Author: Tristen MacDonald

Ready to fall in love with your acting career? Whether you’re just starting out, or ready for a new strategy, there’s something here for you. These five tips are sure to save you time, money, and allow you to pursue your dream, happily. Fall in love with periphery characters. Chances are you’ll be vying for the smaller parts for the first couple of years. Sure, every once in a while, someone books a larger role early in their career. But I promise you, it’s so so rare, you’d be more likely to win the grand prize in the McDonald’s Monopoly…

A wise man once said, “If you don’t jump out of bed each morning, you don’t have enough goals!” I’m not the most adventurous person. My bucket list doesn’t consist of the go-to’s like bungee jumping or seeing all seven wonders of the world. But man if I don’t have a ton of TV I want to watch, lots of karaoke songs to practice and a stack of books to read. I want to learn more words, to draw, to cook delicious food, write an award winning TV show, write a musical, become a photographer, director, be a better improviser,…

I would like to share a story with you that I first heard from the wonderful Jack Plotnick. Jack is a talented, working actor that often gives seminars about his audition technique for $5, and proceeds go to charity. You can check out more free and awesome thoughts from Jack here on his website. The story below is an abridged version. The original text can be found in the book Taking Chances by Dale Dauten. ——————————————————————————————- There once was a young man who went out into the world to seek his fortune. He wandered for many days, until he saw…

In a business that is, arguably, more about who know you than actual talent, it can be hard to navigate the murky waters of your “network”. Many of us struggle with the etiquette of how to approach an industry contact. So, I’m here to offer my best advice from both sides of the “asking”. First things first, make sure that your house is in order. Before approaching someone in a position to help you, you must make sure that any proof of your awesomeness is ready to be seen. For example… If you’re an actor: Have you taken an ON-CAMERA…

So, you’ve done your best to stock your closet full of great audition pieces, but it seems like every time you turn around you’ve gotta buy something else. Never fear! Tristen is here… to make sure that you look perfect for your audition! Here are some of my “go-to” audition looks that have never failed me. First things first, let’s talk about how important your audition attire is. On a scale of 1-10 on the importance scale, I’d put it around a 7. It’s important, but you’re not going to book the job based on your clothes. So, my advice…

Hello friends! I’m back today to discuss a super important issue regarding your commercial contracts. Okay, so you’ve booked a gig off LA Casting. It’s an infomercial for a hair product that pays $500/day, $1000 buyout…In perpetuity. What does that mean? “In perpetuity” means…forever. And ever. They can use your image in this infomercial FOREVER! Oh, I can hear what you’re saying “Um…so! I just want to work, and that’s $1500 bucks!”. I get it! The immediate money can be tempting. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do the job, I’m just saying that you need to know exactly what…

Hey friends! This week I want to share a few fun gadgets, old and new, that can help you audition on the go! Phone Tripod: Here’s a link to a super simple phone tripod, but there are so many to choose from on Amazon! All for less than $10! This can really help you out of a bind when that inevitable moment comes; you’ve left the state for your first vacation in years and BOOM, you get your first guest star audition! Luckily, you can set yourself up to tape in your hotel room with this little guy and it’s…

This is a tough article to write for me. As I will be talking about a pet peeve that rocks me to my very core on a daily basis. I don’t know how I could possibly whittle this text down into an easily digestible read, but I will try. The topic of the day is time – We either have too much of it on our hands or not enough in the day. The real bugger is that time is the only non-renewable resource – once a day is over, it’s gone for good. And, within reason, we are all…

This week’s post comes from an idea I stumbled upon a few years back while reading “It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows YOU!” by David Avrin. This book is a great read for any growing business and talks a lot about that terrifying B-Word: Branding. Among other things, the book discusses how you want customers/buyers to feel after meeting you. Are you an actor that is on time and prepared? Or did you just rehearse quickly in the car on the way over? Do you stick to the script, word perfectly? Or do you like to go off…

I know this article comes a tad bit late for tax season this year. However, it comes at the perfect time to answer some questions for the coming year. Tax time is no fun for anyone. It’s not fun when you’re rich and it’s really not fun when you’re broke. One thing that makes this time of year particularly tough for actors is that very few of them understand how to manage their taxes. I’m hoping to help in some small way here today. First things first, no matter how much money you are making as an actor/waiter/temp/other, you need…

Welp, it’s time to wrap up this series. I’ve received so many amazing responses to the articles and I’m so happy that it has helped some of you navigate the waters of commercial auditions. Over the course of the series, I’ve received some specific questions that couldn’t quite fit into the previous articles. I will do my best to answer them here. And off we go! “I’ve read all of your posts here on Ms In The Biz and think your tips make perfect sense. However, I feel as if I’ve been doing them already and I’m not seeing results.…

Hey again!  Welcome back for Part Three of Auditioning for Commercials. Today we’re going to get a little perspective from the decision maker’s side. A commercial callback is very different from your first audition. One of the biggest differences, is that there will be many more people in the room with you. These people will usually include a casting director or assistant, the director, representatives from the ad agency, and the representatives for the clients. Make sure to acknowledge them. A simple “hello” and nice, warm eye contact with each will do. Don’t be thrown if they don’t reciprocate, or…

Welcome back!  In the last post we talked about your first impression in the casting room.  Now let’s talk a bit about the actual audition.  Today I will discuss three topics: memorization, staying positive, and commercial improv.  Here we go! Do I need to memorize the script? Hey, it doesn’t hurt!  However, many times, you will see the lines for the first time at the actual audition.  Maybe memorization isn’t your strongest skill.  The good thing is, 99 percent of the time, the script will be written on a board near the camera.  Woohoo!  It’s like a cheat sheet.  If…

So ya wanna be in commercials?  I think we all do!  There’s good money in it and they will always be around; which, at this point, seems to be more than I can stay for scripted television.  It’s also easier to get a commercial agent when you’re first starting out in Hollywood.  Now, go back and re-read that, because I didn’t say it was easy.  Just that it seems to be easier than getting that darn theatrical representation. Commercials are certainly a whole other animal than “regular acting”.  Auditioning for them is another skill set that you should perfect if…