Commercial Workshop

Went to another workshop tonight thru Network Studio East. It was a commercial workshop with a casting director from Judy Keller Casting.

As usual, the workshop started with a short intro and q&a, followed by an opportunity to have a one on one with the casting director. Rather than a monologue, this time we were asked to read commercial copy.

Commercial audition tips -

Take Notes
Be Relaxed
Always have your measurements handy
Ladies - Wear natural makeup, no gloss on lips either.
Don't wear stripes

As a general rule, when reading copy there should be texture in your voice and it should be very conversational. (Exceptions would be for the commercials where they want you to shout things like "It's Huge!" wink.)

When it was my turn to read copy, she reviewed my resume and noted my Southern Accent (I told her it wasn't specific to a region and she said with commercials it generally didn't matter) as well as my Radio Announcer experience. She said I was "pretty good" and I needed to get in the studio to cut a demo if I wanted to get voiceover work.

This is a good example of the "starving actor" spending more money to hopefully help get the gig. Being an actor is kind of like running a small business I suppose. You have to invest a certain amount before you can start earning revenue. The key of course is to make the investments that are most likely to help you get from point A to point B. Even then there are no guarantees....sigh. BUT demos for both voice and acting are probably just as essential as headshots so I should stop dragging my feet, right?! Right...

These workshops are great though - very informative and give you an opportunity to network and have an actual contact at some of these casting agencies.