You know what actors want. Solid representation that works for us and gets us auditions. A resume that impresses decision-makers. A quick ascent past small co-star roles and on to bigger, meatier work.
In the beginning of your career, what's standing between you and all of those things? Your first few credits. The jobs that change people's perception of you, from 'untested risk' to 'up-and-comer'. We've talked about how to market yourself in order to generate audition opportunities early in your career using things like postcards and workshops. But what happens when you get the audition and it's time to seal the deal?
For years, I've wanted to write a book called 'SLAP Acting'. It's not about stage combat, it's about how to book those early roles that involve little more than handing a series regular a cup of coffee, but are actually really hard to get right. That's where SLAP acting comes in. It's an acronym. It stands for:
Say it
Like
A
Person.
See? SLAP. So what does it mean?
One of my first credits was on 'ER'. The role was a waitress in a crowded club. It involved bringing drinks two series regulars, saying "Another one?", and leaving. One line, two words. No critical information revealed, no heightened emotion required. Get in, get out.
They didn't want to see years of backstory in those two words. They didn't want it to get a laugh. They didn't want the waitress to be memorable in any way. They just needed someone to help it feel like a club. For the audition, I wore jeans and old sneakers and delivered the read with almost nothing behind it - just a waitress in the middle of a busy shift checking on a table - and the director jumped up and said "THANK you!" I'll never know why, exactly, but it's a safe bet that the other actors did too much. The temptation is to try to 'make an impression' by making a bigger deal of a small role than is required by the script. But that's making it about you rather than serving the story. And that's a great way to lose a job.
We worry that if we don't show them something 'interesting', they won't remember us. But SLAP acting shows the decision makers that you're skilled and disciplined enough to understand where you fit in the story, and put that ahead of your desire to make an impression. From their perspective, that's as interesting and memorable as it gets.
If you can resist the temptation to make those small roles more than they need to be, and instead just SLAP - Say it Like a Person - you'll book more often, build up those critical first few credits, and put yourself on the fast track to reading for roles that have room for all that juicy backstory and personality.
That was my first audition for that casting office. Since then, they've called me in over and over again, most recently to producers for a recurring guest star on a multiple-Emmy-nominated series. They didn't assume I had no personality because I didn't show it in those two words. They rewarded me for giving them what they needed by giving me a shot at something bigger. And that's what SLAP acting is all about.