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Review: How to be a Working Actor

How to be a Working ActorI’ve decided to read a few books and articles on acting as I venture on my quest to learn more on the craft.I recently finished “How to be a Working Actor” by Mari Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers. For anyone new to acting, I highly recommend this book. It’s filled with lots of great tid bits about marketing for actors, auditions, acting tools, and analyzing scripts.Parts of the book weren’t really relevant to my interest in acting – such as the chapters that focus on what you should do before moving to L.A. or New York City. I was more interested in the meat of the material – where they listed the best practices for wearing different types of makeup and the best kind of wardrobe to have on your hands. I really loved all the information they provided with the best colors and style of clothing to wear for photo shoots for headshots and film work.Henry and Rogers also give good advice on auditions and actor interviews. With info on what to expect for commercial, soap opera, and TV series auditions, it gave me a great background/foundation as a beginner. I feel more confident about how to approach auditions – especially since I feel more comfortable with my ideas of what to wear and how to rehearse.

I’m not sure how more advanced actors would feel about this book – perhaps I’ll pick it up and give it another read once I’ve gained more on-camera experience. Overall, I was pleased with what I read and jotted down quite a few notes.

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100 Monologues – Monologue #2: Dreams (of writing)


100 Monologues is a project where I’m writing monologue scripts, performing, and filming the pieces. Since I’m beginning to dabble in acting, the project is meant as a means for me to acquire more acting experience where I can work on refining my craft. You can find out more about the project here.

Below is the script from the “Dreams (of writing)” monologue. The script isn’t exact to my performance above, but my performance is based on it. If you’re a student who would like to perform this monologue for class, just make sure you credit me, Maggie Coyle, as the author. For any other use of the script, please contact me.

100 Monologues: #2 Dreams (of writing)

Written by Maggie Coyle

When I was a kid, everyone told me that anything was possible, that I could do anything. I grew up thinking about how I’d change the world some day, and that seemed completely believable. I wasn’t sure how I’d change the world – I mean I was told I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up, so I thought I’d be a ballerina or a princess, and I suppose I would change the world that way somehow. But then I fell in love with literature and reading, and then I started thinking that I’d become a writer some day. I discovered the power of the written word and thought about how I could change peoples’ lives with my stories. So I spent countless nights scribbling away in journals and spiral notebooks. I wrote down every poem and story that came to my head. My pen devoured pages. I was hungry for writing and couldn’t get enough of it.

Then I went to college. The professors and my peers tried to wake me up so I’d quit dreaming about becoming a novelist. And it almost worked, until I realized what was going on. They were telling me that I wouldn’t make it. That I wouldn’t be able to make a living off my writing, because no one these days really could. My professors were jaded because they weren’t full-time writers, and my peers were trying to cut down their competition. But you know…I still couldn’t wake up from my dreams.

I realized that I had become an adult, and suddenly the world was telling me that I have limits, that the world is more confined and the sky is no longer the limit. And that got me thinking, why was everyone talking to me when I was a kid with open arms and encouragement? What happened to that? Is this some sort of sick joke for the youth?

Well I say ignore that. Ignore the people trying to discourage you now. I was told I would do great things, and by god, I will do great things. I will become whatever I want to become. And I will do what my heart always knew I’d be destined to do. I say enough of the Debbie Downers, and enough of the cynics who just like to stomp on other people’s dreams.

I’m not going to give up on my dreams. I don’t think anyone else should.

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Acting for Film Class

I recently took an “Acting for Film” class. We mainly focused on performing monologues for film as well as the stage. Each class we’d work on a different scene or monologue. Then during one of our last classes, we picked a monlogue that we performed while the teacher shot footage of us outside as well as inside.

With the footage from outside, since it was night, my teacher set up some pretty bright lights. I’m a bit disappointed that my face looks washed out on one side, making my head look more rounded. Nevertheless, I enjoyed getting to see what I look like on camera. Below is the footage from outside:

I’ve realized that you learn quite a bit when you film yourself acting and then take a look at the footage. It’s a lot like stepping away from a painting so you can get a better idea of the bigger picture – of how things come together as a whole. My 100 Monologues project will really help me hone my skills since I plan to film each monologue. That way I can critique my work and get a better idea of what I need to do in order to improve.

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Acting Classes Can Help Beginner Actors

Right now I’m taking an “Intro to Acting for Film” class. I have to admit, taking acting classes is incredibly helpful with motivating myself to do acting projects on the side. And as a beginner, I’ve found that classes can give you a sense of direction and also help you figure out if you truly are interested in exploring the realm of acting.

My film class has taught me a lot about transitioning from stage acting to film acting. I’ve become more aware of my mannerisms, how expressive my eyes are, and what directions I should look towards. I’ve realized that I have a habit of looking down at the ground when I’m not making eye contact with other actors, which can be a good thing or bad thing depending on the situation of the scene. For instance, it’s probably better for me to look to the side instead of the ground since my eyelashes hide my eyes from the camera.

The feedback I’m receiving in class has also helped motivate me to want to keep moving forward with acting. I was pleasantly surprised the other day with the reaction I got from the class on one of my performances. I also thought it was a bit funny that several people told me I remind them of Meg Ryan (which I really don’t see, but thank you anyway). And what really made my day was hearing that I’m different. It’s good to know I don’t blend into the crowd. Thus that class has served as encouragement for me to keep going with acting.

Thus far, I have to say that my film class has helped me with:

  1. Getting more confident with performing scenes and monologues in front of others
  2. Being more aware of one’s expressions, mannerisms, and body language
  3. Finding the best directions to look towards depending on the position of the camera
  4. Discovering if you truly have the acting bug
  5. Motivation to work on future film projects

Needless to say, I’m a strong supporter of beginner actors taking acting classes. They really can help you build confidence and motivation. Plus they are a lot of fun!

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100 Monologues – Monologue #1: Insomnia

100 Monologues is a project where I’m writing monologue scripts, performing, and filming the pieces. Since I’m beginning to dabble in acting, the project is meant as a means for me to acquire more acting experience where I can work on refining my craft. You can find out more about the project here.

Below is the script from the “Insomnia” monologue. The script isn’t exact to my performance above, but my performance is based on it. If you’re a student who would like to perform this monologue for class, just make sure you credit me, Maggie Coyle, as the author. For any other use of the script, please contact me.

100 Monologues: #1 Insomnia

Written by Maggie Coyle

You know one week I was sleeping soundly every night and then one night I just—I couldn’t. My mind just wouldn’t shut-up. I tried closing my eyes for several minutes–still nothing. And I kept propping myself up on an elbow and looking over at the alarm clock to see how much time I’d have to left to actually get some rest. And time just couldn’t care less—it kept going on and on. 1 a.m. 2 a.m. 3 a.m.

By 5 a.m. I was just desperate. I knew I needed some amount of sleep to actually function the next day. My eyes ached, my head hurt. But my mind wouldn’t just give in and take a break for the night. I tried taking a warm shower, drinking some hot green tea, counting sheep or whatever, but still nothing. It was no use.

Before long it was morning, and I spent that entire week with insomnia. I think got a total of a half hour of sleep that entire time. I have no idea how on earth I managed to function with so little shut-eye, but I did. And then one miraculous day, I crept home from school, just dropped my bags, wandered into my warm living room, just sprawled out on the couch and closed my eyes. And the sleep just came.

And this whole ordeal with losing Shawn reminds me of that week. Right now it just feels unbearable – I’m just moving along without much rest, my body tired, fatigued, and my mind just aching with heartbreak. And I know that someday, somehow, this will all seem far behind me, and I’ll finally get some rest, relax, close my eyes, and fall asleep.

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100 Monologues Project – About

I’ve decided to tackle a monster of a project. I’m planning to write 100 original monologues that I’ll perform and shoot on camera. The purpose of this project is to help me improve my skills as an actress. By going behind the scenes and being in charge of writing the script, this project will also challenge me to tap into creating different characters, stories, situations, and so on and so forth.

If any of the monologues sound similar to something you’ve seen before, that is simply a coincidence. I’m approaching each piece without thinking about other monologue work that’s out there. I also plan to post the script for each monologue so that any students out there can feel free to use it for a class – just make sure you credit the author Maggie Coyle.

So here we go! I’m off to start writing up a storm and getting my pieces memorized and filmed as quickly as I can.

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Purpose

I’m beginning to dabble in acting and I thought that starting a blog would be a great way to track my progress and thoughts on the world of acting.

At the moment, I work as a web designer by day and do some studio art at night. I’m a creative person – always interested in the world of the arts. Studio art hasn’t been enough for my creativity – I was searching for yet another outlet. When I decided to take a couple of acting classes recently, I realized I found another area in the arts that I’d like to pursue. So here I am – I’m a beginner who’s ready to teach herself by practicing on her own time. I’ll continue to take classes from time to time, but primarily I’ll use this website as a way to motivate myself to do some work on the side.

The plan is to write some scripts. I’d like to create a few short films where I’ll write the script, star in them, and create some animation that could be incorporated into the pieces. I also plan to do some monologue work so I can improve at portraying different characters.

So – we shall see how this goes!