Sound Advice Newsletter

November 2009 · Newsletter Archive

“Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”

- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

Stephen Chernin / Getty Images

FIVE FAB Thanksgiving Day Flicks

It’s no secret Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday: The colors, the smells; the warmth both inside and out. There’s good food and getting together and a frosty feel in the air that seems to peak all the senses.

Thanksgiving courts in the best that the holiday season has to offer: warm sentiment and cheer without the stress that the unmet expectations that Christmas and New Year's Eve can bring. I’ve never been one for shopping on ‘Black Friday’. Nope, you can’t make me. Instead I reserve the right to hang out in my sweats with my loved ones, watch movies and eat heaps of fattening leftovers.

Do I sound like a Thanksgiving’s Day Pro? So be it. And with that allow me to offer my recommendations for a perfect holiday.

Come Thanksgiving Day, once you’ve spent time with family and friends at your local parade, roasted the turkey, enjoyed a nice slice of pumpkin pie... it’s time to cuddle up to a proper holiday flick or two. Here are my suggestions that you may have never heard of, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy—before you’re completely besieged with more mistletoe and holly than even a herd of reindeer can consume in a single season.

The Savages (2007)... starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney and Phillip Bosco, this dark comedy of a brother and sister who come to terms with their own character flaws and humanity when they are suddenly required to take care of their aging, ailing father. Sounds sad, I know. But, trust me, it’s awesome, funny, intelligent and endearing.
Pieces of April (2003)... Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson and Oliver Platt star. A wayward daughter invites her family to join her and her boyfriend for Thanksgiving dinner in New York. Witty, warm, perfect Thanksgiving fodder. I LOVE this movie.
The Ice Storm (1997)... Joan Allen, Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood and Christina Ricci. Directed by Ang Lee and set over the Thanksgiving weekend in 1973, this one’s more dramatic. It’s a somber look at authentic 1970’s “modern life” that’s simultaneously nostalgic and chilling. Throw this one in on Wednesday night while you’re prepping the stuffing for the big day.
Holiday Inn (1942)... Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds star. Irving Berlin’s classic, White Christmas debuts in this heart-warming film that’s the precursor to the 1950’s version of the same name, at an Inn that’s open only on the holidays by a crooner (Bing) and a hoofer (Fred) who are both vying for the affections of a beautiful, up-and-coming triple threat (Marjorie). It’s like seeing a little bit of film history here. Woah, have things changed.
Miracle On 34th Street (1947)... Maureen O’Hara, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood and, one of the hottest, classic-Hollywood, unsung hunks ever, John Payne. This movie kicks off Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season like no other classic because it opens with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a romance provoked (accidentally on purpose) with an impromptu holiday dinner plotted between Mr. Gailey and the young Susan, played to perfection by Natalie Wood. This is an all-time Thanksgiving Day MUST-SEE! And Chicago Studio Manager Colleen Archer’s favorite Christmas movie.

There you have it. The rest is up to you. Add family, friends, throw a stick of cinnamon into a hot mug of cider and warm your soul to these sure-to-please films.

Prepare to Deliver

Around this time of year we hear from scores of talent of all skill levels who tell us they intend to "...wait until January" to move forward on their careers. This means the following is often put on ice for two very vital months:

Producing or updating their demos,
Promoting themselves to the talent agents,
Make themselves available to potential work through promotion,
Working their skills, or
Any or all of the above.

Of course, you’re ultimately responsible for your career, but we can’t encourage you enough to persevere. So much of your success is reliant on your tenacity.

Here’s why. If you are starting from scratch, starting over or re-branding yourself through new graphics, for instance, you have to consider it can take between six to eight weeks to roll out each step I have mentioned here. Not solely because this is how long it may take us to properly produce your demos, but because it will likely take YOU this long to complete each step.

Keep in mind we’ve been through this a few thousand times. We KNOW what we’re talking about.

So, to expect to have a finished product (demo, graphics, web page, headshots & resume—if that applies to you) out the door promoting you as a freelance talent by the beginning of the year—then now’s the time to prepare to deliver, so you can hit the ground running at the beginning of the year.

Of course, keeping your skills sharp never goes away, which is why we record your coaching on CD for your review. We offer Continued (one-on-one) Coaching to help you drill what you learned initially from the Foundation Coachings and from recording your demo(s).

Marketing yourself when your performance muscle has atrophied is never encouraged. You must keep on top of your skills every single week. Otherwise your confidence in your ability and delivery will be compromised and we can’t have that.

We’re here to help.

Why IMPROV Matters to Every Performance

During your Foundation Coaching with us here at SOUND ADVICE we typically cover the three primary tenets of Improvisation that apply to all performance, which are:

"Yes...and". Meaning when you are offered a 'reality' by your scene partner, audience or simply from the circumstance of the scene you are given, such as, "Nice shoes, Joe"... you need to AGREE with that statement (the 'yes' in 'yes…and') and then ADD to that reality. (Thus the 'and' in this phrase.) Rather than throwing this reality aside by stating, "What? I’m barefoot and who’s Joe." (Ouch.) Make it your objective to agree and add to what ever you may be given. That will make you very valuable as a talent.
Reference Base. This means you must continually make yourself familiar with every frame of reference you can that deals with popular culture, film, Internet, commercial and TV. This is an on-going pastime for some, while others repel this vital element entirely. This is precisely why at SOUND ADVICE we highly encourage you to ‘study the medium’ you intend to work in: film, commercial, television and web. Doing so will expand your ability to convey concepts and speak to subjects that truly interest you—which makes you remarkably entertaining! (Plus it makes you a rather well rounded individual. BONUS!)
Today, if you happen to be on an audition or a gig and you’re given direction that’s unfamiliar to you or you don’t know what you’re talking about in the script—YOU NEED TO LOOK IT UP!! If you still need help—just ask! It’s inexcusable today to try to carry on blind, given the fact we have such easy access to the Internet.
If it’s a term you thought you knew the meaning of but you’ve never seen it in this context, there very well may be a definition you never knew existed that is tripping you up. Check out FREEdictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com) or Merriam Webster’s (m-w.com). Heck, they’ll even pronounce it for you!
If you don’t know who it is they are referring to, or the film or TV show is something you’ve never encountered, there’s always Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) or Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) to spike your memory or even just clue you in on precisely to whom or what those auditioning you or who’ve hired you are referring.
Beyond that, you should be continually expanding your reference base by studying at least three to five hours of television a week or by checking out www.hulu.com for classic TV and film.
The Rule of 3. Or, as we typically refer to this very vital principal as 'The Rule of 3, or 4 respectively'. It’s best known as a tool in comedy, but it applies to all storytelling, whether it be dramatic or comedic. At SOUND ADVICE we contend all communication, especially art, is best received when delivered within this structure. The Rule of 3 is the very scaffolding upon which we best receive all communication. It could be seen as something of a law not unlike like gravity. It’s always there—to deny or avoid it usually lands you on your fannie. If you apply it, things seem to hang together better and makes even difficult text far easier to convey. Within this simple structure upon which communication travels, we first establish what we are saying, we then further this notion by adding to it or repeating the device, and then we typically do one of two things: we either a) conclude (change), or b) continue to build and change occurs on the fourth. Regardless, completing each full ‘beat’ by breaking it down into 3 to 4 beats in and of itself makes it easier to ‘eat the elephant bite by bite, rather than attempting to swallow it ‘whole’ and thereby overwhelming yourself. In other words, The Rule of 3, or 4 respectively lends itself to meter and phrasing, which can be especially helpful when it comes to making commercial text sound natural. It’s ultimately music we know already! Cool.

These three items were once elementary training when it came to Improvisation. Sadly, today they seem to be going the way of the dinosaur. Yet, Improv still encourages you to think on your feet and flat out PLAY! Crucial stuff, no matter how you slice it, no matter the medium.

For more information on Improv classes we highly recommend near you, check out:

In Chicago, JIMMY CARRANE, jcarrane@aol.com, ONE DAY IMPROVISATION WORKSHOP ONLY $100 /SAT. NOV 7 from 1-4 pm Call Today at 773-728-1514.

In Los Angeles, The Acting Center, www.theactingcenterla.com Call (323) 962-2100.

In the meantime, to learn a bit more about Improv, check this out...
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/improv

Thanksgiving = the Detroit Lions

I grew up in Detroit. That meant every Thanksgiving Day we made our way downtown at about seven o’clock in the morning to see or take part in the parade, followed by a trip to the Lafayette Coney Island for, what else—a Coney Island! Then we’d meander home while singing along to Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant on the radio. My Mom’s name was Alice so this significance was never wasted on my siblings or me, especially when we were overcome with the aroma of a roasted turkey and pumpkin pie the moment we hit the front door.

Classically these events were followed by football featuring the Detroit Lion’s playing the Green Bay Packers, for instance, as they expect to do again this year. Never mind the humiliating beating they recently took from the Packers on October 18th to the tune of Green Bay 26 – Detroit- ZIPPO! Yikes!

Last year the Lion’s became the first team in the NFL to maintain a perfect record... of 0 –16. Of course, according to Colleen Archer, our resident football aficionado, other teams have maintained a perfect record of no wins—like Tampa Bay in ’76, but that was when it was a 14 game season not 16. So it’s correct to say they were the first team to go 0-16 but not the first team with a perfect losing record... That’s right. They lost every single game of the regular season last year. The upside is: this season they’ve managed to break their losing streak. Question is: can they keep it together long enough to give Detroit an early Christmas present?

In case you missed it last year, here’s a short, comic video that begs to answer the question, 'What do Hitler, the Lions and Thanksgiving all have in common?' http://www.youtube.com

If you’re wondering what all this has to do with voice-over or acting or propelling your career forward—consider it... 'building your reference base'. So it goes.

We’re THANKFUL to even know you...

The coming month is likely to fly by. Keep your wits about you and simply keep going. Your career depends on it. And when you need a hand or word of encouragement, just know we’re always here for you!! We thank our lucky stars we have each other because we honestly do have the most dedicated, skillful, knowledgeable, hard-working team in the business. No kidding, it does take a village.

Of course, we’re thankful we’ve had the pleasure to know you, too!! You mean a great deal to us. SOUND ADVICE is truly a labor of love. If it weren’t, there would literally be scads just like it littering the countryside. But the fact remains there’s really only ONE. And that’s us!

We wish you the greatest success, now and always!!

From our BIG HOUSE to yours... till next month... Have fun! - Kate & crew