Friday, January 22, 2010

You and the Director

The on going question: What kind of a director was he to work with?

The question I ask, not as a director, but as the educator would be: What would you do if there were no directors to work with?

“Most actors who have not studied the acting craft of voice over will go up in a puff of smoke.”

An actor without training won’t be able to get a handle on what the director is asking for. Inexperienced actors are caught up in the circumstance of not even understanding that the recording booth demands a certain degree of etiquette be practiced.

On the director’s side of the glass, we find that most directors have almost no training at all. By that I mean, formal training. That fact has always been difficult for me to comprehend. Why would anyone who desires to be able to compete and win at a casting assignment be guilty of placing a totally inexperienced person in the booth to do the directing?

So now you have the conundrum: Actors without training mixed with directors without training. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Yet it happens to be the case, more often than not.

***

I have often said that directing commercial voice over auditions is the singular most difficult assignment a director can have.

Examine the plight of the experienced director. Experienced, that is, in other forms of theatrical presentation. For the sake of conversation, I’ll use the theater as an example.

Our director, man or woman of today, usually enters the theater after graduating from a college or university having majored in theater, in one way or another. They have picked up a degree in some form of communication. They have learned all about the language of the theater; what you call things, and what things are called. They have developed study habits and methods for portrayal of a particular character or characters.

Now, as an actor, they find themselves looking at a script that doesn’t apparently have a beginning or an end.

The director having worked for an agent or an advertising agency is at an even greater loss concerning what to do, or what to tell the actor to do. They usually get started by the director just having the actor do the first take on their own without direction. From there, a great many of the auditions proceed downhill.

As a casting director, I’m rarely given the assignment of selecting the winning actor. Again, that is the job of the advertising agency producer, writer, and in most cases, both of them, along with the commercial sponsor.

As the director, I am in a comparable position to that of the actor, having to create something based on usually sketchy information. Many times, we receive a variety of directions from the ad agency. The writer sees it one way, the producer another, and often the sponsor (the guy who pays the bills) is diametrically in opposition to the both of them. So we have a great deal in common. Aside from wanting the best performance possible, the actor and the director attain the best results when they find a way to work as one. This, of course, is a lot easier said than done.

The director’s job is to ask the actor to do something that he knows the actor can do. It is of importance for the director to know what the actor is uncomfortable with. All of this is a moot point when neither of them (actor or director) has any idea of what the others' skills are.

Note: Self-direction is a topic to be discussed.

In the Los Angeles marketplace, unlike other parts of the country, most auditions are conducted in your agent’s office. Briefly, it’s a situation where the advertising agency sends their commercial scripts and character breakdown directly to the agents. They (the agents) do a casting call from their stable of players. This means that as an actor, you are subject to being called in for auditions based on how your agent sees (hears) you.

The word for you is “Signature.” If you’re a Mr. Macho, white collar or blue, don’t be surprised if that particular signature translates to beer or trucks where your agent is concerned. For women, a comparable call might be for a sexy feminine approach for the sale of perfume. This too could be referred to as your signature.

At Kalmenson & Kalmenson, we take great pride in our attention to talent detail. Thousands of data entries have been compiled as an in-depth reference for our casting team to draw on. In our classes, a major thrust of the curriculum is to assist in the uncovering of your signature. In a way, it’s just the same as your written signature. With the latter, people who correspond with you can immediately tell if the signature is authentically yours. With the voice we have the same awareness of signature recognition.

I think it’s important to separate style from signature. An actor may have a soft-spoken approach or a certain way that they phrase. That is what we refer to as "style." On the other hand, when we say "signature," we are referring to your individual truth.

Whether a particular director is classically trained, or a person who has managed to pick up some skills along the way, what matters to them, consciously or not, is the basic question: Has the actor grabbed them? Has some special interpretation been presented as just what they’re looking for?

Regardless of the breakdown. The printed, or verbalization of their direction.

Perhaps an example will help to clarify?

(This was an actual call.)

The call was being put out on behalf of a hospital specializing in the care of the terminally ill.

The advertising agency producer specified that they were looking for actors, men and women, well into middle age who could honestly convey the importance of a hospital of this nature.

We, in turn, relayed our choices to a vast group of agents, and after our careful consideration of each idea, we individually hand-picked a bracketed selection, representing a range of creative interpretations of the given creative spec. The auditions were well-directed and uploaded within a day. Some twenty-five men and woman came in to audition for this role.

Their voices and ethnicities were made up of a wide variety of choices. All of them were experienced voice over actors. All had outstanding skills.

The bottom line will help to prove my point. The essence of truth casting was accomplished. The signatures of each actor came across as clear as a bell. Warm, friendly, homespun, city dweller, and farm worker. Garage mechanic, schoolteacher, and just your neighbor next door. Our casting conveyed the message that terminal illness could be the concern of all people. In my estimation, they could have thrown a dart at our end result. The casting and direction was impeccably sound. We had nailed it. How would they ever decide who was going to get this job? Who would be the actor they would choose?

It came down to two of them winning instead of just the one they had originally consigned for us to find. One man and one woman who had both experienced a close family member being taken away after a long illness. Both of these actors weren’t acting at all. They were telling the truth. For sure you must convey your signature, if it is truly yours as the truth.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch… what about you and the director?

Whether it’s at your agent’s office, or at a casting service, or even at the advertising agency, your assignment is to make the very best from the direction you’ve been given. Etiquette is extremely important. Please make it a point to look at your director when you speak to him (or her) and conversely, the same would apply when they’re speaking to you. At this point, an actor needs all the help available. A director’s facial appearance might even be an assist. In general, try not to be a pain in the ass. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why any actor chooses to be an annoyance to the one person in the best position to help them.

So there you are. You’ve arrived a full ten minutes before your call time. With script in hand, you find a place away from the rest of the actors. Now it's time to study the script, so you can go in there and ace it. But then you get your first look at the script direction. There it sits on top of the page. You’re not to be an announcer, though it clearly shows you reading the role of announcer. It says for you to be one-on-one, warm and friendly, and to be internalizing (stream of consciousness).

What you have is a common occurrence: Contradictory directions. I use this as an example in order to point out the importance of the director, if for no other reason than to function as the live and breathing human being right there in front of you. Use your first take as an opportunity to meld with your director. Make the director feel that you are being responsive to him or her.

Your job is to wait for the director to tell you what comes next.

And now it's experience time. The more experience you have the smoother your trip will become. Just as there are no two actors that share complete similarity, I feel the separation in director style is even greater. In my opinion, I think you’ll find the fewer the number of words a director uses, the better their direction becomes.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Why Do I Teach?

Teaching makes my learning endless!

Teacher and Student

“It so grieves me to lose good friends. Departure should not be reason enough for a relationship to end. When there is mutual respect, and those in a relationship thrive on helping and stimulating the other to grow to endless horizons, then why should we accept departure?

I have decided not to accept announcements of any of my treasury as being depleted. I will hoard the substance of what I was given or have gained by being in the presence of a valued nurturer. If a man allowed tenderness, stimulated my smile, or shared with me their discomfort over the human condition, then that man will forever remain as a mainstay of my life’s fortune.

Therefore, if my practice becomes yours, I shall live forever. I will never lose a friend. I will share what I was given, and nurture when it is allowed.

I will remain a teacher.”

da harv
November 6, 2002

“CLICHÉ TIME”

I have devoted most of my life in joyous pursuit of practical ways to convey verbal communication. Mine has been cultivation. I was not born with some form of God given directing skills. Seventy-five percent of my intellectual cultivation was stimulated in abundance, by an early environment, featuring the music, the food, the lore, the languages, the strengths, the weaknesses, and mostly the pride of accomplishment most eastern Europeans, brought with them as immigrants from the old world to the United States of America. Even the way they said it was an inspiration to this young and impressionable kid.

My grandmother on my father's side was multilingual. She helped to support her nine children by earning money as an interpreter and letter writer. On the days I would visit as a kid, skipping along at my dad's side, I was always curious about what language Grandma Ethel was speaking, or how she was able to read the funny looking writing. What stood out the most: She was in charge. She was the strongest woman I have ever met. Without ever raising her voice, each of her children, grandchildren, and later on, all of their wives became recipients of grandma’s communication skills. Whatever the language, the words were few; the meaning exact.

Note: Each of my father's brothers and sisters were multilingual, but in her home Grandma Ethel insisted they speak English. None of them had any hint of a dialect.

Teaching and being taught began early. Testing and being tested was a constant.

While I may not have been cognizant of it as a young child, I ultimately became aware, and have remained ever the inquisitor. Each and every day of my life has been, and will continue to be a vital part of my learning experience.

For me, learning is an entertainment! I’m not talking about studying for a test. I’m referring to the actual elation that comes over me when something new is added to my intellectual collection. At the top of my list is vocabulary. No matter how much I read, I’m always amazed over how much more there is to learn.

But it isn’t just the words.

I live with a constant flow of messages coming in from the looks, the smells, the sounds, the acknowledgements, and the supposed motivations behind them. All are part and parcel of my quest for continual learning (and entertainment).

If my words are sounding like they are driven spiritually, you’re on the right track. Not from my beginnings, but as a cultivation of my years spent in a total learning process. It appears my greatest discovery has been the growth that comes with an ability to feel. Feeling is part of the learning, providing an unequaled satisfaction. It’s hard to explain.

Knowing is magical. I never take it for granted. As if given a gift, I open the pages of a book and the spirituality begins to take hold.

When I was younger, I truly didn’t comprehend what was happening to me. As I grew older, I was not only cognizant of my transitions, but I sought them out on a continual and relentless quest. From others I discovered self. From my inner-self came my sensitivity as a director.

Certainly, listening is synonymous with learning. I didn’t invent the theory. In my work, I practice it with verve.

Through the years many of the actors have caught on to my methodology. On a regular basis a variety of trivia, stirred by the inquisitive minds of creative people, is presented to me. While my studio runs meticulously on time, we’ve been known to occasionally fall behind when, without warning, a new learning experience presents itself. Our conversations are rich and filled with intellect, temperament, and most of all, the magic of laughter.

Actors in general, contrary to the beliefs of the average man, are a special group of extremely bright people. Only when actors become mired in the dark areas of political venues, do they lose all of their charm. This journal, by design, intends to stay as far from politics as possible. I will not, however, stray from who I am, and who I have become because of what this great country has offered and afforded me.

Mine is not an uncommon story. From immigrant grandparents, and a mother and father who also entered this country following an arduous boat ride, I have been allowed what only the United States of America could provide.

Stop and think. I make a living in a creative world. I work almost entirely in the field of my choice. To say I feel blessed would not be putting into words the enormity of my appreciation for what life has allowed me to pursue.

But of all the blessings I have received, none can compare with the shear elation of knowing, what I have done, as part of my life’s work, has enabled and stimulated the growth of others.

What follows is "Emergence" by Harvey Kalmenson:

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Biblical Terms for the Professional Actor

I’m so guilty of living in the past that there are times when even I can’t stand it. My love of the old movies, as I watched them as a kid, remains and will always live on in my mind's eye and in my heart's throbbing. I grew up believing almost everything I saw on the big silver screen. If they smoked, I smoked. If they fenced on a sailing vessel against whatever pirates had attacked, then I too established myself as a master of the saber. When Tyrone Power swung by one arm as he held Maureen O'Hara in the other, then I too longed to do the same. William Powell and Myrna Loy dressed in evening ware as they sipped incessantly on martinis, smoked cigarettes and stayed up until dawn everyday - that was the envy of my neighborhood. Whatever and whomever was on the screen was to be our portrayal of that day or week or month. We lived and became the stars. All of us knew every players name, and quite often were able to memorize all of their important speeches.

Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson; they were all bigger than life. They were life. What was then remains with me now. What has changed for me is simply stated: Nothing. I can vividly recall sitting there in a darkened theater with my dad alongside as we watched and listened to Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig, in “Pride Of The Yankees,” proclaiming: "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth,” as we all, including my father, fought back the tears. I was Mickey Rooney in “Boys Town” being put in his place by Spencer Tracy. And the cowboys and their horses being able to gallop all the way from one town to another as Roy Rogers fired at the bad guys while facing backwards as he rode. But of all of the thousands of actors I watched and portrayed, none were able to sustain the mark left permanently and indelibly on me as did Peter Lorre. There was a short period of time when I became Peter Lorre. I studied his every move. He was my favorite sniveling bad guy. I loved when he got slapped around by Bogart, or in his hushed voice attempted to convince the world of how honest a man he was. None of my friends ever wanted to be Peter Lorre. I don’t know, he just really got to me.

And then each of my favorites took turns as leading men and women on all of my favorite radio shows. I was in heaven. I knew what they looked like, so it didn’t take much in the way of imagination for me to see them once again before me doing their thing.

From age eight to age thirteen, actors took charge of my most impressionistic period of life. I never dreamed I was ultimately going to meet them, let alone enjoy the thrill of directing them (not all but many). As a young kid, I wasn’t yet aware of the role the director played. The fact is, I wasn’t even aware there was such a thing as a director. In short order, I was about to find out. Between ages sixteen and eighteen many of these same actors began to once again enter my life. This time they were live people like me; laughing, joking, and breathing just as the normal folk do.

***

What follows comes as a result of many years of practical application. The academic being turned into the reality of life in a variety of venues, where having a director is essential to the success of the project.

If I were required to choose between a formal education (school) and a practical education (learning as you attempt to earn a living), my selection, unequivocally: The practical. Every venue is different. Every group of players is different. Every audience is different from night to night, even if it’s the same play being repeated. Trial and error must be gleaned during application under fire. There will never be a replacement for experience. Whether it is acting, directing, producing, writing, or choreography, the practical application of one's skills become finely honed during the game.

“Listen.” The word for every creative being, today, tomorrow, and forever; “Listen.” Hearing this word a thousand times will not be wasted on who you are today, and with the utmost certainty who you are destined to become in the creative world. Of the thousands and thousands of actors whom I have directed during the course of my latest thirty years on this planet, the most successful professionals have a marked similarity: they are the most ardent and attentive listeners to be found anywhere.

Without the ability of being a good listener, one loses the ability of becoming a superior learner. Learning is synonymous with experience. I use the term “superior” because in order to make it within any subjective art form, a person must excel; be excellent, be outstanding, be skillful, be talented, be preeminent, reign supreme; stand out, be the best, be unparalleled, be unequaled, be second to none, be unsurpassed; call it superior, if you like. And with all your striving, and all your hard work in order to establish yourself with recognized preeminence, there will always be those out there ready willing and able to point out how lucky you are. To those out there, who have judged you as being lucky, I offer them my condolences over their obvious comatose existence. Those out there dependent on luck have an obvious inability to listen and learn. They will never lead as a director, create as an actor, nor lead their troop of dancers across a stage. They will never cause an audience to feel what they feel, or hear what they themselves listen to.

As a voice over artist you must recognize the fact, although your audience happens to be in their own home or car, they are still your audience. You must still cater to their needs and wants. In this case your forever word is “responsive.” The printed directions will help you to listen and cater to the obvious and not so declarative needs of those within the sound of your voice. But it isn’t a case of what you want to do or say. As an actor, you must be responsive to the needs of the listener.

A good director understands the foregoing. He or she has the valuable aptitude of being an exceptional listener. I, of course, mean as a director who listens to the actor, and not praying for what they are going to ask you to do next.

Following as precise a direction as my experience will allow, I switch from being the director, and tune into the actor, listening as closely as I can for their responsiveness to my needs as their audience. (The director becomes the audience.) They speak; I listen. I speak; they listen.

Here is a brief review of what I feel to be the most substantive notes coming from my foregoing eleven hundred words.

“Listen and then be responsive.”

Regardless of what you are preparing to creatively accomplish, take a moment to hesitate before diving in, and remind yourself of those important success ingredients: “Listen and then be responsive.”

On stage, or in the wings, listen and be responsive.

Preparing for an audition, listen and be responsive.

You come home to your wife and children, listen and be responsive.

… and for me and da harv; when God talks, I try to listen and be responsive!

Monday, January 4, 2010

2010

Not today

There’s no acting allowed

We need no others

We have our own crowd

From Kalmenson & Kalmenson

Casting voices

While delivering education

Sounding trumpets of joy

Sending greetings with elation

That wonderful time of the year

Has again come to help us

We’re not looking back

But forward to a new start

Sending our own brand of salutation

Straight from the heart

Christmas was the merriest,

We're looking forward without fear

To the happiest of times

2010 is here