Acting

Family feuds, bad blood, near bankruptcy, and stories that would shake the #metoo movement today, all aided in what author Leonard Maltin calls the Death of 20th Century Fox. His words come after the July 27th sale of Fox to Disney. Maltin recollects the massive movies made on today's Century City lot with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Movie attendance was at an all time high after the Second World War, but sank incredibly after the introduction of television. But is the acquisiti...

If you are an actor working to build your reel or a filmmaker looking to hone your craft, working on improv based short films can be a great way to experiment with the short film form and begin building a body of work. I first got the opportunity to collaborate with improv actors about twoyears ago, and since then I’ve produced over a dozen improv based short films. When you are first starting out as a filmmaker, it can be difficult to pull together the resources needed to find a full cast and c...

Over the past few years, we've been honored to be recognized by many in the industry as the leaders in online education for content creators and film & television professionals. As the education partner for AT&T, Cannes and AFM (to name a few), we've been proud to program a variety of panels, talks and workshops which have been presented to creatives all over the world. Now, we're thrilled to announce we're extending our relationship with Hollyshorts. For the last 3 years, we've debuted our...

To begin, My name is Mu-Shaka Benson. I’m an actor from Upstate New York and, like many others, I started my acting journey in my 30’s. When I began to pursue acting I heard an array of comments ranging from “don’t quit your day job” to “aren’t you too old for that?” It was a struggle to deal with in the beginning because a lot of those comments came from precisely the same people who you’d want to have your back. My family, my friends and loved ones. But my dream of acting, which had come upo...

Welcome to Sunday, everyone. And another edition of Coffee & Content. From our friends at IndyMogul, and for all those making or thinking about producing/filming a short film, it's the appropriately titled 7 Things to Know About Making Short Films! Next up, it's 5 Tips for Acting brought to you by the good peeps at Film Riot. There you have it...Short and sweet. A quick word of thanks to all who have taken the time in recent weeks to share and comment on this content.  While I get much s...

“The whole idea of creation is mysterious and wonderful, it’s a bottomless craft, which is why I love it so much.” -Uta Hagen It is important for actors to look up to other actors as a source of inspiration and hope. But more than hero worship, they can serve to challenge us to greatness. I urge actors to keep a running list of other actors they admire and to seek out similar qualities within themselves. When I was first starting out on the acting path my heroes were Carol Burnett, Gilda Rad...

Happy Sunday, guys!  Hope you're having a great weekend.  It's been an inspiring one around these parts with another lively edition of Introduce Yourself weekend.  If you haven't posted or contributed, you're missing out on what's been a July record for new connections made here on Stage 32.  Join the biggest online networking party here. For Coffee and Content this week, I have two items I think you'll find inspiring and motivating.  First up, I often receive letters, private messages or simp...

Welcome to another edition to Coffee & Content.  Hope you're all enjoying your weekend! First up this week, it's no secret that Pixar has a knack for telling great stories.  But how does the magic happen time and again?  How about a TedTalk on the subject?  Danielle Feinberg, Pixar's director of photography, creates stories with soul and wonder using math, science and code. Go behind the scenes of Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Brave, WALL-E and more, and discover how Pixar interweaves art and scien...

What does it really take to break into voice acting? Can just anyone do it? If you’re an actor, voice acting already comes easier to you than most people. That said, even actors have a bit of a learning curve when it comes to working exclusively with their voice. Discover 6 things you’ll need to do before getting into voice-over to set yourself up for success. 1 - Explore Your Voice The first couple things you’ll do as a new voice actor is, get to know your voice and read as much as you can. T...

Summertime and the livin’ is easy. Isn’t that what they say? Maybe not so much for the working actor. I was buzzing through Backstage when I came across an article that rang true for me. It talked about ways that actors can stay motivated during the slow summer season. Auditions slow down, key players take off on vacay, and you're left holding your resume with a bunch of crickets around you. I get it. Sometimes it seems like the entire world comes to a complete stop when the sun is shining a...