I can give you the tools to make those dreams come true!
But - don't go quitting your day job, yet! Come to a The Biz of the Biz workshop with me - Christine Elise McCarthy. A veteran of dozens of TV shows & films (including ER & Beverly Hills, 90210) - I will be hosting a one day workshop designed to help you make the most of your acting aspirations.
A quick warning: Please - don't be fooled by people in your state with no national success trying to sell you the secrets of how to make it in the Hollywood projects shooting in your area. Honestly - consider whether they really have information to share that can change YOUR experience with the Hollywood casting directors & producers you hope to meet. After all - you get what you pay for. Can you afford to pay an amateur to teach you how to become a professional? Does that even make sense? Before you decide from whom to take a seminar - PLEASE check if they are legit. The national industry standard for documenting ACTUAL credits (as opposed to lies on the resume) is www.IMDB.com. Go there first & look them up. Little or no credits? What can they really teach you? Beware that they might teach you the very newbie mistakes I intend to steer you away from.
Now - on to the good stuff!
You know you can act but - what good is all your talent if you cannot get the job?
Imagine this: you spend tons of money on acting classes. You do local theater. You pay money to local individuals with little to no success outside of your state hoping they somehow have the secret to national success despite the fact they have mysteriously never exploited that knowledge for their own national acclaim. You spend even more money trying to wade your way through the thousands of books out there on the subject. You send out dozens - even hundreds of headshots & attend casting cattle calls and, finally, after months or years, you finally get a shot at impressing a casting director with your talent. Then imagine you make a mistake - not a big one - just a regular little newbie mistake that thousands of other actors have made. And imagine this mistake makes the casting director think you are too green for the role in the big feature film they are shooting in your state. The casting director might make a note that you are not ready and might take a year or more to ever give you another opportunity. They might never give you another shot. After all - there is no shortage of eager actors hungry for the same jobs you are. This is called "burning a casting director." If you live anywhere but NY or L.A. - you might have as few as one casting director in your area. Burn that office - and your career is over before it began.
I will offer my advice on what to do & not to do when in an audition - from the headshot & resume that gets submitted to how you should behave from the moment you walk into the audition room until that role is cast. I can give you tips you can employ immediately that will make YOUR audition stand out from the competition. I will let you know the truth of what is expected of you on a set - from hitting your mark to never keeping the camera waiting. Each attendee will have at least one opportunity to perform a scene that I will provide - maybe even two scenes, time permitting - and get an honest critique of their performance. You will get ample opportunity to ask the questions you may long have had and get those questions answered by a working actress with a 20 year long career. This is a rare opportunity to learn the secrets that will make you seem like a pro - even if you have never acted before.
This workshop aims to give you the confidence to shine in every audition you go to whether it is for the local theater - or some big movie shooting nearby. It will give you a set of tools that will polish your performance in an audition situation - which is entirely different that your performance would be on a set. It will help keep you from making those really common mistakes that might prevent casting directors from ever bringing you in to audition again. You only get one chance to make a first impression. This seminar is intended to help actors be sure the impressions they make are good ones. There are many skills required to pursue acting - even as a hobby - and get satisfying results - and being able to act is just the tip of the iceberg. This is an INVESTMENT in your future. This workshop is not an acting class. It is more of an honest conversation about what to expect on your journey exploring acting with special emphasis on what to do & what NOT to do at auditions. My intention is to begin to supply you with the tools with which you can achieve success.
In the future, I will be offering INVITATION ONLY seminars at which I will have either a casting director or producer from your area as a guest. This can be a great shortcut to opportunity because if these folks like what they see - they might bring you in to audition for their next project! You will have had to have completed at least one guest-free seminar with me first so that I can ascertain your skill level before presenting you to guest filmmakers from your area. So - don't delay! Take THIS seminar now to be sure you are prepared for a casting director or producer-attended seminar in the future.
I have had the great fortune to work on such television classics as China Beach, In the Heat of the Night, Beverly Hills 90210, ER & Northern Exposure -- as well as films like Child's Play 2 & Abel Ferrara's Bodysnatchers. My complete resume can be seen at www.MyImdbPage.com. I have had the opportunity to work with such acting greats as:
