Acting

     When Richard Botto (@Stage32online) asked me to write about how I’ve stayed in the industry so long, and maybe share some war stories, two words came: I’m interested. First, I’m still in the industry because I am curious. There’s nothing like being backstage or onstage; or hanging out on the steps of a trailer; or being in the hushed halo of light when “sound rolling” is called. Second, my life depended on it. Read on.      There is no other business for me. I have always known my life...

It seemed to take me forever to get my filmmaking career underway. I grew up in a show business neighborhood where my friends’ parents were film and television stars and, as a teenager, I found a mentor in a family friend who directed an unending series of episodic TV shows and some TV movies and welcomed me onto the set whenever he was working. Still, as I came out of college having gotten stellar grades in all of my cinema courses, it took ten years before I found myself in Paris making my fir...

So you arrive on Planet Earth, take a look around, think about what you want to be when you grow up. Jewish, huh? OK, we have the legal profession or playing the violin. Hmm. Well, since I had a grudge against my mother, I chose the violin. (And no, she isn't deaf, she just forgot to remove the earplugs). Music college, subsequent engagement as music director for a satirical stage show. Starts to write material and becomes the show's script editor. Directs several productions, including two s...

“But that I, turning, call to thee O soul, thou actual Me…” - Walt Whitman “Passage to India” Once upon a time, I was living a completely different life. I was in a small town running the family auto dealership that was founded by my grandfather in 1938. I was doing pretty well financially and it was important to me to make sure that the family business would continue to be a success in the decades to come. I lived with my beloved wife Emily on a small ten-acre hobby farm just outside of to...

I get worried when I don't get worried. Weird way to put it, but it's true. When I first started down this road, nerves used to bring me to shaking hands and a leaden stomach. Auditions were absolutely the worst. I'd be up there, barely able to slate. Dropping a line would be a small mercy at times like that. At least it meant you could get SOMETHING out. I'd stare down the long, pitiless barrel of a video camera lens and count the seconds till I could say my "thank you's" and flee from...

I have been asked to blog about stunts. Asking me to do that … well, first off you just asked a stuntman to write. I’m not a writer, so let’s see how that works. Imagine being asked to blog about your girlfriend, who you love with all your heart. The problem is, she keeps leaving you for younger men, and now you’ve reached a time where you can’t fight off the younger men any more. That’s how I feel about stunts. In fact, I must now bring those young men to her and make certain that she doesn’t h...

ACTING – 10 Monologue Tips from Ruth Kulerman  1. CHOOSE AN AGE APPROPRIATE MONOLOGUE. Now I could do Juliet’s monologues deliciously but they’d call Bellevue or the loony bin, since if Juliet had a grandma it’d be me. Just because you can play 35 doesn’t mean you should choose Lady M’s letter scene–if you are 17 years old. The saddest audition I ever saw was an exquisite innocent angelic awkward 12 year old singing a sexy, come-on suggestive bump and grind number. I wanted to cry–but only...

“Wow, you work in the film industry, that must be amazing!!” I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard people say that when they find out what I do for a living.  Well, I have to admit in a lot of respects working in the film industry is indeed amazing. The numerous benefits & rewards can, without doubt, be life changing, but working on a Hollywood movie isn’t always a glamorous affair. For starters, it’s hard work and can at times be very stressful. It’s not uncommon for long days t...

Fellini entered the dressing room suddenly. The play hadn't finished yet. There were two comic actors yet to go. We had done our part. We had gone back to the dressing room. Little by little we were getting back into ourselves. "It seems like they laughed!" Said Roberto. Roberto was my partner on stage. "They laughed yes!" I answered. We had done an extract of our show. Twelve minutes exactly. We had been told not to do more than fifteen. There were six comic actors on the list. We wer...

Excerpt from Actor Muscle: Craft. Grit Wit. A Professional Guide to the Business of Acting: "THE ONLY REAL ACTORS ARE FROM NEW YORK" ONCE UPON A TIME there was a New York stage Actor who was getting fantastic notices when his play traveled to Los Angeles. A very good Agent (we'll call him A+) was keen to represent him after seeing his remarkable performance. Since signing a new client needs unanimous agreement among all the agents, A+ arranged a big meeting so that the Actor could...