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Well hello, my talented friends,

welcome to episode 400 of casting

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actors cast.

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Wow, can we take a moment and just

appreciate that 400 episodes?

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My gosh, that's wild.

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I am the ungrateful

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to share this space with you week after

week.

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And I can't think of a better topic for

episode 400

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than the one every actor faces all the

time.

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The self tape.

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Self tapes are where careers happen to

day.

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They are the front door of the business.

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And like any front door, there's a

welcome mat.

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And

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there's also

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banana peels hidden right under the

surface, waiting to drip you up.

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This is casting actor's castle.

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Well, like I said, hello, and welcome

to this episode of casting actors cast.

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I'm Jeffrey driesbach, casting

director, a former actor, I'm an

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author.

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I also do a ton of teaching.

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And I'm excited to present this 400th

episode.

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These patios podcast videos have been

going on for several years, and I'm

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just delighted that you're out there.

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And I'm really excited that this

podcast continues to grow.

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Exponentially.

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It's been very, very exciting.

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I invite you to check out our

websitecasting actor's cast, Owen word

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com.

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There you're going to find some free

bees.

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If you fill out the form that says,

dive into the talent pool, there's a

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free, downloadable pdf book, absolutely

free.

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There's a free video called casting

secrets.

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What they don't tell you there's also

jeff's jots, which is a place on the

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website where you can download

corresponding show notes to each of the

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episodes.

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A lot of actors have found that very,

very useful.

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And also, my book is available now,

called booktit,

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the actor's playbook for getting cast.

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All of that's available at casting

actor's caste dot com.

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And of course, my shout out to my dear

friends at actor's connection, acker's

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connection to kamslash New York.

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Also, I just have to say, it's been an

honor to be with the Broadway podcast

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network.

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So if you're getting this podcast at

the Broadway pod on the Broadway

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podcast network, I've delighted.

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They've been sponsoring the show for

some time now, and we're on a great

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run.

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And so I hope that you continue to

listen.

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And also, when you fill out that form

that says, dive into the talent pool,

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that's a place you can ask me

questions, you can correspond with me.

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You can let me know if an episode was

great for you or not.

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If you can leave me a review, alike and

share and subscribe all that stuff, it

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really does make an impact on me

personally,

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as well as keep me excited to give you

all of the information that I possibly

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can about the nature of the business

and the craft and artistry

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of acting.

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Today

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we're shining a, oh, I don't know it's,

we're going to call it a big, bright

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spotlight on the self taped trap.

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Now I've done a lot of videos and

patios rather on self tape,

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but the self tape trap is something I

really want to address specifically.

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Those are the choices actors make with

good intentions,

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they really good intentions

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that accidentally sabotage the

performance.

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These traps are very, very sneaky, by

the way, and they can feel like extra

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effort, or

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smart march choices, or making it real.

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But casting directors are watching self

tapes with a totally

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different lens.

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So let's start with one of the biggest

traps,

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the choice that becomes the star of the

scene,

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doing too much

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adding details because you want to show

range.

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Listen here's the thing.

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If your acting choices draw attention

away from the character's truth

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that's not creativity.

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That's clutter,

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let's talk props.

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If the scene takes place

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while you're cooking, for example,

guess what?

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You don't need to construct a five

course meal behind the camera.

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We're not here to judge your onion,

chopping technique.

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We're here to see how you handle the

stakes in the scene

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stamps.

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You know how?

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I don't mean,

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ok.

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Never mind.

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See.

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The best prop you could bring to

yourself tape is your imagination.

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The worst prop, in my view, is anything

that Forces us to watch something other

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than your eyes.

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Now let's address another trap,

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the performance that tries too hard to

be different.

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You think uniqueness comes from adding

quirks,

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but uniqueness actually comes from your

truth,

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the way you believe the situation, the

way you process the emotion.

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If you're inventing quirks

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to stand out

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that's insecurity.

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That's not imagination.

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And insecurity

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never books.

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I promise you

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next trap

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the runaway,

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the runaway eye line.

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Your reader is not teleporting around

the room.

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I need you to pick one spot for the

other character and let us feel connection.

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And unless the scene calls for it, do

not act into the camera lens.

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Ever,

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peel v shots are rarely requested

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and when they are, they're very, very

specific.

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And this one's huge

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rushing.

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Actors often race through the moment

like their being timed by the highway police.

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But story lives in reaction.

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So take the breath,

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take the beat.

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Let the words matter.

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Let the stakes

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land.

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See when you breathe, we breathe.

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When you rush, we check out.

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Ay.

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Now let's talk about perfection, or

rather, the pursuit of perfection that

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kills your performances.

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Let me tell you the truth,

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self, tapes do not get better after

take three.

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They get tighter,

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they get more cautious, they become

less alive.

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The sparkle disappears.

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So do yourself a favor,

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give yourself a limit.

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I always subscribe to the three take

rule.

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Tell yourself, you're going to do this

audition in three takes.

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No matter what I know, it's really,

really hard,

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but I promise you, once you get into

the habit of that, it has

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really positive effects, not only in

that audition,

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but also

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in your career.

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Because when you show up on the set,

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you're not conditioned to do multiple

takes over and over again.

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You're conditioned to do really

excellent takes right out of the gate.

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That is an actor that directors want to

work with.

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That is an actor that casting directors

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love is your ability to be prepared.

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So condition yourself, in your

audition, with the three take rule.

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So it has a benefit for yourself tape,

but it has long term benefits as well.

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I want you to trust your gut.

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I want you to let your truth lead.

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Trust is actually the remedy to every

trap.

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Did you know that

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trust is the remedy

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to every trap?

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So let's shift now into what helps your

self tape shine?

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We're going to come up with

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those ideas right after this.

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So now we want yourself tapes to shine.

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So here are some thoughts about that.

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The first, and in my view, the most

important thing, is clarity.

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We should instantly understand

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who you are,

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who you are talking to,

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what you want,

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why it matters

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with no confusion,

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no guessing.

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Clarity is charisma.

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Ah, somebody write that dial, and that

was really good.

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Clarity is charisma.

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Second,

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connection,

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you are talking to someone you care

about,

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or not

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even in a procedural interrogation

scene.

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There's a relationship.

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Let us feel what they do

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to you.

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Third, the simple, specific choice.

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Not a million ideas mashed together,

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just one guiding choice.

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For example,

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I need you to stay.

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I cannot let you die.

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I want you to trust me.

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I'm terrified you'll lose out.

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You see, those kinds of statements that

you can discover

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in the writing

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is specificity.

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And specificity

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is the holy grail of self tapes.

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Now, if you want yourself tape to

really stand out,

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let yourself be surprised by the moment.

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For example, a spontaneous laugh,

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a shift in tempo, a vulnerability

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crack in the voice.

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That's the stuff that makes us lean in.

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That's the stuff that makes us say,

this actor is living it.

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That really is true.

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Now here's something really important.

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Yourself tape is a gift,

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not a test.

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You're not being tested.

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You're offering an opportunity

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for us to see how you're going to play

the part

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you see, it's not, will you approve of

me?

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It's

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let me offer you something wonderful.

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That mindset alone changes everything.

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And please remember, casting directors

are not watching to find all the

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reasons to say, no.

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We are looking for the reason to say,

yes.

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We want to discover you.

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We really do.

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We want to find actors we can trust and

root for

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and higher again.

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So

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let's

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dive a little bit deeper.

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The self tape is a reflection of you

simply saying, this is how I am going

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to play this part.

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Being in touch with your uniqueness,

that specificity,

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all of those things combine together to

make a really

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series of moments.

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Trust your training,

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share those moments, the specificity of

those moments,

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all of that combined together will make

an impact.

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As someone who's watched

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hundreds and hundreds of self tapes,

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I can tell you how many self tapes that

are out there that I make a discerning,

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kind of decision about you in about

fifteen seconds,

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m, oftentimes less.

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So it's not about trying to do

something to stand out.

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It's that

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serious commitment

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and that conscious effort

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to be in the moment and live the truth

of that character in the scene.

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Ay, let me leave you with this.

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This is a guiding question for every

tape

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you need to ask this question,

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are my choices helping me tell the

story?

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Or am I hiding the fact that I don't

trust myself?

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Because listen, when your choices serve

the story,

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we see you,

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not the technique,

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not the fear, not the effort,

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you,

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the human being, with imagination and

heart and honesty.

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And that my friends.

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That is what books.

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So thank you for being here to day.

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Thank you for listening.

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Thank you for being the growing, brave,

passionate artist that you are.

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I truly believe that your very next

self tape could change your life.

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Make choices that honor, that

possibility

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listen.

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I love sharing this journey with you.

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And I promise there's so much more

ahead.

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Prepare smarter, act better, book more.

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This is jeffin

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casting actor's cast signing

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off from episode 400

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here's

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to the next

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400

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to