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Actorsquare, San Antonio, TX (2026)

04/01/2024

Getting these kind of reviews can not be kept in the past! Thank you for reaffirming the quality of our service, and for keeping us going in offering the best actor website to help you succeed in this exciting acting industry!

03/11/2024

Let’s consider that you spent hours rehearsing your lines for the audition. Without intending on it, you have fallen into the character that you are auditioning for and this project, this gig, this film, has taken on a life of its own — so far as the character is living inside you now. On the way to the audition, you took the train dreaming of your life after you land the role and make the film. You can’t help but imagining it.

Finally you enter the studio. The serious woman with glasses hanging low on her nose calls you in. She hardly looks up at you, and then suddenly you hear the words:

“OK, you can begin.”

Your heart is thumping in your chest. It does not matter how many times you practiced the lines in the mirror. It does not matter either the feelings that were surging through you, keeping you up the night before the audition. The casting director, who is not at all as you imagined, has commanded you to begin — and she did it with a tone in her voice that did not exist in your bedroom, nor your bathroom when rehearsing . . . The tone, so sensitive you are, threw you into a tailspin and you begin your audition in a completely different style than rehearsed. Instead of pleading to your dad (the character who will play your dad), your voice has lost control and you are now crying out, your voice unrestrained. You even feel your Adam’s apple rattling at the back of your throat, and then realize how dry your lips, no your mouth, actually your whole body feels.

Still, you continue the lines for the woman and do your best. Your performance, you cannot even evaluate frankly because your mind left your entire body during the audition and now you only hear the words from the casting director when she says, “Thank you.”

Read more! Link in our bio!

12/20/2023

Today we want to shout out the talented , Swedish actress and performer currently based in New York. Amanda started singing when she was young and it became a big part of her life. Through music she eventually found her way to acting and has been pursuing her passions ever since.

Amanda is trained in musical theater at in her hometown of Stockholm. She completed a two year conservatory acting program at the theater in NYC, as well as a film and television intensive at the in LA.

This summer, Amanda produced and directed her first set in New York after winning a scholarship from . She also had the opportunity to play Maria in Twelfth Night at in Manhattan. Some of her other recent roles include Ronia in Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter at , Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lenny in Crimes of the Heart and Hindl in God of Vengeance at studio, Firuzeh in Esther The Musical at new york, Girl G in Kiss That Frog at , and Molly in the short film A New York Moment, directed by .
Amanda is passionate about working creatively and getting to discover new parts of herself from her roles. She is ready for new assignments in the future both in Sweden and internationally! Stay in the loop with Amanda at Amandaerixon.com

12/19/2023

Following “A Clockwork Orange in 1971,” in Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon-esque film “Barry Lyndon,” (1975) he adapted a historical novel by William Makepeace Thackeray called “The Luck of Barry Lyndon” — a fascinating drama about society and karma.
In the film, Kubrick depicted the adventures of Barry Lyndon — a trickster and charlatan who, coming from his humble farm in Ireland, climbs into the battlefields of the Seven Years’ War. He schemes through the high-brow parlors of high society. And he makes it through practically unscathed.
Working together with cinematographer John Alcott, Kubrick held a firm rule when making the film: to use zero electricity in the shooting of the film! Due to this enormous limitation, Kubrick was forced to experiment with natural light and rendering in the pre-electric world for which he depicted. This produced incredible elements of depth in each shot. With effects not so different than paintings achieved in the 18th century by Thomas Gainsborough.

Another element that sets “Barry Lyndon” apart from other films is Kubrick’s use of Baroque glamor — a sense of romanticism diffusing the highlights of the image. The choice of using primarily red and blues for Russian and British military uniforms, against the golden backdrop of hay pastures, produced incredible background tones in many of the scenes that leave you gazing into some of the most picturesque scenes in the history of cinema today.
For nocturnal shots, Stanley Kubrick developed his own lenses in order to capture exposed scenes using only a few candles. By doing this, Kubrick influenced contemporary filmmakers and photographers in the use of low light technology.
In terms of shots and technique, Kubrick used a mix of tracking shots, handheld documentary style and the frequent use of zoom lenses to zero in on particular details within the scene or zoom out for another great effect of setting the scene. For music, Kubrick embraced the use of classical arrangements over any original score. Thus he enlisted Leonard Rosenman to create new arrangements of Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, and Schubert, all of which accompany the heavy weight of history that pervades the film.

12/06/2023

Let’s talk about your type. And no . . . I don’t mean, who you had a crush on when you were seventeen. I mean, your actor “type,”or the way others perceive you on screen. Having awareness of your type is not as easy it as seems. But when you get enough feedback and begin to understand your ‘type,’ your career will gain focus and strength. That’s because knowing yourself allows you to position correctly for the roles you submit for while saving time not submitting for roles that are completely outside of your range.
Typing is most important in commercials. In a twenty second ad, there is little time to develop trust and an even shorter time for the audience to identify with the character. Think of a doctor giving medical advice; or a financial analyst talking about planning for retirement. Or even a young student, sharing a new tech gadget. Each actor expresses a product or service both directly and indirectly, while the ‘type’ demonstrates the brand that is oftentimes inseparable from the prospective customers themselves. As an exercise, think about how your type might influence the kind of commercial work you might be cast for? Generally, the kind of commercial or the product itself might shine even more light on the kinds of roles for TV and film that might be equally appropriate for you.
Theater is the least important in terms of type. This might seem obvious, but different from the screen, which highlights the nuances of an actor’s performance, the stage requires large movements and even larger gestures. This removes the emphasis on the character’s type, putting more focus on the stage, its props, and the movement of performers and the overall story as it plays out.
In film, type is critical with the lead role. Stories circle around one protagonist. This lead character is the center of the film universe, which gets unraveled through the development of how the dueling forces of want versus need play out for 90-200 minutes. If a character is of a certain type, almost always that type will define the genre of the film. Don’t trust me? Consider any lead actor in a film. Ask yourself if the story matches the character’s essence. And if you find one, let us know! We will give you a secret prize on your website.
Don’t know your type? Study films and ask yourself what roles you can and cannot see yourself playing. Do some soul searching. Be honest with yourself as you dig deep on who you are. Ask others how they perceive you. The better you know yourself, the more cast-able you will be because you will know which roles are aligned with yourself. And . . .guess what, seasoned casting directors are experts at drawing the role and the actor together. That is their entire job. At bottom, ask yourself what is your type! And if you realize it is not what you thought, don’t fret!

12/03/2023

Personal branding allows you to determine exactly how you want to be perceived online. Actors that have a consistent personal “brand identity” on their social profiles are often seen as more professional and castable, in turn earning them more career opportunities.

An actor website is an essential step in controlling your brand identity. You have full reign on what you want others to see and how it represents you. Every detail of your website contributes to your brand by evoking certain feelings through font choices, color schemes, layouts, looks and more. We consider all of these elements while designing your website to match your unique actor personality.

How Do I Define My “Brand Identity”?

In order to determine what your “branding” should look like, it is important to self-reflect, recognize your strengths, and do research to understand the best way to market yourself in the acting industry. It might be easier said than done to do this kind of soul searching, so here are a few tips to help you get started!

11/30/2023

To use Stella Adler’s words: “It’s not the lines, it’s the life.” That’s because our lives are a drama in themselves. Our lives involve a mixture of what we want (our objectives), why our hearts ache for it (emotional justification), and the epic struggle which ensues on how we go about getting it (intention in the form of action). All of this, of course, involves pesky obstacles that sneak up when we’re not prepared. Resulting in suspense and drama, two vital ingredients in keeping viewers glued to their seats, munching on Mike and Ikes and Sour Patch Kids and my dentist’s all-time-fave, the unbeatable Milk Duds.

Still, to carry out the art reflects life idea a bit more — in life we actively take action to overcome obstacles and achieve our objectives. Call these acts active intentions — the way we go about getting what we want. The key word being active, since every time a character achieves their objective, a new one emerges around the corner further developing story with oftentimes larger, more serious conflicts in its wake.

Learning the foundations of story and how they apply to a script is important in understanding the characters you play and their relation to the larger story at hand. So next time you are reviewing a script, break down the text and define what is the given circumstances, objectives, obstacles, and intentions of your character? By understanding these clearly, and before you begin rehearsing lines, you will come to know your character’s intention against the character’s emotional need. You will understand the deeper picture. And right away you will have a more developed sense of story that will inevitably appear in your performance.

11/29/2023

We are proud to feature Olivia Banc as part of the Upandupspace Actor Community. Olivia is an actress and model based in NYC. To highlight her most recent work, Olivia performed a theatrical live-cooking experience utilizing cooking and food to explore identity, heritage, and notions of home and belonging. Chutzpah, by Olivia Banc, explores the idea of a home as more than just a home. Her two live shows, including the premier of Chutzpah, were sold out at Grosvenor Theatre at Manchester Metropolitan Universityin the UK!

Olivia is a highly versatile performer with extensive experience. She has received formal training in the performing arts at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre’s six-week acting intensive, The British American Drama Academy Midsummer in Oxford Program, and the University of Rochester "Theater in England” study abroad intensive program. Olivia has also completed classes such as Acting for Film and Television, Monologue Technique, and Shakespeare Monologue Workshop through the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, as well as a workshop in motion capture acting technique.

Visit her website at www.Oliviabanc.com

11/28/2023

This week we listened to two CSA casting directors, Erika Arvold and Anne Chapman, do a deep dive on self-tapes. They gave their expert opinions on both the technical and performative aspects. Below are a few valuable tips we gathered that should be considered when filming your next self-tape:

1. Remove distractions from the frame.
Make sure your bulldog is not sneezing behind you, and lose the long golden earrings that are swinging around while you perform. Less is more. And don’t take the risk, make sure your self-tape space is private and without distractions that might take away from an otherwise A+ submission.

2. Keep the camera orientation horizontal, not vertical.

3. Choose a neutral background.
It might be tempting, but trust us. Casting directors do not want to see the Jim Morisson poster you showed off to your friend’s for kudos points in high school when you had them over to drink your mom’s brandy on Wednesdays when you were 17. Nor do they enjoy spotting your unkempt duvet, even if the green color does match well against the new curtains you got on Black Friday for 40% off. This disrupts the casting director’s attention on your performance. And you don’t want that. The only thing they should see is you and only you.

4. Have good lighting that illuminates your face.
You don’t want to cut your face in half with a shadow.

5. Record in a close-up frame from the chest up to right above the head, at eye-level.

6. Have a short and sweet slate that you use with all your self-tapes. But keep it updated to reflect how you appear at the time. If you got a recent haircut, it’s time to make a new slate. Don’t give them a reason to not call you back.

Remember, you don’t have to be perfect. Depending on the role, casting directors will give you a call back if they see your potential. So do your best. Leave the rest to chance. Remember, it’s a numbers game! The more you submit, the more call-backs you will get. Go get 'em!

11/22/2023

Wake up every Saturday morning to our weekly acting newsletter landing in your inbox. Make a pot of coffee. Sit at your desk. Take 5 minutes each week and prioritize your acting career with us!

In the Upandupspace newsletter learn from expert acting coaches to seasoned casting directors — pros of the industry that know what actors need to do to increase number of call-backs to submission ratios and be the actor who lands the role! Follow our how-to sections to make sure you are optimizing your day to day self-tape auditions/casting submissions. And lastly, don’t miss our new Upandupcasting section where we share our casting call picks of the week we believe must not be overlooked.

Sometimes a pat on the back can be enough to keep trudging forward. So…let us nudge you, ever so softly, to ensure you are keeping sharp and at your best. Because we are always behind you, we are always here. And we are always looking on, forward and onward, to see you in the your next big role!

-Michael Karpienski, Co-Founder

11/21/2023

Today we are pleased to introduce Max Knudson! Max is originally from McCall, Idaho, and was only 17 years old when he started traveling to the city of Boise to get training in stand-up comedy. When he finally graduated high school, he moved to Boise permanently to pursue his passion in the performing arts.

Max has received training at Boise Playhouse Improv Playground, and has also trained with Catrine McGregor, member of Casting Society. He has been cast in many local musicals, plays, and improv shows, as well as dozens of film projects and commercials. In some of his recent work, he played the bored teenager in a commercial for Giveback2schools, directed by Kody Newton, and the interviewee in a commercial for Smart Deck Solutions, directed by Tyler Nimmons and Gavin Boyd.

Max has many special talents, including free skiing, filming with gimbals and glidecams, parkour/flips. He plays the clarinet, can handle fi****ms safely, and even ride a unicycle!

11/20/2023

As the saying goes, put yourself out there and let go — let it all go into the universe. Stop thinking about it. Take a deep breath. Make a tea. Now, keep your head up and put your game face back on. Rather than sitting around, hitting (ctr+r) (ctr+r) twenty times a minute on your keyboard as the email window refreshes to an anti-climactic . . .Dunkin Donuts promotion:

Memorization:
Actors need to learn lines fast! Some use mnemonic devices. Some review the script by reading or writing it over and over again. Research and practice different memorization techniques to see which one works best for you. Remember, memory is a muscle that improves with exercise. “Use it or lose it!” as your grandma says.

Script Analysis:
Konstantin Stanislavsky’s script analysis technique is the most revered and standardized in the industry. Every actor should practice his technique and principles. Other techniques on studying scripts were formed by Sanford Meisner and Stella Adler's, whose approaches are more of an extension of Stanislavsky’s method to help you dig even further into the script and the characters, pushing you to question behavior and motive to create 'impressions' that serve as guides. No matter the method, the key is to carefully explore and unpack what the writer wrote and why it was written that way. There is usually a good reason.

Listening Comprehension:
Active listening means paying careful attention to with whom you are engaging with by offering thoughtful questions and feedback. You can improve your listening skills by practicing mindfulness in everyday conversations with family, friends, and colleagues. Stay present. Maintain good eye contact as you listen closely. You might find you notice things you never realized from those around you. You may like your friends more. You may like them less . . . The only promise is that you will be more in the moment, and with a presence that will keep you grounded where you are (an important skill to maintain your character on set).

Digital Presence:
In between gigs is a great time to take stock of your online presence. If you have new reels and self-tapes, now is the time to add them to your actor website. Be sure to add the latest credit or two from projects to your resume as well. And as a rule, if it’s been around 6 months since your last headshot session it’s probably time to book another one. Keeping your actor website up to date is a powerful tool when submitting for more gigs. And if you ever need help getting your latest content onto your site, we are always here to help! Just email [email protected] - we got ya covered!

Voice Control:
Maintaining clear enunciation when speaking might seem obvious, but its importance can never be overstated. Taking out your favorite novel and reading it aloud at home is a good way to keep your voice and tongue in check. But don't stop there. Work on projection. Make sure you are breathing deeply. Maintain good posture. Practice changing the tone, depth and speed of your words as you read, aiming to match the character's emotions in the book. Voice is loaded with emotion. It can bring out an endless list of feelings if you understand how to control it. So, go on! Call up a friend. Serve the wine. Read and get critiqued. After a couple glasses, they will swear you are the next audible star!

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