The Vagabond Actor's Podcast (vagabondactors)

Welcome to 2021!

If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that you can't really predict the future, but you can strive for goals that are in line with your principles and values. 

As we start the new year, it's a great time to look at how to assess the last year, see what we did well and what we could do better, and set some targets for the year to come. This week we talk about how to find, set and follow up on getting done what we want to get done.

Be sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast!

One of the first questions actors who are just starting out ask is: How do I get an agent? Well, we get into it in this week's episode. We talk about how to research, use your network and contact agents as well as what to do in the initial meeting you might have with one. 

We'd love to hear our listeners' stories about how they reached out to their agents or what their plan is to find an agent. Join in the conversation on our facebook page, on instagram or on Twitter! 

Follow us, like, share the episode @vagabondactors!

This week we talk about how actors might deal with the traumatic emotional experiences that can come with the circumstances we are asked to portray. 

Our tips for this week:

Brian: Grand Designs (Netflix)

Gary: Elia Kazan: On Directing (book)

Andrea: The Tim Ferris Show (Podcast), the episode with Jacqueline Novogratz as well as the episode with George Mumford

This week acting teachers Gary Condes, Andrea Helene and Brian Caspe answer listener Cesar's question about how to get into the right emotional state for before the scene starts. It's a tricky topic and very personal, but there are some concrete ways you can go about preparing emotionally.

Let us know what you think! Like, share, subscribe and rate us on iTunes, Spotify, and Podbean! 

@vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

@garycondes, @andreahelene3 and @briancaspe

In this episode, acting teachers Brian Caspe, Andrea Helene and Gary Condes talk about that most fundamental and surprisingly controversial of concepts: Character. 

We discuss what character is, how to go about defining it and how to find and make it personal.

We welcome your thoughts on the subject! Let us know what you think about character by writing to us @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Like, share and rate our show on iTunes and Spotify!

In the last episode in the Digging into the Text series, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Gary Condes and Brian Caspe finish our in-depth look at how to break down a text and how to use that analysis to bring a deeper understanding of the beats, relationships and doings in the scene.

Listen to Part 1

Listen to Part 2

Proof scene 4 (pdf) 

We would love to hear your feedback! Let us know what you think by leaving a comment on our Facebook page or by joining the conversation on Twitter or Instagram.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or your podcast app of choice!

We're back after a break with director and screenwriter Marcus Markou. Marcus wrote, directed, produced, and self-distributed the smash hit feature film "Papadopoulos & Sons", which went on to become one of the most successful self-distributed films in the UK. 

Marcus talks about his process, his approach to filmmaking, casting and a lot more!

This week's tips:

Andrea: Any film featuring Olympia Dukakis

Brian: Here and Now, Ram Dass (podcast)

Gary: The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster (books)

Marcus: Directing Actors by Judith Weston (book), The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer (book)

Hello after a long time away!

This episode, Gary, Brian and Andrea delve into listener (and working actor) Fola Evans-Akingbola called in to ask about what happens when all the preparation you do before you work doesn't seem to be working? 

Do you fake it? Do you force the truth?

We get into it!

Let us know your listener questions!

@vagabondactors on twitter and instagram

This week, acting teachers Gary Condes, Andrea Helene and Brian Caspe bring a buffet of smaller topics that revolve around giving and taking direction and, for dessert, we go through an example of what to do if your preparation isn't doing what you had hoped it would do.

Please like, subscribe, comment and let us know what you think!

Actress Emily Jackman wrote in to ask about how the writing or directing style of a piece will affect how we go about working on a role and the choices we make. Acting teachers Gary Condes, Andrea Helene and Brian Caspe tackle the question.

Let us know what you think! Be sure to like, subscribe to the podcast and rate us!

This week we get into a philosophical question that has a direct impact on how actors approach their craft and their roles: What is Truth? More specifically, what is truth in acting or what is truthful acting? We also get into the difference between "real" truth and "artistic" truth.

Our Top Tips this week:

Brian: Schitt's Creek (TV show)

Gary: Edvard Munch (Painter)

Andrea: Ozark (TV show) & Boundary Boss (Book by Terri Cole)

This week we welcome casting director Nancy Bishop to Vagabond Actors. Nancy has spent years in casting, finding actors for blockbuster films like Mission Impossible, Casino Royal, Hellboy, and Snowpiercer as well as TV shows The Liberator, Whiskey Cavalier, and Knightfall among so many others.

Her most recent success was casting Maria Bakalova in the Borat sequel. 

Take a listen to what she has to say about working in Europe, self tapes and much more!

We love to hear your feedback! Write to us @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

This week Christian Cascone asks about what actors should think about while acting. Inner monologue? Nothing? Something else? We do our best to delve into the topic and end up in a heated agreement. We want to know what our listeners think about while they're acting. Let us know: @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram or on our Facebook page!

Our recommendations this week:

Andrea: Professional Troublemaker (book by Luvvie Ajayi Jones on Audible)

Brian: Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks movie)

Gary: The Mule (Clint Eastwoood movie)

Learning lines is often the bane of an actor's existence. It may be the least fun skills we need to have. This week, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Gary Condes and Brian Caspe talk about tricks, techniques and theory for learning getting "off book". 

Let us know how YOU get your lines down! Write to us @vagabondactors on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Be sure to share and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify and Podbean!

This week, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Brian Caspe and Gary Condes talk about dealing with student pushback. There are a few different types of pushback and we agree that most pushback is an understandable outcome of being challenged.

Be sure to like, subscribe, comment and let us know what you think!

This episode, we talk with actor and audio book narrator Wayne Mitchell. Wayne studied with Andrea at Playhouse West and talks extensively about the audio book narration business: how he got in, his experiences recording, getting work and dealing with the authors and publishers. It's a great episode for anyone interested in getting into the audio book field!

You can check out Wayne's work here: https://www.allthingswaynemitchell.com/

Our top tips this week:

Gary: There Will Be Blood (Film) Brian: Love, Death and Robots (Netflix animated series) Wayne: ZeroZeroZero (TV series, Sky) Andrea: Crazy Heart (Film) 

This episode (recorded December 22) gets back to fundamentals. We delve into the basic building block of acting technique: Actions (which are also called "Doings", "Intentions", "Tactics", etc).  We talk about how actions fit into the hierarchy of a scene, how to come up with them, how to let them go and how they lead to greater artistry in your acting.

Be sure to share, like, subscribe and leave a review!

This week we welcome Jen Seifert to the podcast. Jen runs group workshops working through Julia Cameron's transformative book on becoming your creative self: The Artist’s Way.

We talk about how Jen came to the Artist's Way and how she started helping others discover and implement the principles and exercises in the book. 

She is an amazing person and was a delight to talk to! If you're interested in opening up your creativity, please check out here workshops: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crxeativitys-artists-way-night-for-georgia-tickets-129217522087

http://www.jenniferseifert.com/

Remember to like, subscribe, comment and share!

One of an actor's most basic tools is the headshot. In this episode, we get into what a good headshot is, finding your authentic self, how to prepare for a headshot session, how to connect in the moment and how to choose the perfect shot. We also have some feedback on our previous episode on Objectives!

Remember to like, share, rate and follow us! On Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @vagabondactors

In this episode, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Gary Condes and Brian Caspe discuss the challenge of being vulnerable in your acting, but thick skinned in the real world. 

We would love to hear what you think! Let us know @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (or leave a comment here on Podbean!)

This episode we answer some listener questions. Prashansa from Bombay asks about how to make connections into a market outside of where you are living. Alex from Prague asks about how to be more free with following your instincts and Jaana from Helsinki asks about how you know when it's time to move on from a long running series.

Our tips this week:

Andrea: Fences (Film),  The Way of Integrity (Book by Martha Beck) Gary: Summer and Smoke (Play by Tennessee Williams) Brian: What Every Body Is Saying (Book by Joe Navarro)

This week we start on script analysis. We take a detailed look at David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize winning play PROOF. It's a great scene and offers a wide array of lessons on how to pull out the meaning, action and objectives characters have. This is part 1 of 3.

Download the scene here: 

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/b7us7y/Proof_Scene462krt.pdf

We welcome your comments, questions and feedback! Write to us @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook!

This week (well, technically last week) marks the first anniversary of Vagabond Actors. So Brian, Gary and Andrea talk about year we just had, what we learned doing the podcast, what our favorite part of doing it is, what surprised us and what we're looking forward to in the coming months.

This week we dig into listener Petra Bučková's three really interesting questions about how to deal with a character's backstory (especially when you don't have a lot of time in the scene), how to deal with a character being "bored" and what to do if your character needs to lie about something.

It was great getting some real live questions, so if you have questions about the process or craft, definitely get in touch with us @vagabondactors on twitter, instagram and facebook!

Brian, Andrea and Gary discuss the early days of the pandemic lockdown, whether actors even need training these days and what they've watched that has wowed them. 

Let us know if you have a question or topic you'd like us to discuss! Like and rate us!

Follow Brian on twitter: @briancaspe or instagram: #briancaspe

Follow Andrea on twitter: @andrea_helene or instagram: #andreahelene3

Follow Gary on twitter: @GaryCondes or instagram: #garycondes

In this episode, in addition to our main topic about how to build and maintain your professional network, Brian, Andrea and Gary talk about how their acting and listening is being affected in this challenging time, and what they've seen this week that's made an impression.

Keep up to date with Vagabond Actors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @vagabondactors.

Subscribe, Like and rate us on iTunes, Spotify!

#actorspodcast #actorslife #actingteacher #actingcoach #acting

When is creating a character's past too much? How much time should you spend on the character's history? We get into these questions this week. We talk about the pitfalls of creating a character's biography, how and when to do research and much more this week.

Let us know how you make your character more solid for yourself. Do you write a biography? Let us know @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram or on our Facebook page!

This week it's our pleasure to welcome actor Stacy Martin to the podcast. She talks about her career, starting as the lead in Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac, her thoughts on the craft of acting and working in multiple markets and languages!

Holiday season typically means families coming together. For actors, that can also mean facing families that don't quite know how to talk to us about our careers. In honor of that, this week we talk about the how to deal with talking with your family about what it is your job is.

There are all kinds of pressure, from them not being interested in your life's passion ("oh, that's nice"), to them being against it ("why don't you get a real job?"), and all the way to too much interest ("You know what you should do is..."). We cover all of that and more!

Be sure to let us know what your experiences are in helping your families come to appreciate your career (both good and bad). Share tips and suggestions @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

This week we continue our breakdown of scene 4 of David Auburn's wonderful play PROOF. If you haven't listened to the first part, please find it here: https://vagabondactors.podbean.com/e/digging-into-text-part-1/

You can follow along with the pdf here: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/b7us7y/Proof_Scene462krt.pdf

Let us know what you think! Share with your friends!

We're back from a long hiatus with a wonderful interview, talking with director Miguel Alexandre. Miguel directed Brian in Spy City (AMC+) and, when we recorded this in August, was just about to release Black Island on Netflix (which is really great! definitely go check it out). We talk with Miguel about directing actors, his dos and don'ts for castings, keeping a lot of irons in the fire, and much more!

Our tips this week:

Miguel: Black Island (Netflix), Another Round (Film) Andrea: The Chair (Netflix) Gary: Your Honor (TV Series) Brian: Derry Girls (Netflix)

This week we talk with showrunner Sean Crouch about his career writing stories for television, his experiences and thoughts on working with actors, auditions and much more!

Be sure to like, subscribe, share and leave us questions!

This week, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Brian Caspe and Gary Condes meet to talk about... well, what makes a good acting teacher and class and what you should avoid. Are you scared to be in class? How much should the teacher push you? Is the teacher coddling you? 

Let us know your experiences! We'd love to hear both your horror stories as well as the stories of those teachers that inspired you and took your work to the next level!

Reach out to us @vagabondactors on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!

In this episode, acting coaches Brian, Gary and Andrea dig into the classic actor's tool OBJECTIVES: What is the want/need/doing of the scene. We also talk about empathy, how to select which take to send from your selftape, the Spoon River Anthology and much more! 

We want to hear from you! Follow, share, like, rate and comment! @vagabondactors on Instagram, twitter and facebook. 

This week we're privileged to welcome actor Ed Speleers. Ed got his start at 17 as the lead in the fantasy film Eragon and has gone on to work steadily in a whole host of amazing projects. 

He talks about his process, how he deals with both success and disappointment, and tells some stories about working on the set of Downton Abbey and Lars von Trier's film The House That Jack Built among much else!

Be sure to like, subscribe, and leave comments in iTunes, and our Facebook page. You can also find us on Instagram and Twitter!

This week we delve into acting and auditioning for small roles. We spend so much time in acting class working on the big characters but, especially at the start, when so many actors get a "real" audition, they only have a few lines or a scene. What to do then?

Join in the discussion! Like the podcast, subscribe and comment on Facebook, twitter or instagram!

This week we follow up on our first episode on agents (How to get one) with a conversation on how to communicate with your representatives. Basically: don't stalk them!

Let us know about your communication with your agent! @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

This week we welcome Evelyn Edwards, a fun and funny American actor and voice teacher currently living and working in the UK, as she shares her journey as an artist through ballet, opera and acting. She talks about the differences she sees between the US and the European markets as well as between classical singers and actors. She has some great insights and some great ways of looking at the business!

You can find the Maria Callas clip we talk about at https://youtu.be/CsCh94WofLQ. And the self tape challenges are talked about on the Audrey Helps Actors Podcast

Check her out at @Evelyn_Edwards1 on Twitter or @evelynedwards1 on Instagram

Be sure to ask us your questions on acting and acting training! We're @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

Today we are overjoyed to welcome our first guests: Claire Toeman and Tracie Saban from Crocodile Casting join us to talk about commercial casting, what their process is, what actors can expect, how they get actors to give the best performance and a lot more.

Claire and Tracie also run regular commercial casting workshops on Zoom where actors get put through their paces and really get a chance to learn about the do's and don'ts of commercial casting.

If you're interested (and you should be!) you can send them an email to crocodilecasting@gmail.com

As always, like, share, rate, comment and follow us @vagabondactors! 

This week we are delighted to talk with Samantha Win. Samantha is an accomplished martial artist and stuntwoman who talks with us about the drive needed to be an olympic competitor, her transition into stunt work and becoming recognized as the wonderful actor she is.

Our tips this week:

Samantha: Dungeons and Dragons Brian: The Two Handsome Siblings (Netflix) Gary: Maniac (Netflix) Andrea: Philadelphia (1993 film), The Miracle Morning (Book by Hal Elrod)

In this episode (recorded in late April), we talk about opinions: why they're important for an actor, how to find them, and how to nourish them!

As always, be sure to like, rate, share and follow us on @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. If you have questions for us or topics you'd like us to discuss, please don't hesitate to get in touch!

In this episode we talk about what to do when your partner isn't present, or isn't very good or just plain sucks. We want to know about your experiences with bad partners and how you solved it! Let us know in the comments here or by tagging us @vagabondactors on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Remember to like, share, follow and rate us on iTunes and Spotify.

This week acting teachers Gary Condes, Andrea Helene and Brian Caspe talk about monologues. We had a great discussion and this week we're giving you half of it (the half about how to actually work on your monologue will come in another episode). For now, we discuss how which kinds of monologues you should be looking at and where to find them. We also give Andrea some feedback on her self tape and break down some things to think about in terms of technical equipment and eyeline.

Let us know what you think: we love hearing your feedback! @vagabondactors on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

This week we are thrilled to welcome filmmaker and showreel guru Daniel Johnson to the podcast. Dan has been making films and helping actors put together great showreel scenes for a number of years. He's just about to release a book on the subject called "How To Build A Great Acting Showreel". We got a chance to talk with him about the book and his thoughts and experiences of what makes a great showreel scene and how to go about writing one or taking it from material you already have. The book will be out February 1st from Amazon.

You can follow Dan on Twitter  and Instagram (we highly recommend it). He also has a fantastic blog post about the lessons learned from watching hundreds of actors showreels.

Be sure to like, subscribe, comment and share with your friends!

#showreels #acting #actorslife

This week we (finally) release the follow up to our Finding Monologues episode. We talk about some of the pitfalls in working on what seems like a solo piece and how we like to rehearse them. We also talk about getting inspiration from books and paintings.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcast app!

This week we welcome our second guest! Mark Taylor joins us from his hot tub to talk about his job as a 1st AD on some of the biggest projects out there including Game of Thrones, Carnival Row, JoJo Rabbit and many more. Not only does Mark talk about the what an AD (the whole AD department) does day to day, we talk about how he works with the cast and crew, most notably the director and what he sees as some of the most important things actors can remember going in to work in the big leagues. 

This week, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Gary Condes and Brian Caspe delve into the mindset required to deal with the difficulties of constantly being told you're not "it". We talk about where to focus your attention, tell stories from our own experiences with rejection and expectations and give tips on how you can lessen the blow of not getting the part.

Let us know your stories of rejection and how you overcame it! Write to us @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and follow us on iTunes, Spotify and Podbean!

In this episode Brian, Andrea and Gary discuss revisiting Stanislavski, Harold Clurman, Showreel Shareday and our main topic: How to handle Self-Taping: Practical tips on lighting, sound, learning your lines, what to do with your reader and much more! Let us know your favorite tips on a successful self-tape: @vagabondactors (twitter, facebook and instagram).

Like, share and rate us on iTunes and Spotify!

This week we take a look at those external skills, trainings and habits actors can develop to feed their acting and artistic self. It's a broad topic and a wide-ranging discussion so we cover a lot of stuff! 

Let us know what you do to feed your acting and artistic self! @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

Actors, aside from the leads and stars on a production, typically have very little power in dealing with unscrupulous producers. This week we talk about what to do when you find yourself in a situation on a job that you don't think is fair or when you feel like you're being taken advantage of. 

Let us know your thoughts on this? Have you had experiences like this? How did you solve it?

This week we invite actor and filmmaker Ben Steel on to talk about the state of mental health in the creative industry. Ben has spent the last 4 years working on a documentary called The Show Must Go On about how people working in the creative industry (Film/Theatre, Dance. Music) deal with mental health issues. Ben talks about the lessons that he learned about his own struggles with depression, how he worked through it and how he is now helping others with programs and raising awareness.

While the episode is not just a serious discussion, if in listening to it you are finding you might need to talk to someone, please reach out to friends or family or a health professional. Look up crisis helplines in your area or use one of the numbers below:

London/UK In an emergency: 999 NHS helpline: 111 Use the 'Shout' crisis text line - text SHOUT to 85258 https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/helplines-and-crisis-contacts

America Los Angeles: (800) 854-7771 New York: 1-888-692-9355 https://actorsfund.org/services-and-programs/mental-health

Australia Support Act wellbeing helpline 1800 959 500, free 24/7, confidential service for the arts & entertainment industry, with counsellors specifically trained in the industry specific challenges many people face - so they really understand us.

Czech Republic 222 580 697 - nonstop telefonická krizová pomoc

We're back after a 2 week break! This week we are delving into the question: "what exactly is charisma and can I become more charismatic?" As part of the discussion, we also touch on confidence and fear as well as how the acting craft, including preparation, can inform and encourage us to be more charismatic.

Let us know what your experiences are with charisma, both in yourself or others! What do you think makes someone more charismatic?

Like, follow, share and leave us a review!

@vagabondactors on social media!

This week we answer some of the listener questions that have come in. Philip asks about how to deal with cast members who are joking around between takes and Christian asks about how to strengthen and use your imagination.

We love getting these and really encourage our listeners to get in touch with their own questions, even non actor listeners who have questions about the process or the business!

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and join in the conversation!

This week, we answer some questions that came from you, our listeners!

First, we answer a question from Robert Bellisimo, who wrote in asking what to do about indecision or confusion in a character. After that, listener Christian Cascone asked about the difference between different locations or markets and how those affect our opportunities for life, training and work. 

We love getting questions from you, so please don't hesitate to ask about the challenges or niggles that are on your mind!

Please like, rate, follow, share with your friends! @vagabondactors on Instagram. Twitter and Facebook!

In this episode, we talk about control, energy and how society pushes us to tamp down our responses. 

How do you let go of your control and fully give over to the moment? Let us know! @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

Please like, rate and review us!

We're re-releasing our discussion on doing self-tapes this week. As the business starts to pick up, actors are getting more and more self tapes to do and it's more important than ever to be prepared. We'll be back with a new episode next week!

Let us know about your self-tape rituals. @vagabondactors on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to make sure you don't miss an episode!

It's a healthy part of an acting career to face and overcome challenges. This week, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Brian Caspe and Gary Condes talk about some of the challenges they have faced, either in their work as actors or in teaching actors, how they overcame them and what they learned from them.

We would love you to share your challenges with us: What did you struggle with and how did you overcome it? Drop us a line at @vagabondactors on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Or leave a comment for us on Podbean or iTunes Podcasts!

This episode, acting teachers Andrea Helene, Brian Caspe and Gary Condes (recorded December 1, 2020) cover the benefits, techniques, and practice of improvisation. We talk about the difference between Improv and working in an improvisational way. We talk about how to use improvisation to explore a given text and deepen your work. And we talk about our experiences with improvisation on set and in rehearsal as well as our favorite improvised moments from film.

Join in the conversation! @vagabondactors on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

This week we answer a question that listener Christian Bitar asked us on our Instagram account (@vagabondactors). He asked whether working on commercials hurts your reputation as a film or TV actor. We expand the question to talk about whether there is any work that actors should or shouldn't take and if there was work we took that we regretted.

Our recommendations this week:

Andrea: The 100 Foot Journey (film on Netflix), Professional Troublemaker (book by Luvvie Ajayi Jones)

Brian: The Ying-Yang Master, Double World (films on Netflix)

Gary: Big Little Lies (TV show on HBO/Netflix)