Latest / Come Together with Ephraim Herschmann / Entertainment Series 2: Kim Houston / Casting, Teaching, Acting and Training

Transcript

Entertainment Series 2: Kim Houston / Casting, Teaching, Acting and Training · Come Together with Ephraim Herschmann

0:01
Welcome to another episode of Come Together.
0:15
All right, Kim Houston, welcome. So happy to have you here.
0:17
Thanks so much for the time. I love the invitation, thank
0:21
you. You want to tell me just a
0:23
little bit about yourself, who you are and what you do, and
0:26
we'll go from there. Who is Kim Houston?
0:30
Sure. So I'm a mom, first of all, and
0:36
I work as a casting director and a studio owner.
0:40
So I have an acting studio for all kinds of different people,
0:46
people that are actors that currently audition, people that
0:50
are brand new that have never auditioned.
0:53
And it's also a taping service for actors that need to get
0:57
themselves on tape since they have changed since COVID really
1:03
changed. Can you tell?
1:05
Me about that what what changed? Since the pandemic, self taping
1:10
has become the norm for actors and casting directors.
1:15
It offers a lot more flexibility, definitely for
1:18
them, but it also comes with its challenges.
1:24
There's so many pros and cons. So an actor now has the
1:28
flexibility to record pretty much at their own schedule and
1:34
they can redo, take as many times as they want and really
1:38
audition from anywhere. There's no need to be near
1:41
casting hubs like it used to be. You know, you, you obviously
1:45
save that way on travel and parking and, and time off of
1:49
work. You have more control over your
1:53
performance, you know, even in terms of writing and editing,
1:56
because normally if you walk in a studio, it's, you know, you're
1:59
kind of that's, that's the situation.
2:02
So definitely pros for, for actors.
2:06
I think some are that the technical aspects, you know,
2:12
especially for parents, you know, lighting and sound and
2:17
editing is usually not their Forte.
2:19
So if you have aisle, that's really you know it to get on
2:23
tape for an audition and and that's not your skin.
2:26
I believe there are meltdowns that probably a lot of arguments
2:32
between us lives on getting you know, that the deadline done.
2:36
So there's also this lack of real time feedback and
2:40
directions. What I loved about casting, so
2:44
they don't get that and they can feel disconnected for sure and
2:47
and unsure even if their tape is being used.
2:50
So an investment for sure in equipment and setup and you
2:56
know, it doesn't have to be a lot, but it's still it's
2:58
something that actors never used to have to do before.
3:02
So for casting directors are pros.
3:06
You know, there's an efficiency now to reviewing the process and
3:10
that can be on a flexible schedule.
3:11
I could be anywhere really. Which do you?
3:14
Take do you, do you take advantage of that?
3:16
Do you travel a lot now? I live in North Carolina
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basically. Oh nice, where?
3:22
I live in Asheville since 2009 and.
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How has your home, has your home or neighborhood been affected by
3:31
that? By the floods.
3:32
Terribly so, yes, I'm so. Sorry.
3:35
They're more than ever now with that, you know, there's a very,
3:38
very strong community there and the retail has been amazing to
3:43
be a part of that community. So sometimes I can't wait to get
3:46
back for a lot of the things that are are going on there.
3:49
Even after the storm, when we had no power, no water, no gas,
3:54
I was there during that and it was terribly frustrating
3:58
obviously. And I've lived through
4:00
hurricanes in in Florida. That is where you want to
4:05
experience something like that, not.
4:08
Here people there are so good. Did just you know, they're
4:11
thoughtful and they're about people enough, which is more of
4:19
here you see, everybody's got to have a nice car and nice clothes
4:24
and where there people know that people had a lot of money there
4:28
because they they're not all show and and I've always been
4:31
drawn to that. So definitely my property is
4:36
devastated with the amount of tree loss and damage that the
4:40
trees did even to the ground. They the with the amount of
4:44
power that these 200 year old, you know, gigantic pine trees
4:49
fell. They shattered our water lines,
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everything. And it's so expensive.
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I don't know if you know to remove debris trees from a
5:01
property, first of all, come up would be a fortune.
5:04
But we had so many volunteers. Yeah, or to just, you know,
5:10
help. Everybody was just, you know,
5:12
running around with chainsaws, like, how can I help?
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What can I do? And so we took advantage of
5:17
people cutting it, but then to have to remove it, huge vehicles
5:21
and train. And so it's been a fortune.
5:24
Yeah, but you know that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
5:29
It's so terrible. You know, I mean, my, my so my
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dad has a log cabin about an hour from there and right closer
5:36
to Tennessee, right by Burnsville.
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Johnson City, I think is actually the closest place next
5:42
to it. Yeah.
5:43
And so we have a lot of very positive associations of that
5:45
place. And my dad, when we fly in, he
5:48
flies to Asheville. And then, you know, we'll either
5:50
rent a car, pick one up. But, you know, we love Asheville
5:53
for the, you know, we've been visiting for the last 10-12
5:55
years and it's got a special place in our hearts.
5:58
And we heard about, you know, it was just so it was so sad.
6:01
And my dad called me and goes I'm driving through and he was
6:03
this just breaks my heart to see what's going on.
6:07
You know what the news shows and then, of course, stops showing
6:11
at a certain point and people are still living there in tents.
6:14
And there's been so many people that haven't even been found.
6:17
Hunter So I I go back and forth. I'm really lucky to have that
6:23
Asheville airport because they're expanding it.
6:25
I don't know if you've seen it lately.
6:26
No, no, really. Going to Asheville in my early
6:30
20s, my mom and her husband had a an apple orchard just outside
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in Hendersonville. And in my 20s, you know, you'd
6:38
leave Miami International and you're flying into that little
6:41
hosted damp airport. I hated it.
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I just thought, Oh my God, this place is just Hickville and and
6:49
I can't wait to get back to Miami.
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You know, I just always had that feeling of how long are we going
6:54
to be here because it was always holidays.
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Well, the airport only now and this is, you know, 2024 started
7:01
the rebuild is finally, you know, being renovated after and
7:08
it's going to probably look better than Miami for sure, but
7:12
they. Probably operate better.
7:15
Too, But the point is I absolutely love Asheville now.
7:21
I moved in my just about when I turned 40 small children.
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I just had the opportunity with the film business dying in South
7:29
Florida completely because of again, hurricanes are really
7:33
what you know, kind of is always around my life.
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So there were so many storms that would would were coming
7:41
through and film production just came to a halt because, you
7:46
know, people just didn't understand coming from
7:48
California and the earthquakes, like, what do you mean we shut
7:50
down and we evacuate? And they had no insurance really
7:53
for that and. Yeah, it's massively expensive,
7:56
right? I mean, it's forcing to push off
7:58
a project even for a day, right? So they just were like, you
8:02
know, Florida, there's no guarantee there.
8:04
There's especially certain times of the year.
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And our hurricane season is so long.
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Yeah, people, it was really a mass exodus between 2000 and
8:15
five, 2006. Most of the good crew left
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knowing that you know, Atlanta was building, they were build is
8:24
they were accommodating you. Know tax breaks there too, right
8:27
In Atlanta. Which incentives so, yeah.
8:30
And for nothing really at that time because you have the whole
8:34
state to contend with. So everything left, but before
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that it was you know, amazing to work in South Florida.
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Anybody can tell you that around during you know, even the 80s
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nineties was just high day of fun productions.
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I mean we were casting for print, for TV, for film, for for
8:57
commercials, voice over nonstop. Lucky to be a part of that
9:03
development and those times because really, you know, with
9:07
the not as high tech technology, things definitely were at a
9:13
slower pace and it gave me like me even an opportunity to learn
9:17
more because it wasn't fast. I mean, waiting for a script
9:21
revision, you know, you had so much time just waiting for
9:25
someone who was delivery driver to come with a new script that
9:31
then you had to make copies and give to the actors had to come
9:34
to the casting office and pick up their new scripts.
9:37
And there would, there was just so much more time, time to
9:40
really consider who you were going to present to this casting
9:46
for your client. You know, we really counted on
9:49
these headshots and resumes and, and casting was, was everything
9:54
then because. I'm sorry, I'm sorry to
9:58
interrupt. Can you give me a basic
10:00
breakdown for anyone that doesn't understand about what
10:03
your job as a casting director does?
10:05
Yeah. And then what you, how you look
10:09
to prepare someone that you're an actor or actress?
10:13
Or do you not say I, I don't know the I'm not up with the
10:16
parlance, but to prepare an actor for their for their roles.
10:21
Casting for roughly 35 years now been able to be in the casting
10:26
business, which is really fantastic.
10:28
It's the best job ever, honestly, ending some ticket
10:32
sometimes really, he said come up.
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So casting comes to fruition by a job, say, say a commercial,
10:42
you know, or a car Honda, they want to advertise their car.
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So they're going to contact and AD agency.
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But you know, something together, whether it's point of
10:53
purchase billboards, you know, a commercial, whatever it is that
10:58
they're doing car shows, you know, they, they help them.
11:01
So the ad agency then has a creative director.
11:04
You know, they've developed storyboards.
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They they have an agency director that overseas it all
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and they then hire production companies.
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But first those production companies need to bid on on the
11:16
job to, you know, see who they're going to and that ties
11:19
in talents director. It's a fighting process.
11:28
Very, very creative on what people come up with and how do
11:32
you decide on on who they're going to put this job to.
11:37
So those are big terms for us. You know, if if something's
11:40
awarded and is in production, usually is contacted and I can
11:49
contacted by three different production companies on the same
11:51
job, knowing that they're bidding and three things in the
11:55
mix, which is really exciting. This was back in how we used to
12:00
do things. Now it's very.
12:02
When you when you were doing that and you and you had the
12:05
same script and you were looking at different production
12:07
companies, would you based on the production company?
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Like I know obviously there's a mere interpretations of ways to
12:14
read scripts and ways for different act, you know, actors
12:16
to present the script. Would you kind of present each
12:20
of them with a different twist on the script when the actors
12:24
auditioning, or would you try to keep the same one for all three?
12:27
Well, so when you're getting people bidding on your jobs, you
12:32
know, they're calling you for your casting budget, you're
12:34
they're giving those, you're not even getting a script yet.
12:38
You're getting an idea of, you know, we're looking for five
12:41
talent 10, talent 2, you know, depending have an idea of the
12:45
spectrum of the, you know, if it's a lot of people, if it's
12:48
one certain hero, if it's whatever it is, you know, and
12:51
it's frustrating sometimes because you're not really hired
12:55
yet on the job, but people are kind of picking your brain.
12:57
That's a really popular term. Yeah, because I get that.
13:02
All the time, by the way, in my industry too, people call me for
13:05
I saw a medical equipment, people call me.
13:07
They'll be like, can you tell me about this, this and this
13:08
machine? I make sure and they call it and
13:10
they hang up the phone and they buy it from someone else because
13:11
they have all the information I just gave them.
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And I'm like, why would you do that?
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Stop doing that because that was really a set of pet peeve for me
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as as soon as I got that even line, Oh, I just wanted to I was
13:22
like, well, you know, I really charge for that.
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So I started. But anyway, director recalling
13:29
kind of pick your brain on, you know, their idea on what they're
13:32
thinking and if you can start thinking about it and you
13:35
weren't even hired. So it was kind of like, oh, but
13:37
if it was an award-winning director and somebody that, you
13:40
know, you had a relationship with, you certainly wanted to.
13:43
You. Know the wheels turning and it
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was always great to get that much heads up also so yeah then
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you would get you know, the job would get awarded and you would
13:53
get the the so you you initially get casting specs.
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So that means we're looking for, you know, women 35 to 45.
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Yeah. Say, you know, if it's a car
14:06
commercial parents, we need kids.
14:09
We need to cast the OR we know what the kids, you know, look
14:12
like there's going to be a dog. So we need to be aware of
14:16
allergies and fear and whatever. And so you kind of get that.
14:20
And then then what casting does is where we going to find this.
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So we are very resourceful depending on what those specs
14:29
are, you know, Asian baseball team, if it's a, you know, I'm
14:38
mad. I remember that are harder to
14:41
find always, you know, a stunt AA body that has, you know,
14:48
specific height and features that are, you know, very hard.
14:53
I remember trying to find a body double once for Claudia
14:56
Schiffer, who was a supermodel back in the 80s and she was just
15:00
a freak of nature. How tall and gorgeous with this
15:04
tiny waist and these shoulders. And it was, you know, nobody
15:07
looked like her. That's why she was a supermodel.
15:09
Yeah. Have to find all these people,
15:12
you know, somebody that can hang out of a helicopter or you know,
15:15
whatever. I have a buddy that could do
15:17
that, by the way, and I just did a podcast to the gentleman
15:20
that's a stunt double, and he just told me he got rigged to a
15:22
helicopter for the first time. And I'm like, I don't know how
15:25
you do that stuff, man. It's crazy.
15:27
That represents certain people, you know, there's there's people
15:32
that represent more pretty people, the models, there's
15:35
acting, you know, specifically there's some acting agencies
15:39
don't represent children, so, or voice over actors.
15:43
So you as a casting director, that's what people are, are
15:46
hiring you for is where are you going to find, you know, this
15:51
crowd of people at a concert or, you know, at, at a stadium or or
15:57
whatever. This is really, you know, before
15:59
AI and before what's called the cardboard people, which is a big
16:03
thing in LA is you can, you can pay to have your image put on a
16:08
cardboard cut out. No way.
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Have your image. Yep.
16:14
So they're cardboards. There's just people in stand.
16:16
People in the background, Are you watching a Netflix show or
16:19
HBO show? And there could be people in the
16:21
background that are bystanders that are just literally
16:23
cardboard cutouts. Cardboard cutouts.
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Get out. That is crazy.
16:29
It's the cardboard people. It's a, it's a pre AI AI, you
16:33
know, it's what everyone was afraid of before AI happening.
16:36
Yes. And then, well, then it started,
16:38
you know, having agencies just for background, because if
16:42
you're a principal casting director, they really don't want
16:45
you doing their background because they want you to focus
16:48
on the principles. And that was a big problem for
16:50
me because I wanted to do it all I want.
16:52
You know, I'm not, you know, I have a crew, you know, but they,
16:58
they didn't want you to. And, and I preferred that.
17:00
I preferred the background because that meant also I could
17:04
be on set sometimes and I could see what you know, because a
17:08
casting director rarely goes to a set, you know, we stay in the
17:12
studio pretty much auditioning talent OR reviewing.
17:15
So the opportunity for me to go on set was I, I loved it.
17:19
And that's. Where, how, how, what what?
17:21
What would come up that you would that you would be called
17:23
on set? What would be?
17:24
What would the scenario? Be I was hiring background if I
17:27
was a casting coordinator, if I I see I've done thousands of
17:33
music videos, that's when you really need somebody just
17:36
coordinating and you know, contracts and making sure people
17:41
you know their time and and safety if there's kids or
17:44
whatever. So I've been an intimacy coach.
17:47
I've been. Oh wow, what was that like?
17:50
That's probably crazy, right? Yes, well, now things have
17:53
changed where you really need to have licensing and you know, I I
17:57
would need to get some kind of a special degree, but back then
18:00
they're like, no, we really need you as the buffer between, you
18:04
know, if there was a child on set with an adult and they even
18:08
had to put their arm on their shoulder or.
18:11
Wow, really? That's, That's important.
18:14
That's really important. Now on every set pretty much
18:17
there's an intimacy coordinator, coach or safety person just to
18:22
just to be there, doesn't matter if kind of interaction.
18:26
So I enjoyed all of that if I did baby wrangling.
18:30
What's that? So if there's a diaper
18:33
commercial and we need 6 babies and then we need 6 backup
18:36
babies, there's a lot of. No way.
18:41
What do you do for that? How do you find people?
18:43
That's ever because once those babies are hired and on set, you
18:48
want to keep the baby karma just happy, the juju going,
18:52
everybody, because one baby starts crying, it's all over.
18:55
Yeah. So you want to really just, you
18:58
know, keep everybody happy and a lot of toys and wow of rocking a
19:05
lot of playing. I love all those sets.
19:07
I've been on every kind of set you can imagine from, you know,
19:11
somebody just doing hand modeling where I've I've come in
19:15
and done hand modeling when that actor couldn't for whatever
19:17
reason, just been available. So this is back in the day when,
19:22
you know, casting was done on three quarter deck machines and
19:26
you had one and it was like, you know, this Bible pretty much
19:31
that was your whole casting. And these clients were relying
19:34
on you. And oftentimes they would pay me
19:36
to go to London, to go to Canada, to go through customs
19:40
and security so that nothing happened to this tape.
19:44
Because when you go through an X-ray machine, you're, you're,
19:46
it's demagnetized. Oh yeah.
19:49
Easily. And so many times we were called
19:51
with clients saying there's nothing, there's no audio,
19:54
there's nothing. And I mean tragic because
19:56
you've. So what do you have to do?
19:58
So what do you do about that? Well, you always make a backup
20:00
is what I've learned very early on.
20:02
Yeah, backups would be half inch, which is VHS.
20:07
It's shit, you know, crappy quality.
20:10
So and then you get the feedback, you know, and you've
20:14
done all this work in you to have an unhappy client was just
20:17
like, Oh my God, if the audio wasn't good and those days, you
20:21
know, nothing was good. Really it was, you know, it's
20:26
just like an actor now, like I was saying, that has to struggle
20:28
with the tech. Casting directors really were
20:31
more known for directing talent, not really no backside as well
20:37
really as challenging. And as that text started to
20:40
change, if you were not up on the tech side of being able to
20:45
upload and you know all that, you were really left out.
20:49
So that was game changer for every business, as you know, but
20:53
mostly casting because clients knew they could get things
20:57
faster and faster. And it started to become this
21:00
thing like, like, do you want me to actually find the right
21:04
people? Or do you just want me to send
21:05
you bodies like of who's available?
21:08
And not even worse during COVID because then it was like, all
21:12
right, are we, you know, are we hiring actors?
21:14
Are we hiring people that don't aren't sick?
21:16
Yeah, it got to be this constant testing.
21:19
Testing. No, it's.
21:20
Years that went on for years. Yes, so when you had to test
21:23
before wardrobe, you had to test, you know, before you got
21:26
to set, you had to and and that was a game changer because if
21:29
somebody tested positive and they were about, you know, to be
21:33
on set, it was just like what do we have?
21:35
We got to have your so it, it was a nightmare, honestly, and
21:40
it drew me away from casting and into more of my studio where I
21:46
could help people with the tech side more with auditioning
21:50
really well for their different projects.
21:52
They didn't have to be my projects.
21:54
And really, you know, liberating to just be away from the, the
21:59
pressure of the client too, and just help people with a casting
22:03
perspective of, OK, this is really what it, what this client
22:07
wants to see and feel from you. So help people understand more
22:12
about the auditioning process. And that is what I love.
22:16
I don't make half as much as what I used to, but I'm happier.
22:21
I can't see itself watching a lot of tapes constantly, whether
22:25
you know, I, I'm watching from my phone or tablet or, or my,
22:30
you know, desktop, laptop, whatever.
22:32
It's constant screen time. So that's really hard.
22:36
And I said as, as wonderful as it is to have that flexibility
22:40
of, of scheduling and you have a more diverse talent pool with
22:45
not seeing people in person, it's, it's hard to not be able
22:51
to redirect somebody during a live audition and make that
22:54
quick change or you know, the volumes of submissions now can
23:00
just be overwhelming with the amount of people that are.
23:04
I feel like it's almost like a little like a mini ecosystem of
23:07
like what the job market in general is like, where like it
23:09
used to be that you could like knock on someone's door and say,
23:12
hey, I'm looking for an internship, I'm looking for a
23:14
job. And then and then the world went
23:15
to resumes. And now that the resident world
23:17
of resumes is so flooded, one of the only ways to kind of do it
23:20
is to make connections, You know, And I feel like it's the
23:23
same thing with, I feel like the, you know, actors go through
23:26
the same, went through the same process, just in the
23:28
microscopic, you know, Hollywood of the world.
23:30
They're acting of the world. Difficult to yes, break into it
23:34
that way. So I like to help people in a
23:37
Safeway because it can be very unsafe as well as, you know, on
23:41
people in different directions or promising you, you know, all
23:44
kinds of things and especially kids because they, you know,
23:49
they see the Tik tokers just making money and you know.
23:53
What do you think of kid actors and what do you think of TikTok
23:56
and and all this stuff after being in the issue for so long?
24:01
Yeah, it's, it's it's frustrating for sure, because
24:05
you, you will see somebody, you know, naked overnight.
24:08
There's a little Russian girl that is very popular with her
24:13
YouTube videos in our in our area just because these kids
24:18
just keep hitting replay, replay, replay because of what
24:22
they're offering on the YouTube show that she has, which is,
24:26
I've seen it. It's ridiculously, you know,
24:29
basic and I think unintelligent, but whatever it's colorful.
24:35
It's it draws them in with the sounds and the and effects and
24:41
the silliness of what she does and the character.
24:43
So I could see it definitely will appeal to a toddler that
24:48
one that can just keep hitting replay, replay.
24:51
And so, you know, that's how she's become so successful,
24:55
ridiculously successful. I mean this, you know, it's,
24:59
it's, it's crazy what, what the numbers that I hear and see and.
25:04
Staggering. The numbers are staggering.
25:06
Yes, I've asked to be, you know, can you help us cast on the on
25:09
these shows? And yes, I would, you know,
25:13
because as soon as I mention it to even some of my students,
25:15
they're like, Oh my God, yes, I'd love to do it and they're
25:17
willing to do it, of course, for free.
25:20
So I try to facilitate in the right way, but I, you know,
25:23
sometimes I can, I see, well, you know, wow, she's making
25:27
millions and millions of dollars.
25:28
But I mean, you're paying the people that you want to be on
25:30
the show like nothing, $100 for 10 hours.
25:34
And, you know, so I try, it's very difficult, my position
25:37
being that in between, I need, you know, accessible to my
25:41
client and, and help them, but I also want to be accessible to
25:45
the talent and help them, you know, things they don't
25:49
understand. And so there is a fine line
25:51
there for, you know, just being in that position.
25:58
I love doing what I'm doing because I know when someone
26:00
comes to me and they have a talented child and they know
26:05
that there's opportunities for them, I'd love to be able to
26:09
guide them in the right direction and be very realistic.
26:14
Everybody, their, their child is wonderfully talented.
26:19
So I, I like to expose them to, you know, whether it's a manager
26:23
that would guide them and look for things for that particular
26:27
talent or, or an agent that will help get opportunities and, you
26:34
know, pass them on to casting. So I've become a coach in that
26:37
way where I'm not an actor. And, and then beginning, I
26:40
really wasn't marketing myself as a coach because I felt like,
26:43
well, I'm not a coach. I'm not an actor.
26:45
I don't really, I've never taken an acting course.
26:49
But then I realized my years in front of, you know, clients
26:54
basically, and working with talent, watching videos,
26:57
watching auditions, being in that callback room to hear what
27:02
saying about talent in these videos and has given me great
27:06
perspective in knowing what is needed on an audition.
27:12
What, what I like to teach when people come to me and they say,
27:15
oh, I want to join your acting school.
27:16
And I'm like, well, it's really not an acting school.
27:19
I, I don't teach acting. I definitely have actors that
27:22
work for me that are coaches that can teach you, you know,
27:26
the foundations of acting and you know what what some methods
27:30
they use. I teach auditioning and any
27:34
class that I have is an auditioning class.
27:36
I will give you a script and we will break down that script and
27:39
we'll talk about your character and how you can make the most
27:44
out of your audition opportunity being for acting.
27:49
I send them elsewhere because you know, it's like learning a
27:52
new instrument. You have to just pick it up and
27:54
start and be dedicated and that repetition is huge, that you're
28:01
much time and effort as you would anything that you want to
28:04
learn really well so. A breaking realization for me
28:09
too, by the way, that anything I wanted to be good at, I had to
28:11
put a lot of time into and it would have just happened by
28:13
itself. And I was like, well, that
28:15
stinks because I would like to be good at everything, you know?
28:18
Yeah, and there's so there's so much time.
28:20
So you have to really, you have to really be realistic for sure.
28:27
Everything takes time. There's a great book called
28:28
10,000 hours that's been recommended to me for actors.
28:34
I think it does really, even if you happen to hit it big, you
28:38
know, there's been so many stories of act.
28:42
You know, I've had a little boy that was about 8 or 9 years old
28:46
that was on just, you know, practicing auditions with me on
28:49
a regular basis and, and the mom had a great relationship with me
28:52
and, you know, on, on knowing what the goals was, were for her
28:57
child. And, you know, he, he had
28:58
talent. He was very, you know,
29:02
thoughtful and could, you know, if a child can express things
29:07
before they've ever even, you know, experienced them, like,
29:13
all right, wow. That's they're, they're deep.
29:16
You know, there's some that, yeah, they're, they have this,
29:21
you know, they want to explore that more.
29:27
So this boy got a wonderful opportunity to be in a movie
29:32
that was in the Academy Awards, really a very short time.
29:39
He's walking the red carpet with his mom.
29:42
And it just seemed, you know, like mind blowing that, you
29:45
know, they went from this to that.
29:47
And the, the problem is, you know, a lot of people I've found
29:52
in in all these decades is as soon as they hid it in some way,
29:57
they drop what they've been doing.
30:00
You know, I am immediately disconnected from them because I
30:05
believe they think that there's so much more out there then and
30:11
go and and you know, I'm not saying, you know, I'm not trying
30:17
to like, you know, boost my ego that way, but you really should
30:21
stay where you've always been in some capacity roots.
30:25
Don't forget your roots. Don't forget where you came
30:27
from. Touching in and making sure
30:29
because those are the people that helped you get where you
30:32
are, even though you know definitely it's a launching pad,
30:36
but unfortunately those other people don't have the same
30:40
relationship with you yet and you know that there's so many
30:45
people out there that are guiding you in different
30:47
directions. So have something, you know,
30:52
imagine you have a you have a product, right and and you just
30:56
came up with something amazing like this mouse, right?
30:58
Nobody had this mouse before It's and it's amazing you came
31:01
up with it. You're selling it like hot
31:04
cakes. Everybody that you're selling it
31:07
to wants to know what what's next?
31:11
Come on, because we're already on this and and, you know, a lot
31:14
of those actors, they don't have what's next foundation of
31:19
representation that's going to be able to say, oh, you know,
31:24
marketing this job. I, I, this kid just booked this
31:27
huge Hollywood movie. We've got this for them.
31:30
So, you know, because they didn't develop those
31:32
relationships. So if they had come back to
31:36
their original source of, you know, support, they would have
31:41
been more successful because, you know, we're all rooting for
31:45
them. We're all like, yeah, we want to
31:47
be a part of this as well. So to just flee the nest is
31:50
always kind of like, wow. And then you see that there's
31:53
nothing for them after. And the kind of those were, you
31:57
know, a lot of talent that way. They just kind of, you know,
32:01
they turn into teenagers. And then, you know, there's not
32:03
a lot of work for teens unless you've already got that, you
32:06
know, great representation, that base.
32:11
Does that typically happen more with young with young with young
32:13
actors as opposed to adults? Yeah, 6 to 11 years old is
32:18
really at peak 9 is absolutely perfect. 8-9 years old,
32:22
especially if you're as on the small side, if you have, you
32:26
know, small features, you're sure.
32:28
If you know, typically it's, I don't know if you've ever met
32:32
anybody famous that's an actor, but they're, they're all pretty
32:35
small. You know what, I think it's so
32:38
funny that you say that because one of the reasons I, I don't, I
32:41
don't think I've ever been able to identify a celebrity in a
32:44
crowd ever because I'm always used to them being like the
32:48
front center of the screen. And so seeing them like blunt,
32:51
just a regular person blended in with the rest of the world.
32:54
I almost don't even know to look for them, you know, like I
32:55
wouldn't even know to like recognize them.
32:57
I feel like. Really big features, like even
33:00
even the rock. We got to work with the rock so
33:03
much here in South Florida. So she's like here a wonderful
33:07
person, doesn't really like, you know, to be around a lot of
33:11
talent. We had two doors, which was very
33:13
helpful when he was working because, you know, he didn't
33:16
have to constantly have people talking and approaching him.
33:19
But overall, everybody thinks he's this massive guy, but he
33:25
has massive features. He has really giant arms and
33:28
he's, you know, he's got a big head, but he oh, it's hike wise.
33:32
I mean, my son was just as tall as him.
33:34
How? Tall is he?
33:36
He was 6 foot 46 foot 5, but overall when you see you know
33:41
his features. He looks like the Hulk in
33:43
movies. I mean he looks like a human
33:45
version of the Hulk. He's really not.
33:47
He's really not that. He's just, like I said, those
33:50
features are big. I actually bought a truck from
33:53
him and I would get stopped all the time because the tints were
33:57
so dark. They were illegal.
34:00
Oh yeah. So, and this is before
34:02
everybody, you know, would drive SU VS and you know, really it
34:06
was right at that time where instead of even a limo, you
34:10
wanted a black truck, you know, so I was constantly pulled over
34:14
and I still had his registration of Dwayne Johnson.
34:20
I would reach. I didn't even know really who he
34:22
was at the time when I bought the truck.
34:24
I I had no idea that they were telling me The Rock.
34:26
I was like, I really don't follow wrestling.
34:28
I don't really know who that is, but then of course I would see
34:31
the TV Guide and you know. Yeah.
34:34
Muscles like, oh, that's I know him now and then when I got into
34:38
casting, I shared a studio after I moved to North Carolina and
34:44
then I moved back here. I shared a studio with a
34:47
recording studio and it was great because I really got to
34:52
understand the world of voice over, which I love and I'll talk
34:55
to you more about. But they're steady clients
35:00
because they also did a lot of ADR work, which is like dubbing.
35:05
So that's like when you insert a line that's missing or not.
35:09
So he was there for for hours, for days, for everything.
35:14
You know, it's so funny. What got them the job, though?
35:17
Their little studio in Hollywood, really, you would
35:20
never even know the studio was there because it's on a
35:22
residential St. And he would pull up in a
35:25
regular truck like nobody really knew, like, you know, that he
35:28
was there. But the reason we got that job
35:31
at the studio is because of the microwave.
35:34
He would warm up his food. He had these protein meals that
35:38
was like baby food almost that he would eat training like every
35:42
three hours. And he had an assistant that
35:45
would go and warm it up. And the microwave had to be a
35:47
certain wattage, so when he was going around looking at studios.
35:52
No way that's what he was looking.
35:55
For came in and pretty much looked at the studio.
35:59
Yeah, this is great, but can I see your microwave?
36:01
And looked at our microwave and opened it up and took a picture
36:04
of the water. Everyone had that stick.
36:06
Do you find that a lot? Do you find that kind of sticks?
36:09
That's what I was. I said that's what got us the
36:12
job though, which was amazing. What would?
36:14
What was your I'm? Sorry, do do do do a lot of have
36:18
you noticed that a lot of people have that kind of stick or, you
36:21
know, the bigger name people like have these.
36:23
I don't want to call them absurd because obviously there's a
36:26
reason for them, but like what seems silly to like a casting
36:29
director or someone like? We had one girl that was very
36:34
popular and I'm sorry even to say girl because I think she
36:37
was, she's the first transgender child that made it somewhat
36:42
known. And I'm her name is escaping me
36:45
now. But she wrote a book and then
36:47
she had ATV show documenting. I don't know if you know about
36:51
it, but it was it was about 8 years ago and she was really
36:55
fessed for being the first teen really to, you know, come out
37:00
and and be a trans. She would go into the session
37:06
because she was recording her voice as well.
37:11
A book. This girl, boy, I'm sorry.
37:16
I, I, they, I suppose is a term and I'm very, I don't mean to
37:20
be, you know, offending any. Yeah.
37:25
Generation so please forgive me I don't mean anybody harm, but
37:29
this person who loved Donuts would eat non-stop Donuts
37:34
throughout the whole session. We were blown away like this
37:40
because we always ask, you know what would the artists like
37:43
because we want to be prepared. You know the rock love that Vos
37:46
water in the glass bottles, which at one time finds like I
37:50
was so excited when I found like a case of them somewhere at some
37:53
little dinky grocery store once this yes Donuts was non-stop for
38:00
this one artist. What the voice of Jay Peterman
38:06
from Seinfeld's Mr. What was his name in in Seinfeld's for boss?
38:13
Oh, oh, oh, oh, I know you're talking about.
38:15
He was great Lane's boss, right? He had a very short, abrupt
38:18
voice. I know you're talking about.
38:20
So wonderful. I can't, I have to look up the
38:23
actor, but he's so amazing. He played Mr. Peterman though on
38:28
Seinfeld, but he is actually the voice of so many Jay.
38:32
His real name is Jay Peter George Hurley.
38:35
John Hurley. John Hurley.
38:37
So he was Mr. Peterman and Seinfeld, but he has done
38:43
amazing things in in the voice world alone.
38:48
I mean, he's on, you know, SpongeBob and.
38:52
What's his name with Pixar? John.
38:55
He was. He was Norm's buddy from Cheers.
39:00
So yeah, this studio really got. Movie, I think, right?
39:04
Say that again. I think it wasn't John
39:08
something. Yes.
39:10
Is in every Pixar movie. I think has a voice over
39:13
appearance in every Pixar movie. It's so much fun.
39:16
That was John O'hurley if you really look up his IMDb.
39:19
Yeah, I'll look him up. The amount of voices, I mean
39:22
Phineas and Ferb and you know he world.
39:27
Like what's over what's what's what's voice?
39:29
Because it's so funny because you have like superstars, you
39:33
know that like want to do these fun animated.
39:35
I mean even Tom Hanks originally with Toy Story, but.
39:39
It was fun because Voiceover is so much fun.
39:42
You don't have to worry about what you look like physically.
39:45
You're in a you know, you can have your hair, however flip
39:49
flops. You're you're watching a screen,
39:52
you're reading. You don't have to memorize and
39:55
you can get so creative with your voice.
39:57
You can have so much fun and really develop characters that
40:02
you just need to could be consistent with.
40:06
That is the real issue that people have is I can create a
40:10
voice like this, but how long can I keep talking like that?
40:13
How long? Remember that that's the voice
40:16
that I want to, you know, have to name that voice and go back
40:19
to it. And it can't be more of the, you
40:21
know, the boy voice of oh, everybody sucks.
40:23
And you know, so you have to really identify different, you
40:27
know, just characters and and be consistent with them and not
40:33
just a few words. You have to do everything that
40:36
you say has to be that way. And you have, it's just like a
40:39
character development for being on camera.
40:43
You have to really, you have to know the good, the bad, the
40:54
ugly. You know who their family is,
40:55
what they like, what they don't like, what you know, what
40:58
religion are they like you. It's very important to put that
41:01
kind of time in. And then you know, that's what
41:05
you get is you get this, you know, the end results, which is
41:10
whatever. Do talent typically look at from
41:13
your experience? Look at voice over work.
41:15
Almost like a break from acting like a.
41:21
Break from acting. Yeah, like I would imagine if I
41:24
did Castaway and Big and, you know, all these movies and then
41:28
I and then I went into into the studio and I recorded for Woody
41:31
to be, you know, in Toy Story. I imagine that I would almost.
41:35
Like I just said, it's even harder to stay in that
41:38
consistent voice. And you're, first of all, you're
41:42
getting direction, you know, only through headphones.
41:46
You're not really seeing any, which is a different skill to
41:49
learn how to interpret that, you know, the voices in your head
41:54
are telling you what to do. You have to give so many
41:58
different takes. You have to act even more.
42:00
Here's a great example for you. OK.
42:03
It's the fundamentals even of just acting.
42:06
The line I'm going to give you is so simple.
42:08
It's called or it is. That was fast.
42:12
That's all I want you to say. And it's called an ABC read.
42:16
So you're going to give me 3 different versions of saying
42:19
that was fast. OK, no.
42:24
That was fast. That was fast.
42:30
That was fast. OK, so that was great that you
42:36
did that, but mostly weren't you doing it based on your tone?
42:41
I'm thinking like, oh, I have to say it a different way so that.
42:45
Scenarios that I'll be saying that was fast in, you know, and
42:48
like, yeah. First one.
42:51
So that was fast. Was a little bit surprised.
42:54
Like imagine, like, imagine. I almost imagine if like my wife
42:58
went out to the supermarket, I was expecting her to take an
43:00
hour and she comes back after half an hour.
43:04
Whoa, that was fast. OK, that's great.
43:07
And the second one. Then there's one to process
43:10
where if I ask my students to do an assignment, right, an essay,
43:13
and then they come back to me after 20 minutes, I'm like, that
43:16
was fast. Like I'm a little skeptical.
43:19
I don't always believe what they're saying.
43:21
And there's the just like, that was my day zip.
43:26
I it's hard to think of 1/3 case I guess.
43:29
That taxi, yeah, reacting off something.
43:32
So you're ahead of the game even by thinking of scenarios because
43:35
most people don't. Most people just think it's the
43:38
sound I need to say it differently so it sounds
43:41
different, but it it's not their reactions to scenarios.
43:45
You're exactly right. Tapping into thinking, you know,
43:49
even our session, our time together, like everything so
43:54
that I can give you a different line that I'm not comfortable
43:59
and and you can do the same thing.
44:02
Not so comfortable. I'm not comfortable with that.
44:07
Right. Wait, so you're adding?
44:09
I'm not so comfortable. You're adding the word, so and
44:11
you're adding. Yes.
44:12
How much does that matter? Can I ask about that?
44:14
Crucial that you stick to crucial mind yes, that, and
44:19
that's the hardest thing for people is they want to add
44:21
things all the time. So you can add things like non
44:24
verbals which are like you know or or you know.
44:29
You can make sounds to help that reaction but you can't change
44:35
the words. One of my favorite, one of my
44:37
favorite parts of acting and one of my favorite parts of just
44:40
like what when I when I watch a really well done, well made
44:43
movie is often what's not said in between the lines or in
44:47
between the words and how a character can use the whole a
44:51
person actually use the whole body to say something that is
44:56
not in the script. And I watch that and I'm like,
44:59
this is this is where the magic comes in.
45:01
This is like. Is acting that is acting take
45:05
the lines away and what are what is the scenario?
45:09
Sum it up. Face your body you're exactly
45:12
body language is is huge. So that's my biggest thing.
45:16
And what I do in auditions is, you know, I give somebody a
45:19
script and I let them do it how they've been practicing probably
45:24
a million times before they got to the studio and see what they
45:27
came up with. What do they want to do?
45:30
Because it's kind of like, you got to get it out anyway.
45:33
Otherwise they'd be like, well, I thought of doing it this way,
45:36
but it's even harder if you have the first line because if I gave
45:42
you. So I have a script here in front
45:44
of me, let's see if there's anything in here that I could
45:46
use for you. OK, so it says the first line is
45:54
you're lying. You're lying.
45:59
So if I have you coming into an audition on the mark and you're
46:04
lit and you're miked and you're ready to go and there's someone
46:07
behind the camera and we say OK, efra, ready and action.
46:11
And you say you're lying, right? So that is the thing though,
46:18
remember the word that I'm saying is action.
46:21
So it doesn't mean start talking.
46:25
Oh. You're lying.
46:26
Why are you saying it? What's going on?
46:28
What is the scene? Right.
46:31
So that is exactly when you want to use your body.
46:34
So how often, how often is I'm, I know I've heard with a lot of
46:38
actors, you know, based on interviews or whatever, reading
46:40
about it, that, that there's usually a collaboration between
46:44
like creating the setting and like the context for when you
46:47
are shooting that like there's something, there's a history for
46:50
the actor to fall back on to kind of snap themselves into
46:53
that zone. Do you?
46:54
Do you create that too? So not in the audition process,
46:57
no. So that is being in an audition
47:00
and being on set is night and day really.
47:03
You think like sometimes you're not even doing what you did in
47:06
that audition. You know, everything can change.
47:08
So that's what's so important about getting real set
47:13
experience also, and that's something we offer at my studio.
47:17
We create content for people so they can actually be on a set
47:21
before they're on a set because those are things that people
47:24
don't teach you. You just have to kind of figure
47:26
out. Just like me with casting.
47:28
I had no idea when I started casting, you know, how to really
47:32
work with people until I had to really work with people.
47:35
I was kind of thrown into that job and I was doing everything I
47:40
was told to do from my boss. But then, you know, it takes you
47:44
a while until you learn your own style and see what really works.
47:49
So, and every set is different, every audition's different.
47:53
So you have to be flexible for sure.
47:56
You have to really know how do you take direction, which is,
48:02
you know, a lot of people don't have common sense.
48:06
Listening skills is a huge issue today.
48:08
I noticed that with my high school students.
48:10
Active listening, yes, active listening is going to make you
48:15
make those faces naturally and react because you're listening,
48:19
you're really hearing. So I always say don't just say
48:22
your line, let it hit. Let somebody their line
48:27
important what the other actors saying is more important than
48:30
your line, because that's going to give you, you know, just the
48:35
an idea of how to say your line. They're yelling at you.
48:39
If they're so you're seeing partner, even though they're off
48:41
camera is is crucial. It is a dance.
48:44
That's what I always it's a dance.
48:46
It's like take my hands. We're on it together.
48:49
You know, eye contact, eye lines, knowing what you're
48:53
really seeing in a room when you're seeing, you have to see
48:56
it. You have to if I tell somebody
49:00
cruise line commercials are so, you know, constant in in South
49:04
Florida, though, I could, yeah, you could just look behind me
49:09
and I could say find somebody on that cruise as you're leaving
49:12
port and wave to them. So go ahead and do that.
49:16
Find somebody. Nope.
49:17
By me behind me. Find somebody behind.
49:21
Yeah. And you see them and you wave to
49:23
them. So most people do the wave right
49:27
away. And then what if the camera
49:29
doesn't stop? What else do you do?
49:31
You've already given it away. Lead up, find somebody your time
49:38
doing that. Because that's the exploration.
49:40
That's the part that we want, you know.
49:43
Beautiful. Then, oh, they end up finding
49:46
somebody down there at the end because otherwise you're just
49:52
doing this. And then you're like, oh crap,
49:54
they didn't say cut. Oh, I've already done like how
49:56
many times, you know? You have a.
49:59
Yeah, you have to. You can't.
50:00
You can't empty out your entire tool to create it one time.
50:03
And listen to find somebody and then wait.
50:07
So we do a lot of those kind of things in my studio.
50:10
I do a class that's called Self tape Domination because so many
50:15
people need to understand what is needed in these self tapes
50:20
when it comes to somebody else watching them and IA class
50:24
because then the class can also be the client.
50:28
How did that make you feel? If you're the first of all, what
50:32
are we looking for? You know, what do we want to
50:34
feel from this? Let's make sure that that's what
50:37
you're giving. When you're on camera, you're
50:40
not so just worried about the dialogue, the dialogue, the
50:42
dialogue. So many people have issues now
50:45
with memorization. I believe it's the phone erasing
50:48
our brains. I'm honestly.
50:51
I don't think, I think that's certainly a big impact.
50:54
More of kids for sure. Kids in my studio and do three
50:58
scenes, pages and pages and pages.
51:02
I can't tell you how that has changed.
51:06
Either by the way, I don't think, I don't think it's that
51:09
we can't. I think that we've, I get the
51:11
skill that we have to take a muscle that we have to exercise
51:15
and if we don't exercise it then it falls away.
51:16
So. It starts with the kids though,
51:18
and unfortunately they are at a huge loss with that.
51:24
It's very sad that that's and they cannot retain.
51:27
I can tell a child we're doing voice over.
51:29
So it's a line read. That means it's a young child
51:32
that maybe doesn't even know how to read yet.
51:34
So I'm giving them a line that says help, you know, help me
51:37
bring it back. And you know, they'll help help
51:41
so she can bring it back. Like no, help me, help me bring
51:45
it back. And they'll just like short out
51:48
on me. And it's like help me bring it
51:51
back. So, you know, then we have to
51:52
sing songs also and we have to make songs aligned with certain
51:58
music that we have to insert the song.
52:00
So it's very tiresome because of that memorization skill that is
52:05
just shot now. So monitors that people can
52:09
actually read from that. Even as an actor, I will put the
52:14
monitor here and that becomes your screen partner and we're
52:18
basically rolling the lines for you.
52:20
Cool. Yes and no.
52:23
I mean it's I mean. With what you have, I, I, I
52:26
guess right? Meaning it's a you had.
52:28
You came across a problem, you had to come up with a with a
52:30
creative solution. Yes, so people are a little bit
52:33
better of saying I don't want the monitor.
52:35
I really want to just, you know, but they usually have to do a
52:39
lot more takes because they just you know, they get frustrated
52:43
too. Like I had it, I had it, you
52:45
know. So yesterday was a really fun
52:48
audition with a celebrity actor that came in that, you know, the
52:54
first line was I will kill you mother fucker first line.
53:00
So it was just so fun to, you know, work with this actor
53:05
because I knew obviously they had that line down.
53:07
But when it came to just the, you know, the other things
53:10
instead of, you know, instead of saying like, listen, if if you
53:15
want to the line was if you want to build in Manhattan And they
53:18
kept saying something else, you know, if you want to buy
53:22
property or if you want it like they couldn't remember that line
53:25
build for whatever reason. And I tried to convince them,
53:30
please don't get hung up on that one word.
53:32
You know you're saying the same thing.
53:34
It's. Really.
53:35
How you're doing it So, you know, actors get very attached
53:40
to the lines and making sure some people think that just
53:44
because they're wearing something that is, you know,
53:48
something and that actor would wear that, that's going to help
53:51
them get the part. I had an actress that came in
53:54
last week that it was a part that definitely was more in the
53:58
70s eighties than current day. And she was and, you know, Joe
54:04
hung up on that. She didn't have a real pencil in
54:08
her ear. It was like it's, you know, it's
54:12
not, it's not there's. Such a little security that I
54:17
feel like, you know, you have to be able to like I think people
54:19
grasp for anything that could make them feel more potentially
54:22
secure. No, this is part of the role
54:24
that I'm. And it's hard.
54:26
I really can't use props and things like that.
54:27
So I am a good, I believe in props as long as I can't see
54:32
them. So if they're, if you're sitting
54:36
and and you're supposed to be added to, I like the sitting in
54:39
the table. I think that's very important
54:41
where other casting directors will say, just stand, you know,
54:44
it's better for your energy. But that actor then is like,
54:47
whoa, I'm supposed to be sitting.
54:49
And they're so, you know, locked into that.
54:51
So just do what I think you're supposed to be doing.
54:55
It's just when you're using, you know, the prop is a crutch.
55:01
I, I was so fortunate enough to work on this series, Jane the
55:06
Virgin, when it first came out. And in auditions, we were
55:10
casting for the mother. And the mother was a real bitch.
55:13
And in one scene, she's putting on lipstick as she's talking to
55:17
her daughter about how horrible like her husband is, but she's
55:21
putting on lipstick. I every actress had lipstick and
55:27
it didn't matter about the lipstick.
55:31
No, you could just use your finger, but be that you know,
55:35
but they were so locked into it was just crazy to me that I was
55:39
like really just you know, it doesn't matter.
55:42
But they all, as soon as they arrived, they all brought that
55:44
lipstick and. Yeah, definitely.
55:47
It's, I think it's the thing that they cling to.
55:48
It's the it's the grounding force that that allows them to
55:52
some kind of security. Can I ask you one last question
55:54
before I let you go? I'm so sorry.
55:58
Absolutely. I'm really having a blast, by
55:59
the way. I hope we do this again because
56:01
it's so to me, this is like I'm like a kid in a candy store
56:04
hearing all this stuff. To see you sometime and just I
56:08
mean I. Would love to.
56:10
Before you ask me, anybody can be in TV commercials, film,
56:14
voiceover you like we talked about, you need to just train,
56:18
you need to start somewhere. No one is old or too young.
56:22
We, I mean, we cast from babies to senior citizens.
56:25
You see what's on TV, you see what's on movies.
56:28
All of those ages are needed, so you just need to know how to do
56:33
it. And that's really what I love
56:35
sharing with people started This is where you I am your
56:40
foundation. I love being a guy.
56:42
I like to just help people because I've seen people
56:45
overnight. I mean, I I met a girl once I
56:48
was in a Starbucks line and she was next to me and I was casting
56:51
for I think it was an insurance commercial and I just knew
56:55
looking at this girl, this is what this client has sent me in
56:58
their specs. This girl, I have to talk to
57:00
her. Oh, it can be creepy, like, hi,
57:05
you know. But fortunately there's more
57:07
women casting directors, I believe.
57:09
Nice enough that if you approached me, I'd be like, Oh
57:11
well, you know, thanks. You know, I'd like to hear about
57:13
that. I have a, you know, card on me,
57:16
so I'm not just like take my number.
57:19
So and I like people. If somebody approached me with
57:22
that card, I would definitely do my research.
57:24
I would make sure that they're reputable, look at reviews, see
57:28
what they've done, see that, you know, it's a real thing, not
57:33
just somebody wanting to, you know, no one should charge you
57:35
money at all for, you know, being an agent or representing
57:40
you. They're going to make their
57:41
money off of you. But when it comes to training,
57:45
you really shouldn't spend a lot upfront because you don't know
57:48
if it's just going to be something like a tennis.
57:51
You know, not everything is for everyone, but at least try.
57:56
Just because you have a great voice does not mean that you're
57:59
going to be a great voice over actor.
58:02
It's important to learn from the very basics.
58:07
You make me want to come in. You're really enticing me.
58:10
I really want to, yeah. For everyone, if you watch TV,
58:15
you see that we could never have a guy with a beard, facial hair
58:20
on, on, especially a commercial ever.
58:24
Especially with food, never. Now it goes.
58:28
So I encourage people, if this is their dream, go for it.
58:34
Definitely there's a place for everyone and there's plenty of
58:37
backgrounds agencies now if you just want to be on set and see
58:42
what that's like, that's a great way to start.
58:46
Happy to recommend. I like to meet somebody and give
58:49
them a certain criteria for me. You know, I like to do at least
58:55
three sessions that I can see that they are on time for every
58:59
session, that they are prepared and that really make an effort
59:04
to, you know, put in a little bit of homework for just three
59:08
sessions because that shows me that they're professional,
59:12
they're on time, they're dedicated because late even for
59:15
a class, that's what I remember. Yeah.
59:18
And, and my job is to get you on a set and I'm not doing it.
59:23
If somebody's late for my class, it's an incident my brain on,
59:29
Nope, they're going to be late. I'm going to be the one that
59:31
gets that phone call. Where are they?
59:33
Yeah, yeah, definitely. A lot of set training and we'll
59:36
out do things like that just for that purpose.
59:39
Do you think set etiquette? Yeah.
59:42
Percent. And that's our first classes.
59:44
If you take a voiceover class, the first class is voiceover
59:47
etiquette. First, the same thing on set.
59:49
That's so great. It's so great.
59:50
It's so cool because I don't think anyone thinks about these
59:53
kind of stuff. But it's also important,
59:55
especially when you know, when you think of making a commercial
59:58
and making a show or a film or anything like these are like
1:00:02
enormous operations and projects and like it really like.
1:00:07
Like I know for myself, even like I sell ultrasound machine
1:00:10
and from point A, from leaving my warehouse to point B to my
1:00:14
customer, there's 10 things that can go wrong along the way.
1:00:17
Every single time that holds things up and the customer and
1:00:20
the customer does not care about any of them.
1:00:22
So I need to make sure that everyone is flawless along the
1:00:25
way. If freight company comes two
1:00:27
days late, sorry pal, I can't work with you anymore.
1:00:29
You know, like it just yeah. I could be a total come off as a
1:00:34
total bitch to parent. I walk in my door, I say I say
1:00:38
the same thing. If you're late to my class, then
1:00:40
there's no way I'm recommending you on a set until you show me
1:00:43
that you're not going to be late and or if you bring a sick child
1:00:46
in something like that, like right away.
1:00:49
I am making this is what is going to happen to you.
1:00:52
If you arrive on a set, they're going to send you.
1:00:56
So I'm a total realist that way that when people start texting
1:01:02
me for class, oh, I'm in traffic, there's traffic.
1:01:05
Are you kidding me? That's got to be the most
1:01:08
classic thing you've ever you've heard throughout your career,
1:01:10
right? Is I'm, I'm, I'm going to be
1:01:12
late. I'm in traffic.
1:01:13
Traffic really on a Friday at 5:00 in Miami?
1:01:17
Really. Inning.
1:01:21
But I say don't even text. Nobody wants to hear it.
1:01:26
Get there as much time as you need to earlier and wait in your
1:01:30
car. Yeah, start texting because
1:01:33
nobody cares. Yeah, so.
1:01:36
That's really And people start telling me, you know, if I send
1:01:40
out even info about something that's happening and they give
1:01:42
me all the reasons why they can't do it.
1:01:47
Just. Finally, decline.
1:01:49
That's all. Can't do it.
1:01:50
That's it. You don't have to tell me why.
1:01:53
I I don't want to really know. Just yes or no.
1:01:56
I mean, things I got to do, Yeah.
1:02:00
What was your question? Sorry.
1:02:01
I. My question was, and we can make
1:02:03
this shorter, we can even carry this over into the next
1:02:05
conversation for the next time if you have to run.
1:02:07
But I want to talk to ask you about the notion of being
1:02:11
typecast as opposed to like a diverse career, you know, and
1:02:15
you know what, You know, so like, I think off the top of my
1:02:18
head, Timothy Shamalay, whatever, however you pronounce
1:02:20
his first name, like he just, I mean between Bob Dylan and Willy
1:02:25
Wonka and Dune. And like he's one of these guys
1:02:29
that it seems like can do anything.
1:02:31
And then you have, that's an actor, but you have actors that
1:02:37
spend 20-30 years in a career pretty much doing the same role
1:02:41
for, you know this, you know, for film after film.
1:02:44
That's also. That's what.
1:02:47
That's representation also. They're they're thinking that's
1:02:51
all they have. You know, we do something in my
1:02:55
studio, people that want to get into commercials.
1:02:58
It's called a demo slate shot and it's basically the actor
1:03:01
introducing themselves because every audition starts with a
1:03:04
slate. So you would introduce yourself.
1:03:07
Hi, I'm Kim Houston. I'm 5 foot 8.
1:03:09
I'm in Miami, something like that.
1:03:11
You do profiles, you show your hands, you show all the basics.
1:03:13
So we record somebody doing that head to toe as well.
1:03:18
Then we do three different scenarios with them that are
1:03:22
totally different from the look that they're presenting in that
1:03:25
slate. Cool.
1:03:26
Cool. By the way, we see them as a
1:03:28
nurse with their hair back. We see them as, you know, a
1:03:31
mechanic. We see them because wardrobes
1:03:33
are important because and I noticed doing these, you know,
1:03:36
and then I send them to agents on the actors behalf.
1:03:40
The agent. Oh, I didn't know that they
1:03:43
because, you know, the agent doesn't have as much imagination
1:03:46
as you think if they're just seeing the same headshot all the
1:03:50
time. Actors do is they communicate
1:03:54
without always giving. Every time you communicate with
1:03:57
someone that's representing you should be an opportunity to show
1:04:01
them something new, even if it's just a screenshot.
1:04:04
You know, this is what I look like with brown hair.
1:04:06
This is what I look like with, you know, I can be versatile.
1:04:09
I can I can ride a bike. Here's a picture of me riding a
1:04:12
bike. Like, you know, you really need
1:04:15
to constantly be working at marketing yourself in, in a, in
1:04:21
a variety that's going to get people to remember because it's
1:04:24
all about visual. It's not really about, you know,
1:04:27
the 10 I because I can remember people just from their
1:04:31
headshots. And if that's all they're
1:04:32
showing me, that's all I remember and is huge these days.
1:04:37
And short, short, sweet, little quick moments will make people
1:04:41
really remember you. And so that's what we like to do
1:04:46
in the studio, is get creative and help people just get seen.
1:04:50
So you you so you do try to avoid having one kind of what
1:04:54
kind of slate or one trick pony, I guess you could call it like
1:04:57
that. Sometimes, you know, I watch so
1:04:59
many videos that I and I often end up hearing the auditions
1:05:03
more than I'm actually watching them because I end up doing
1:05:06
different things. You know, if I get up to get a
1:05:09
cup of coffee and an audition is playing, I find what draws me
1:05:13
back in is the voice. You sure you know that seem No,
1:05:18
no, no, no, no, like it'd be kind.
1:05:21
It's hi, my name is S and you know, instead of I'm you know
1:05:26
what I mean. It's like a different kind of
1:05:28
confident. There's something in the voice
1:05:31
me want to watch more. So I imagine that's what it's
1:05:34
like for other casting people as well.
1:05:36
But I try to to get people really to work on their voice to
1:05:41
lead with their voice to to get their voice to to show emotion
1:05:46
before they even get to their face as it's an instrument that
1:05:51
can really go a long way and get you, you know, not just trapped
1:05:56
into that same. I mean there's certain people I
1:05:59
just know from their voice. I could just I know who it is.
1:06:03
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I.
1:06:05
Can tell with a customer when I answer the phone whether they're
1:06:07
going to be a difficult customer or not just by my the first
1:06:11
minute of conversation I have with them.
1:06:13
And like, you know, it's amazing how much you can tell from a
1:06:16
voice. It's really, really cool.
1:06:18
It's a gateway for sure, but we do have great classes just for
1:06:21
people that want to try just see what this is like and get on mic
1:06:26
once. The problem is once they do it,
1:06:29
they they're hooks really because it's like you and I
1:06:33
started saying it's fun, fun. It gets you.
1:06:37
It's like that ride that you take.
1:06:39
That was so fast that the first thing I want to do it again.
1:06:43
Yeah, can't wait to do that. That was fun.
1:06:46
So I am all a big encourager, even if people don't want to get
1:06:50
on, you know, in the business and go on auditions.
1:06:53
Just coming to the classes. And it's wonderful for kids
1:06:57
because we really work on that confidence, that eye contact,
1:07:02
getting them to just be social. So important.
1:07:07
And reading that, I push voice over more than on camera for
1:07:11
kids because it strengthens their their reading.
1:07:15
They're articulate. They're they're clear when they
1:07:18
talk. And, you know, typical skills
1:07:20
that are going by the wayside at this point in in in the world.
1:07:23
Very sad. Yep.
1:07:25
I mean, we, I mean, really, I, I, I noticed even, you know, I,
1:07:29
I'm the oldest of six, I'm 29, right?
1:07:31
So, yeah, it's a big family. But I noticed, you know, with,
1:07:35
you know, I talked to my siblings, friends.
1:07:37
Eye contact is not simple, you know.
1:07:40
Their ability to express themselves is not something that
1:07:43
you take for granted. Their ability to hold the
1:07:45
conversation, to make small talk or or or speak clearly is not
1:07:49
something you take for granted. It's it's very hard for kids.
1:07:53
Yeah. So I have a a 22 year old and a
1:07:56
23 year old and I can honestly tell you the best thing I ever
1:07:59
gave both of them was personality.
1:08:02
I mean, these kids, I didn't push them into TV or film or
1:08:05
anything because I didn't think that was something I really
1:08:10
wanted them to care about, you know?
1:08:12
So they're great with their voice.
1:08:14
My son isn't phenomenal voice actor, but my daughter is a
1:08:19
flight attendant and to this day she's only 23 and only been
1:08:23
working a year. It's called to be the purser
1:08:26
which is the one that controls first class and you know.
1:08:30
Cool because of her communication.
1:08:32
Because she gives eye contact and she absolutely loves that
1:08:37
directness with one person at a time and making everybody feel
1:08:41
comfortable. And people her age, her peers,
1:08:44
they don't want that position. They don't.
1:08:47
They feel uncomfortable. And she's like, Oh my God, this
1:08:51
is like, I love doing this. Yeah, it it works in your
1:08:56
benefit if you really have those basic skills and and I love
1:09:01
reinforcing them, especially with kids needed as well.
1:09:04
So you know it's needed for sure, or maybe it's not.
1:09:09
I don't know if maybe you know things are changing so much that
1:09:13
it's not as needed, but in the world you.
1:09:15
Know I think it is by the way, I, I even though things are
1:09:17
changing so much, the reason I think it's needed is because if
1:09:20
you take a look at overall like mental health or emotional state
1:09:25
or well-being or loneliness, we're not we're not doing better
1:09:29
since we've gotten worse at that.
1:09:31
Like I think that there's something so deeply ingrained in
1:09:33
humans that like we need that eye contact and we need that
1:09:37
presence and that communication that you know that even though
1:09:41
it's not comfortable and like it's you know, especially the
1:09:44
longer you push it off and the less you practice it, the more
1:09:46
uncomfortable it is. But I think that and the fact
1:09:49
that people are less happy or less emotionally, you know,
1:09:52
satisfied or emotionally well than they were 1520 years ago,
1:09:57
you know, speaks world as to, you know, whether or not it's,
1:10:00
you know, whether or not we need it.
1:10:02
So many things are different now, you know, the whole like, I
1:10:06
mean, I can go on and on about this just as a parent, but the
1:10:09
whole, you know, so socializing, play dates and things where
1:10:14
didn't have any of that. I, you know, if I had anxiety as
1:10:18
a kid, it was worked out in a sport.
1:10:21
Do you? Do you ever read the book The
1:10:22
Anxious Generation? What is it called?
1:10:25
The anxious generation. No, no, but I will.
1:10:29
You it's. I've recommended it before.
1:10:31
It's by a gentleman named Jonathan Haidt HAIDT.
1:10:36
Yeah, and I already know about it though just.
1:10:39
Yeah, it's and it's one of the most important. 1.
1:10:43
Of the most important books I've ever read, I think it's amazing.
1:10:47
Thank you so much for your time. I'm really just I.
1:10:50
Really, really appreciate it. This is so much fun getting to
1:10:52
speak with you a little bit. I hope we can do this again.
1:10:55
And I think there's going to be a ton of fun.
1:10:57
I really, really appreciate it. It's going to be awesome.
1:10:59
I'm going to send you the link when we're done.
1:11:00
OK, Thank you so much for coming on.
1:11:03
I really appreciate it. We'll talk soon.
1:11:05
Take care. Bye.