Although there seems to be a deep draw to teaching once you reach a certain age and level of mastery in the field of acting, I find working with actors on specific roles to be much more alluring.  Why, you ask?

 

1. I know how to audition really well.  If I had to put a number on it, I would guess that 10% of my jobs have been “gifts”, which means 90% I have “earned”.  I have walked into rooms full of powerful producers, studio bigwigs and network executives, and I have walked into tiny, airless rooms with a casting director and a camera.  I have gotten jobs where the vibe of the room was so cold I couldn’t wait to get out of it.  I have not gotten jobs when they have all but asked me my sizes before I left.  But no matter what is going on around me?  I do a killer audition.  Over and over and over again, probably thousands of times by now, I have applied for a job – what we call going on an audition. I can’t guarantee you the gig, but I can help you be able to walk out of those rooms feeling good about your audition experience. I can help you become a better auditioner.

2. I know what they want.  Having made my living as an actor for almost 30 years now, I have learned a little something about the different genres in which we work.  I have been the comic relief on an hour show, the one who cries on the sitcom.  I have been a series regular, a recurring character, and mostly a guest star.  I have done everything from film and television to webisodes and equity-waiver plays.  My resume includes a boatload of comedic roles, and I’ve made a huge chunk of my living by crying on cue.  You can watch me as the dying mother, a sadistic killer, a neurotic judge, the quirky best friend, and a terrified victim. There isn’t a role I haven’t done some version of.  There isn’t a medium I haven’t worked in. You bring me whatever role you are working on, I will help you nail that role.

3. I know how to avoid Audition Pitfalls.  There are four parts to an audition:  Preparation, The Waiting Room, The Audition Itself, and Ever Afterwards.  I can work with you to overcome the obstacles you may have in one or more of these areas.

 

      Let me give you an example:  Preparation.  Is your prep the problem area?  Are you too timid?  Too cocky?  Too self-conscious?  Do you put in enough time?  Are you over-prepared?  Do you have a clear sense of your role’s purpose in the script?  Do you understand the message of the piece?   Do you know what to wear?  Have you worked on how the character moves, breathes, and thinks?  Are you going to pretend to smoke that cigarette?  Will you mime stabbing your husband to death?  Should you use that southern accent you have up your sleeve?   

  

      You need to have the answer to all these questions.  Your job – especially when you are just starting out – is to make that casting director look good; to be professional, prompt, and know what the hell you’re doing.  You want that casting director to call you back, don’t you?  Over and over and over again?

 

I have learned some valuable tools over the years.

 

Now it’s YOUR time to book those jobs!!

For appointments, please contact me at:  info@leegarlingtontheactress.com or call 323-813-1953.