Off Script: Are You (Am I) A Boring Actor?

In this Off Script episode, I reflect on feedback I've received about not standing out in auditions that made me think that perhaps it was just because I was boring on screen, but has recently led me to learning the importance of showing your authentic self and being deliberate in your performances.

Takeaways

• Identifying areas for improvement and making deliberate choices can lead to growth as an actor.
• Participating in challenges like Self Tape May can help improve acting skills and confidence.

Transcript

0:45

Good evening and welcome to another Off Script episode. I'm coming to you at 11pm on a Monday night for me, so this is going to just cut it in on time for Monday, but I've had a very, very busy day. But I wanted to get this episode out for you because I won't be doing an Off Script episode next week because that falls on the... about the... 11th or 12th, I think, of May and on the 15th, obviously, we'll be releasing the monthly episode. I don't want two episodes in the same week. So here we go with another Off Script episode. Today, I wanted to touch on a topic that was part of a turning point in my acting only last week. Before I go into that, though, I'd like to throw a call to action out to you all. If you really enjoy listening to the show, could I ask if you'd consider sharing the show amongst your social networks and in your own acting circles? This would be a fantastic support mechanism for the show and to making it reach a greater audience. Also, if you're in a position to support the show as a monthly paid supporter, you can support the show for as little as $3 a month and can cancel at any time. For a small regular contribution, you would be helping out with the production costs of this independent podcast. So the links are in the show notes of all the shows. So you can cancel at any time and it would be certainly appreciative on my end just to help it out a bit as well. But sharing amongst your networks and your social media, it would be fantastic to try and grow the show and get as many people as we can on board and growing the show, as they say. That would be fantastic. So thank you very much for your support. I love knowing that you get something out of all my episodes and you're here listening today. So thank you. Now for today's topic. Are you a boring actor? This question stems from me asking the same question of myself,...only recently, I said, am I a boring actor? And last year I was given feedback that I wasn't getting cast in productions......because casting directors, well at least two casting directors......had stated that I didn't stand out in my auditions. What does standing out really mean? Really? I did some reading and some research on this......and US casting director Marci Liroff, talked about this in a blog post back in 2020 where she stated, and I quote, "In terms of really standing out, there's a lot to be said for good old fashioned charisma and magnetism. That's something you can't buy. After that, showing us your authentic self is first on my list", is what she said. This is interesting. And it leads to initially why I thought that perhaps I was just boring on screen. Did or do I lack this good old -fashioned charisma that she alludes to? And then going further on this thought process, yes, us actors can quickly dive into the darkest of holes from the smallest negative thought process, which I can quite easily do myself. I started to look at this podcast, my content creation area and although... I feel the show is doing well. It certainly isn't in the top 10 of podcasts. It's likely not even in the top 100. And obviously I won't openly discuss listener numbers or the more important data set of listener retention. But I added that to my deepening thought process of am I just boring on camera? So I asked this question of my current acting and audition coach Les Chantery in my last class for April and his response was interesting. It really comes down a bit to the last point that Marcie made in that the first thing on her list to see from an actor... other than the good old fashioned charisma is the actor showing her their authentic self. Greg Apps, another teacher and mentor of mine, a casting director out of Sydney and an audition trainer with his company, The Audition Technique, has said to me several times, David, I don't want to see David the actor. I just want to see David. When pressed about me being just David and not being interesting on screen, which is... alluding to my thoughts of being boring on screen again, he said, how about the David that has had a couple of drinks, in my case, likely bourbon. Now, of course, he's not suggesting I be tipsy in my auditions or on set. But I think he's alluding to me being my free self on screen, the self that is presented to people when I'm in a comfortable atmosphere, somewhere I feel safe to really be myself and express how I feel at any particular time. Something that the audition space so easily takes away from all of us, I reckon. Which is interesting because Les said the same thing. And although he didn't really address my boring question, he went on to discuss one area that we've identified over the last two months as being an issue for me, and that my niceness comes at my character delivery. Now that's nice to hear. I'm a nice guy, right? But it has been said that nice people can be happy not getting their needs met, which is the opposite of what an actor should be aiming for. An actor needs to play to win. So is my niceness on screen actually what I'm taking as boring? If so, that's certainly a positive step forward to solving the issue. It's taking away the niceness when delivering a character or even when being a podcast host, perhaps. It's likely a skill more easily learned and more easily implemented over just being plain boring, which surely I'm not. Les leans towards me needing to take away my on -screen need to apologize, even in scenes that are essentially an apology of such. It's about playing the win and being deliberate on camera as well as... Thinking about not pleasing the reader or pleasing the other person in the scene. Again, about being deliberate and not apologizing. So to own the moment. So to wind up, if you feel that you are not standing out in your auditions or worse, like me, start thinking you're just boring, then perhaps we need to start looking into methods of being deliberate and playing the scene to win. So I've talked about this a lot on the show with guests over the last three years about the ups and downs of the acting journey and how easily you can fall into those troughs when the negative talk comes in your head. And that's why I've sat down today for this Off Script episode to let you know I found a way through. And I feel I'm at a crossroads for my acting, which is certainly evident in the last few self tapes I've put down for my classes and starting this week for Self Tape May. So, chins up people as they say, find a way through and keep pushing on. And to finish up on that note, we've mentioned Self Tape May, if you're participating yourself, enjoy and have fun with it. The commitment of regularly putting a scene down is just mind blowing and the improvements and confidence you'll see at the end of four weeks will be mind blowing. And on this note of what I'm trying to move forward through about this niceness of what I thought initially was boring, sometimes... That's all you need to do is just identify one area that you need to improve on, or one area that is bringing you down. And if this is your area, then there's a way through. So, guys, thank you for listening. It's been a quick episode, as I said, it's late here at night now, but I wanted to get this out for you. Touch base with you. I hope you're all doing well. And as I said, if you're doing Self Tape May, good luck with that. Hopefully see it online as well and you can check out my stuff that I'm putting under. I'm putting on all my social media so you can have a look and you can determine yourself whether you think you've seen improvement from my work over time. reach out to me, Buzzsprout, who's my podcast hosting platform, now has a texting feature. The link will be at the top of the show notes. So you can click on that and it will open up your phone's messenger service. Throw me an SMS, a question or comment or suggestion, whatever takes your fancy. And I'll chat about it on an upcoming episode. So guys, thank you very much for listening. I hope you've got something out of this and it's been a pleasure being open as well. I really wanted to talk about this because I'm actually kind of excited about the crossroads that I'm at, so to speak, and where this may go from now because... As I said, my last couple of self tapes have been really, really mind blowing. It's been great. And a lot of comments, both from our friends and family and acting teachers, as well as a casting director, Lou Heesom, hadn't seen my work for a little while and she was just blown away with the improvements and the change that I've come. So it's certainly working and that's great. And can be great for you. So all the best with your journey and hopefully I can hear from you in the new texting system there or through any of the other social media platforms. Or rate and review the show in whatever platform you're using as well. They all get to me and it's another way of communicating between you and me. So thank you very much. Cheers everyone. And as usual, I'll see you on set.