backstage magazine – The Actorvist

Well, we are two days into the new year and already everything seems to be happening all in the first two weeks of the month.

Since the beginning of the year often times means starting “fresh,” I think I need to start all over too.

Even though it’s only been about a year and a half since getting my headshots done, I think some new ones are in order. I read a really interesting article in BackStage magazine about headshots. I think what struck me is that the common links between all the different photographers was that the subject is comfortable/natural and also that the shot look just like the subject in real life. That means lay off the airbrushing. There were so many different things to think about when picking out your choice though. I had never really gave them any thought, to be perfectly honest. I usually just accepted what the photog offered or thought was best.

First there was the framing of the shot. A lot of the more physically fit men are shown at least from the chest and or shoulders and up. For those of us, not as thin, most shots are from the top of shoulders or lower neck and up. Second is what do you wear? Depends. This one sucks big time. If I wanted to show that I could play someone more white-collar, or a salesman (for those overplayed car commercials) I would wear a suit. Wanna be an urban hipster, trendy jeans a cool shirt and maybe a hat of some sort. But do you see what I mean? It’s really tricky. If you figure it out, please let me know.

Then there’s the face. What do you do with it? I’ve seen a million of them where the subject is just smiling nicely. In some of the shots in the article, there were a myriad of “faces” that were cool, but if you are trying to capture the subject honestly, why would there be this sort of mugging? It’s like they were acting for their shots. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Here’s a great link about how to pick Headshots.

When was the last time you had your headshots done? How often do you have then updated? Do you know more rules for how to select the best one? Please share, if you do. Comments make the world go ’round. Leave’em below!!

A few weeks ago, Backstage magazine did a huge article about safety issues. While it was a story in general about overall safety, a lot of the story focused on the highly anticipated production of “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.” I knew that there were issues with the show, and didn’t really expect them to have previews until, like, now. According to the safety board for AEA, there was a lot of stunts that weren’t even passing inspection at the time the article was written. So when my friend, Ben, had said tickets were selling for the previews, I just couldn’t believe it. I mean yay, for the gutsiness of showing so many people a show that has yet to get the stunts all worked out, but what if it wasn’t an injury inflicting accident that happened, but just bad workmanship or planning that made the whole thing a joke? Could the show have a $150 plus ticket price tag and still be awful? Apperantly, the answer is yes! A more important question that I don’t have an answer for is: How is this going to hurt or help Broadway if it fails? What are your thoughts on that?

This week’s Entertainment Weekly on a single page condensed 5 or 6 of the reviews that were published for “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.” I have to say that reading it was pretty, uh, harsh.

However, the show is still pulling in over a million dollars on average per week for the last few weeks. The price of the tickets which run as high as $150 or as low as $75. Let’s just say that most people will pay for the median ticket prices at $80. You only have to sell 12,500 tickets in a week at that price to make a million bucks. I think there are enough people that are interested in the spectacle to keep it in the $1,000,000 club for at least another 2 to 3 months.

I have a ton of respect for Julie Taymor, but maybe she focused too much on trying to be innovative. I think the costumes looked much better on paper than they do on the actor. The reviewers have all complained about the lack of a plot or story in the show. I really, really want to hear the music. It’s not getting better comments than the story.

I would eventually hope that everything gets figured out and turns the critics around. But I doubt that she’s planning on fixing the costumes. Still, I have my fingers crossed that I’ll have the chance to see the show. I hope that it isn’t one of those shows that closes right after the Tony Awards. Only time will tell.