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Not every audition comes with sparkling

dialogue.

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But casting isn't just about the script,

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it's about you.

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So how do you shine even when the

writing is clunky?

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Let's break it down.

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This is casting actor's cast.

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Well, hello, and welcome back to casting

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actor's cast.

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Listen.

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Every actor has been there, right?

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You get a script with dialogue so flat

it sounds like it was written by a robot,

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or jokes, I just don't land, I've been

there, or lines that just feel, I don't

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know, painfully cliche.

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And yet you still have to make it work.

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This, I promise you, is one of the

greatest tests for an actor, how to

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deliver weak writing with strength,

authenticity

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and commitment.

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But there is a secret,

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here's the secret

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casting directors know.

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And the material isn't great.

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They're not waiting for you to

magically fix it.

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What they're waiting for is to see you

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rise above it,

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to make the material playable.

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Make it believable.

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Make it watchable.

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And that's what we're going to tackle

on this episode.

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But first, this is that moment of the

conversation where I get to say thank

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you for tuning into casting actors

cast.

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This is where I usually tell you to go

to the website, casting actors cast all

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one word dot com.

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You're going to find all kinds of

interesting material there available

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for you.

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One is a book that I wrote on doing

voice over work.

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It's called conversation pieces out of

the studio, the voiceover workshop for

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professional actors.

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You'll find that by filling out the

form that says dive into the talent

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pool, you can also leave a comment, you

can leave a review, you can leave a

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thumbs up.

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Whatever you want, that's there.

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And I would love for you to make

yourself available for that.

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I don't do anything with your email

address.

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By the way, ask for your email address

in your name.

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That's it.

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I might, on rare occasions, send out an

announcement about an upcoming episode

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or something like that.

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But I promise you, I don't abuse the

privilege of contacting you.

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I don't at all.

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Also there's my new book, as i'll call

bookedit.

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The actor's playbook for getting cast.

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That's available as well, as well as

jeff's jots, which are corresponding

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show notes to each of the episodes.

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So there's a lot there to check out.

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And it just helps me know that you are

out there when you respond.

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And if you do respond by.

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Perhaps you want to leave a review on

iTunes

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or Spotify,

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any way in which you can let others

know about the podcast

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would just mean the world to me.

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The podcasts are released every

Thursday at one pm.

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I've been doing it for several years

now.

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This is episode 385,

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I think.

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And so I'm still going strong.

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I'm still Loving doing this, and your

support keeps me going.

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It kind of just is

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the most

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useful

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motivator for me is when you reach out

to me, and I appreciate so much.

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All of the fantastic male actress have

sensed to me, the positive thoughts.

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It just is just an amazing thing that's

happening as a result of the podcast.

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Ok, I'm done talking about job.

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I'm talking about this stuff.

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Ok,

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let's jump into the subject.

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Now

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I want you to understand that your job

isn't to fix a script.

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So when you get some bad writing,

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you're not responsible

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making adjustments to it.

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You are the interpreter

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of the material.

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You're not the creator.

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And so it's really important

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to make it

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That's the job.

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I can say it in another way, you're not

a script doctor.

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So don't rewrite, don't comment, don't

apologize

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your job is to bring the words to life

as written, even if they are clunky.

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And believe me,

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there's not.

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Every piece of material out there is

fabulous.

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So let's think about what casting

directors think.

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I can tell you what I think.

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I say to myself, if this actor can make

bad writing work, imagine what they'll

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do with a good script.

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That's true.

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I think a way to help you with this is

to find the humanity,

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find the humanity that lives inside of

that script, even the clunky one.

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Every line, no matter how weak,

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can come from a very real human being.

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So if you search for intention,

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search for the subtext.

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You know, subtex is what you are

thinking or feeling while you're saying

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something else.

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So intention and subtext,

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or you could even just look for a

natural tone

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to lift those flat words that the

script is giving you.

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Here's an example, instead of saying, I

love you

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like it's kind of pasted in,

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and find what your character is really

doing, find what your character is

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really feeling.

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Are they convincing?

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Are they trying to be reassuring?

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Are they confessing?

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And if you lean into connection, if the

words feel thin,

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then double down on your scene.

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Partner,

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authentic eye contact and listening

elevate every clumsy piece of dialogue

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you're going to come across.

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So i'll give you an example.

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Because for a while I was working on a

soap opera called another world, an

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NBC.

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Soap.

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And soap operas often are ridiculed for

their wristwriting.

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But you know what?

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They still connect with audiences.

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Why?

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Because actors commit fully to the

relationship,

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not the words

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committing to the relationship,

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not the words.

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Somebody write that down.

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That was really, really good.

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I think you might benefit from that.

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Also, when you have a script that the

writing is just not kind of happening

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for you,

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the phrase I like to use is clarity

wins.

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So don't layer in unnecessary subtext,

or try to do clever tricks to hide the bad

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writing or bad moments.

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If you can keep your delivery clean and

simple and clear,

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you're going to find it that it is not

a painful experience.

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Because the goal is make it easy easy

for the audience to follow this story,

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no matter how weak the script is,

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it's about the story.

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So I got a practice tool for you.

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I want you to grab a script from a

hallmark holiday movie,

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or a daytime, so per, even a high

school play.

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And I want you to perform it two ways

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way.

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Number one, as written,

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but I want you to lean into honesty

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and connection.

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Number two, over complicating with

actor tricks.

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I want you to compare the two

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over complicated

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all kinds of actor tricks to make it

work, or just clean sincere honesty.

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I promise you, the honest version

always feels stronger.

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It really does.

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You can do this with just about any

script.

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But those scripts that feel like

they're kind of more challenging is the

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one that I think makes sense for you to

check out.

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Now I've got some follow up responses,

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and my call to action

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it's coming up right after this.

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Welcome back.

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So listen the next time you're handed a

bad script or a script that you're just not

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relating to the material.

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just don't roll your eyes.

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I want you to see it as a chance to

shine.

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If you can play truthfully

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with weak material,

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you'll prove you're a reliable,

bookable actor.

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You really will.

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Now, some of the projects that we've

been casting, for example, we send out

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the script.

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And then, many times, not always, but

many times, we'll get a pass on the

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project from the actor because they

say, I'm not responding to the script.

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Now, whether that's

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absolutely true or not, or it's just

kind of a nice way to say they don't.

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Like, it's

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really interesting that if you have

that experience, or have had that experience

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really analyze why you're not

responding to the material.

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I'm not trying to convince you to take

the audition or take the job.

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I am saying, investigate a little bit

further.

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It's not just a one read and then

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it's not much.

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It doesn't do anything for me.

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You're allowed to do that, of course.

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But if you come across a bad script,

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a script that's weak or cheesy or

predictable or even cringeworthy,

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my suggestion and my homework

assignment, is to record yourself

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performing it with total sincerity and

focus on connection.

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Then, of course, I want you to watch it

back.

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If you believe yourself,

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you know what

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casting directors will do.

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That's absolutely true.

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So the next time you have the challenge

of obtaining a script that's not doing

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much for you that you really are having

trouble responding to, that's a fantastic

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to try to make it work in your process.

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You see, the actor's technique

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can really take a script that doesn't

quite work and really make it truthful.

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Make it usable.

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Make it

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tangible,

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so that you can be known as that actor

who can do anything.

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I just heard that the other day.

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Pat was saying, gosh, I love this actor

so much.

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They can do anything.

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Be that actor.

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So listen.

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I hope you've enjoyed the episode.

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If you know someone when that could

benefit from this episode, please pass

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it along.

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And once again, I appreciate any kind

of review.

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Thumbs up.

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Whatever you can do and don't forget.

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We're also on YouTube.

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You can check out all of these videos

on YouTube.

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If that's what you want to do.

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You want to see me doing these

podcasts, you're welcome to it.

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Thanks again so much.

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I'm Geoffrey driesback.

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You've been watching and listening,

casting actor's cast