Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

Well, here we are again. Nearing the end of one rotation…and on the precipice of another. There’s no denying things have been as weird and wacky as ever. I’m not sure there’s been a time in my life, and maybe yours, where this quote from NDW (which many of you know from our Catapult […]
3 Steps to Help You Break More Rules

BY ERIK LINGVALL | NOVEMBER 12, 2021 3:00 PM Originally posted to https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/steps-help-break-rules-2386/ Dacre Montgomery’s audition for “Stranger Things” recently caught fire on the internet. I had many clients bring it up, saying things like, “It was crazy!” or “It’s unlike any audition I’ve ever seen!” To Montgomery’s credit, he’s a great actor and his commitment in that […]
Monologues & Scenes: Picking the Right One
So you’ve signed up for a workshop and one of the requirements is to provide your own scene or monologue. Where do you start? Many actors will have a few if not more pieces of material to showcase in their portfolio, ready to perform at any given time for the sake of workshops or classes. […]
Building a Backstory: The Author
Who is the author? It’s time to get inside the writer’s head. Where did they come from? What inspirations impacted their writing? What other pieces or scripts have they written? Having a clear understanding of who the author is ties the whole bow together of what they’re trying to fully express in their script and […]
This Is Your Secret Weapon as an Actor
BY ERIK LINGVALL | NOVEMBER 12, 2018 3:00 PM The wedding could not have been more beautiful. From the picture-perfect setting to the surprise family members to the impromptu singalong serenading the happy couple, the event was magical. Right up to the moment the officiant introduced “Mr. and Mrs. Harris!” for the first time. The problem? Harris […]