Win Copies of Milton Katselas’ “Acting Class: Take a Seat”

October 17, 2008 by dennisbaker 

We know you just love the chance to win something, so here at DENNIS BAKER LLC we want to start rewarding our loyal readers.
milton katselas acting class
The first giveaway is of Milton Katselas new book Acting Class: Take a Seat. I try to only giveaway books that I’ve read and would actually recommend. I have began to read it and do enjoy it, a full review will be coming soon.

“Previously only available to Katselas’ students at the prestigious Beverly Hills Playhouse, Acting Class presents the concepts and methods that have helped lead a generation of actors to success on stage, in cinema, and on television. Now for the first time, this all-encompassing book is available to the general public, taking readers and sitting them in the legendary acting class of Milton Katselas, where he not only covers techniques and methods, but also includes valuable discussions on the attitude any artist needs to fulfill his or her dream.”

Now you know you want to win it, right? Good, because we have 2 copies to give away!

How to enter this contest? Simply leave a comment below and we’ll randomly pick 2 winners (deadline for entry is 6pm ET Friday, Oct. 24th).

That’s all you need to do! And, if you’re not a lucky winner, you can be a winner anyway by picking up a copy of Acting Class: Take a Seat for yourself.

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Books, Film, Los Angeles, Teaching, Theater/Theatre
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Summer Reading and Such

July 8, 2007 by dennisbaker 

If you have not noticed in the right column I have added buttons for books, music, and movies. This summer, more than others, I have been more conscious in doing as much of these three as possible.

In the area of reading I was introduced to a great website called goodreads.com. At the website you can rate books you read, add books you plan to read, and add friends to see what they are reading. I already have a pretty good list going. My goal is to read a number of plays as well as books. With an hour plus commute into the city three times a week, this give me a good opportunity to get some reading done.

In the area of music, last.fm has been the website that I have been using. It tracks the songs I play on itunes and then creates a radio station that fits my taste. This is great because at work I can play last.fm and it plays all the bands I love plus introducing me to artists I have not heard of, or songs I have not heard from the artists I love. We were also able to go to a David Wilcox concert this summer in north New Jersey. I was introduced to this folk singer back in college and can not get enough of him. We have been to two concerts in San Diego and was stoked to see him in the east coast. He is a must listen to. Also my friend introduced me to Lucy Kaplansky. We were able to see a free concert of hers at Madison Square Park in NYC. She is a folk artist as well. I enjoyed her music, but have not been able to listen to her too much yet. She is definitely on the list. Also over at the Burnside Writers Collective they created a great Summer Mix Tape 2007. You can download all the songs for free.

Last is movies. We use Netflix as there is a distribution plan right here in New Brunswick, which makes for them to be pretty fast in the email. I am finishing up the first season of LOST as I never saw it, yeah I know it is the best season. I have enjoyed it, but it is hard to fully be into it as I know what is going to happen. We are counting the days till February.

Filed under: Books, Film, Music, New York
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Nostalgia at NYC Film Festival

July 5, 2007 by dennisbaker 

I was just informed that Nostalgia will be making it’s New York Premiere at the American Cinematic Experience (ACE) Film Festival. The festival runs August 24-26th at the Broad Street Ballroom in New York City. The screening time is 3:30pm on Saturday, August 25th. It will be good to see Ephraim Schwartz (Writer/Producer) and Armand Garabidian (Director/Producer) again. Ticket information is at the festival website and you can see the trailer at the movie website.

Filed under: Acting, Film, New York
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Summer Plans

June 21, 2007 by dennisbaker 

I am working with Graphic Design USA three times a week in New York City. The company produces a monthly graphic design magazine that is used by various graphic design companies to track trends. GD USA also runs various contests. I have been hired to help with their website tracking and process the current contest they are running. American Graphic Design Awards is a three decade-old competition sponsored exclusively by Adobe Systems Incorporated. It is open to everyone in the community: advertising agencies, graphic design firms, corporate, institutional and publishing inhouse departments, and more. It honors outstanding new work of all kinds: print and collateral, packaging and point-of-purchase, internet and interactive design, broadcast and motion graphics, corporate identity and logos. Winners receive an embossed Certificate of Excellence for each piece selected and become eligible for reproduction in Graphic Design USA’s Awards Annual, a 300-page edition which will be seen by more than 100,000 at ad agencies, graphic design firms, inhouse departments and more during the course of the year.

I also have signed up with Central Casting, an extra casting company in the city. They are known as the premiere extra casting company in Los Angeles, but only have had offices in NYC for about a year. I am eligible to join actor’s equity, the theater union, once I complete three days of extra work as a SAG member. I also have to wait till I have been a SAG member for a year, which will be in September. The office seems pretty quite right now. They are gearing up to do a movie of the week in July in Connecticut for Oprah’s production company. Hopefully I can get some work on that project. I have also sent in headshots to Extra Extra Casting, Kee Casting, and Amerifilm Casting.

I have researched and found a web design certificate program at Middlesex County College in the nearby town of Edison. I missed the summer dates for the Dreamweaver and Photoshop classes. I will be enrolling in three classes this summer: Database concepts, PHP programming, and PHP and SQL Database. I am excited to get these tools under my belt and be able to get to the next level in this profession. Next summer I am planning on taking classes in Dreamweaver, Flash, and Photoshop. If I am able to also want to do two online courses in JSP and Javascript.

Last, but not least, I am also tutoring in math and SAT math prep. I am currently working with an organization called Club Z. I just completed working with a student in Algebra and now working with a student in Geometry. I have also placed ads on Craigslist in the New York and Central New Jersey area. I am hoping those will create some leads to round out the week of work.

Filed under: Acting, Film, New York, Web Design
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Nostalgia at Film Festivals

March 13, 2007 by dennisbaker 

I got an email from Night Owl Entertainment, the production company for the feature film Nostalgia, that I shot last year. Their website is officially up and has the trailer on it. Also the movie has been selected for two film festivals, the Palm Beach International Film Festival and the Arizona International Film Festival. This is good news for numerous reasons, the first that for the movie to get distribution it needs to get some buzz around it and hopefully it will get some good reviews at the film festivals. Second to get onto IMdB, a major film resource website, it needs to also be at film festivals.

Filed under: Acting, Film
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So You Wanna Be A Star?

January 21, 2007 by dennisbaker 

Here is an article that I had saved in my inbox:

Q&A with Anna Deavere Smith: So you wanna be a star?
By Marc Silver
Posted 1/21/06

In our celebrity-besotted culture, the arts have an irresistible attraction for young people. But jobs in the arts are not as plentiful as stars in the sky (or even as stars in Hollywood). Actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith offers guidance in her new book, Letters to a Young Artist: Straight-up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts. Smith, a Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer finalist, writes and performs one-woman shows that capture diverse voices from a place of crisis: Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, about the riots, for example. She also portrays the national security adviser on West Wing.

Shouldn’t you really be doing a book called Advice on Not Making a Life in the ArtsWell, you know, artists just have always been on the fringe of society. Plato kicked us right straight out of the republic.

So it’s never easy to be an artist.

You make that decision to be an artist cautiously. You won’t have the same options for survival that your friends who are as educated as you have. You have to educate artists to be cagey, smart, mobile, flexible. Don’t get in a situation where, if you’re an actor, all you can do is audition.

You talk about renting yourself out but not selling out.

I am talking about understanding that your identity belongs to you. It’s seductive to have somebody tell you what you should be doing. But in the end, an artist has to take responsibility for his or her own voice and destiny.

What kind of choices will lie ahead for young artists?

You may have to decide not to go forward with a project. You may have to decide to do something commercial at a moment when you might want to do something not commercial but that isn’t going to make you a shred of money. You may have to end a romantic relationship because that relationship is requiring more of you than you can give. On the other hand, you may decide to have a romantic relationship or get married or have a child because those things are going to make you a more whole person.

Does a thick skin help? In the book you tell of being turned down for a role in a sitcom because you aren’t three-camera funny.

You have to move on to the next thing. But yeah, yeah, it hurts. You have to get used to the fact that hurt is a part of it.

You say a great deal about the power of presence.

Some people are just not aware of what they’re doing physically. When I teach a class and people are sitting as if bored to tears on the first day I expect you to look like you want to be there. Everything’s [about being] so cool and hanging back now. I do think presence is a kind of energy level that can be cultivated.

I have a 17-year-old daughter who wants to act. What advice do you have for her?

I think the most important thing and this sounds kind of churchy she should practice every day finding the joy in what she’s doing. Because it’s that joy and that real desire to communicate that is going to keep the whole thing alive for her no matter what happens. We think of the clown as the figure who, no matter how tough authority is, keeps coming back. The clown is irrepressible. What she should cultivate is that irrepressibility.

And how should she pick a college drama program?

She should go to a school where she sees that irrepressibility in her potential classmates. And where there’s a lot expected of her, and where she can practice failing as well as succeeding. And someplace where questions are valued as much as answers. She should use her education to discover her questions as in a quest not the answers.

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Film, Los Angeles, New York
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Bradley Whitford

September 20, 2006 by dennisbaker 

I just watched the pilot episode of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”. I feel I connect with Bradley Whiford, as an actor, first on the West Wing and I think he will go a good job on this show as well. I am a fan, but I think this goes to a deeper connection from one actor to another. I can not truly explain it but there is something I relate with him. I admire his beginning in the New York theatre and his desire and struggle to well rounded work in film and television. I truly see him as a working actor show in the story of how he had to fight for the Josh Lyman character on the West Wing. Every actor should read how he prepared for the role. It did not matter that he was friends with Aaron Sorkin.

While preparring for auditions, my coach recommend that I read “Three Days of Rain” as he thought the role of Pip was perfect for me. I opened the script and saw that Whitford had originated the role. It experiences like that that make me excited to watch him perform. I do hope one day I will get to see him on the stage. I found an unofficial website for Whitford and loved the article his brother wrote about him. Below is an excerpt, click on the title to read the whole article.

The Secret Life of an Actor
By: David Whitford
Source: Esquire
Date: May 2001

But my brother would still have to audition, and he prepared as if it were the biggest audition of his life. “I was determined to prepare beyond overpreparedness,” he says. “To prepare it enough so that when I went in there, it would be as if I’d been doing this ten-minute play for six weeks. When you rehearse a role or even memorize lines, it’s like the process of having a stroke and recovering from it. You go to the first read-through of a play and it’s great. Then you break it down and the Zen gets sucked out of it, and you can’t even put words together. And slowly you get better, and then all of a sudden you’re up. For me, its a sensation of feeling like your blood is moving again. In this case, I knew the lines cold. I would imagine myself being in my worst emotional state and try the scene. I’d act as if I was acting badly and try to do the scene well. I anticipated being very uncomfortable in the room so I would be comfortable. I desperately wanted this.”

The audition took place in the office of John Levey, the casting director at Warner Brothers. Sorkin was there, too, along with one of the show’s other executive producers, Thomas Schlamme, who directed the famous live episode of ER and was Sorkin’s collaborator on Sports Night. Sorkin was the only one who’d already made up his mind. To the others, my brother was not exactly a stranger - they remembered him especially from an Emmy-winning 1995 episode of ER, filmed at Warner Brothers, in which he’d played a young father whose wife dies in childbirth - but, frankly, he was just another name on the list.

My brother used all the tricks experience has taught him. He politely cut short the small talk at the beginning (”Can I act now?”). He turned to leave immediately after he was finished so as not to seem like a “needy actor”. And though the lines by this point were all but written on his heart, he did the entire scene holding the pages in his hand, occasionally glancing down at them, hoping to imply, “This is where I am now. I can go farther.”

He nailed it; they laughed out loud. When my brother was on the way out the door, Levey’s assistant whispered in his ear, “Nobody has done it like that! Wow! Wow!” When he got home, there was a message on his answering machine from Sorkin: “You hit it out of the park.”

And then… nothing. Just weeks and weeks of silence. As it turns out, Levey wasn’t persuaded that my brother had the sex appeal to play a leading man on network television. Schlamme wasn’t sure he had enough depth to carry off the scenes he knew Sorkin would eventually have to write if The West Wing were ever going to be more than a simple romantic comedy. “There’s a place that he doesn’t sometimes go in his writing,” says Schlamme, who viewed his role partly as nudging Sorkin in that direction. “It’s not about naked people fucking. It’s about going to a place that is a man absolutely standing toe-to-toe with a woman, getting his heart broken if that’s what’s going to happen, and dealing with the sexual energy of a relationship. I knew Brad had the comic timing. But in my experience as a director, people with incredible comic timing sometimes have a very hard time going to that place I just described. Because comedy is the deflection of having to be revealed, having to be hurt.”

My brother might have had something to say to Levey’s and Schlamme’s concerns if he knew what they were, but he didn’t. All he knew was that they were standing in his way. Reluctantly, he agreed to a second audition in front of Levey and The West Wing’s John Wells, probably the most powerful producer in television (ER, Third Watch), this time with Moira Kelly, whose character, Mandy was originally conceived as Josh’s love interest. It did not go well. Afterward, Levey told Brad’s agent, Adena Chawke, that her client had “receded” in Kelly’s presence.

“I don’t understand,” Chawke said.

“What part of my English don’t you understand? It’s not going to happen for Brad.”

Meanwhile, it was getting to be pilot season. Other people were calling. Fox was interested in him for an hour-long dramedy. “They wanted to pay me a lot of money,” Brad says. “A lot more [than West Wing]. And if I wanted to do it, I could have done it. None of this bullshit of jumping through Tommy fucking Schlamme’s hoops, you know? At this point, I’m furious at him. It’s like, I know, I know, I know I can play this role! You feel like a crazy person in an asylum trying to convince the orderly that you’re sane. ‘I know this is ridiculous because I’m an actor trying to get a part, and, of course, this part would be great for me, but seriously, I am really built for this!’”

It came down to the Friday before production was to begin. Chawke called my brother. Good news: He’s been offered a part on The West Wing. Bad news: It’s Sam, not Josh. “I was just, Nooooo. No, no, no, no,” Brad says. “So I called Aaron. You don’t know if you’re going to be articulate or pathetic. I honestly did not know. And I just said, ‘Aaron, I just feel this very strongly. This isn’t about me wanting a job. This is the only time in my life I will play this card. I am this guy; I am not the other guy.’ And Aaron’s point is, ‘Don’t worry about what you do in the pilot,’ and I was saying, ‘No, no, no. There is a difference. There is a difference starting with the pilot. Josh isn’t sexual-high-jinks-boy. Josh is, You know what? I had to tell the fucking Christian Right off! Because it’s ridiculous. And I lost control!’”

Sorkin was impressed. (”That’s sort of when we knew, Gee, we really do have a good marriage here.”) Sometime over the weekend, Rob Lowe got what he was asking for, including first billing and a lot more money than anyone else in the cast except Martin Sheen. Which meant Lowe could play Sam and Brad could play Josh.

Filed under: Acting, Film, Los Angeles, Theater/Theatre
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Honest Article

August 9, 2006 by dennisbaker 

I recently found Frances Uku’s blog. She is a Harvard MFA grad who is working in LA. She recently posted an article by Jenna Fischer of NBC’s The Office. She talks about what it takes to be an actor in LA and I am impressed by the honesty and detail. With most actors who are asked to explain how they got to a certain point in their career, the reader gets these vague answers that make you think that one day they just got “discovered” walking down the street of Sunset Blvd. Jenna explains the process of relationships and coming into auditions for the same casting director time after time after time before they cast you. I highly recommend it…

Filed under: Acting, Film, Los Angeles
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Marty’s Set…

June 26, 2006 by dennisbaker 

“On Marty’s set it was like a church. I’d never seen anything like that, where people were so quiet. Literally, you could hear a pin drop. He needs it quiet because it helps him think. He’s constantly rejiggering the shot and trying to figure stuff out. If there’s a lot of hustle and bustle, he just can’t get his work done. So he closes his eyes and focuses.”

-Matt Damon, Entertainment Weekly

Filed under: Film
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C.S.I. Submitted

June 16, 2006 by dennisbaker 

We have mailed C.S.I. Sierra Madre to three film festivals. We have chosen to focus on the below six film festivals and see what will happen from there. Detailed information is on the website.

C.S.I. Sierra Madre Website (csisierramadre.blogspot.com)

Film Festivals:
DC Short Film Festival
San Diego Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
Big Bear Lake International Film Festival
FAIF International Film Festival
Hermosa Shorts

Filed under: Film, Los Angeles
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