J.S. Gilbert Deconstructs Parade’s Annual Salary Review

Sorry for the gushing, but my friend J.S. Gilbert is a crazy good writer. And prolific! Maybe not with his blog, but certainly he contributes volumes of thoughtful and articulate (albeit filled with interesting typos) content on various message boards. I want to be just like him when I grow up.

I don’t get the paper, but somehow, I always manage to see Parade Magazine’s Annual Salary Issue with all the little pictures with job title and “salary.” (From the look of the pictures, I guess people just send in their info along with their very best snap shot and someone reaches into a basket and pulls out the selections?)

The whole Salary Review is really sort of mostly pointless – to compare what I make to a movie star or a barista – or to someone living in Idaho – simply isn’t relevant. What struck me was the number of people stating that they […]

2018-02-06T06:48:34+00:00March 13th, 2011|Categories: Musings|Tags: |

FaffCon Vibe in the Groove!

FaffCon 2 T-shirts
FaffCon 2 T-shirts waiting for their owners

So we were in a different location across the country, in a hotel that soared above the city, with about 75 people in attendance (25 or so more than in Portland) – and the end result of FaffCon 2 – Electric Boogaloo – fabulosity.

Seriously, this sharing ideas, experiences and even a few secrets with your working peers has all kinds of consequences:

  • Better business methods
  • Cool marketing strategies
  • Increased technological understanding
  • Practical performance ideas

But probably the most important is the feeling of long-term connection with your fellow performers with whom you share much more than the space next to them at a lecture.

While many of us do benefit from more organized conferences in some ways, FaffCon is different in that it is:

“…not VO 101. FaffCon is a participant-driven […]

2018-02-06T06:48:34+00:00March 6th, 2011|Categories: Business, Marketing, Musings|

Conversational Read? Sure – What Flavor?

We get it all the time in casting directions these days – the client wants a conversational read. They specifically tell you that a non-announcer read required.

But what flavor of conversation do they want? There are a lot of different ways to be “conversational.” Just listen to real people have a conversation. In fact, record yourself having conversations with different people.

(It might not be a good idea to record your conversation with the phone company after your phone lines have been down for 3 days. Or your call to the power company after the hot switch of the meter blew out your dishwasher and microwave. Although there are probably copies of those calls and if you run for public office they will surface.)

A lot of the nuances in just what conversational style will be right will come from the particular script you are reading, but Pam Turlow recently blogged about this subject and listed […]

2018-02-06T06:48:34+00:00March 2nd, 2011|Categories: Auditioning, Techniques|Tags: , , |
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