Aug 16 2012

Improve Acting Auditions – Finding the Conflict and Demonstrating it’s Effects

Category: Arts and EntertainmentKirk Baltz @ 4:44 pm

There is no question that the majority of people wish to avoid a state of conflict and drama. It can lead to fear, anxiety, as well as chaos. Conflict during an acting audition, however, is completely essential if you wish to impress your auditors and obtain the role. In order to have a good audition, it is necessary for an actor to find the conflict within a story and within a character.

Perhaps one of the most common conflicts, internal conflicts are those that consist of the psyche battling between opposing desires and feelings. External conflicts can also permeate a person’s life in the form of struggles between man and God, fate, the world, and Mother Nature. And, of course, relational conflicts exist as well. Typically, an actor is only given the dialogue, a brief outline of the character’s personality, and a story overview when they are asked to read. Some form of conflict always exists in a story and personality. The actor has the responsibility of finding the conflict and demonstrating it’s effects in their audition reading.

Conflict is always interesting. Instability in a character or story adds depth and movement. After you have gotten a handle on the personality of the character, there are naturally going to be difficulties and obstacles that that character must face. That is the way life is. All obstacles in our lives must be manipulated or overcome until they cease being hurdles and become collaborators. Think about the movie, “Midnight Run”. Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter who is responsible for the capture of Charles Grodin’s character. Jack, played by De Niro, needs to collect his bounty by bringing in Mardukas, played by Grodin. He experiences many conflicts in his quest including other bounty hunters, FBI agents, his insecurities, as well as Mardukas himself.

All of the answers may not be provided to you in the material provided to you at the audition. Improve your acting audition by using the dialogue and the clues therein to create a character full of depth and truth. Doing so will hold the attention of the auditor and make you more likely to obtain the role. Far worse than creating the “wrong” conflict is delivering a performance without any emotion and depth. With these skills, your auditioning skills are sure to improve.

Keep in mind that conflict typically has more than one dimension. The typical person has numerous inner demons that are in constant turmoil. If you are looking to make a good impression on the auditor, ensure that you portray this in your reading. Despite what many actors believe, the most important thing is creating a character not merely the lines in the script.

Even though a scene may only contain your character, there is no doubt that other circumstances and persons have and continue to impact his or her life. Being able to bring these hidden elements to life is what will separate you from the other actors and make your audition a success. Another thing to remember about conflict. Conflict should always be slightly comedic. Comedy is present even when the conflict is dark and deep-rooted. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. With both conflict and comedy combined, your reading is sure to be a success.

Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about improve acting auditions at the actor’s intensive website.

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Aug 12 2012

Improving Your Acting Audition – Improve Your Audition By Addressing the Needs of Your Character

Category: Arts and EntertainmentKirk Baltz @ 4:12 pm

There is no question that the majority of people wish to avoid a state of conflict and drama. Anxiety, fear, and chaos can often be the result of conflict. However, during an acting audition, conflict is essential to delivering an impressive reading. In order to have a good audition, it is necessary for an actor to find the conflict within a story and within a character.

The majority of persons and characters have internal conflicts between desires and feelings. Persons and characters can also experience conflict externally with fate, the environment, the world, and God. And, of course, relational conflicts exist as well. When an actor reads for an audition, he or she is only given the bare framework such as a story overview and the lines. Conflict always exists in a story, whether on the surface or hidden beneath a complicated exterior. It is your responsibility to locate the conflict and express it in your reading.

Conflict is always interesting. Conflict provides an element of depth and movement to a story and character. After you have gotten a handle on the personality of the character, there are naturally going to be difficulties and obstacles that that character must face. That is the way life is. All obstacles in our lives must be manipulated or overcome until they cease being hurdles and become collaborators. Think about the movie, “Midnight Run”. In the film, Robert De Niro is a bounty hunter who has the responsibility of finding Charles Grodin’s character. Jack (De Niro) is driven to find his bounty, Mardukas (Grodin), so that he can receive the bounty money. Jack is met with a number of conflicts including his personal insecurities, rival bounty hunters, and the infamous Mardukas.

The information provided for your reading may not have all the answers in regards to the character’s desires and conflicts. To strengthen your acting audition, you may need to create a character yourself, one that has conflicting desires and needs. Doing so will add more dimension and life to the character, thereby grabbing and holding onto the attention of the auditor and improving your chances of making a good impression. Even if the conflict you create is not “correct”, it is far worse to have no conflict at all during your reading. If you work on improving your ability to add depth to your characters while reading, there is no doubt that your auditions will become more fruitful.

Keep in mind that conflict typically has more than one dimension. Most people are constantly struggling with numerous inner demons. Keep this in mind when doing your reading and you will be sure to add intrigue to the character you are portraying. Despite what many actors believe, the most important thing is creating a character not merely the lines in the script.

Although your character may be the only live person in the scene, there are doubtless other hidden forces affecting his or her life. To have a successful reading, you as an actor must know how to draw these emotions and circumstances out of the text and take the character to the next level. There is another aspect of conflict to keep in mind. A small amount of comedy should also be present within any conflict. Comedy is present even when the conflict is dark and deep-rooted. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. In short, conflict and comedy are both an integral part of a successful and impressive reading.

Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about improve acting auditions at the actor’s intensive website.

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Aug 08 2012

Acting Auditions – Create A Character That Does Not Rely on the Lines In The Script

Category: Arts and EntertainmentKirk Baltz @ 3:51 pm

Conflict is a state which most people find unpleasant and wish to avoid. It can lead to fear, anxiety, as well as chaos. However, during an acting audition, conflict is essential to delivering an impressive reading. Every story and character has an inner conflict that an actor must find in order to have a successful audition and performance.

The majority of persons and characters have internal conflicts between desires and feelings. There are also external conflicts that a person takes on with the environment, fate, God, and the world. Relational conflicts are yet another form of personal conflict that are in present in almost every person and, therefore, character’s life. Before an audition, the actor is only provided with basic information about the character and the story. Conflict always exists in a story, whether on the surface or hidden beneath a complicated exterior. It is the actor’s job to find the hidden conflict and give it life in their audition.

Conflict is always interesting. Instability in a character or story adds depth and movement. After you have determined the personality, desires, and needs of the character, there is no question that obstacles will arise. That is the way life is. All lives have hurdles which must be shaped and worked with until they cease to be difficult obstacles and become helpful participants. Think about the movie, “Midnight Run”. Charles Grodin plays a white collar criminal who is being sought by the bounty hunter played by Robert De Niro. Jack, played by De Niro, needs to collect his bounty by bringing in Mardukas, played by Grodin. Jack is met with a number of conflicts including his personal insecurities, rival bounty hunters, and the infamous Mardukas.

All of the answers may not be provided to you in the material provided to you at the audition. To strengthen your acting audition, you may need to create a character yourself, one that has conflicting desires and needs. In this way, you will be more likely to grab onto and hold the auditor’s attention and make the performance more real for the viewer. There is nothing worse than performing a one-dimensional reading of a character with no emotion and conflict. With these skills, your auditioning skills are sure to improve.

Keep in mind that conflict typically has more than one dimension. The typical person has numerous inner demons that are in constant turmoil. Using this to your advantage during an audition will make for an exciting reading. Creating a character’s personality is far more important than the lines that are being read.

Although your character may be the only live person in the scene, there are doubtless other hidden forces affecting his or her life. To have a successful reading, you as an actor must know how to draw these emotions and circumstances out of the text and take the character to the next level. Another thing to remember about conflict. Conflict should always be slightly comedic. Comedy is present even when the conflict is dark and deep-rooted. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. In short, conflict and comedy are both an integral part of a successful and impressive reading.

Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach in los angeles for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about acting auditions at the actor’s intensive website.

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Aug 08 2012

Acting Auditions – Difficulties and Obstacles Make Your Character Believable

Category: Arts and EntertainmentKirk Baltz @ 3:48 pm

Conflict is typically avoided by the majority of people. It can inevitably lead to anxious feelings, fear, and chaos. However, during an acting audition, conflict is essential to delivering an impressive reading. In order to have a good audition, it is necessary for an actor to find the conflict within a story and within a character.

Internal conflicts are rife in personalities, where the psyche struggles between certain desires. External conflicts can also permeate a person’s life in the form of struggles between man and God, fate, the world, and Mother Nature. Relational conflicts can also plague a person’s life. Before an audition, the actor is only provided with basic information about the character and the story. Conflict always exists in a story, whether on the surface or hidden beneath a complicated exterior. It is your responsibility to locate the conflict and express it in your reading.

Conflict is always interesting. Conflict provides an element of depth and movement to a story and character. Once the desires and needs of a character have been discovered by the actor, obstacles are inevitable. That is life. All obstacles in our lives must be manipulated or overcome until they cease being hurdles and become collaborators. “Midnight Run” is a perfect movie to consider. Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter who is responsible for the capture of Charles Grodin’s character. Jack (De Niro) is driven to find his bounty, Mardukas (Grodin), so that he can receive the bounty money. Jack is met with a number of conflicts including his personal insecurities, rival bounty hunters, and the infamous Mardukas.

All of the answers may not be provided to you in the material provided to you at the audition. Improve your acting audition by using the dialogue and the clues therein to create a character full of depth and truth. In this way, you will be more likely to grab onto and hold the auditor’s attention and make the performance more real for the viewer. There is nothing worse than performing a one-dimensional reading of a character with no emotion and conflict. With these skills, your auditioning skills are sure to improve.

Make sure that the conflict you create is multi-dimensional. The average character will have several different desires and feelings that are in constant struggle with each other. Keep this in mind when doing your reading and you will be sure to add intrigue to the character you are portraying. The lines being recited are not nearly as important as the character that is created by the actor.

Although your character may be the only live person in the scene, there are doubtless other hidden forces affecting his or her life. To have a successful reading, you as an actor must know how to draw these emotions and circumstances out of the text and take the character to the next level. There is another thing to remember about conflict. A small amount of comedy should also be present within any conflict. Even the largest conflict will contain some levity. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. In short, conflict and comedy are both an integral part of a successful and impressive reading.

Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach in los angeles for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about acting auditions at the actor’s intensive website.

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Jul 30 2012

Improving Your Acting Audition – Improve Your Audition By Addressing the Needs of Your Character

Category: Arts and EntertainmentKirk Baltz @ 12:44 pm

Conflict is typically avoided by the majority of people. Anxiety, fear, and chaos can often be the result of conflict. However, during an acting audition, conflict is essential to delivering an impressive reading. In order to have a good audition, it is necessary for an actor to find the conflict within a story and within a character.

The majority of persons and characters have internal conflicts between desires and feelings. Persons and characters can also experience conflict externally with fate, the environment, the world, and God. Relational conflicts are yet another form of personal conflict that are in present in almost every person and, therefore, character’s life. Typically, an actor is only given the dialogue, a brief outline of the character’s personality, and a story overview when they are asked to read. Some form of conflict always exists in a story and personality. The actor has the responsibility of finding the conflict and demonstrating it’s effects in their audition reading.

There is no doubt that conflict is interesting. Instability in a character or story adds depth and movement. After you have determined the personality, desires, and needs of the character, there is no question that obstacles will arise. That is the way life is. All lives have hurdles which must be shaped and worked with until they cease to be difficult obstacles and become helpful participants. For example, consider “Midnight Run”. Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter who is responsible for the capture of Charles Grodin’s character. Jack (De Niro) is required to track down Mardukas (Grodin) in order to collect his bounty. He experiences many conflicts in his quest including other bounty hunters, FBI agents, his insecurities, as well as Mardukas himself.

All of the answers may not be provided to you in the material provided to you at the audition. Improve your acting audition by using the dialogue and the clues therein to create a character full of depth and truth. Doing so will add more dimension and life to the character, thereby grabbing and holding onto the attention of the auditor and improving your chances of making a good impression. Far worse than creating the “wrong” conflict is delivering a performance without any emotion and depth. If you are able to flesh out a character in this way, your auditions are sure to be more successful.

Real conflict is rarely one-dimensional. The typical person has numerous inner demons that are in constant turmoil. If you are looking to make a good impression on the auditor, ensure that you portray this in your reading. Despite what many actors believe, the most important thing is creating a character not merely the lines in the script.

Despite the fact that you may be the only person in the scene, there is no doubt that invisible forces or persons are affecting both the personality and story of your character. Understanding these circumstances will allow you to improve your readings and auditions. There is another thing to remember about conflict. Conflict should always be slightly comedic. Levity is a part of even the deepest conflict. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. With both conflict and comedy combined, your reading is sure to be a success.

Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach in los angeles for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about acting auditions at the actor’s intensive website.

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Jun 16 2012

Finding an Acting Coach in Los Angeles

Category: HumanitiesKirk Baltz @ 9:59 pm

Actors can greatly benefit from training provided by acting coaches if they are open to instruction and new concepts. Personal training with a private instructor is quite rigorous and can often make actors view their own talents in a completely different light. Acting instructors are trained to dig past an actor’s exterior to the emotions and beliefs within. This process allows actors to better understand themselves and to create more believable, unique characters.

Large classes are not the best when it comes to encouraging full honesty among students. The best acting coaches will make it their business to create a safe environment that will encourage trust. Instead of acting simply in an instructional capacity, the best acting coach in Los Angeles will also be able to listen carefully and conscientiously. The job of coach is to assess conversation and body language in order to help the actor better understand themselves.

The purpose of the acting coach is to understand the actor as a person, set improvement goals, and then construct a plan for obtaining said goals. Their expertise in manipulation, guiding, encouraging, as well as their process of bringing down and rebuilding self-confidence can often seem harsh but is necessary when it comes to the training of a successful actor. As long as the techniques are working towards the end goal of a more successful and unique actor, then even these seemingly brutal techniques are encouraged.

A coach must, first and foremost, be highly skilled in listening and assessing personalities. They should listen to your goals and get a feel for how you view your own talent. Next, the coach should determine the level of actual talent and share this information. After this process, an appropriate training plan can be formulated.

An essential aspect to coaching is the bond of trust between instructor and student. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of selecting a coach is choosing someone who will be completely honest and harsh if necessary. A great instructor will structure his or her class around a specific format with particular emphasis on constant improvement. The acting profession requires constant growth and improvement. No one is ever “coach” learning.

Along with criticism, a coach is also responsible for encouraging his or her students. Make sure that you select a coach who remains certain that determination and hard work will bring you to your goals.

Kirk Baltz has been an acting coach los angeles for more than 15 years and maintains a website about acting workshop los angeles where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.

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Jun 02 2012

The Right Acting Coach- Authentic and Supportive

Category: HumanitiesKirk Baltz @ 8:05 pm

Countless benefits can be obtained with an acting coach when the student actor is open to being instructed. Undergoing a one-on-one instruction period with a private acting coach can be very challenging and can even change many of the actor’s previous beliefs regarding their acting talent. The goal of acting coaches is to strip away the actor’s exterior to the person within so as to allow the student to be better able to develop characters based upon their own identity as a human person.

It is often difficult for actors to bare their souls when in a class of many people. The best acting coaches will make it their business to create a safe environment that will encourage trust. The standard view of the word “coach” leads people to think of an individual who is there to teach and train alone whereas the best acting coach in Los Angeles will also be open to what you bring to the table. The job of coach is to assess conversation and body language in order to help the actor better understand themselves.

The best acting coach will strive to understand the uniqueness of each student so as to determine how to make improvements in the actor’s skill level. The best methods can often seem harsh as improvement in acting often requires manipulation and a certain amount of breaking down and subsequent rebuilding on the part of the instructor. The goal of the instructor is to form each actor into his or her own unique person.

A coach must, first and foremost, be highly skilled in listening and assessing personalities. After the student shares his or her beliefs regarding their acting skills, the job of the coach is to evaluate and determine the actual possessed level of skill. Based upon the need for improvement, the coach should be able to develop a plan for moving forward with the student’s training.

A great acting coach in Los Angeles will be able to create a strong bond with students. At the same time, the best acting coach in Los Angeles will not be there to laud your every move but will be honest and straightforward about your strengths and weaknesses. Specific techniques should be used to improve an actor’s skill level. Along with the occasional necessary harshness that we all need to improve ourselves, make sure that you choose an encouraging instructor who firmly believes that you can better yourself.

Lastly, coaches should be thoroughly encouraging and should remind students that they will get to their goals with a lot of hard work and determination.

Kirk Baltz has been an acting coaches los angeles for more than 15 years and maintains a website about acting workshop los angeles where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.

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Oct 14 2011

Acting Coaches Los Angeles- Being Vulnerable

Category: HumanitiesKirk Baltz @ 1:54 pm

True actors are not created in one day. Instead, significant effort and training are required to form an individual skilled in his or her craft. One of the most necessary and yet difficult components of great acting is learning to rip past the facade that covers the actors themselves and the characters they create to reveal the true identities within.

Each person and character alike is multi-faceted as opposed to being one-dimensional and static. These facets include the inherent insecurities and fears that are integral in forming our personalities, the persona that we adopt to conceal these vulnerabilities, as well as the tragic flaw. Training with an acting coach can both aid the actor in discovering these dimensions in himself as well as allow him to utilize these personal traits to create very real characters.

Carl Jung espoused the belief that the human person creates a public persona as a means of protecting his true self from others and conveying an image of strength and security as a means for survival. Expression of this persona occurs in all areas of our lives. Like real people, characters also have public personas making it necessary for acting classes to teach actors how to use themselves to develop these facades.

There is no question that an individual’s vulnerabilities are often buried deep beneath the surface, making the public persona seem like the dominant characteristic. The root of a person’s character is grounded in their growth and development from childhood. Acting coaches are trained to teach actors to come face to face with their own childhood fears and issues in order to create a truly believable character with great depth and dimension.

That which affects us in childhood remains a part of our lives until the day we die, whether we allow it to surface or not. Characters on stage or on film are no different. Both actual persons and characters use this public persona to cover up their insecurities and fears so as to reduce their helplessness in the world.

The mark of a great actor is his or her ability to dig past both their own and their character’s public persona to the actual person within. It is in this way the actor can relate to the audience.

Every member of the audience has both a public persona as well as a deeper substance that has worked to create the exterior. Regardless of whether or not they are aware of this fact, creating a dimensional character will never fail to hit a chord with the watcher. Being able to create characters such as these is what separates the average actor from the exceptional.

Kirk Baltz has been an acting coach in los angeles for more than 15 years and maintains a website about acting workshops los angeles where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.

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Oct 09 2011

Acting Coach Los Angeles- Creating Personas

Category: HumanitiesKirk Baltz @ 11:45 am

True actors are not created in one day. It is only through rigorous study and training that actors can reach their goals. To reach this goal, an actor must delve into his soul and discover who he truly is as a person.

Both human persons and created characters share a multi-dimensionality and depth. These facets include the inherent insecurities and fears that are integral in forming our personalities, the persona that we adopt to conceal these vulnerabilities, as well as the tragic flaw. Training with an acting coach can both aid the actor in discovering these dimensions in himself as well as allow him to utilize these personal traits to create very real characters.

According to the works of Carl Jung, humans form their exterior or pubic personas as a means of exuding a feeling of strength and stability to the world so as to conceal weaknesses buried within. Expression of this persona occurs in all areas of our lives. Characters also have personas that they create to protect their true selves from the rest of the world and actors must learn to utilize their own personas to create those of their characters.

Although the public persona is the dimension that is the most easily recognizable and obvious in a character, it is only an exterior facade and not the core of the individual. However, the core of a person lies in their innate strengths, fears, and issues that travel with us from childhood into adulthood. Acting classes are designed to instruct actors in identifying these difficulties in themselves so as to form multi-dimensional characters that audiences can relate to on a personal level.

These difficulties from our childhood remain with us to adulthood and shape the persona that we create to protect ourselves. Both actors and the characters they create form their public personas as a means of defending themselves from these insecurities. Characters and real persons alike adopt public personas as a means of shielding their weaknesses and helplessness from the world.

In order to become an exceptional actor, a student must learn to remove the superficial exterior of both his and his character’s public persona in order to uncover the true self. The best coaches will aid their students in both uncovering and portraying the inner workings of the human condition.

Every member of the audience has both a public persona as well as a deeper substance that has worked to create the exterior. Although many audience members may not be aware of the fact, creating multi-faceted characters is guaranteed to form a relationship between viewer and character. The exceptional actor is one who is able to create such a character.

Kirk Baltz has been an acting coach los angeles for more than 15 years and maintains a website about acting workshop los angeles where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.

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Oct 08 2011

Acting Workshops Los Angeles- Being Vulnerable

Category: HumanitiesKirk Baltz @ 1:13 pm

True actors are not created in one day. Training with acting coaches or participation in acting classes can help actors to acquire much needed skills to aid them in improving in their craft. One of the most necessary and yet difficult components of great acting is learning to rip past the facade that covers the actors themselves and the characters they create to reveal the true identities within.

Each person and character alike is multi-faceted as opposed to being one-dimensional and static. The three dimensions, in particular, that compose the human person are the tragic flaw, the public persona, and our ubiquitous lifelong insecurities and difficulties. Training with an acting coach can both aid the actor in discovering these dimensions in himself as well as allow him to utilize these personal traits to create very real characters.

Carl Jung espoused the belief that the human person creates a public persona as a means of protecting his true self from others and conveying an image of strength and security as a means for survival. This persona is exemplified in all areas of our lives, from how we move to the way we speak and interact with others. Similar to actual persons, characters develop public personas that must be unraveled and good acting workshops are designed to teach students how to accomplish just this.

It is not uncommon for public personas to be initially viewed as an individual’s true identity as many are highly skilled in using this creation to mask their deeper selves. However, the core of a person lies in their innate strengths, fears, and issues that travel with us from childhood into adulthood. Acting coaches are trained to teach actors to come face to face with their own childhood fears and issues in order to create a truly believable character with great depth and dimension.

Our childhood challenges and situations mold us as adults and remain with us for the duration of our lifetime. Characters on stage or on film are no different. Characters and real persons alike adopt public personas as a means of shielding their weaknesses and helplessness from the world.

A great actor is one who succeeds in stripping away both the their own exterior and that of their character to reveal a deeper identity. Quality coaches work to train actors in communicating the sacred and intimate core of a person’s soul and being.

All persons in the audience, like the actor and the character, have both a personal core as well as a public persona they have created to protect it. Presenting a character of similar dimensions is sure to create a bond between the audience and the story being told. Being able to create characters such as these is what separates the average actor from the exceptional.

Kirk Baltz has been an acting coach in los angeles for more than 15 years and maintains a website about acting workshop in los angeles where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.

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