Hello loves, Okay, so I'm super passionate about this topic because before participating in WTF's Apprentice Program, I had what I didn't realize was a terribly formatted resume. At this point in my life, I was 21 and attending Berklee College of Music, and I'd only done one entry level professional acting job in my entire life. I kept getting rejected from a lot of the professional theater work I was applying for, and I didn't know why. In retrospect, I suspect that part of it was because I didn't understand basic business elements of the industry such as how resume's should be formatted. Since then, I've actually peer mentored with Berklee students to help them with their resumes because I

In no particular order, here they are. These are things I learned at (you guessed it) Williamstown Theatre Festival: 1) Build relationships with casting directors, since they're the ones who typically make the casting decisions on specific projects. Note that casting directors are NOT the same things as agents. 2) You need an agent who allows you to live for your life and works for YOU. 3) Trust your instincts with prospective agents. 4) You will typically have interview with agents before they sign you/ 5) If the relationship isn't working and you're not booking work, they do reserve the right to terminate the relationship

Hi friends, So I want to preface this blog post by saying that selecting an audition monologue is a deeply personal decision, so I can't tell anyone else exactly which monologue will be right for them. However, I think that these tips will help point you in the right direction. Many of these tips also apply for finding the perfect audition song. So, here we go: 1) Rhythm, pace and style 2) Length should be two minutes maximum, but quite often auditions will ask for a one minute monologue. With songs at most musical theatre auditions, it should usually be no more than 32 bars, unless they specifically ask for you to perform a full songs. 3) It's okay to cut and edit a monologue. For example,

So, I think it's pretty much common knowledge that the entertainment industry is not for the faint of heart. I always tell people that if there's something else you think you could do for a living and be happy, do that thing, because performing is a bear. The reason that I've chosen to pursue this field is because, as dramatic as it may sound, I don't feel fully whole when I'm not performing, and I know that in any other career field I'd spend life regretting that I didn't have the balls to pursue my dreams. With that being said, here are some of the miscellaneous things I learned at Williamstown that have proven extremely useful to me in the subsequent years: 1) Ask yourself who do you want

Hi Folks, At this point, I've written so many blog posts (with lots more to come!!) that I'm thinking I might one day write a book about what I learned at Williamstown. So, the saga continues. Today we're talking about working with directors. Now, let me preface this by saying that I believe these notes were geared predominantly towards film auditions, however most of these tips apply for any kind of audition. So, I present you: How To Get In The Good Graces of Directors 1) Don't look at the text if you're supposed to be memorized 2) Ask yourself, "What question is the character REALLY asking?" in this scene? What is the real task happening between the characters? 3) Identify real human beha

There are two ways to become SAG Eligible: 1) Proof of SAG/AFTRA Employment OR 2) Employment under an affiliated performer's union. You can join if you're a paid up member of an affiliated performer's union such as Equity or American Guild of Variety Artists for one year and have worked and been paid for at least one year as a principal performer in that union's jurisdiction Other Ways: 1) Get a Taft-Hartley form. Once you've filled out one, you become SAG eligible. This allows nonunion performers to work in nonunion shows. 2) Work on SAG AFTRA New Media Project. This can include working on a web series, internet videos, etc. 3) Earn 3 Background Vouchers from Extra Work 4) Be in a sister un

This workshop was taught by the amazing Barbara Hauptman, an industry veteran. Here were my biggest takeaway's from this: 1) Finances 2) Survival jobs. Alright. Time for a little anecdote from your girl Lucy. I've had two opportunities since graduating college less than a year ago to join more corporate but reliable fields. One was in real estate and one was for a corporate tech company. However, both of these jobs would have taken up 100 percent of my time and emotional energy, which would compromise my ability to give strong auditions/search for my next acting job. A survival job needs flexibility. Good options include nannying, being a personal trainer, teaching yoga, being an event plann

These notes are from a master class I took with Adam Bernstein at Williamstown Theatre Festival that was geared towards teaching theatre dominant actors how to act on camera. First and foremost, acting for TV is very different from acting for theatre Unlike theatre, where you typically rehearse for weeks or even months, sometimes you may rehearse a scene for as little as 5-10 minutes before it's shot TV directors don't always necessarily know or care about acting The take doesn't have to be perfect the first time since you have multiple takes to get it right DO A LOT LESS! Don't have to worry about projecting so much. In theatre you can't really get away with more subtle gestures the way you

As a working actor, I don't make a lot of money. Therefore, I've had to get very good at prioritizing which clothes items are worth spending money on and which aren't. So, here they are: Things Worth Spending Money On 1) Shoes. You wear them every day, in all kind of conditions, including to your job. For example, when I worked in a show in the Alaskan wilderness, I invested in some knee high Hunter boots because the cheaper Sam Edelman ankle boots that I brought with me literally broke halfway through my contract. I can think of many other similar examples to this. For actors, I think quality sneakers are also essential for rehearsals. Generally speaking, my rule is that if I have to wear a

These are all things I learned from my former executive skills coach Jay Bacrania, and they have changed my life. I used to chronically procrastinate on not only my academics, but also mundane tasks like doing my laundry. When my mother came to pick me up at the end of my freshman year of college, I hadn't packed anything, I had piles upon piles of dirty laundry, and there was a paper for my creative writing class that I didn't finish until July (but that's a story for another time...don't worry it all worked out in the end. I graduated from Berklee Magna Cum Laude, so I learned from my mistakes!). This is just the tip of the iceberg. When I transferred colleges, my mother decided I should p

Hello world, So, these notes from my time at Williamstown are becoming somewhat of a trilogy here on my blog. With that being said, here are the notes I took from a master class about auditioning for MFA Acting programs. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the women who gave this master class, but I believe she worked on behalf of the URTA's. The tips are as follows: 1) With The University Resident Theatre Association Auditions (URTA's), you can audition for graduate schools all at once with one minute monologues. You typically do two contrasting monologues (1 classical, one contemporary. See previous post on specifics for what constitutes a "contemporary" monologues) for a maximum of

Hello world, As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, I've tried to maximize this time under quarantine by radically decluttering my possessions. This means, among many other things, getting rid of the myriad of notebooks I've kept over the years by transcribing some of the wisdom I've gained (particularly from Williamstown Theatre Festival's phenomenal Acting Apprentice Program, which I can't recommend highly enough!). These are some notes that I took on my own theories and observations of why it seems like the older I get, the less and less of my peers are pursuing acting, particularly on the professional level. On one hand, I think that it can partially be attributed to the fact that e

Audition Advice: 85% of what's happening in the audition room has nothing to do with you If auditioning for college/grad school, they want to get to know you as a person An audition is a job interview. It is your JOB as an actor. For those actors that say they don't like auditioning, I'd strongly recommend thinking through if this is the right career path for you, because the life of a working actor involves constant, often weekly auditions for years. Your previous relationships (if any) with the creative team matter in terms of you booking the role. Becoming a reader for casting directors. You need to send your resume to casting offices to become a reader. This way you get to be a fly on th

Hello world, In light of the self-quarantine, I've tried very hard to be productive. One of the things I've been doing is Marie Kondo-ing basically everything I own. Today I organized my drawers in my bedroom with organizers from Amazon. While doing so, I came across two notebooks that I used when I was 21 and participating in the prestigious Acting Apprenticeship at Williamstown Theatre Festival. I used to really struggle with executive functioning skills like remembering my schedule. So, upon the recommendation of my tutor/organizational skills coach at this company (https://signeteducation.com/), the one and only Jay Bacrania, I would write out my schedule every night when I received it f

Hello world, In light of the coronavirus outbreak, I've been essentially Marie Kondo-ing all of my possessions. This has included my binders upon binders of music. This is an exercise I strongly recommend for all musicians or actors who sing because let's face it: often us professional performers are either traveling or living in small apartments in big cities like New York. I realized that I had some notes written down from various Berklee professors, as well as my own research. Unfortunately I can't recall the exact source of these tips, but I just thought I'd repost this for anyone who may find this useful. I've modified these tips slightly because this list was geared to college students