About Taylor Sheppard Expertise I can answer questions: on starting a career in acting, mistakes in acting, etiquette when dealing with industry contacts, finer points on how to act, and things to avoid in the field.
Experience I have been a professional actor 21 years, with appearances in TV, Film and commercials. I have made good decisions and potentially damaging mistakes. I believe anyone who has a dream deserves to explore it, and I take their aspirations seriously. That being said, I do not pull punches. I try to be tactful, but I will not lie to someone, honesty is more effective. My last film role was in "Teeth" which was picked for Sundance in January 2007. It was sold to Lionsgate and Weinstein Co. for somewhere over 2.5 million. The role was "Mr. Griffith", a sex-ed teacher.
Organizations Ciao Agency-Austin/Georgetown, Texas. (Formerly known as Donna Adams Agency. Matthew McConaughey was a good friend and fellow member. I also have belonged to agencies in three other Texas cities, but they have since closed.) TXMPA -Texas Motion Picture Alliance. Various other internet networking web rings as well as Actors Access. I was instrumental in advising actress Krista Allen on getting her career in acting started in Austin,Texas (we worked at the same Health Club in the early '90's).
Publications Previously wrote on a now defunct website such as this one. I enjoyed helping new actors.
Education/Credentials I have acted for 21 years. I studied under James Nelson Harrell as well as other talented actors at Southwest Texas State University. After college, I have taken classes with Julliard graduate Mona Lee, Bill Johnson, Van Brookes, Marco Perella and others in Austin Texas. I am constantly attending classes to maintain my edge and explore new directions. In addition to attending strictly acting classes, I have also taken business workshops with respected casting directors, such as Shari Rhodes ("Jaws","Close Encounters", "Raggedy Man".) Barbara Brinkley, Jo Edna Bolden and Donise Hardy, (Castingworks LA).
Question QUESTION: Hi Taylor,
I am considering a career in acting and wanted to know what this career path and lifestyle entailed?
Could you share your knowledge on what it's like being an actor in Hollywood and what it's like going to auditions and working on a set?
Your input would be most appreciated. You can email me at
Best,
Jenny
ANSWER: Hi Jenny,
Well, being an actor is 90% work and trying to get somewhere and 10% glamor!
You are constantly training (if you are smart) and you spend a lot of energy trying to promote yourself. Neither one is less important. If you are talented, but don't get yourself seen and meet people, you don't go anywhere. If you only promote yourself and spend no time working on your skills, same outcome.
Being a working actor for most means acting and auditioning and leading a second life working day jobs, night jobs, whatever helps pay the bills. You often live a very modest lifestyle, (doing without) to keep going.
Auditions are a very different skill from regular acting. It requires quick thinking and being able to often act on imagination of props and sets that aren't there to help you in your performance. When you have time to work on a script and the props are there, and your are in a well-dressed set, it's much easier to act...plus there less pressure because you have the job!
You have to care, but not too much when on an audition.
The bottom line is: you should only want to act because you love acting -not for money or fame. You will be much happier that way, because the odds of getting rich and famous are very, very bad.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Taylor
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you Taylor,
As a follow up, could you let me know how auditions work? How to get them, what happens when you're there, who's auditioning you, what is expected, etc.
Thanks again
Jenny
Answer Hi again, Jenny,
The way you get auditions is through your agent. There really aren’t “open” casting calls for anything but background people. (the people you see walking in the background behind actors or eating at tables nearby in restaurant scenes.)
How it works is the casting people get a “breakdown” –a list of characters needed for the film. From there, the casting people contact the agents and send the breakdown list and the agent’s job is to match up talent they have signed who fit the descriptions. The agent then sends an email back with the names and profiles of the talent they have who may be candidates to audition. Then the casting person picks who they think would be worth seeing and sends the picks back to the agents with the time slots they want the actors to arrive to audition. The actor is contacted by their agent with the audition offer and they can choose to pass on going or confirm they will arrive (15 minutes early!) to the audition place. I always go to any audition I possibly can, whether I really want the job or not, because it’s great practice for the jobs I really want to get. The more you audition, the better you become.
When you arrive at the audition (early) you sign in with your name and other information, then you see if they have a script to study for your character, unless you have gotten a script from your agent beforehand. You quietly study the part to see what it is that your character wants in the seen. (Do they want something from the other character? Do they want to not be found out to be lying? Do they want the other person’s love? Etc.) That is the base for how you need to handle the emotions, how badly you want whatever it is, etc. If you have time, you can tell the assistant you need to step outside or into the hallway, and read the words aloud. It’s good to do this because the sound of your own voice can surprise you if you don’t say the words out loud until you are in front of the casting person’s movie camera. When the casting director is ready for you, you are called into the room and you “take your mark” –that means that you step up to a “T” shaped piece of tape on the floor with one foot on one side of the “T” and one on the other, with your toes touching the line at the top. That way, the camera is in focus on your face and you aren’t too close or too far away. They usually ask you to “slate” by saying your name and the agency you are signed to. They also have you hold an index card up to your ear that has a number on it so they can find you when they rewind the tape later. After you slate, they have you drop the card and they tell you to start acting the scene. Sometimes they will read the other characters lines to you in between your lines and sometimes they will have someone stand with you to act with you. You want to take the script with you in your hand, even if you think you have it memorized. If you don’t, you can quickly look at it and keep going. If not, they have to stop while you go pick up the script and they have to wait on you…NOT GOOD! While you want to have the script in your hand, it’s best if you don’t have to look at it because you memorized it. That leaves you free to act and for the camera to see your eyes and face instead of you looking down half the audition to read. No one can tell much about how good you are looking at the top of your head while you are bent over!
After you finish, they may ask you to read it again, for many reasons. They may want you to relax and try it again, or they may ask you to try saying things differently. That doesn’t mean you were bad, in fact, that they want you to repeat it means they are hopeful you will impress them. If they spend extra time, it’s good. On that note, if you get a script before the audition day, try practicing it in different ways or moods. That way, you won’t be stuck with only one way to perform the lines.
After the audition you wait. Sometimes your agent will call that day, sometimes a week or longer later, or….not at all. That is the hard part: if they don’t want you, they don’t tell you. They may also call you and ask you to return to see you again. That’s known as a “call-back”. That’s really good! You go back wearing the exact same clothes you wore before and try to repeat what you did before. If all goes well, the next call you get is your agent telling you that you got the job!
