TVI Studios: First Class

And so it begins...

TVI Studios
"Auditioning For Primetime TV"
Andy Henry
4 classes/$225

Week 1

The first day of class is always nerve racking; I never know what to expect. I arrive a few minutes early and there are already two guys sitting in seats. The room isn't terrible big. It holds 20 people comfortably with an acting space in front - white walls, no windows, a TV, a VCR, grey carpet, the usual I guess.

People slowly trickle in. I would say half the class already knows each other. There's hugging and some "heys!". I feel out of the loop, but there's not much I can do. I'm surprised by amount of foreigners. Andy arrives on time. He's caring a plastic box full of papers. He turns around and greets the folks he knows. He recognizes five out of the nine people. Some students have taken his class multiple times.

He asks for our headshots and resumes. Luckily they tell you to bring these during your registration. One guy forgot his, but it seems like it doesn't really matter. Andy uses them to write notes on and take attendance with. The guy who forgot his simply wrote down his name on a sheet of paper. Andy goes through the pile and asks each person to elaborate on their "Special Skills" section. When it's my turn to speak, I mumble and fumble trying to figure out something which makes me unique other than my ability to speak with a British accent. I feel my face flush, but I come up with some bull shit about my double jointed hips.

The introductions are over. We discuss the basic plan for the class. First week, we'll get sides for those great 2 sentence parts, cold read them and then have a mock producer-casting session. Basically, half the class gets the same set of sides while the other half pretend to be producers. Each "actor" auditions for the same role and then the "producers" deliberate, choosing their favorite. Then we switch, the "producers" become the "actors" reading for a different part. Second week will be a cold reading of a guest role sized part. Third week will be the memorized sides from Week 2 put on tape and reviewed. Fourth week will be memorized sides given at the end of Week 3's class, also taped, also reviewed.

Andy decides that it will be guys against girls. The guys are first up. Andy digs through his box of papers and produces sides for the boys. They are all handed the same sides and exit the room to prepare in the hall. Andy gives them five minutes while he discusses what we should look for/be aware of. One by one the boys audition, some are better than others. We close the door and deliberate.

Round 1: We go through each guy, headshot by headshot, and offer our first opinions. The ones with bad reads (fumbling the words) were crossed off. Another guy was rejected because he awkwardly positioned himself (aka didn't set up the environment well).

Round 2: We've narrowed it down to two. We've weeded out the others because they were either lacking in energy, didn't take directions well or just didn't feel right. The "producers" are 3 against 2 right now. One of the guys is a typical pick, standard build, good read, everything you'd expect. The other one is more interesting to look at, he would stand out from the crowd.

Round 3: Further discuss what we as "producers" want. Do we want the expected or the unique? Vote #2: 4 against 1. I'm overruled.

The guys come back and we talk about each persons reading and why they weren't picked. Andy's good at remaining neutral on the subject of being good or bad. He offers a "good read" or "good choices", without sugar coating the critique. He's able to get the honest truth across like, "not enough energy" or "your body language set an odd tone" or whatever the reason is without sounding harsh.

The girls are up. We all shuffle out into the hall and prepare. After 5 or so minutes the first girl gets called in. I'm sitting there thinking three lines is nothing. I can do that, right? My turn. I enter the room. The sides are for a secretary who's being questioned by the police. First read blows. It's not a good read. I trip all over the words. GAH. Andy opens it up for notes/directions. Read #2. Better, but blah. Seriously, three sentences should not be this hard. I metaphorically kick myself as I exit the room.

The girls finish auditioning. I'm lounging on a wooden bench outside the room. I can hear some of the discussion. One gal apparently didn't take direction and both reads were the same. The field quickly gets narrowed down to their two favorites. One had an interesting, unexpected read. The other had a solid and typical read. Basically the same issue we had as "producers".

We're ushered back in. The boys picked the actress with the typical read. We all get feedback. My assessment was that I shared a similar look with the girl who got the part and she had the better read. C'est la vie.

And that was it for the first class. It lasted just over an hour.


Thoughts:
The first class was...meh, a little lackluster. It wasn't terrible exciting. I didn't learn much. Most of the information is common sense with a sprinkling of Andy's amusing anecdotes. I know I said this in an earlier post, but this TVI Studios is so NOT method.

BUT, it was helpful in the sense that I'm dusting off the cobwebs, getting comfortable acting again. It's one thing to play make-believe in private, it's another thing to stand up in front of a room and be judged by ones peers. I am one of those people who is perfectly calm up until the moment of truth, when I become overwhelmed and essentially short circuit. I would say everyone else in the class (aside from one?) is far more seasoned in this business than I am. I'm certainly going to utilize this class as a medium by which to brush off my rusty skills.

And the people are very friendly. I mention this because a good atmosphere is essential when it comes to a learning environment, especially regarding acting. Finding trust, confidence, patience, is not an easy thing to magically conjure up. It takes practice. Andy's class is easy going, though this probably has to do with his laid back demeanor. I heard that one teacher at TVI is particularly intense. The only intimidating part is that a lot of the people already know each other. There's a "boys club" or "actors club" that I am not a part of...yet.

First impressions: I wish there was more acting.