As an actor I’ve done my fair share of self-submitting. Your agents don’t catch every single role you may be right for or maybe you are just starting out or new to town and want to start meeting casting directors. From the actor’s point of view you want to put as much info out there as possible so people will think you can do anything but as a casting director you want to narrow it down to as few people as possible that fit the role. I’ve been going through recent submissions for a casting notice I posted and realized…
Author: Stephanie Pressman
Stephanie Pressman
Stephanie Pressman is an actor, producer, host, model and comedian from Atlanta, GA. Born into a family of performers she started acting and modeling professionally as an infant. She has worn many hats (figuratively and literally too) some of her favorite productions include co-founder and editor of Fashionably Nerdy, creator and moderator of the SPARK Your Creativity (female creators) Convention Panel, Co-Executive Producer of Stalking LeVar, founding member of The Show That Shall Not Be Named (Harry Potter Themed Improv Comedy), and most dear to her heart being a mother. You can find Stephanie on social media @StephPressman
On April 15, 2018 the greatest weight was lifted off of my shoulders. No, not tax day… That was the day after my wedding and everything had gone smoothly like a well-oiled machine. But honestly, I don’t know why I’m surprised. As a producer I’ve thrown huge events, I’ve scraped together all my resources for no budget productions before and felt a similar sigh of relief as the render finished and was exported out. So, why was a wedding such a different feeling? I was intent to make everything perfect, a dream come true… it’s the one day when…
When I was younger I didn’t want to be type cast – no one does when you are starting – you are an actor and that means you can play anything and be anything and you can be anyone you want to be! Especially, if you start in the theater you learn right away you can play a 90 year old man in a high school play and a little makeup and wardrobe and a wig go a very long way. Time passes and you find yourself in Hollywood and you find yourself submitting for roles you will never be…
I try to be as helpful as possible. I try to give everyone the same opportunities I have. We are all in this battle together, right? So, why did I have a mini freak out the other day when a girl said she was going to crash my audition? I guess I should give you a lil more background… I was recording a voice over audition at the SAG voiceover lab and while I was there I got another audition for the next day and I was just kinda reading the email to myself when this other girl started asking…
Do you ever feel resentful or frustrated? There is a lot of negativity in Hollywood. A lot of entitled people. I’m not saying you are entitled, but you might sound like it. There is a lot of whining and a lot of complaining. I see most of it quite clearly on social media. Stop complaining on social media it makes you seem weak and it looks bad, and most importantly it probably makes you come across as unprofessional. I encounter a lot of people daily that say that they work in this industry. They say they work in the industry…
My co-producer of a web series I am a part of asked me a couple of months ago, “How do we get more subscribers and how do we get more views?”. I come from a marketing background but with this show in particular that has some very specific nerdy themes I wanted to try some inexpensive ways of marketing it to our target audience. First I looked at some of the themes and who they would appeal to, to help us find who our audience would be. Our show has themes that include Star Trek (so, space exploration), Reading Rainbow…
Because I write my blog (Struggles and Success), people automatically assume I am the authority in the acting world. I would like to state I do not know everything. I know a lot only because I constantly ask questions myself. However, I do love when people ask me questions. This week I received an email from a girl named Rachel in Philadelphia. Rachel asked some amazing questions that I thought it would be beneficial to share with you. Rachel writes, “Hi Stephanie, I’m a fan of your blog posts on Ms. In the Biz, and work as an actress. I…
Comic Con started as a convention to unite Comic Book artists with their fans to share their work and love of the industry with each other. Over the years it has grown into a worldwide household name and it’s really turned into something completely different. There are conventions all over the world and each one offers something different. However SDCC, San Diego Comic Con is so unique, so incredible, I’m not even sure if it’s about comic books anymore. San Diego’s lil Comic Book Convention attracts over 100,000 people and lures them to downtown San Diego with promises of sneak…
Finding the right agent or manager is a full time job in itself. I think that one of the big mistakes actors tend to make is assuming they need an agent too soon. Not that an agent isn’t helpful, because they are… but before you get an agent you need to be great at auditioning, you need to be prepared to get to an audition within an hour at all times, you need to always be prepared, you need to be a team player, you need to be patient, and you need to be passionate and driven. If your have…
Being a busy Ms. in the Biz, I thought it was time to revamp my closet to get ready for pilot season, so I recently held my first clothing swap & it was such a success, I hope that everyone tries this at least once. Ask all your girlfriends a few weeks in advance to raid their closets & purge all the clothes they haven’t touched in years. Set up your swap room with signs and some full length mirrors, We used a long table labeled for tanks, tees, cardigans, and sweaters. We set up a hanging rack for dresses,…
It is important to always reflect on what you have been doing to get to the next step in your career. So as the year is ending and another one starts here is my list. The best things I did for my career this past year. 1. I tried. I tried to be successful by whatever means possible if it meant living without some necessities I did, but I always put my career before other things. 2. I got great new headshots because headshots are so important. Without a great headshot you have no way to get work. Your headshot…
Every year starting in November Los Angeles enters award season. The city is electric, buzzing with celebration for the work of each other. There is no better supportive environment then this town once the word “nomination” gets spread around. In an industry where generally the word “competition” is heard more often than “great work” it’s beautiful to hear everyone talking about their favorite films, actors, costumers, ensembles, TV shows for once instead of ‘competing’ or bringing others down. So what does this mean to us as actors (that are probably not up for awards or in nominated TV shows or…
At the level I’m at in my acting career most shoots last 1-3 days and normally have 5-10 takes for each setup. So, you can imagine how different it would feel to play the same character for 7 weeks with 700+ takes an hour of the same scene. This is what happens when you take a “scareactor” job for Halloween.In Los Angeles Halloween jobs for actors are posted all over the casting boards. In the past I’ve scanned right past these jobs but this year I decided to audition for Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. Horror Nights combines the theme…
It’s a simple phrase told to school children when everyone is getting a toy and they are all different colors: Be happy that you got something at all. It’s a lesson we can benefit from at any age. Life is full of disappointment. In any career disappointment will happen. Let’s face it everything will not always go the way you want it to. In the entertainment industry you are often told you are doing one thing and you get to set and you find that your actual role is totally different or your lines get cut. Fight the urge to…