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What if the very thing your acting

class praised is the exact thing,

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hurting your auditions.

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Today we're talking about the

disconnect between acting training

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and

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actually getting cast.

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And trust me, this conversation might,

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well, it might sting a little, but it

may also completely change how you

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approach your work.

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This is casting actor's cast.

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Hello everybody, and welcome back to

casting actors.

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Cast.

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I'm Jesus.

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Jeff dries back,

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former actor.

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Are you always a former actor?

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Is there such a thing?

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Well, I was an actor,

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a teacher, casting director, author,

podcaster, occasionally, overcaffinated

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observer of things.

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Strange actors do h.

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In any case, to day we are discussing

something that I have been thinking

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about for,

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really, honestly, for years.

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Why is it

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that some actors who are absolutely

brilliant in class,

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struggle terribly in auditions.

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Meanwhile,

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other actors who may be, oh, I don't

know, aren't the most emotionally

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explosive people in the room, walk in

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and book.

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Why is that?

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Why does that happen?

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Now, before anyone throws a copy of

Stanislavsky

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at my head, this is not an anti

training episode,

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believe me, training matters,

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craft matters, technique matters.

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But somewhere along the way, a lot of

actors accidentally begin training

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for acting class instead of training

for professional performance.

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And those are not always the same thing.

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Let's discuss it.

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But first, this is that moment of the

conversation, where I get to say thank

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you so much for tuning into casting

actor's gas.

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We continue to do these podcast

episodes on a weekly basis.

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I invite you to check out the

websidecasting actors, cast dotcom.

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You can find all kinds of information

there.

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My book is out.

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I have an audio book of the same book.

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So it's a kind of a book book.

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Ok, never mind.

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In any case.

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There's also a form that says, dive

into the talent pool.

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If you fill that out, that'll open up

some freebies.

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When is a video called casting secrets,

what they don't tell you.

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And then there's also a free 100 page

pdf book called

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conversation pieces, out of the studio,

the voice over workshop for

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professional actors.

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So if you're interested in voice over

work, you can have a free comprehensive

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book that I think you'll get a lot out

of it.

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Anyway, that's enough of the shameless

promotional stuff.

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But I do just want to say for those of

you who have been listening to the

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podcast episodes.

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Could you do me a huge, huge favor?

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Could you leave me alike?

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Could you leave me

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thumbs up?

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Could you?

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I don't know.

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Maybe even write a review, especially

on apple iTunes.

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That makes a huge difference in my

ranking.

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And as I continue to do these podcasts,

I get excited about the audience that

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continues to grow.

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But you need to help me do that.

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It means a lot to me.

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So thank you very, very much.

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All right.

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So let's move into our first segment.

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Here it's what I call the good actor

trap.

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The good actor trappin one of the

biggest dangers actors face, is

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becoming very good at looking like they

are acting.

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Yeah, you know exactly what I mean.

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Do you know what I'm saying?

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The actor who breathes deeply before

every line, looks emotionally

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devastated after ordering coffee,

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pauses dramatically before saying

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hello,

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treats every scene like there,

excepting an Oscar

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while trapped inside a tornado

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listen.

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We've all done it.

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Actors are emotional athletes.

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We care deeply.

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We want to create moving work.

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But here's the problem.

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And this is the truth in professional

auditions.

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Casting isn't asking can this actor

demonstrate emotional intensity?

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They're not.

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They're asking, would I believe this

person exists

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huge difference.

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Some actors enter auditions like their

defending a doctorial thesis in

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sadness.

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And meanwhile, another actor walks in

behaves, truthfully

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stays simple

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listens,

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affects the other person

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and then books the job.

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That is, the disconnect.

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We're talking about,

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moving on from there.

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Classroom acting versus camera acting.

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Now this kind of gets tricky because

acting classes often reward effort,

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especially emotional effort.

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The actor crying in class may receive

quite a bit of attention.

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The actor that is screaming may seem

committed.

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The actor emotionally unraveling in a

scene may appear brave.

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But camera acting is different.

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The camera loves specificity.

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They love behavior,

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thought

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restraint,

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thoughtful need, not

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theatrical demonstration.

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The camera sees everything,

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including

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when you are trying too hard.

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Well, especially when you're trying too

hard.

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And here is the uncomfortable truth.

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A lot of actors are addicted to feeling

emotional

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instead of doing something meaningful.

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That's huge

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reality check.

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Ok,

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real casting room truth here.

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The actors who consistently work,

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they are often

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simpler than you think they're not

trying to show the performance.

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They are pursuing something

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affecting, someone

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staying, grounded,

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remaining available, moment to moment.

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And because of that,

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they feel alive.

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Compare that to the actor who is

demonstrating,

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emotion often feels planned.

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And planned.

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Acting rarely feels dangerous.

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Truthfully, the most exciting auditions

I ever see are the ones in which

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something spontaneous

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happens in the audition.

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It's as if the actor comes into the

audition thinking to themselves,

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I've done the work.

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Now let's just play.

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Let's just see what happens.

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That is really cool, especially

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when it surprises even the actor in the

scene.

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In other words, they're so committed

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to having a good time or making

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fun choices.

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Without planning those choices,

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it really does create an electric

environment, an electric atmosphere.

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Moving on from there, let's call this

little segment here.

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School is over

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this next part.

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It might seem a little harsh.

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An audition

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is not a grade.

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Nobody is sitting there with a rubric

saying, excellent emotional tension,

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slightly weak eyebrow work, wonderful

sadness, posture

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that's not happening,

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but many actors still audition like

nervous students.

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They walk into the room thinking,

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please approve of me.

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And you know what?

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That energy

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changes everything.

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Because

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truthfully,

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actors seeking approval,

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they become careful.

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Careful acting is usually dead acting.

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Ok?

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Somebody write that down?

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That was really good.

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I guess what I'm trying to say is,

professional actors don't walk in

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trying to be good.

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They walk in trying to

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do something.

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And that shift matters enormously.

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What does casting actually respond to?

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I'm going to have that answer right

after this brief message.

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So

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what does casting

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respond to?

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Truthfully

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here's the answer.

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Behavior

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specific.

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Behavior rooted in human need,

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not generalized emotion.

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For example, instead of, I'm sad the

actor is trying to stop this person

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from leaving me,

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make sense.

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You see that?

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That becomes playable.

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Suddenly

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the

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performance becomes active.

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Now

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we're watching persuasion,

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pressure,

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vulnerability,

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humor manipulation,

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charm

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Denial.

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And guess what?

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That's human behavior?

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And human behavior

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is infinitely more watchable

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than emotional

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indication.

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So let's start the beginning of a

different approach.

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Because over the years, working in

casting rooms and classrooms,

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I started noticing patterns.

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The actors who booked most often

weren't necessarily the loudest or the

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most emotional or the most technical.

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They were usually behavior driven,

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specific,

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emotionally available,

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deeply connected to what they needed,

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focused on the other person.

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And that realization

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started changing

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how I teach.

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You.

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See, instead of asking,

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how should this feel?

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I began asking, what are you trying to

get?

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You see, that one shift changes

everything.

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And now I actually have a quick

exercise that I want you to try, try

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this to night.

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I want you to take a scene, and I want

you to cross out every emotional adjective.

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In other words, no

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angry,

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sad, nervous, devastated.

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Instead, ask,

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what am I trying to get from the other

person?

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Then play only that.

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Watch what happens.

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Your work will likely become simpler,

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clearer,

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more dangerous, more believable, and

honestly,

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probably

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more castable.

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Then let me just be really clear here.

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Great acting training

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absolutely

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matters.

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It does.

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And if you're not enrolled in a class

right now, what are you waiting for?

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I think that classes are the single

best thing that are not only

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emotionally

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exciting

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and purposeful.

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And I believe that acting classes are

an investment in you.

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And boy, oh boy, that has dividends.

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Believe me,

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but I don't think that

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training

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should just not become,

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oh, I don't know, emotional gymnastic.

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You see, acting is not emotional

decoration

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it's human behavior under pressure.

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Let me tell you, that's what audiences

connect to, that's what cameras respond

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to, and that's what casting directors

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love to see.

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And yes, that's also true that that's

what casting actually remembers

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honestly.

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So thank you so much for joining me

today.

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I'm Jeff drizback.

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This is casting actor's cast.

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Keep learning.

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Keep growing.

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Keep showing up,

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really.

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And remember,

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you are not there to perform emotion.

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You are there to affect another human

being.

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I'll see you next