Why Auditions for a New TV Series are Different From All Others
Over the years, I've talked to teachers, actors, and casting directors about auditioning for pilots, which are a breed unto themselves. I've cherry-picked some of the most useful pointers for you. More »

Acting Coach Risa Bramon Garcia Shares a Simple Key to Success
And then there's the secret lurking behind the door of the audition room. What goes on in there? What do they want? What's the key to success in that baffling place and time? Well, it's pretty simple. More »

The Importance of Actions
A New York actor, director, and coach, Stephen Dym still scribbles actions in his script, designing them, he writes, to "stimulate the senses: visual, kinetic, olfactory, and auditory." More »

Play Is the Thing
Children under the age of 5 easily slip into imaginary worlds of their own making. Is it possible that they hold the keys to understanding the fundamentals of acting? More »

Coach John Osborne Hughes Mixes Stanislavsky and Buddhism
The mix of Eastern religious practice and acting techniques is not new, but maybe it's attracting more actors than ever. I called Hughes in London and asked, "Is this approach particularly suited to the 21st century?" More »

Michael Chekhov's Technique Facilitates the Search for Inspired Acting
Now more than ever, the deciding factor in a successful audition or performance is the actor's ability to call upon focused inspiration at a moment's notice. More »

How to Find Mental Focus in the Audition Room
You can do anything for three minutes. That's what I tell the actors in my audition workshops. Just like the focused athlete walking onto the field, the actor must achieve a certain mental mindset. More »

Stop Focusing on Yourself and Start Telling Great Stories
As great acting teachers have pointed out, you are at your worst as an actor when your attention is on yourself. More »

The Unshakable Skill Set
We all yearn for the other to be reliable and trustworthy yet exciting and unpredictable. Never boring. Our relationship with ourselves follows this same blueprint. More »

Acting for Theater, Film, And Television are Dictated by Each Medium's Roots
Stage. Film. Television. For the actor, does it really matter? After all, great acting is great acting, whether it's at Manhattan Theatre Club, on the set of "Pirates of the Caribbean," or in front of a "Law & Order" camera, right? More »

The ABCs of Auditioning
Auditions: Hate 'em; apparently can't have a career without 'em. They can put a man on the moon, but they can't figure out a more benign way to cast an actor, right? More »

How Do You Handle It When You Disagree With Your Director?
At any time, actors can find themselves disagreeing with the director's requirements, for any number of reasons. What do you do in such a situation? More »

Acting is About Making Great Choices
The following is an excerpt from "Acting With Impact: Power Tools to Ignite the Actor's Performance." More »

Casting Insider Offers Advice on Nailing Your Audition
Your audition begins the moment you walk into the audition room, not when you say your first line. You may give the reading of your life, but if you don't look the part, it won't go further. More »

How to Avoid Overacting
The best acting is generally externally subtle and nuanced. Yet along with all the wonderful performances I see regularly, I also see many in which the actors are doing too much of everything More »

Are Actors Swayed by Other Performers?
When playing a classical or other oft-performed role, to what degree do actors find themselves influenced—intentionally or unintentionally—by the performances of others? More »

Um, Can I Say Something Here?
New work, workshops, and premieres happen all the time in the real world, and when you're cast in one, you often have the opportunity to put your personal stamp on the script. More »

I'm Not That Guy
When creating a character, are actors limited by who they are? Actors sometimes play an idea of a character instead of a specific, idiosyncratic, actual person. More »