- An obsessive overachiever who slept with her teacher
- A 30-year-old obsessive compulsive high school guidance counselor and virgin
- A once-homeless, spacey tough-ass Detroit bartender who looks like she just stepped off the Disney Channel
- A "real fixer upper" with braces and... you can never actually remember if there's headgear?, a huge smile, and a nerdy confidence
- A quiet and somewhat passive small-town journalist who "can't even land the shoe shine guy," but somehow gets involved with every guy in town
- A conniving, mature, yet adorable teen heiress with the mind of Moriarity
- A precocious pregnant 16-year-old Minnesotan with an affinity for blue slushies
Instructions
Are you an actor? A model? A comedian? A voiceover artist? A storyteller? Anything remotely related to performing? If you're answer is "Yes"-- if you're answer is "No," keep reading because you might learn something, damnit!-- If you're answer is "Yes," but you don't know your type...
Yeah, that's what it feels like every day that you still don't know your type. For those non-performers out there, I'll attempt to answer your question: What exactly is "type?" This silly stupid little swear word encompasses what you, as an actor, are selling. Sometimes almost irrelevant to what your range and acting ability is, it's the actual look you're marketing, and it's what defines you in the business. You may be 24 years old with a 4.0+++ GPA from Harvard and have never picked up a pom-pom in your life, but if you look like a popular 17-year-old wide-eyed cheerleader, you better know it and be ready to play one.
Many actors, like myself, were taught in school to screw that confining, mother-effing "type"; we are serious actors who act and that means acting, so ACT! Then, we graduate into a business where type is honored on a professional, respected pedestal and we're all, "... Damn. We all screwed type, then never called him back." So, that's where your ingredients come in.
I've been thinking a lot about my type recently, having been cast and called in for a lot of popular and attractive 16-year-olds. Guys, I don't know if you know this, but I am not 16. And when I was, I was not considered popular or attractive. Look beyond the flattery and to the confusion: Between the slightly vague,
"16-17 or feels like she could be in that range, very approachable, real and relatable but by no means snotty or with an attitude"and the ever-infuriating,
"Just out of high school. 18-20 years old. Beautiful. A sweet yet seductive demeanor. The quintessential girl next door. Can break a heart with the bat of a lash. Fit and thin."and the fact that I just played a rebellious, popular small-town cheerleader and an adorably naive and impressionable freshman cheerleader, I have been taken aback. None of these fit into my perception of what I thought I've been "selling!" I have needed to go back to the drawing board (until I can get some professional career help). (Don't use this post as a trusted source for accredited career advice.) Remembering various guidance and articles, I sat down and listed which characters on TV or in movies I could play; which actors are "stealing" my parts (what vindictive phrasing!); and which shows could I see myself in. Thus, by this single method alone, without further ado, I present to you, 100% infallibly: My Type.
★ Tracy Flick, obsessive overachiever who slept with her high school teacher and dreams of being President
★ Emma Pillsbury (Schuester), 30-year-old obsessive compulsive high school guidance counselor and virgin (for at least a season or two)
★ Candace, once-homeless, spacey tough-ass Detroit bartender who looks like she just stepped off the Disney Channel
★ Sue Heck, "real fixer upper" with braces and... you can never actually remember if there's headgear?, a huge smile, and a nerdy confidence albeit being basically invisible
★ Shauna Malwae-Tweep, quiet and somewhat passive small-town journalist who "can't even land the shoe shine guy," but somehow gets involved with every guy in town
★ Kaylie Hooper, conniving, mature, yet adorable teen heiress with the mind of Moriarity
 |
| She deserves 2 GIFs. |
★ Juno, precocious pregnant 16-year-old Minnesotan with an affinity for blue slushies
So, those are all the same and that all makes sense. Right? When you bash them all together, there's my type. Right?!
Aaaaaaand that's what an unknown actor's life is like.
I encourage performers and non-performers alike to create their "Who's Stealing My Roles" list (hilarious) and find the best photo and GIF of each to embody both that character and yourself. Sure, it's fun, but mainly I just want to compare amalgamations of batshit bananas "types" we all create.
Love,
The innocent-looking neurotic modest Midwestern high-schooler to early-20s female
No comments:
Post a Comment