September 9, 2008 *** Only submit by mail only. No phone calls or personal drop-offs, or you WILL NOT be considered! *** See the post titled Headshot and Resume Information regarding how to submit...

Updated current casting call, audition, talent search, and agent information. Resources on getting started, scam alerts, classes, workshops, networking, Screen Actors Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

*(Be sure to give your opinion at the end of this post!)

Zoe Caldwell on her first Tony Award:

Alan Schneider [Director of Tennessee Williams' Slapstick Tragedy, Broadway, Longacre Theatre, (2/22/1966 - 2/26/1966)] insisted that Molly and Polly run all around the house.

"But, Alan, it says in the script we remain in our chairs."

"It will be funnier if you run around."

"Look, Alan, we are only ten days into rehearsal," I said. "I will never leave my chair so I suggest you get some actress who will. I am not cross, I am very grateful and I am out of here."

It was no use appealing to Tennessee. His truth was in the words, not in the slightly confused man who dropped in on rehearsals every day.

Alan rang to ask what would make me come back. "The assurance that I will do only what Williams has written." And a very big Alan Schneider said okay.

The play lasted two weeks and yet I won my first Tony -- not because I was brilliant but because Tennessee was.
(Zoë Caldwell, 1966 Tony Award® Best Featured Actress in a Play and the 1966 Theatre World Award, I Will Be Cleopatra: An Actress's Journey).

Today I shot another episode of “One Life to Live” which completes my 3 episode arc in the Mendorra Palace. I imagine that they will bring me back to play other roles sometime in the future, but I am sure it will be a while before that happens. Soap operas are known from having the same actor play lots of different kinds of parts. I would love to get a shot at being a contract player, or at least a recurring day player. It would be a lot of fun to be on this set several days a week. It would be good for the bank account, too.

The most fun part of the day was working with the stunt coordinator, who choreographed a scene where one of the contract players subdues me and steals my clothes so she can walk around unnoticed in the palace. Of course, you don’t see any of the juicy stuff- only that she binds my hands behind my back. I also loved hanging out with the actors who played Cristian and Sarah. I got lots of insights into what it is like to be a contract player on a soap opera. It makes me want to look into doing them a little more seriously now that I am aware of the joys and pitfalls.

Oh, and with regard to the title of this blog, they call it a “banana” when an actor walks in an arc instead of in a straight line, which is usually for the benefit of a camera that is hidden behind a corner or wall. Walking in an arc also allows multiple cameras to pick you up as you move, which gives the director freedom in the control booth to use whichever camera they see fit. I cleared the set, doing a banana on the exit, and one of the actors gave me a thumbs up and said, “You f&*^ing NAILED that banana!”

God, I love this business.

PS: I just saw this job notice on one of my casting websites. I’m not kidding:

Looking for enthusiastic models + Actors who HAVE THEIR OWN CHICKEN SUIT for stock photography shoot on the streets in Manhattan or in Brooklyn. All models must sign model release form and have SS# or Tax ID# to complete tax forms. Approximately 4-hour session for $200 compensation paid directly following shoot plus cd with hi res images supplied within a month of the shoot.

One of my students just told me I looked like Hilarie Burton from “One Tree Hill.” In some pictures, I really do look like her, especially in her blonde years. It’s funny, too, because she also looks a lot like Naomi Watts, who I have been compared to. And it’s especially flattering since Hilarie is 26 years old. (wink wink)

I also got approached by an excited woman in a diner who said I looked just like Julia Delpy from “Two Days in Paris.” I don’t see that one as much as some of the others, but I will gladly add it to my list!