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Minda Burr Writing

Writing Great Characters for the Screen & Stage: Part One

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So what comes first – the development of fascinating and compelling characters? Or creating the world (or the story) in which the characters participate? It can work both ways, but you have a big advantage if you start with some unique and complex characters to begin with.

So, let’s jump in and look at a great movie that has some really juicy characters – “Silver Linings Playbook.” The screenplay was adapted by David O’Russel from a novel written by Matthew Quick. And, it’s the first time in 32 years that the lead actors got nominated for the Oscar in all four acting categories: Bradley Cooper for best actor, Jennifer Lawrence for best actress, Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver for best supporting actor and actress. I strongly believe it’s because of the “characters” they got to embody and LIVE in, as well as interact with each other. Yes, all brilliant performances but it was delivered by a writer and director who created such complex, highly provocative, multi-layered, unpredictable, RAW, compelling and flawed, but oh-so-human characters to begin with.

There is NO story without these characters to propel it! If your characters are well defined enough they will help you inform and shape your story. They will start telling you how they want to behave, how they want to EXPRESS themselves and how they want to deal with challenges in the way of achieving what they want. Because every good character has a big “want”, something they want to accomplish, then they have to deal with all the obstacles and challenges in the way of them achieving that. So let’s take a look at these characters for a moment to see where all this “magic” stemmed from.

Let’s see, how complex can we make Bradley Cooper’s character Pat… hmm?? Let’s not just make him complicated – let’s make him bi-polar as well as obsessive compulsive! He has had to deal with emotional ups and downs his entire life, with WHITE KNUCKLE control of his anger, until he finds his wife in the shower with another man. BOOM, all his pent up rage explodes in psychotic fury and he almost kills his wife’s lover. That one outburst of fury destroys every aspect of his life; he loses his teaching job, he loses his home and he loses his wife. And that is all established at the beginning of the movie as he is getting discharged from a psychiatric ward!

So, naturally, he becomes obsessed with getting his emotions under control, getting healthy physically and emotionally, to focus on the “positive” and find the silver linings, so that he can get his life in order, so that he can get his wife NIKKI back. That becomes his driving force – his big “want”– Nikki, Nikki, Nikki. All that while dealing with the fact that he is bi-polar and not taking his meds. That character is just RIPE for one interesting challenge after another.

Since he is down and out, where else can he go to start his life all over? Into his parents house! So to add as much discomfort and conflict as possible, let’s make sure the father (Robert DeNiro’s character) has his own unique quirks and obsessions that keep him from being emotionally available to his complex son growing up. He’s obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles and is a compulsive bookmaker who is no longer allowed in the stadium because he got banned after engaging in too many rage-filled fights at the football games. Like father, like son. Great set up. It’s also quite profound to see the walls between them gradually collapse as they bond in other ways, besides watching Eagles games together.

While Pat is obsessed with getting Nikki back – Life is making other plans… In walks Jennifer Lawrence’s character Tiffany, who has also dealt with emotional issues her entire life, along with the medications that go with them. She has no censor, says exactly what’s on her mind at ALL times, has even more rage and unpredictable behavior than Pat does, which of course scares him as much as it intrigues him. He is equally drawn and repelled at the same time, which always makes for a great love story, doesn’t it? If it was too easy, it wouldn’t be as fascinating to watch would it?

Many of the best writers draw from their own guts and real life. They not only know how to express their deepest feelings and desires, but they also know how to shine the light on their darkest thoughts and fears, as well as their own inadequacies and very human FLAWS. And Matthew Quick, who wrote “Silver Linings Playbook”, is no exception.

I am going to share a little excerpt from an interview with Mathew:

AND I QUOTE: “I always say that artists live on the fringe. I was a very good high school English teacher and I was a very good counselor of teenagers. But inside I was extremely depressed, partly because I wasn’t doing the one thing I wanted to do, which was to write. The other part was that there were a lot of weird quirky things going on inside of me that I didn’t let show. But when I started to write, I started to explore my psyche and all the things that make me Matthew Quick. And part of that was the fact that I do deal with depression. I do have anxiety issues. I can get overwhelmed with emotions. I had always been embarrassed by those traits but it’s also what fueled my writing. And the more that I came to understand that, most of my heroes who are novelists like Hemingway or Kurt Vonnegut, these are people who know the wild ups and downs. These are quirky people. These are people who are not mainstream. That was a revelation to me.”

He also lived for a spell with his parents and his father was obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and in “Silver Linings Playbook” he used all that as the foundation of his story and then added all these extra elements to the characters and the story line in a fictitious way to make the characters even more complex and compelling and ripe for conflict. In my writing workshops, we are unearthing the most fantastic, RAW and deeply human and sometimes dark stuff that comes from a writer’s soul. We are mining for personal Gold and I encourage you to do the same thing.

You need to answer some important questions when creating a character:

  1. Who are they? What is their back-story? Meaning, what is their history that has helped define their personality and shaped the world they live in?
  2. What quirks or inadequacies do they have that make them flawed and very human?
  3. What talents, expertise or confidence do they have that gives them courage to overcome obstacles?
  4. What is their relationship with the other characters and the challenges that they have to deal with in order to have a healthy or loving relationship with them?
  5. What is their big “want” or desire they have to achieve in the course of the story?
  6. What are the main obstacles in the way of achieving it? This is where you want your IMAGINATION TO FLY.
  7. What are some unique and UN-predictable ways in which they can accomplish their goal based on the attitudes, beliefs and behavior of that character??

This time we are focused on drama, next time in Part two of “Writing great characters” we’ll focus on comedy. But comedy needs complex characters and their conflicts as well.

If you haven’t yet, I also encourage you to watch my first two MTT videos about “How to Tap Into your own Personal Creative Genius” and “How to Cultivate Great Story Ideas”. They will also help you create great Characters for whatever you’re writing.

If you want to know more about my Writing Mastermind groups or private coaching, the info is down below… So until next time, wishing you all the best and have a beautiful day.

Minda Burr
www.mbwritingworkshop.com
310-923-2726

Casting Insider Tips, Part 2 - The Audition Room

Insider Casting Tips to do Your Best Auditions – Part 2

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The Audition Room

Inside the Audition Room is where all your training as an actor and your preparation come together so that you can do your best and hopefully book the job – OR NOT.

What the heck happens in there that often inhibits us from doing our best? The following audition pointers were formulated from personal audition experience, teaching thousands of students and observing actors who have auditioned at my casting sessions. I truly believe these tips will serve your auditions for commercials as well as TV and film:

  • * As you walk into the audition, don’t think about anything you worked on. Let it all go. Be present to whatever happens.
  • * Be respectful, positive and professional without losing your personality.
  • • Give full attention to the person who is directing you: Don’t be distracted by anyone or anything.
  • • When you are being given direction, don’t be figuring out how to do what they are saying. Just listen otherwise, you might miss information.
  • • If clarification is needed, ask questions. Questions are only irritating when they are unnecessary. Their answers will help you to do a better audition for them.
  • • If they talk to you or ask questions, don’t second-guess what they want to hear. Just talk to them as opposed to trying to impress.
  • • If the session director or CD is rude, short-tempered, rushed or seems ambivalent, do not take it personally. Remember, when “the powers that be” watch your video audition, they will only see you, not the irritating session director.
  • • Don’t allow yourself to be rushed. Before you start your audition, “get centered.”
  • * Breathe, take one or two seconds before beginning or find your own way to “get centered”.
  • • Do not speed through your audition. On the other hand, don’t speak really slowly or take long pauses between the lines.
  • • Stay focused and don’t allow unexpected incidents to upset you and or put you “in your head.” No matter what happens, go with it and adjust quickly.
  • • Motivate toward camera. In on-camera improvised and scripted scene auditions, when possible, find a way to “motivate out” your face, actions and/or dialogue at least fifty percent of the time to maximize your facial exposure.
  • • Look into camera when auditioning with a reader and told to do the dialogue looking into the camera, don’t look back and forth between the two.
  • • During the read, trust and commit to your instincts. Unless given a specific direction, don’t consciously perform anything you rehearsed or that you have learned. Don’t interrupt your instinctive interpretation trying to perform rehearsed choice. Allow for your read to flow – you will most likely organically do most of what you rehearsed.
  • • Have fun. Getting auditions is what you have trained and worked for – now enjoy the experience.
  • • When you feel your solo audition was lacking or if you have another interpretation that you would like to do, politely request, “If you have time, I would like to do it again” or “do another interpretation.” If they refuse, say “thank you (mean it) and leave. They may have loved what you did and don’t need or have time for a second version.
  • • Don’t ask “needy” questions, e.g., “When are the callbacks or bookings? Should I wear this outfit if I get a callback? Should I keep the script?” Needy inquiries make actors look insecure.
  • •Don’t be overly grateful or acknowledging. A simple “thank you” or “it was a pleasure reading for you” is sufficient. Much more might make you look desperate.
  • • Unless they insist you leave the audition material, take it. Build a library of sides, copy and scripts that you can use for practice.
  • • Let it go. When you finish the audition, those in charge will say “great” or “thank you,” which is your signal to leave. Just do your best, and when you leave, let it go.

Who is there in THAT audition room to help direct actors? Your guide, the person who can help you do your best audition is the Session Director. Watch my video featuring two top session directors and you will learn their insider “do’s” and “don’ts”.

Dancer Meghan Sanett

Advice & Career Tips from Dancer and Social Media Personality Meghan Sanett

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Meghan Sanett – Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher & Social Media Personality – shares some insight on taking classes, coming to LA, getting and working with an agent and more!

What You Need to Know Before You Get Your Headshots Taken

What You Need to Know Before Getting Your Headshots

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Insights into the process of headshots, and ways to prepare.

Here are some examples of my take, answering the following questions:

  1. What is a headshot (?), i.e., it’s the most important calling card you have.
  2. Do I need hair and makeup (?), i.e., you need to be able to reproduce the looks you chose, no matter how you get there.
  3. What should I wear (?), i.e., colors that compliment your eyes, skin and hair coloring.
  4. What do I need to do (?), i.e., Do your homework and speak to your representation. Be clear on what it is they need to market you and the looks you want to achieve.
  5. What will I need to get started (?), i.e., one to two looks will do if you’re new to show business otherwise consult with your agent or manager.
  6. What is a look (?), i.e., I like to say it’s a character change that could be enhanced by a wardrobe, makeup, hair or location change.
  7. Should I meet with the photographer? That’s up to you and the photographer.
  8. What’s the process (?), i.e., prepare, shoot, review, post session online, burn a DVD.
Suzanne Lyons Careers

Career: Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!

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by: Suzanne Lyons

Is life going to get in the way of your career commitments from time to time? Sure. Are you going to be thrown the odd curve? Of course. Is it going to throw you off course and affect your focus? Absolutely. The question is, for how long. I have been a career coach for over 25 years and have seen people get stopped and stuck for days, weeks, months, even years. How can we turn that into minutes and seconds?! How can you do it? Keep your eyes on the prize! When an ‘incident’ or ‘event’ happens that throws us off track, we react to our interpretation of the ‘incident’ and not the ‘incident’ itself. It’s fact versus fiction. We stay stuck in what we think it means.

Okay, so that director was mean to you during your audition or that executive hasn’t returned your call. You can spend weeks making it mean something or you can separate fact from fiction and move on. It’s that simple! I find one way that helps me get back on track more quickly is my Vision Board. In his book “The Success Principles,” Jack Canfield says that “if you have trouble seeing your goals, use pictures, images, and symbols you collect to keep your conscious and subconscious mind focused on your goals.”

We all want to dream big and create a life of abundance and magic. And why not? As Marianne Williamson said “Your playing small does not serve the World.” So create a Vision Board displaying all the images that represent your purpose, vision and goals. It is so much fun to do. Nothing will get you back on track more quickly than this great exercise. It will help you “keep your eyes on the prize.” Don’t forget to look at it every day!

Acting – The Power and Magic of Listening

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Kimberly Jentzen presents a new and dynamic series: The Power and Magic of Listening, Part One. The following is an excerpt from her newly released book, Acting with Impact: Power Tools to Ignite the Actor’s Performance.

POWER TOOL: LISTENING

LISTENING IS WHERE THE MAGIC LIVES

Listening is opening up and hearing with not only your ears, but with each of your senses. To really hear the rain or take that moment to really taste the ice cream, or allow your eyes to take in the light through the trees in the early morning; these are all forms of listening.

Listening is being aware in the moment, like when a lover listens to your body and follows its message, or when a friend picks up on your indirect cues to leave the party and together you go. Listening is not only about hearing words, but being engaged with the whole communication of another and hearing with sensory intuition.

A skilled actor understands how to listen for more than just the words, sounds and tonality, but also with an emptiness inside that needs to be filled by the other character. When you listen to others, what do you really listen for? And what is your character listening for?

Listening is the first real obligation required to carry out a believable truthfulness in the moment. It creates an honest connection between scene partners. The actor has to surrender the planned response to allow a true response that can only come when really listening. Nothing can replace it.

Early in my acting career, I struggled with listening. I was playing the lead role in a play and I couldn’t find my character. My friend told me to try to get a reaction from the other actor, some physical response, be it a smile, a laugh or even a raised eyebrow—just play the reality of attempting to get an organic, real moment from my partner on stage. This concept completely improved my work. I began to listen for a response instead of just my cues. I realized that predetermining how to say my lines gave a performance that pre-judged the experience of the moment. My lines now had a goal: to generate a response from my fellow partner. This was a major breakthrough, and I also had more fun in the process.

To listen is to put your attention on the other actor and what is being said both verbally and non-verbally. You watch, you hear, you wait; you are captivated in an active process. You can even listen to the silence of someone. Listening is taking in emotional reactions, body language, facial expressions and energy.

We live in the moment, uncertain of what
the next moment will bring.

 

You can’t “act” listening

Never pretend to listen. Sometimes actors will move their head up and down, nodding or shaking their head, acting as if they are listening. How can you know whether you can agree or disagree until the other actor has finished their thought? You have to wait and really hear the actual thing that will generate your response.

The only way to listen is to honestly engage in the activity of listening.

When you really listen, your line deliveries gain nuances and become organic. Once this occurs, everything about the work can fall into place. When you really listen, you concern yourself with receiving the other actor—responding not in the way you previously planned, but with what naturally comes forth. It is genuinely accepting and connecting to what is being given.

Your listening dictates the delivery of your lines.

 

The connection is above the communication

Have you ever engaged in a conversation in such a way that you forget what you were going to say next? The organic response that comes from that conversation is a true connection. What you were going to say isn’t as important as the experience with the person with whom you are conversing.

Sometimes actors make the written words more important than listening to what lives beneath them. The truth of life is that the communication never rises above the connection.

Another life truth is how we listen. We respond differently in every relationship. Wouldn’t you prefer to hear bad news from one person rather than from another? We have special bonds with a select few. All of that is taken into consideration as part of the real communication.

Let’s say you are playing a small role as a messenger. The film takes place during 1944 and you must tell a Midwestern woman her husband was killed by the Germans in France. Your appearance in the film might be minimal, but the connection to the information will have a lasting effect on the life of this woman. And how you take her in, how you study her eyes as you tell her the news is crucial to the delivery of the lines.

**Acting with Impact is available at Samuel French Bookstore, Hollywood and kimberlyjentzen.com

Writing Great Characters for the Stage and Screen: Part 2 – COMEDY

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If you recall, in the last video, we talked about how your main characters need to have a strong “want” and then they are forced to deal with all of the obstacles in the way of achieving their goal. We also talked about how every compelling character has distinct personality traits – a combination of strengths, weaknesses and quirks that are often in conflict with other characters.

This is also true of comedy – only more exaggerated — especially the “conflict” part of it. Basically, there are three arenas of conflict that can add more humor to your story.

  • The first is the character’s conflict with his circumstances or the world of the story.
  • The second is his conflict with the other characters.
  • And the third is the character’s conflict with himself.

One movie that illustrates all three arenas superbly is “THE HANGOVER” (the first one)… Not only was it brilliantly written and uniquely structured by John Lucas and Scott Moore, but the characters were all so well defined with strengths, weakness and quirks, that combined with the outrageous circumstances they had to deal with, we are taken on one FUNNY ride!

So, let’s break down the characters:

Doug (the groom) played by Justin Bartha is the only “normal” guy in the bunch, surrounded by his pals who embody varying degrees of dysfunction. So of course, Doug is the one who gets lost so the more flawed characters can band together in their big “want” to FIND him before the wedding.

The most extreme character is Alan…Doug’s lovable loser future brother-in-law (brilliantly played by Zach Galifianakis). Alan is the oddball “fish out of water” character, amongst these other “cooler” guys, so half the comedy is their reactions to things Alan says and does… All Alan wants is to BELONG – “to love and be loved”. That’s why he puts what he thinks is Ecstasy into their drinks for the toast on the roof that fateful night so they can all bond. And it turns out to be ruffies instead, which creates major havoc that it takes the entire movie to resolve.

Then we have the cool, handsome, bad boy teacher Phil, embodied to perfection by Bradley Cooper – who is of course the total opposite of Alan. Big tip: Pairing opposites is always a terrific opportunity for comedic tension. One of the greatest examples was the pairing of the obsessive compulsive neat freak Felix, with the total slob Oscar as roommates in “The Odd Couple”.

Then there is Stu, the dutiful dentist, played superbly by Ed Helms… Stu has NO self esteem left after living with his ball-busting bitch of a girlfriend Melissa for three years. She is one of the all time great movie nemesis – Another tip: there always needs to be at least one great nemesis in comedy..

THE HANGOVER has several. The very first words that come out of Melissa’s mouth while he’s packing for Vegas is, “Don’t forget your Rogaine. And don’t forget to USE it.” Stu has to call her five times a day and he is forced to tell one lie on top of another so that she won’t know they’re in Vegas.

So in their ruffie induced night of debauchery, when Stu ends up marrying a stripper/hooker (Heather Graham) at a Vegas wedding Chapel, he is more afraid of Melissa killing him than the fact that he pulled out his own tooth to prove he’s a good dentist. Another great tip: Doing things that are totally out of character and that we don’t expect is also a great comedy booster..

One of my favorite characters is Syd, Doug’s future father-in-law played by Jeffry Tambor. As he hands Doug the keys to his prized Mercedes for the trip, he says with a wink, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas – except Herpes – that shit comes home with you.” Another tip: Humor can be enhanced by taking old phrases or euphemisms, or even societal standards and adding an “odd or off color twist” to it.

It was so brilliant how they cut from their toast on the roof before their night on the town – to the next morning, and they all have horrible hangovers, with their $4,000 suite in shambles. Stu’s front tooth is missing, there is a huge tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, Doug’s mattress is missing, along with Doug and they can’t remember how any of this happened.

So we have the pleasure of watching them follow one clue after another, which creates one OBSTACLE after another for them to overcome — which also introduces one more outrageous character or nemesis to interact with.

Another tip: A humorous character is just a normal character that expresses his personality or quirks in an exaggerated way.

In THE HANGOVER, we meet the sleazy but enthusiastic minister at the wedding chapel, the masochistic policeman who has kids on a field trip at the police station torture each guy by tazor gun for stealing his police car. We have the sexy stripper Stu marries and mother of the mystery baby, (played with enormous likeability by Heather Graham). Then there’s Mike Tyson who will beat the crap out of them if they don’t bring his Tiger back.

Just watching them get the tiger back is hilarious. Another tip: Creating predicaments that look impossible to solve and then coming up with some hair-brain solution that does or doesn’t work is funny to watch.

So in this case, they drug the tiger with 5 ruffies in a steak, cover him with a bed sheet and take him down on a baggage trolley. Of course the tiger wakes up in the car on the way back to Mike and they almost all get mauled. So they have to push the car with the tiger inside eating the seats!

Always look for ways to make an embarrassing scene more cringe-worthy, unique or bizarre. There are several in the movie. One is where we have the effeminate but psychotic Mr. Chow… He got locked in the trunk of the Mercedes naked, then leaps out and beats them all with a tire iron with nothing on but his socks. Then runs away bare-assed, only to hunt then down later to get his $80,000 back that they stole – “Or you don’t get Doug back”. This gives loser Alan a chance to become the HERO when he makes over $80,000 counting cards in blackjack.

Here lies another comedic TWIST – They think they’re getting their friend Doug back with the ransom and it turns out to be the ruffie drug dealer Doug. Bizarre twists are always good for comedy.

Ultimately, they all have to work together even harder to solve the mystery, which bonds them and forces them to grow as human beings. Stu grows some balls and breaks up with Melissa at the wedding, “You’re just a bad person.” And the audience cheers! Marriage-phobe Phil is thrilled to see his wife and daughter. And Alan gets to sing a happy song to his new pals, “You’re the three best friends that anyone could have, You’re the three best friends that anyone could have.” … And we believe it!

Because…Comedies always have a happy ending!

For more info about Writing Mastermind Groups or Private Coaching:
CALL: 310-923-2726 – or go to www.mbwritingworkshop.com