I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Testa's workshop. He gave us sides to quickly review and then we did scenes for the class and we had our peers critique us, which was actually quite helpful. It's interesting to see what other people see and I was encouraged by how much I disagreed with my classmates. I think that is a testament to how truly subjective casting can be. You have to have the right people in your corner.
I was proud of myself because I was able to quickly connect with a very deep piece, to the point of shaking, tearing and intense emotion, but my scene was flattened by my partner who played a mood instead of achieving an objective #suckyactingpartners. Sorry if thats too honest... I will admit that the back and forth between two actresses in another scene made both of them look better, which says something; even though I know in this town you have to act with a monotone reader on the other end and sell it.
Because of my background in theatre, I have been afraid to overact in many los angeles film auditions. The fact that everyone thinks my theatre education destroyed me for film has been made more than obvious to me. However, when I did my scene for Michael, he said I could go even further and make it even deeper. My big takeaway is that he said I am too much in my head. "Christina, you're a very technical actor. I see that you are smart and making the reading dynamic, but you are too much in your head and its sabotaging" he commented as he intently leaned in his chair and focused on me. I guess after a career in casting you can sometimes break down an actor in two minutes. I do have the fault of watching myself as I perform. Maybe I can lessen this if I can't make it go away. Overall, it was quite productive. I like Michael because he told other actors in the room to fight against their type cast when all I've heard for so long is to make sure your brand is specific to one role. I guess that was refreshing and inspiring to my inner artist. It was a fun afternoon.
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