID DEAN BOTTRELL MAKES LOVE (World Premiere; Comedy Central Stage and Rogue Machine).  Film: AFTER-SCHOOL SPECIAL (written by Neil LaBute; starring Sarah Paulson and Wes Bentley; World Premiere: Palm Springs Int’l ShortFest) and I HAVE IT (written by Bekah Brunstetter; starring Larisa Oleynik and Devon Gummersall; World Premiere: Rhode Island Int’l Film Festival).  Andrew also has a handful of music videos to his credit.  For more information, visit www.westernskiesproductions.com.

The following is a chapter from his free ebook New Thoughts for Actors. He teaches regular workshops in Los Angeles (and periodically in New York) and coaches privately. Email info@jackplotnick.com to get on the mailing list for his weekly $30 drop-in cold reading workshops and monthly $5 Lecture for Charity.

TAKE IT FROM WHERE YOU ARE

In college I had an acting teacher who, if she felt a student’s performance in a scene hadn’t gone well, would shout “BE THERE!”

I always found this so frustrating.

I wanted to “be there”, but I really had no idea how to “get there”.

Where is “there”?

I believe what she meant was “be there in the moment.”  And I certainly couldn’t disagree with the thought.

It is important to experience a scene specifically focused on the moment-to-moment thoughts, words and events of the scene, and not to have your thoughts stray to unrelated areas.

However, many actors use this phrase of “being there” as a weapon against themselves.

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Often, in my workshop, when I ask an actor how he felt a scene went, he will reply,

”I just didn’t feel like I got there”.

To which I say,

“You’re mistake is thinking that there is a ‘there’ to get to.”

In voicing his experience like that, the actor has created a reality wherein there is a possibility of NOT getting there.

You must be very careful of how you word things to yourself

It is mistake to believe that there is some place you must get to.  By setting up your reality this way, you have created a possibility to fail.

By creating a reality where there is a “there” to get to, you will always be striving to get there.  Your ego will not allow you to achieve your goal of “getting there”, and you will spend the scene chasing after an experience you think you are supposed to be having.

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Why create a reality in which you can lose?

Why not get rid of that way of looking at it?

Why not choose a reality wherein you can’t fail?

Just remember this:

You’re always “there”.  You can’t leave “there”.

Right before I am going to perform I say to myself:

“I am going to take it from where I am”.

What I mean by this is wherever I am is a fine place to start a scene.

I completely accept where I am internally, how much preparation I’ve done, and how I am feeling.

As long as you begin a scene in an honest place, the scene will take you where you need to go.  Only from honest soil can the scene grow and become something wonderful.

It used to be that I’d look at an audition room door and feel that I had to be something totally different from myself once I entered that room.  The door became an impenetrable wall of fear.

And whatever I thought I was missing upon entering, I would simply try to fake, in hopes that the missing emotion would catch up to me or, if worse comes to worse, I could just trick the audience into believing me.

But then I realized that exactly who I am in the waiting room is who I should be in the audition room.  Exactly.

The only thing separating me from who I am in the waiting room, and who I will be in front of the casting agent is 15 steps.

And so it is with any performance.  The scene will take me where I need to go.

I have a friend who described it likes this:

When he was a young actor he saw a performance as the act of jumping though the chalk paintings of MARY POPPINS.

Sometimes he’d land safely in a completely different, colorful world full of magic… but more often he’d SPLAT onto the pavement.

Now he’s happy, no longer experiencing the nerves he once felt, safe in the knowledge that he’s the same person onstage and off.  He is only involved in his honest journey.

Actors who want to “get there” will approach a scene with a long “to do” list.  They frantically attempt to check off each item as they go.  They are constantly evaluating whether or not they have “done enough” to enable themselves to fully experience the scene.

Where does this list come from?  Often it is the ghostly echo of voices from past acting teachers.  Things like; “Make sure your beats are clear” or “You must find circumstances from your own life that coincide with that of the character’s”, etc…

There are a million things an acting teacher could remind you to do.  Do you really want to enter a scene with a list of shoulds and shouldn’ts in your head?

When you do a scene, you want to have only your character’s thoughts in your head.  Obviously you can never have your thoughts 100% aligned with that of the character’s or you would be insane.  However, the goal is to have as few “outside” thoughts as possible.  Well, the character you are portraying certainly isn’t focusing any attention on a laundry list of acting techniques.  He doesn’t have a preconceived notion of how this experience should look and unfold.  He isn’t focusing on whether he is “there” or not.

Imagine it like this:

When you have a goal to “get there”, it’s as if you envision your performance as a board game, like “Candy Land” or “Life”.

You see your goal as moving yourself through many spaces in order to get to the final square, which is your destination:  “THERE”.

Perhaps each space along the way represents some important acting step or technique you feel you must remember.  One teacher had told you, “Always maintain eye contact with the person you’re talking to”, while another said, “I don’t believe you are angry unless you show me.”  The list goes on and on.

If this sounds familiar, it is time to let go of that way of thinking.

Just push that game board off the table and onto the floor!

You can skip all those steps by simply saying to yourself the affirmation:

“I am going to take it from where I am.”

If you are hungry, then the character could be hungry at the top of the scene.  If you are tired, then the character could be as well.  If you are experiencing nerves, don’t feel you have to pretend you are not.

Once you look at it this way, the panicked feeling that you are faking something or hiding something from your audience goes away, and you experience a great sense of relief, and relaxation.  You no longer have to fear that you are a sham that will be found out.   Accept what is, and all pressure to be something else fades away.

(Please don’t misunderstand me.  When I say, “Take it from where you are”, that is meant for the moments right up to when the scene begins.  Once the scene has begun, you should dive wholeheartedly into the circumstances which the scene presents.)

As actors, we always want to convince ourselves that there’s something we’re missing, some approach to the scene that we haven’t thought of.

I had an audition where I had to play a man on crystal meth.  I have no idea what the effects of crystal meth are, so I was very anxious before the audition.

I thought, “I should’ve done more research.  I’ve got to prove to these people that I’m a man on crystal meth.”  I was trying to envision what they wanted to see, and then felt a pressure to make myself appear that way.

I could’ve brought all this self-doubt into the room with me, but instead I accepted that there was nothing I needed to know, do, or prove.  By freeing my mind of these negative thoughts, I was able to more fully throw myself into the imaginary circumstances of the scene.  …And I booked the job!

So, the next time you think, “ I want to get there”, just remember that by creating a place you have to get to, then by definition, you are not there.

Why not just accept that where you are is fine.  You see, it’s the panic that you don’t know what to do that ruins the audition.  The “fake it till you make it” reflex.

“Take it from where you are” is a shortcut to say, “Fuck it, I’ll just go in and enjoy myself.”

Also a filmmaker, Kristina freelances as a videographer, is co-creator of the web series Frick, and collaborated with Claire on the Brains of Minerva Acting in Horror interview series. Kristina was recently accepted into the graduate film program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Kristina appears in Chillerama, Adam Green’s much-anticipated new horror movie, which will see a theatrical release this fall. Her German film Bela Kiss will bow in German theaters in 2012. In the meantime, check out Kristina’s performance as Maks Vex, rogue super heroine here, and follow her on Twitter here.

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting on a train from Munich, Germany to Esslingen, Germany- a 2.5 hour journey- where I am going to see a presentation of the first 15 minutes of Bela Kiss, a German thriller in which I played the lead last year. It was an ultra low budget project shot in the Black Forest with English speaking actors, all of whom had to be German citizens. I am taking this trip on my own dime, to show support, reconnect with the director, and also to see whether this is a project I will feel confident promoting in the states (note: it was amazing and I JUST found out that it has been picked up by Drei Freunde for theatrical distribution in Germany – the same company that distributed the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo!).

The reason I am in Germany right now, though, is not to watch 15 minutes of a film I shot. Next week, I’m shooting a TV pilot in Berlin for Germany’s version of HBO and they flew me to Germany. Sometimes the timing works out!

I’m lucky to be a dual- citizen as well as to be quad-lingual… But the recognition that these things could help me in my career as an actress did not occur to me until a few years ago. And, though very exciting, building a career simultaneously on two continents (and in several different countries) has been a gamble.

I strongly believe the only reason I was even able to break into the European acting market was because of my break-out role as Lynda in Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween. It was a studio film that had an international audience. Through it, I was able to go to festivals and horror conventions where I met people from Italy, Germany, France, Serbia and Spain who appreciated my work. I simply made it a point to tell everyone I had dual citizenship and would love to work more in Europe. I took my opportunity and ran with it. I try as much as possible to stay in touch with these contacts and keep them up to date with my work. The term “out of sight, out of mind” applies everywhere in the world. So, working in Europe, NY and LA creates 3 times as many contacts to keep up with – something which has been overwhelming at times. Thank God for the Internet.

You may be wondering why I even would want to work in Europe. The answer is very simple: to go back to my roots and be closer to my large extended family. And then, three years ago, I fell in love with Berlin. I had been flown there to shoot a trailer for a film (the writer and director found me on a website listing all English speaking citizens). Berlin is a city teeming with angst-y, intellectual, chain-smoking, politically conscious artists who love the art for the art and not because of the money that comes with it… I had found my second home, though I don’t smoke and have to say sitting in a bar in Berlin can be nauseating! But from that time on, I knew I had to find a way to work in Berlin while continuing to book jobs in NY and LA.

There are ups and downs to this process. The downs involve 1) difficulty finding a supportive agent in both America and Europe 2) union rules and degree of protection vary from country to country and 3) the money that it costs to invest in this endeavor often evens out with what you earn. The upside is …. you’re working!! And isn’t that what actors are always complaining about? Not working enough? Plus, work begets work. And good work, anywhere in the world, begets even more!

The hardest thing about trying to work internationally is finding support from agents on both continents. I have struggled very much with this. No one in LA wants to hear about their client working overseas for too long – unless they’re getting some money – and the agents in Europe don’t believe me when I say I can be on a plane within a day because I have so many points on my frequent flier card. You do end up missing castings in both places. And the time difference between LA and Europe – 9 hours- is pretty daunting and makes telephone conversations almost impossible. Overall, it seems too difficult for everyone; for everyone except me, who’s actually doing all the work. In October, after I spent 2 months in Germany playing the lead in Bela Kiss where I was able to do some of the best work of my career for deferred payment (yes, feel sorry for my bank account…) my LA based agent dropped me three days after my return to the states and one day after I turned down an offer they sent me for the worst script I had ever read in my life… but, alas… it paid. I still haven’t found a new agent.

The last two years, my agent in Berlin got me this many auditions: 0.

And yet I’m working!! Viral and Skype casting has become more prevalent. And, in Germany, casting directors often cast off of your reel. I have a friend in Germany who’s full reel is about 40 minutes and the casting directors watch every minute of it, are familiar with it, and show only the pertinent scenes to whomever is interested. The guys who cast me in the trailer we shot in Berlin three years ago wrote the part in the TV pilot for me that I’m going to shoot next week. In fact, the part is called Kristina! And I’m supposed to be shooting a film in Italy this fall.

However, if I do not book a US based job in the next few months, I will possibly lose my SAG health insurance, and this leads me to the next point: Unions. Working in different countries involves learning and dealing with different customs and different industry standards. In Germany, I recently found out to my astonishment that the crew have a union that enforces overtime, while the actors do not. There IS a union for actors in Germany. You can find it here. However, it simply has no negotiating power. It offers free legal services though for a small fee of 50 euro a year.. If you don’t have an agent and need someone to look over your contract, they are specialized in this.

So you’re probably wondering “what about the SAG universal rule?” Well, most European productions will have nothing to do with it. It is completely foreign to them. Why should they have to pay SAG for an actor who is working in their country under their rules? And that is exactly what I’m doing.when I use my EU passport. I am going there to work in rules. However, what this means is that, although I’m getting paid, SAG is not registering it and if I don’t make enough money in a year, my health insurance falls through. Again, this is a gamble.

It is also very interesting to learn how an actor’s daily rate is calculated in Germany. Actors get higher wages if they attended an acting conservatory. Yes. You heard me right. The main television stations ZDF, RTL and ARD have a rating system. For example, you would get paid the most if you attended the best acting school and have worked previously for said station.

Now, to the cost of working bi-continentally. So far, in my experience, I have made no money. This pilot I will shoot next week will be my first real paycheck. All the other work I’ve done has been pro-bono or deferred payment with travel costs paid for. So no money lost but none earned. It’s kind of like when you’re first starting off acting and do theater for free or short films for free. I considered it an investment. And it HAS paid off. If the pilot is picked up, I will have a recurring role that will work for at least a few months in Berlin. And since Bela Kiss will be playing theatrically, I suppose that will lead to more work.

But the experience I’ve gained is priceless. And the opportunity to play roles that would most likely be played by film stars in America is also priceless.

The experience of working with highly trained actors on set – most German actors have gone to a conservatory and worked extensively in theater – is definitely different from the US. The art of acting is taken very seriously. I would probably say there’s less FUN on set and people are really intense – there are less compliments thrown around. But I see how seriously they take their job and with what respect acting is treated and it makes me PROUD to be an actor… In a casting session in Germany, it is highly frowned upon to arrive with your sides! In fact you are automatically disqualified if you are not off book. Quite different than here wouldn’t you say? The down side of this is that German acting can be quite stiff at times. However, I think this is changing as American TV and American style naturalism is becoming popular over there.

Concerning languages and accents, I have had to work very hard to get rid of any trace of an accent when I speak German. In Italy, they love the accent. In America, my languages and accents have helped me do voice overs for video games. I shot a movie in Serbia for six weeks. A year later, there was an audition for Criminal Minds for a Serbian serial killer. Guess who got the role? I went into the audition with the little knowledge of Serbian I had learned on set. It all ends up intertwining.

So, in the end, is it worth it? Well, probably not if you don’t have dual citizenship to start off with. Without that, there are simply too many hurdles to conquer. And probably not if you don’t love languages and traveling! After that, though, how much effort do you want to put into working overseas? I would say, if you don’t have to spend too much out of pocket, it’s worth trying. If you have contacts that you can start off with, that’s good. And just ask, ask, ask. Ask people to introduce you to casting directors and agents and producers. If you are a working actor and have an acting reel with American television shows on it or any film work here, they really love that. Hollywood is still the mecca of film after all. And in the inter-connectivity of today’s world, who knows if working overseas cannot actually get you on Hollywood’s radar a little bit quicker than waiting in traffic on the 405…

Joy has given us an excerpt from her book Pitch Perfect: Communicating YOU Flawlessly and is offering the whole book to Minerva readers for $5.

5 Ways to Woo the Media

Don’t just contact members of the press. Wow them! Here are 5 easy ways to make a beautiful and lasting impression with media professionals. Use these tips to solidify your connections and you might find that you’ll get called again and again to be featured.

1. Figure out why you want them. Before you approach a particular journalist, make sure you know why you want them. Be clear about your pitch and why it fits their needs, beat, style, strengths and interests.

2. Familiarize yourself with their work. Writers write for people to read their work. Broadcasters want to be watched. Nothing is more flattering than experiencing someone who’s familiar with their work and possibly a fan. Isn’t it flattering when people know your work?

3. Respect their time. Before you start a live conversation with any media professional, take a minute to ask them if this is a good time for them. Be on time for scheduled interviews. And, be flexible to accommodate their schedule.

4. Get to know the human behind the story. Make personal connections without overstepping your boundaries. If you both went to UCLA, make the connection. Talk about being parents, being single, being from Florida. Do your research on the media pro and see if it unveils similarities. This can be found by reading their bio or wiki page. TIP: Try casually bringing up the commonality from your perspective and allow them to make the connection.

5. Offer them your help for free. Media professionals always need good leads or experts for their stories. Offer to help them get those leads whenever possible and offer your help for free. This will keep you in the know about what they’re working on and make you a trusted ally.

Would you like to read the whole e-book?  Joy is offering Pitch Perfect for only $5 for Brains of Minerva readers.  Get it here.

Want more great reading on self-PR?  Check out these posts:

Ask Joy – Publicist Joy Donnell on the Red Carpet and Spreading the Word About You

Ask Joy – Publicist Joy Donnell on Rebranding Your Acting Career After Working in Reality TV

Ask Joy – Publicist Joy Donnell with a 2011 DO List

Ask Joy – Publicist Joy Donnell on Press Releases, Blogger Briefings and Getting the Word Out

An Expert’s Tips on Assembling Your Press Kit (Yes, You Need One!)

How & When to Reach Out to the Press

Ask Joy – Publicist Joy Donnell on Freeing Yourself from False Impediments

Ask Joy – Publicist Joy Donnell on Starting Twitter Chats

The following is a chapter from his free ebook New Thoughts for Actors. He teaches regular workshops in Los Angeles (and periodically in New York) and coaches privately. Email info@jackplotnick.com to get on the mailing list for his weekly $20 drop-in cold reading workshops and monthly $5 Lecture for Charity.

ACTING “STRAIGHT”

I received an email from an actor who had been reading my website, and had a specific concern he wanted to share with me:

Dear Jack,

There is an issue I have been constantly dealing with, and I think it is the reason I have held myself back all these years.

Every time I get an audition, it’s usually to play a straight, ‘total guy’. I know I’m not a raging queen but I go back to all the teasing from school, all the ‘faggot’ calling and it actually makes me think I can never get parts because I am gay and straight guys have it so easy.

This is a major issue. I guess I just wanted to know if you had felt that and if so how you deal with it.

My response was similar to the following:

As a gay man, I also struggled with that exact issue.

There was a time, not long after I had graduated college, when I felt I had a terrible secret.

And that secret was that I wasn’t really a “MAN”.

(Or at least not the kind of “man” I thought I was supposed to be.)

When I would perform, I was afraid that everyone could see my secret, and I let this issue negatively affect my performances.

Then, one day, it just hit me…

I AM a man.

I just simply am.

I don’t have to prove it, or “Act” it.

It just is.

By definition, I am a man.

My insecure ego was creating this self-doubt.  It was an illusion.

Are all men super-macho?

No.

My god, if Andy Dick can portray a straight man on “Newsradio” then certainly you or I can.

Not all straight men act “butch”.

Do straight men cross their legs?

Hell yeah!

Do straight men get emotional?

Hell yeah!

Stop cutting out your self for fear that you are not right.

If you look at a list of the top TV shows of all time, there are plenty of popular and successful actors that are far from macho: Alan Alda, Bob Newhart, Mathew Perry, Jerry Seinfeld, Don Knotts, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Tony Randell, Larry Hagman…

None of these men had any problem being seen as a straight leading man.

Why do we want to focus on the few tough-guy characters?  Remember, for every Captain Kirk, there is a Mr. Spock standing right there alongside him.

And even William Shatner isn’t intrinsically a tough guy.  He often plays very sweet, endearing roles.

Speaking of top TV shows, look at Henry Winkler.  He was hardly the actor you’d first imagine to play the womanizing tough-guy “The Fonz”:

From Wikipedia.org:

An interesting note about his character on ‘Happy Days’ was that director/producer Garry Marshall originally had in mind a completely opposite physical presence.  Marshall sought to cast an Italian model-type male in the role of Fonzie.  However, when Winkler, a Jewish Yale MFA student interpreted the role in auditions, Marshall immediately snapped him up, smelling success. Winkler’s character gradually became the focus of the show as time passed, a testament to Winkler’s acting and Marshall’s foresight.

You can only be who you are.

If they want someone with an innate energy that is tough and hyper-masculine, they will hire that guy.

However, as was the case with “The Fonz”, the more interesting choice was the less “on the nose” choice.

I heard a story, that for his HAPPY DAYS audition, Henry was merely doing an impression of Sylvester Stallone, who he had just worked with in LORDS OF FLATBUSH.

So, the tough inner life as funneled through a sensitive actor was just what the role needed.

So don’t talk yourself out of roles!

There is a secret to gays portraying straight roles:

If you try to prove you are straight, YOU WILL COME OFF AS GAY-

(- or at least stiff and stilted as though you are hiding something: i.e., that you are gay!)

However, if you don’t care, and don’t get involved in being anything but who you are, THEN YOU WILL COME OFF AS STRAIGHT.

We are all the same really. All humans share the exact same integral characteristics.

So if you honestly play the circumstances of the scene, you will come off as straight as the character is.

However, if you deny a part of yourself, and strictly control and monitor your behavior, then you will not be able to play the scene.  Instead, you will be delivering some lifeless idea of the character.

You are your own tool to make your art.  If you are not using your tool, then there is no human being inhabiting the role.  The scene will be dead.

Why do we focus on the few hyper-masculine images out there?

Our ego wants to keep us in a place where we feel we are not “enough”.

Just accept that you will never be Vin Diesel.  So what?!  No one expects you to be!

Besides, that macho thing that you wish you could be is so fucking limiting.  Those people don’t get many jobs.

On the other hand, think of your favorite film actors;  Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dustin Hoffman, Tobey Maguire, Gene Wilder, Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, Jason Schwartzman, Kevin Kline, Mathew Broderick, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Murray, Johnny Depp, Owen Wilson, Richard Dreyfuss, etc. etc.

THEY certainly aren’t putting on some bullshit macho crap.

That macho behavior crap is learned and acted by the people who do it.  It’s not real for ANYONE. No one comes out of the womb and acts like that. They see people do it, and they imitate it.

So, it’s not even REAL to begin with.

You are so much more interesting than that.

You have warmth and sensitivity. Why would you want to deny or hide that?!

A great tool to rid yourself of this issue is affirmations:

I release and destroy my need to be “masculine”.

I release and destroy my need to be an “Actor” – I’m just here to be me and have fun.

Those kids from your childhood may have called you “faggot”, but they’re gone now.

So, whose voice is that you’re hearing in your head, still calling you “faggy”?

It’s YOU!

They may have given you the baton, but you are the one who is still running with it.

Read the Finding Your Inner Child chapter on my website, and start treating your inner child with the love and acceptance he should’ve been given from the beginning.

He wants to shine.

The actor who had originally written to me responded to my thoughts as follows:

You are so right, I have always tried to “act” like a straight guy, and was so nervous that someone would ask about my girlfriend or wife, that I was not “being” the goofy, sweet, caring, funny person I am.

I always hold back, for fear of being found out as being gay, and therefore not as valuable as a “real” straight guy.

Outrageous! I know, I so see it!

I don’t know many actors who are gay and do great work. So I always wondered what it was I was or wasn’t doing right. Thank you for being there and open to talking to me about all of this. I am really very excited about this ‘new’ chapter or step for myself.

A side note:

With so many great actors coming out as gay lately, and still playing straight parts, there are plenty of terrific role models; Neil Patrick Harris, T.R Knight, Ian McKellen, Rupert Everett, Robert Gant, Chad Allen…

Jentzen recently completed directing her film REIGN, with Academy Award® nominated Cinematographer, Jack N. Green and Academy Award® winning Sound Designer, David MacMillan. She garnered a Finalist Award from The New York Festivals and Honorable Mention from the Film Council of Greater Columbus for OF EARTH & SKY, which she co- wrote, directed and produced and a Finalist Screenwriting Award from Outfest Los Angeles for her Civil War screenplay, THE GEORGIA BOY.  On stage, Jentzen directed INTERNMENT at the Elephant Theater, BRUNCH WITH GOD at the Powerhouse Theatre; Women in Film’s POST OSCAR SHOWCASE at the Pacific Design Center; and the hilarious comedy, PERSONAL SPACE INVADERS, a 2006 Finalist in the One Act Play Festival at the Secret Rose Theatre. Jentzen has also developed and coached critically acclaimed one-person shows; the highlight of which was working with Yolanda King in ACHIEVING THE DREAM; an homage to her father, Dr. Martin Luther King.

Jentzen is a sought-after acting teacher and member of Screen Actor’s Guild Conservatory Committee, where she conceived and produced the special event FOR THE LOVE OF THE ART, and is an active member of Alliance of Women Directors. She is also the winner of Back Stage West’s Readers Choice Awards “Favorite Acting Coach” (2008-2010), “Favorite Acting Coach/Teacher” (2007), “Best of Acting Coaches” (2006), and currently teaches ongoing acting classes at her studio in Los Angeles, California.

This is an excerpt from Kimberly’s book, Acting with Impact: Power Tools to Ignite the Actor’s Performance.  She will be doing a book signing at Samuel French in Hollywood on July 23rd.

LEVEL 1: Informed

This level of consciousness is the awareness of your emotions, actions and behavior during and after any event. It is how you remember yourself and the things that happened. The informed level takes into consideration your self-image and how you believe you behave. It is your self-awareness and the behavior you own up to and recognize. This level is your conscious grasp of social interactions with others.

Let’s say you take a trip to the Grand Canyon. Everyone seems to like you and so you go around collecting everyone’s phone number—everyone except for the tour guide, because for some odd reason, you didn’t connect with him. Perhaps you felt your stories and jokes were more entertaining for the rest of the group than for him.

LEVEL 2: Unconscious

The unconscious level is actively expressing with no conscious awareness or ownership of your own behavior.

It’s the same trip to the Grand Canyon, but you don’t remember some of your behavior. You unconsciously and angrily yelled at the tour guide. You felt justified by your actions. Others might have been shocked, but you think of it differently, more like you “scolded him and let it go.” You’re unconscious of how you actually behaved. If someone were to ask you about it, you would have remembered it very differently than others who were there.

We commit unconscious behavior all the time. It is advantageous to your awareness to “catch yourself in the act,” so to speak. Learn your idiosyncratic behavior, your neuroses, your contradictions, your defenses and offenses. They are right there if you are willing to look… they do exist, we all have them. Have you ever been with a friend who talked all the way through a movie and later when you confronted them they didn’t even realize it? That is unconscious behavior.

If you don’t think you have any neuroses, start collecting observations and journaling your own behavior. You’ll surprise yourself. Or survey your friends (the ones who aren’t afraid of speaking out or hurting your feelings). And if you don’t have any friends, well, that’s a clue that something odd is oozing out from under the surface, making it difficult to get close to you. Your unconscious behavior can keep you from allowing true intimacy in relationships and accessing emotion in your acting.

Human beings make mistakes and are neurotic, obsessive and insecure. Sometimes those attributes are manageable, but many times they just show up unannounced. As you become informed of your unconscious behavior, and some of it may be “bad” behavior… forgive yourself. As you forgive your own imperfections, you will find it easier to forgive your fellow actors’ imperfections as well as those of the characters you will be portraying. The more aware and accepting you are, the easier it will be to tap into your fearlessness and access the creativity buried in the subconscious.

LEVEL 3: Subconscious

The subconscious is where your essence thrives. It is the seed of your inspiration. In the subconscious, you may or may not be informed of the emotions and ideas that are hidden there. Many of the urges found in the subconscious are never expressed. Sometimes they just show up in our dreams.

Let’s go back to the Grand Canyon trip example. The tour guide subconsciously reminded you of your father. It wasn’t in the way he looked or talked—in fact, he wasn’t even from your culture or ethnicity. But it was in one instance that you couldn’t consciously recall. In a glance, the tour guide triggered “father” and an exact sensation of an earlier moment of “father’s disapproval” of your behavior. And the instant you picked up “father disapproves of me,” you lashed out and then justified your behavior against that tour guide.

This might sound out of this world and unbelievable, but this is the way triggers operate. They aren’t always logical or rational. And in acting it is vital to become aware of and come to terms with subconscious thoughts, triggers and unconscious behavior.

When you recognize and own your unconscious behavior, 
the subconscious is safe to come to the surface… and creativity soars.

If you deny or negate your unconscious behavior, you simultaneously suppress the subconscious—which is where your organic instincts live. When you can accept and own all of your behavior, the ugly and the bad along with the beautiful, when you can take responsibility for who you are and how you are… you open a floodgate of honesty to come into your performance.

There are many positive attributes and aspirations in the subconscious. The good stuff in the subconscious is your imagination and the observations that you have carried with you since you were a child. The desire to win an Oscar began in the subconscious. Your behavior is quietly motivated from this third level of consciousness.

The subconscious can also be called your “shadow personality” and is not always known, but can be revealed to you at any time. It is filled with opinions, insights and urges that are not shared socially. Parts of the subconscious could be classified as a culture’s taboo behavior. A myriad of neurotic, erotic or abstract imaginations reside inside the subconscious.

In great films like American Beauty, Apocalypse Now, and Girl, Interrupted, the subconscious of the character is revealed through narration. The narrator delivers and exposes the audience to the main character’s insights, demons and desires. The audience naturally relates to the inner reality of the subconscious and finds dialogue from this source refreshing, honest, satisfying and cathartic.

Level three is about the real urges, instincts and desires that we hide. It is the catharsis of any great drama. It is the stimulus for the turning point of the script. It is our ultimate need for each other. It is the tenderness we hide. It is our weaknesses and our vulnerabilities. It is our struggle with our own isolation. It is our envy, our pride, and it is our deeply rooted survival instincts. It is always rich with feelings, for we hide our hearts so well from the world and bury its pulse in the subconscious.

I wanna talk about what doesn’t get talked about: quitting acting.

People in the industry, even coaches and teachers, won’t go there.

Because it’s scary. It’s personal. And because industry-related businesses rely on actors being actors, even if it’s time for them to move on.

I’m not here to convince you to quit acting; if you have zero doubts about your career and how it affects the rest of your life, stop reading now.

But if you’ve ever struggled, doubted, second-guessed, or questioned your career as an actor, then let’s take a minute to get real. Every actor I’ve ever spoken with one-on-one admits that at some point she’s questioned her career choice. And I think that’s a good thing.

You’re an actor because you’re the question-asking type. You didn’t go for traditional job. You had a vision, you worked your ass off to chase it, and you’re still here. That’s to be commended.

What’s not to be commended is when you keep chasing at the expense of what’s best for you. And guess what? If don’t want to act anymore? It doesn’t mean that you’re a failure or a sell-out. What no one tells you when you’re starting out: your dreams can change.

Truth:
Your priorities may change.
What’s fun may change.
What’s fulfilling may change.
What you’re willing to sacrifice may change.
Your interests may change.

If these things shift for you and you’re not willing to adjust your career accordingly? That’s the failure.

I’m not saying give up when it gets hard. I’m saying get honest. Evaluate what you get out of being an actor now. I’m asking you to entertain the tough questions.

Questions like:
Does this feel like a chore/obligation, or am excited to do and pursue the work?
Do the sacrifices feel too…sacrificial?
What are the financial returns?
Is this artistically fulfilling?
What do I stand to gain by quitting?
Does acting fit in with the lifestyle I want?
Who am I if I’m not an actor?

These can be extremely difficult questions. And when the answers emerge, they aren’t always black and white. So maybe you’re on the fence a bit, or starting to feel burned out; this could be a signal that you need a break. I asked actress Aisha Kabia (How I Met Your Mother, Knight Rider, Three Rivers) to share her experience:

“I took a break from acting from May – September of 2009. I was creatively tapped out and emotionally exhausted. I needed to check back in with myself to see if I was still on the right path. I immersed myself in yoga, reading fiction and being with family and friends. When auditions started picking up again in October I found myself full because I had nourished my artist for so many months and that fall I tested for a tv show and booked 5 national commercials in 5 weeks! I was in a space of fun, relaxation and creativity because I had given myself the gift of just being. Now instead of needing to take big breaks I know it’s crucial to schedule consistent artist dates and fill myself with what I love so I have something to give when I approach any audition or role.”

Or maybe you know in your gut that you need a change. Be assured that there’s other great stuff out there waiting for you.

Actress Amanda Randall (CSI Miami, JAG, All My Children) grappled with the tough questions for several years. She shares her decision to transition from a successful acting career to finding other meaningful work:

“I feel that a decision to change paths in the field of acting can be a very personal one — maybe more so than any other career path.  Essentially our trade is ourselves. It is the craft of materializing our deepest emotions, feelings, and reactions, and pouring them into an imaginary scenario. It is a honed skill process in and of itself; and to find yourself at a crossroads where you want to leave that comfort zone and explore other territories can be terrifying. For me, personally, it became very necessary.

When I moved to LA, I booked my first gig almost right away and got Taft-Hartley’ed into SAG. I booked another gig and really felt like things were happening quite quickly. Then I lived in NYC for a year — I booked a couple more gigs, but even with all the moderate success, the suppressed urge that ‘this just wasn’t right’ would not go away.

Once I moved back to LA I started to have some serious doubts. I began verbalizing them. I was poor. I didn’t have health insurance. I had zero financial support from my family. The acting jobs were fun when I got them, but still felt so false and unfulfilling. I constantly was going on auditions for characters and roles that I didn’t give a shit about.  And I had this aching urge inside of me that was only growing stronger. Instead of just acknowledging that the urge was there, I began exploring it. I started to journal. I made lists. I asked myself questions….over and over and over again.  “What do you want?  What do you want to do?”  The only thing that came clear to me was that I wanted to help others. To teach. To inspire. To protect. To represent. Can one do that in the field of acting and arts and performance? Of course. Was that the path that I, personally, was supposed to take in order to make it happen? Turns out, it wasn’t. I needed stability. I needed purpose. And I needed to play the most difficult role that I had yet to attempt: that of Amanda Randall.

I experimented with different options. I contemplated teaching: the passion wasn’t there. I pondered the idea of a random office job: it wasn’t doing it for me. I thought about being an astronaut: I was afraid of heights. OK not really on the last one. But it went on and on. And THEN this little thing called Proposition 8 came about…right around the same time that my darling partner and I became engaged. It gave me purpose. It gave me understanding.  It helped me to identify with the oppressed. It enhanced my empathy. And it only fueled my fire to help defend and protect the rights of individuals who have been discriminated against — in any capacity. I finally felt passionate again and was given specific direction. I was working at a law firm as a legal secretary during the day and doing plays at night. By that time I was literally turning down auditions. I also decided I had done my last play for a while and was going to apply to UCLA’s paralegal program. I wanted to pursue some legal training and knew that knowledge was power when it came to representing and defending the oppressed. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Will I act again? Maybe. Will it be for pay? Who knows. But what I do know is what I am doing now feels right. And I no longer have that aching urge inside of me.”

Confession: I, too, have had the aching urge. And I was astonished that there was really no where for me to go with these looming questions. So I sat with them. Chewed them, cried over them. My great (and eventual) realization was that I had put myself in a bad marriage with my career. I expected acting to be my source of income, purpose, happiness, creativity, and social life. That’s a lot of pressure for a husband. I’m still an actor–love it, pursue it–but I absolutely had to find other places to disperse some of those needs. Finding coaching has been a big part of that for me. Now I’m glad to have a more balanced, happy marriage with acting.

If you tackle your own big questions and feel at peace with acting, Godspeed. I think you’ll be a better actor for having faced the questions. And you’ll probably answer them at many stages of your career. The practice of checking in about your career satisfaction is a good one to cultivate; no one else is going to sit you down for a yearly review, after all.

But if you have the aching urge, listen to it. Aching Urges don’t go away on their own; they demand answers. You satisfy them when you have the courage to listen, question, and consider new possibilities. And as actors, we’re very good at that.

Ms. Joy,

I want to do something fun and different, particularly different for me. I’ve been toying around with the idea of starting my own Twitter chat. I’ve participated in a ton of them and I’ve seen how it helped the owner’s Twitter following and reputation grow. I think that doing one myself will really help my branding, respect, and word of mouth.

The only thing is I have no idea what to do or how to do it. I’m also not sure what’s off limits to use as a topic. I don’t want to be boring and I don’t want to be a repeat. Can you give me some ideas of how to brand and publicize my Twitter chat successfully?

-Feeling Chatty

Dear Feeling Chatty,

I love Twitter chats! They’re a great way to share information, engage the Twitter community, gather fans and followers, sell products (indirectly) and just have fun.

I’ve helped market and grow Twitter chats and I participate in Kellye Crane’s #solopr whenever I can because I’m inspired by the topics. However, I’ve never started a Twitter chat myself because it is a true labor of love. Before you go down this road, make sure you have time to devote to it. The last thing you want is to start cancelling chats or letting your topic collect a thick layer of dust. With that in mind, branding and publicizing your chat boils down to topic, time, technique, and talking about it.

You can’t start from where you are until you know where that is, so, although picking your topic can seem banal, it’s actually fundamental. If you’re aiming for the chat to increase your brand awareness, then your topic needs to make sense for your brand and adhere to your key messages.  If you keep your chat close to your brand’s core, you will better resist the temptation to let the chat be all things to everyone just so it will grow. Be on brand and on topic and grow a true community from there.

Your chat is going to be identified by a hashtag [ # ] and this needs to be catchy as well as memorable. Since tweets can only be 140 characters, I suggest picking a chat name that is 6-9 characters including the hashtag. This way, tagging won’t eat up too much of anyone’s tweet.

Once you have your topic and fabulous name realized, you need to decide when your chat will take place. Again, be realistic about how much time you can give this. The only rule with time is to be consistent. If you want to do every Tuesday at 2PM EST, then let it be that. If you know you only have the first Tuesday of every month, then you better pick that time slot.

Your chat can’t grow if folks don’t know when to find you. Recall every time a network has messed with the timeslot of your favorite show- it will feel just like that to your tweeps if you let them down with the schedule.

The next important step is to determine your technique or chat style. You can keep it free flowing and informal where everyone jumps in suggesting topics, you can be structured with a Q & A style or, you can even bring in special guests who have deeper insight of the topic. Again, the only rule is to stay consistent so that people know the rules.

After you get all the details out of the way, you can move on to the publicity. You have to talk about the chat and give it life. Make a webpage just for the chat that explains what it is or add the details to your website. Let all of your contacts on all your social networks know about it and invite them to join in. List the details in your email signature and on your business cards. Seek and search for strangers on Twitter who might find interest in your topic and invite them to join in.

Don’t stop, yet. List your information in this free Google Twitter chat spreadsheet that anyone can access as long as they have the link. Be friendly to newbies- who might be overwhelmed- by retweeting what they contribute or giving them a personal shoutout after the chat. Let all your chatters know that everyone’s insight is valuable.

By linking your topic to your brand, keeping a reliable schedule and format, and spreading the word in fun, friendly ways you can grow a Twitter chat that will complement your overall brand goals. Plus, you’ll meet some amazing folks along the way. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Keep rising!
Joy

If you have a publicity or PR-related question to ask Joy, send it to joy@doitinpublic.com with the subject “Ask Joy”.

RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL, CUT YOUR HAIR!!

Psst. Over here. I kind of wanted to keep quiet about this. They say that baseball fans are extremely superstitious. Well, if that’s true, than actors aren’t far behind. Every actor knows, when you feel like you’ve figured something out, unlocked the answer to some actor riddle, and it’s working, may lightning strike you down if you talk about it too much. If you do, you might jinx it. Nay, you WILL jinx it!! JINX! Okay, now that I’ve said that out loud, I believe that having done so, naturally, releases any superstitious negative outcome. Like when I’m on a flight and I start imagining the plane crashing, I then believe, of course, that since I’ve already played it out in my mind then, obviously, it won’t happen! That totally makes sense. Totally.

If you are of the human persuasion and an actor who auditions for commercials, then read on.

In a surprising and exciting turn of events I booked 6 national commercials in 7 months (2 for Time Warner Cable, 2 for Td Ameritrade, Dodge, and Southwest Airlines). It was actually 6 in 6 months, but I changed it to 7 because the double 6’s freaked me out when I saw them so close together. Eek. Now, maybe I magically and spontaneously became a better actress or more “real” “subtle” and “natural” in my auditions, but between you and me, I am pretty effing sure it’s because I cut my damn hair.

I have been blessed with having the same wonderful commercial agent for 6 years, Pam Sparks at Sutton, Barth & Vennari (as well as their recent fantastic addition, Rachele Fink). Over this time, I had many auditions and very, very, I mean very few jobs. My numbers really sucked. Bad. Yeah, I did get some callbacks, and some avails here and there. I booked a few small gigs that I either got cut out of or that didn’t run. Needless to say, I was waiting, ever so patiently, for my lovely agent to drop my ass.

Occasionally they would call me into the office to “discuss” why I wasn’t booking and I would inevitably get simultaneously awkwardly defensive and awkwardly apologetic. We always ended these discussions with a renewed (ahem, repeated) sit back and wait for “my time” attitude. Which is, frankly, often the case. Any good commercial agent, in my opinion, knows that it can take years, and literally hundreds and hundreds of commercial auditions, for that ever-elusive “click” to finally happen. It’s like dating. Sometimes you have to kiss a hell of a lot of frogs before that frog turns into a national commercial.

But I had hit the wall. I was carrying far too much tension at my auditions, and even more at my callbacks. I couldn’t stop that desperate energy from sifting out from my pores and bouncing off the walls. And I was so tired of seeing the commercials that I didn’t get mocking me during my favorite TV shows. I was even more tired of seeing them go to girl-with-short-wavy-bob. I became obsessed. For the non-actor, this seems crazy (and, um, it is.) I mean, really. It’s. Just. Hair. But for us, changing our look is a big deal. It means money, new headshots…it’s a commitment. And what if it doesn’t work? Then you have to wait for it to grow back and of course think of all the things you’ll be missing when it’s in the inbetween phase!! (Oh the neurosis.) You’ve convinced yourself that you’ve lost your “big break” job while you were growing out your bangs!

But this is what I’ve learned: when you’re not working as much as you think you should, then get out of your comfort zone and try something new. For me it was becoming the girl-with-short-wavy-bob. For you it could be something else entirely. But no matter what it is, the answer is right there in that little square rabbit-eared box. Oh god, I just aged myself..um..I mean, that 42 inch plasma screen box. I started looking and learning from commercials in a new way. I began dressing exactly the way they did. I studied the trends. Hair, make up, colors. This takes some self-reflection and honesty. Are you being realistic about your age range? Do you have a clear idea of your basic type? Also, simple things too like hair color. Is it dull on camera? Needs some highlights? Or is it dead from too many highlights? Do you even know? For men, is there a facial hair trend going on? And for those that can’t grow any, then how else does that look play out? There isn’t any one answer, but there are many practical things that you can do that may just help your chances in a very competitive industry.

This doesn’t have to be about a giant makeover or a huge overhaul. I asked one of my agents at SBV, Rachele Fink, to weigh in on the subject and she had this to say: “Commercials set the trends and hair is a major trend that young girls and women look for in commercials whether they actually think about it or not. One time I asked a girl if she would cut her hair, even just style it, and she said no, and I said this isn’t the agency for you because you won’t book with the same style from the 90′s. Actors have to be current and willing to set, and be able to change with the trends of our society.”

In my experience if you want to book commercials, you’ve got to conform, conform, conform. A tough pill to swallow? I know.

I get it. Two awesome lefty artist types in the East Village of New York City raised me, so the idea of conforming to the norm was totally against my grain. But in this case, the norm was working and I wasn’t. I had spent my whole life trying to be different, to be un-labelable. You know, Me! What I ultimately realized was that “me” is what books the job, and looking “right” for it just makes it easier for them to do it. Ultimately, your personality, your essence, your vibe is what people want to see and hire. But the commercial world also needs you to meet it halfway.

Jill Alexander, a friend and talented actress, has worked on over 50 National Commercials. She also teaches a fantastic commercial workshop, which I highly recommend, by the way (www.jillforpromqueen.com). This is what she said on the matter: “I think you have to be a real person in order to be successful in commercials. Which means wearing your hair in a way that makes you feel confident and attractive, and not in a way that makes someone else look confident and attractive. I do not believe that there is any rule of thumb. A smart haircut will help you in all aspects of your life.” I can’t speak for how that new haircut will go over at home, but feeling confident and contemporary will never hurt you at your auditions!

I bumped into an accomplished commercial casting director recently at Trader Joe’s. This particular office hadn’t called me in a really long time so I fumblingly saddled up to her in the cheese section and said hello. When she asked how I was doing, trust me, I was thrilled to finally be able to blurt out, “Great! I booked some stuff recently, and….well, I cut my hair. What do you think?”

And she quickly responded, while fingering through the Brie, “Ah, commercials…it is all about the hair….”

Shit. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself…

You can see Sunah & her wavy bob in action here and here.

Photo by Maya Adrabi

Ms. Joy,

How do you overcome the fear and anxiety that comes with being out there and being seen? I desperately need publicity and without it nothing happens for me. The problem is that I always have these doubts that keep me from doing what I need to do. I’ll take new publicity photos and then get scared to show them to anyone because of what they might criticize. I hate my bio because it’s just awful. I never want to give it to reporters when they ask for it.

I get sweaty and tongue-tied when I interview. I also don’t network well. I’m never really sure how to introduce myself to people and what I should be trying to accomplish when I meet someone new.

The icing on the cake is how foreign this all feels to me. Publicizing myself feels like bragging and some kind of “hey, look at me” thing. That’s not how I was raised. My childhood was the be seen not heard type and I still get reminded of that by my family. They really criticize the things I do and honestly, it deflates me when they judge me.  I try to not let it affect me but I never shake it. All these doubts are holding me back. I just do nothing.

I’m very driven and I want to be successful on my own terms. You might read this and think I need a psychotherapist. I know this isn’t what you normally give tips about but I really need your help.

̶ Holding On

Dear Holding On,

I can give you a laundry list of tips yet, it won’t mean anything until you’re ready to take the reins. I won’t suggest a psychotherapist but, we all need a confidant. So, I do suggest you get someone you can trust and talk to regularly.

A lot of our views about ourselves get burdened by bunk we carry around from our past. We know our baggage can affect our self-worth and self-esteem but it also affects our self-publicity. If, deep down, you don’t feel fantastic about yourself, you probably can’t encourage other people to feel fantastic about you, your career or your products. That is, after all, what you’re really asking people to do when you self-promote.

When I came to Hollywood and started working with talent, I assumed my biggest challenge would be yanking folks off the red carpet, as if everyone would be glory hogs. Reality showed me the opposite: many people are shy, terrified of doing press, and bogged down by doubts placed upon them by others as well as themselves.

Most of the fear comes from not knowing. Whether it’s not knowing how you’ll be judged or how the interview will go or what message you need to get across, the fear pauses you. This fear confuses you and makes you so scared of wrong moves that you make no moves. That’s how you end up spending time and good money on new publicity photos just so you can show them to no one.

Anxiety’s a natural part of every publicity campaign. Every pro has that nail-biting moment because of all the known unknowns and unknown unknowns involved. My suggestion to overcome it from a publicity standpoint is to get real, get support, and get bold.

You will never open up your mouth to promote yourself with confidence if you don’t have clarity first. You need to get real about the core of your message and what you’re all about. Getting real about this will help you also get real about what you want versus what you never want, what you can give and what you want to get. You’ll be acutely aware of what your publicity campaign really needs to do for you.

If you clarify your message to yourself, you’ll know what your message needs to be to others. You will introduce yourself with power because you know what you want to say. You’ll put together a better bio because you know what message it needs to convey. Plus, you’ll convey your message with consistency because you know how to stay on point. Consistency inspires trust and trust inspires love for your brand.

Once you get real about your message, you need to get real about your support base. We all need a support system. If the one you have isn’t working, you must organize a new one. Perhaps a college friend is a better source of encouragement than your family. Maybe you should reach out to someone you admire to be your mentor. Either way, you need to seek out and nurture the people who will really support you. Their words of encouragement and constructive criticism can slowly replace the doubt-inducing words you’ve been building off of until now. Your support team will also help you spread the word. Good word of mouth is the best buzz there is.

With clarity and proper support in your arsenal, you will notice a change in your swagger. You’ll talk differently because you know what to say and you’ll walk differently since you’re no longer weighed down by boo boo. Now, you can get bold. The best way to be irreplaceable is to always be different. Keeping things new and fresh not only excites consumers, it also invigorates you. It’s tough to be scared when you’re invigorated.

Look for fun, exciting ways to convey your message. Shake things up with a cool Youtube video. Collaborate with someone unexpected that can strengthen your brand (think Queen Latifah and Cover Girl).  Turn one of your competitors into a partner.

The point is to free your campaign from false impediments. Publicity is supposed to provide possibilities. We put things out there because you never know what can happen, who might find it, and what elevation may result from it. It’s like life- anything can happen for those who are brave.

Keep rising!

If you have a publicity or PR-related question to ask Joy, send it to joy@doitinpublic.com with the subject “Ask Joy”.