"Onward"

Time to shake things up. I am moving forward in my journey with GRAS. For the next month, I will be taking part in a commercial acting class taught by NYC casting director Barry Shapiro. It feels like I am starting at ground zero again, but as it turns out, this can be a blessing in disguise.

If you are like me, you might have thought about the different performances you see in commercials for car brands, restaurants, and beauty products compared to the acting you see in movies and tv. Sometimes they can appear eccentric, but there must be some reason behind those choices, right? (Spoiler, there is.) Just as your favorite actor makes choices for their character, an actor for a commercial would make similar choices to sell you a brand-new combo meal deal, for example. At the end of the day, it is still a performance that is trying to get a specific reaction out of its audience, so you can still pull on your traditional acting chops. Now, let's hop into class.

The first thing worth noting about this class is what Barry will uncover about you. For example, I'm a "head bobber.” This means I tend to move around (my head especially) to be more expressive when acting and talking. While this is great in day-to-day conversation or conventional acting, when it comes to a commercial performance for video auditions, this is a bad habit. Every aspect of your face is vital to these performances, so just as you work out your body at the gym, you must learn to train your face in order to have total control over it.

More movement may be acceptable for an in-person class or audition, but as this is a virtual studio and some of your auditions will probably be virtual, Barry wants each student to keep movement to a minimum. Thus, every decision must be even more deliberate. If you smile on a specific word, there must be a reason for that smile. It can be confusing to showcase how it works at first, so let me explain by breaking down a typical commercial script into three parts.

The first portion has the actor in a negative situation or speaking less optimistically.

Ex. The actor struggles to enjoy time out with friends due to a problem with their vision.

Your facial expressions during this portion should reflect that disappointment in the current situation, but it can vary in severity depending on what the casting director wants to portray.

The middle portion of the script is typically more neutral and the moment the brand is introduced.

Ex. A friend told the actor to try (insert product name).

Your expression is more neutral now as you are unsure if the product works yet. This sets up the final part of the script perfectly.

In this section, your expression will be positive with a tone that could feel over the top as you show the audience how much better everything is now that you are using the product.

Ex. Now the actor can enjoy all the weekend fun with their friends using (insert product name).

Now, I know what you may be thinking. "This all seems so formulaic. Where does the artistry and acting come in?" On the surface, I agree it can appear that way, as I sometimes felt robotic during my performances. However, Barry does an excellent job of stuffing each line meaningfully and drawing real motivation from each actor. In a traditional acting class, you could get absorbed in a monologue trying to do something so grand that you lose the audience or your scene partners in the little moments. Commercial acting is all about the little moments.

This week was a curveball for me, and it will take some time before I am comfortable with this format. If you want to get a taste of this acting style, you can try an exercise Barry showed the class. All you need to do is count to ten, but you must alternate between a big smile and a neutral face on each number. I promise your face will be sore.

Alas, that is all I have for this entry. I'm excited to see what Barry has in store for next week.