top of page

Magic Time

Writer's picture: Chuck MarraChuck Marra

Updated: Nov 4, 2024




Well, it's that extra-magical time of year again when we are reminded of powers and spirits beyond our everyday view. The air is cooler.  The leaves magically turn, and trees become a choir of color.  This is the time of year I like to start reviewing the years and change along with nature.

I miss going trick or treating, dressing up as Spiderman or Batman, and going door to door to be Spiderman or Batman and getting candy in return.  I actually miss the smell of those plastic masks of the 1960s.   Sorry.  I digress.


What we're hearing about the industry

I have heard so much about how our industry is changing or, ending or dying (depending on who you listen to).  In reality, our industry has always changed. It has always ended one phase but has gone on to the next, and the entertainment



industry has never died.  If production is down 30%, that means 70% is still working.    If you buy into the 30% decline, you are less likely to pursue work.  If you are not pursuing work, you are probably not training.  If you are not training, you are not living the dream, nor are you preparing to live your dream.  How truly sad is that?  One of the joys of this industry is 'the doing". You can 'do' it for the joy of it on any scale you can, even if it's in a room in your house to practice, a garage to rehearse in, or a tiny stage area that holds perhaps 30 people.   Knowing the joy is in the doing.    That very doing will inspire you to take bolder action, and that action just might lead you to be part of the 70% that is working, and in the process, you will become happier and more inspired.  What is more magical than that?

Also, California Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing $750 in film incentives to shoot in Californa. We are thinking that this could only help keep film making work in in the U.S. and in California specifically. If you agree, you can send an email of support or a phone call to your local representative.



There is also easy and fun work

It is worth mentioning that the best way to help our industry get back on it's feet



and help create more work for everyone is to go out to the movies! It's true. The more money that movies take in at the box office, the more incentive they have to make more movies for theatrical exhibition. Plus it's just not the same experience at home, convenient as it is to stay home. ,So, get out to the movies as often as you can, and bring everyone you can with you.




The Super-Objective and the audition.

For anyone not familiar with the terms, the objective is what your character wants from the scene.  The super-objective is what the character wants in the entire play.  It is also what the play itself is trying to say.   Without understanding the super-objective, the play is like a four-way intersection, with everyone trying to go a different way.   If everyone understands the super-objective, everyone tells the



powerful story in harmony.  I guess the super-objective is like a traffic cop in this analogy.

When actors know the Super-objectives of the piece, they can all make the best choices to audition for each character they may be asked to.


But these days, the whole script is not often available for actors to read before they audition for a role, so how do you make smart choices?  Our advice is to consider the genre of the piece and then the scenes you are given as 'the whole show' since that is all you have to work with.  If these scenes weren't important to the show, they would have cut them.  So let your imagination run.  If you let yourself, you can imagine there are many different super-objectives possible and, therefore, many different ways to interpret your audition scenes. Now let your imagination play in the possibility that this show is all about your character.  You wouldn't just 'do your thing' and send the audition, would you?  You'd wonder who this Hamlet guy is.    What is the play about?  If the super-objective is say 'this'  you make your choices to serve that particular super-objective. Now, ask yourself how would the scene be different than if the super-objective is 'that'?   Consider all the possibilities and choose the ones that make the most sense to you and are the most passionate to you.  Everyone who is looking at your audition tape knows you didn't get to read the whole piece. 

If you examine your audition scenes in this light, you are now working beyond your look, beyond your type, beyond your "brand."  So many actors just rely on that and are obsessed with being among the first to submit their audition tape.   You are acting on a much higher level. 

If you want more info on objectives and super-objectives?  Sonia Moore has a wonderful book called The Stanislavsky System (link below), in which she discusses the super-objective and its importance in simple terms.





The Self-tape vs. In the room auditions.

Hands down, we prefer being in the room audition.  We get to meet the actor and work with the actor.  It's a much more effective and rewarding way of being a casting director.  Most actors seem to like it over self-tapes (except for the driving



and parking issues).  That said, there are major advantages to the self-tape.  When you are in the room, you will most likely never get to see your audition.  You simply audition and leave.  The self-tape gives an actor the advantage of critically reviewing everything about their work before they send it.  Some actors set the bar at knowing their lines and acting up a storm.  Others set the bar simply on being believable.   We'd like you to consider the whole thing, your look, your character, your ability to listen to the other person you are auditioning with, and wonder: 'How could I do this better?"


Now, most people advise, and we have advised you as well, to do your best and forget about it.  We'd like to amend that advice so that you indeed do your best and forget about the prospective job that you are trying to get, but keep thinking about the work you did.  Even if it was great work, how can you make it even better?    Then in between auditions, you have something to work on.


At the Studio:

KILLING HOPE is still killing it in film festivals around the world.  WINO has crushed it as well in festivals. CHOICES is finalizing the details of its distribution deal.  Raw Deals has now been submitted to the festival circuit, and we are



excited about that.

Also, we are re-releasing our audio plays for the holidays again.  These are original adaptations of classic holiday stories and re-imagined radio plays from the 1940s and 50s.

For Halloween, we are presenting

Don't the ME about Halloween

Good Ghost

Dark Grey Magic


You can find them all at:



or

Click the Quiet Please image to listen.


Other Good Reading:


Lastly, if you are looking for a fun book to keep you on track,






or off the wrong track, check out How To Trash Your Career which is available on Amazon.







Happy Halloween!



0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page