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[0:00] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Having had a very successful year with the multiple projects we've cast at McCorkle Casting, I've come to the conclusion that actors are smart. Really smart. So much so that it is astonishing to see and experience how much talent, training, and tenacity today's actors bring into the audition space. It's amazing. With all the positives, however, there are some universal issues I've seen with talent. Now it's time we address these issues head on. Let's uncomplicate your acting on this episode of Casting Actors Cast.

[0:43] Jeffrey Dreisbach: It's time for another episode of Casting Actors Cast. Insights for actors from a casting director. Each week, we show you how to advance your talent and your career with practical tips, advice, and positivity. Here is your host, Jeffrey Dreisbach.

[0:59] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Well, hello, and welcome to today's episode of Casting Actors Cast. I'm casting director Jeffrey Dreisbach with the McCorkle Group in New York. How are you? I hope you're having a good day. Um, it's nice to be back. I had been away for a handful of weeks due to various complications, like a really lousy Christmas. Plus, I got COVID. Yeah, so I was kind of in a bad way, and I'm happy to say I'm feeling much, much better, and I'm back with all of these new ideas for episodes on upcoming Casting Actors Cast podcasted videos. So I'm really looking forward to sharing some information with you. And today's episode is no different. Something that I'm really excited to be able to share with you.

[1:45] Jeffrey Dreisbach: But first, this is that moment of the podcast where I get to say thank you so much for tuning in to Casting Actors Cast. It's been a great pleasure presenting these episodes to you. Hey, listen, if you haven't had a chance, I invite you to go to the website, castingactorscast.com. That's castingactorscast, all one word, dot com. And there you're going to find some more information about the podcast. But there's also some freebies on that form that says dive into the talent pool. You feel simply fill that out. And what you're going to find are some freebies. One is a book on doing voiceover work called Conversation Pieces: Out of the Studio, the voiceover workshop for professional actors. Also, there's a video, what casting secrets, what casting doesn't want you to know.

But guess what? I'm going to tell you. It's a free 20-minute video. All of this in order to, I don't know, help you feel more connected, more comfortable, and more confident in this crazy, crazy career called acting that you seem to be very intent on succeeding in, which is very, very exciting. And I'm only happy, too happy to help facilitate that.

[2:52] Jeffrey Dreisbach: I started as an actor, I made my living as an actor for many, many years, and then I transitioned into casting. So I feel like I can kind of give you some information on both sides, both from an actor's point of view, but also from a casting director's point of view. And finally, my shout out to my good friends at Actors Connection. Um, they're doing all of these wonderful classes and workshops and seminars. They're all online. They also have an excellent Facebook group that you might want to consider joining. Um, and my good friends Colleen and Tony continue to provide really excellent information with professionals in the industry. So you're learning from the best. So I encourage you to check out actorsconnection.com.

[3:34] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Alrighty then. So here's the thing. I attended this A1 conference just a few days ago. And I have to tell you, it was very exciting at the Norwalk Conservatory, Norwalk, Connecticut. And I don't know, there were like 1,100 actors there in this convention where they audition actors for a lot of their summer stock, a lot of summer theaters, a lot of amusement, entertainment parks, things like that. Um, in addition to that, they do workshops and auditions for actors, and so it's just a whole kind of amazing four-day weekend from Friday through Monday. And I was honored to be asked to not only conduct a couple of workshops, but also to help facilitate some of the actor auditions that took place there.

[4:26] Jeffrey Dreisbach: And you know, I came away with so much excitement and enthusiasm and admiration for the acting that I saw. But I also observed something that I think is important to share, and that is the ways in which I saw actors complicate their acting. It's almost as if they felt like they had to do more than what was asked of them. And so I thought that would be an excellent topic to cover today. And so I put down a list of ways in which actors complicate their acting. And my hope is that maybe you can identify with some of these things. And then, of course, we're going to address how to uncomplicate your acting. And then finally, we're going to explain to you and from my point of view exactly why you need to uncomplicate your acting. So that's the sum total of today's podcast. So let's get into it.

[5:22] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Ways in which the actor and actors that I've seen complicate their acting. Uh, number one, I think actors complicate their acting because they feel compelled to show that they are unique or different in the way that they choose to audition from other actors, for example. In other words, it's almost like they're aware that there's going to be a lot of people auditioning with the same scene. And if they are unique with their approach, that that's going to help them in some way. Well, you know what? When you complicate it that way, that means you're bringing in a lot of extra thought into the way you're going to be playing the part. Rather than simply making simple choices for yourself, it seems that the desire to be different supersedes the desire to simply show me how you're going to play the part. So that's one way is the actor who works on being unique rather than just having an audition.

[6:23] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Number two, I see actors over-intellectualize the choices. In other words, in the process of learning the work, many times I think actors really try to intellectualize the choices that they're making. Like if my character is feeling this way, then what would be the opposite way in which I need to show and what's my subtext versus what is the reality and what my intention is my character, and is that more important than the other character? So there's this all this sort of mental gymnastics that take place. Rather than just approaching the work honestly and openly, and let the work feed you in terms of your choices rather than trying to over-intellectualize the choices, I think is something that you might want to see if that applies to you.

It might not, but that was something that I experienced a lot. It's almost it's strange, kind of additional layers, because I think a lot of acting teachers talk about, well, we need different layers, we need different, and so it's more important to show me the layers than it is to show me how you're gonna play the part.

[7:33] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Uh, number three, I see actors disregard the information provided them, either on the breakdown or when the play has a description of the characters, for example. Um, for when we put out a breakdown for a film or a television project, we put a pretty decent description about what the vision of that character is based on the meetings we've had with the producer or director or whoever it is that is making the casting decisions, in addition to the casting director. And then I see actors saying, Well, I don't want to do what they're telling me to do because I think I would rather show my uniqueness. And so when you disregard the information that's given to you on a breakdown, that flies in the face of what we are legitimately looking for.

So, for example, uh, the age range of a character is vitally important in a breakdown. And so to disregard that age range, saying, Well, I'm older or I'm younger, but I can play that, I think that flies in the face of the reality of what casting is all about, especially for film and television projects, but also for theater projects. See, the actor is at the chronological age that they are, and that means also that they are in that head space for that age, if that makes sense. So rationalizing by disregarding the information that you've been given is a dangerous and slippery slope. It doesn't make a really good foundational approach to the work.

[9:13] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Number four, and this is something I alluded to, but I just want to re-emphasize this is that actors believe that making moments is the most important impression to make. In other words, making moments, showing me that you have a wonderful technique as an actor becomes more important than the simpler, most helpful choice, which is showing me simply how you're going to play the part. You see, acting is behaving. And when I can see the character behave in the way in which they're behaving, given the scene or monologue or whatever it is, then I have an easy time of assessing whether that fulfills the dream of the producer or the director and that project. So simply believing that all I have to do is show that I'm a good actor by making a lot of making a lot out of these moments.

That seems to be more important to a lot of actors. And I'm just here to say that that is not the case. Making moments in life is just like making moments when you're playing a character. They're important that you emphasize what you need to emphasize, but then you move away from that. It's not how you're delivering the message. More often than not, it's the message itself.

[10:34] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Alright, number five. Again, this is something also I alluded to. I seem to be jumping ahead a little bit, but I want to be clear in each of these ways in which I see actors overcomplicating their auditions and their acting work in general. And that is, I see actors deny simplicity in favor of just throwing in layers for layers' sake. Here's an example. Um, I saw an audition, uh, this was a self-submit video, uh, and the actor decided uh for whatever reason, and I can't certainly tell you what that reason was. The actor decided that the entire scene, the actor was going to be consuming an apple, eating an apple during the scene. Now, there was no reference to the apple. There was uh nothing to be gained from watching an actor eating an apple during the course of the scene.

It seemed like an arbitrary choice, but in my mind, that actor said to themselves, I need to have other things happening in the scene other than just the scene. I need to have, let's see, why don't I, oh, I don't know, eat an apple.

[11:51] Jeffrey Dreisbach: And so that just kind of complicated the matters, uh, not the least of which I became engrossed in the apple drippage that was coming off of the chin of the actor while the scene was happening. So I'm not sure what the reason was for that. Perhaps they thought that that would be memorable or interesting, and guess what? It was memorable, it was interesting. For all the wrong reasons. So just remember that embracing simplicity, uh keeping your audition clean, and it doesn't just have to be a literal interpretation. That's not what I'm talking about. But there are ways that you can uncomplicate your acting. Here's one. Start with the foundation of you first and not your imagination. What I mean is that actors sometimes feel that they have to work in their own head about how they see that part being played.

Now I think that's a mistake, and here's why. When you can start with the foundation of you, your own uniqueness, your own life experience, you are unlike anybody else in the world. And so instead of watching or thinking in terms of how your imagination is going to create the way you're going to play the part, rather, it is better, it is easier, it is simpler, and it is a much better foundation for you to start with who you are first. So imagine you in this situation. How would you react? How would you feel? What is your emotional temperature during the course of that scene or monologue or whatever it is? So that is one way to really just circumvent all of this complicated stuff that you have going on in your work.

[13:43] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Number two, I think it's more important to spend time on the other character in the scene for uh information about your character. See, too many times I think actors spend an inordinate amount, inordinate, ooh, wow, easy for me to say, an inordinate amount of time on them, on how they're gonna play the part, on their reactions, on their uh place in the scene. I believe that if actors spend more time on the other character, they would get additional clues and additional choices that might be really fun for you to incorporate into the work. And I'm not talking about making it more complicated. I'm talking about making it simpler because you really invest in the other character. I'll go so far as to say sometimes I think that you should start off working on a scene by reading just the other character, not you at all.

Just simply go through what the other character is saying, then go back and see how your character is responding and reacting to what that character is doing. I think it's a really smart way. It's also, in my view, a very economical way of using your time wisely. If you're kind of a time crunch or a time constraint, that can be really helpful to you.

[15:04] Jeffrey Dreisbach: So that was number two. Number three, uh, once you understand what is happening in the scene, choose simple subtext. Now we know what subtext is. Subtext is literally what you are thinking, not necessarily what you are saying. So you're thinking one thing and you're saying something else, perhaps. That's one kind of sub, that's bad kind of definition, but you know what I'm talking about. It's the thoughts that are taking place versus what you're actually saying in context of a scene. That's subtext. So once you understand what is happening, I see actors decide that they're going to do some subtext that has no relationship whatsoever to do with the interaction with the other person on the scene.

Now, that might be helpful if you're doing an episodic television show in which you're trying to throw the cop off that you are the murderer. You see where I'm going with that? So that there's a reason to make that subtext choice. But more often than not, especially in an audition, choosing the simpler context of what the subtext is, the simpler approach to how this character is behaving, I think makes a lot more sense. And it takes a lot of additional pressure off the actor as well.

[16:20] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Which brings me to number four, which is simply trust your training and stop what I call stinking thinking. As you continue to work on an audition, for example, I understand that we all have this third eye that's constantly evaluating what we feel about ourselves and our work. And sometimes it's like, oh man, I was really good. I felt really great. I'm gonna be good at this in this role. I'm gonna be good at this audition. And then there are other times and man, I just don't know what to do. I don't know what they're looking for, I don't know how to play it. I just man, why am I even? Oh God, this is this is ridiculous. This writing is terrible. So listen, I think it's important to trust your training, that you are an actor for a reason. Embrace that reason, please, and stop the stinking thinking that's talking negative stuff to yourself. That's just such a waste of time.

[17:20] Jeffrey Dreisbach: That brings me to number five. Never ask, please, never ask what are they looking for. I hear that all the time. In fact, that's something I used to do as an actor. I used to say, gosh, if I only knew what they're looking for, I would know how to play it. Well, it's important to know that it is really none of your business what they're looking for. What is your business is bringing yourself to the table and come up with a way in which you believe is a logical, simple, effective choice for the way to play the part. So never ask, what are they looking for? All right, now let's conclude our little chat today by talking about why you need to uncomplicate your acting. The reasons are obvious. Casting needs to see you in the part.

Casting does not need to see your methods, your preparation. We just want to see how you're going to play the part. So our approach to your work is a simple one. If that's the case, and I hope you believe what I'm telling you, then why are you complicating it? So it's a matter of understanding that your own unique approach to the work is yours and yours alone, and now you're just simply showing me how you're going to play the part.

[18:39] Jeffrey Dreisbach: The minute I see the actor's work process, the method of preparation is the minute I'm turned off, is the minute that I you lose me in terms of being able to really see you playing the role. Number two, uh, hopefully, I and I don't mean to sound harsh, um, and this is referring to those of you who are getting close to either graduating from school or you're really working on launching yourself into an acting career. But hear me clear and don't please don't take offense to this. But guess what? School is over. You are not being graded. An audition is not a final exam. So to apply that same kind of logic about school and success and failure and grades and evaluations and all of the stuff that you've been subjected to in school that does not apply as a professional actor.

You are not being graded. So school is over. You are a professional. You're showing me how you're going to play the part. You're making really interesting, creative, simple choices so that I can really get a good sense on you and on your work.

[20:00] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Number three, this is obvious, but I think it's important to embrace. Please know that every role does not require an intellectual debate. You don't need to just throw stuff in because the role is too kind of obvious or too simple, especially if you're doing like episodic television work. Sometimes the scenes are written just to uh advance the story or advance the plot. It does not require a whole, you know, intense scrutiny. So there are some rules that you can work on that you may need to spend some decent amount of time on in order to really get a good handle about the arc of the piece or the character, some in-depth analysis is warranted in certain cases, but a lot of time, a lot of time, not every recall role requires an intellectual debate. So please remember that. Be able to understand how much energy is really needed to accomplish the audition.

[21:05] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Number four. Please remember this casting, producers, directors, they just simply need to see you in the part. That's all that they're there for. They also want to know that you can work and play well with others. That's true, and that's important. But again, it's about deciding that you need to be something other than who you are. And so the other reason to not complicate your audition, and this is number five, is that it's more fun that way. Trust your training, and then just jump in and give a sense of how interesting and unique this character is, because it's based on who you are first. And then there are other layers, there are other behaviors that you can employ, of course, because if you're playing an axe murderer, you don't have to be an axe murderer, right? You know what I'm saying.

[22:01] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Um I have to say that there have been so many auditions of late that have left me, quite honestly, more confused than enthusiastic. It's as if the method of preparation seems to be more important to the actor than showing a clean, interesting, captivating way that you are playing the part. So that compounded with the actor's desire to be different, creates a confusing impression for the person who is watching you, like the casting director, like the producer, like the director. So, next time you are asked to audition for a role, do yourself a favor. Please refrain from thinking too much. Refrain from thinking that you must do something different. Remember that you are enough. You are unique, you are the character you are playing.

Please let me know if this works for you. I would love to hear back from you. And from where I sit, an uncomplicated audition is a breath of fresh air. And you would be the reason. Thanks for listening. I'm Jeffrey Dreisbach. This is Casting Actors Cast.

[23:18] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Thank you for joining Casting Actors Cast. Please don't forget to review, like, and share Casting Actors Cast wherever you get your podcast videos. Thanks. I'm Megan Grace Martinez.