In the last several weeks, I've been contacted by various actors specifically to coach them for a demo reel - usually a self-tape audition scene. Here's how that conversation usually goes: "I want you to coach me for a demo reel." "Great! How much training have you had?" "Almost a year. Well, maybe nine months..." Then they show me footage. I see potential, but I also see an actor who needs to do a lot more training before they're ready to be in the casting arena, auditioning

Congrats to Buzz Van Dyke for booking a principal role in an ad for Tampa General Hospital! #acting #actingcareer #AndiMatheny

"Hey," the email to my acting studio began "is anyone around to put me on tape today?" That was it. Not signed. Not addressed. Nothing. It felt more like a booty call than a business email. Our studio gets several emails and phone calls daily, with requests for taping, info on classes and everything in between. And because I've now been teaching for ten years, I can tell what kind of student - and person you are - just by the way you address your email or leave a phone m

I know you've heard that common proverb - "Necessity is the mother of invention." That's why we have Peanut M&M's - some genius realized that some of us women gots to have our chocolate and our peanuts in a candy-coated shell or else we'll go crazy. Oh, and that's why we have electricity and all sorts of other stuff too. If there is a need, a smart human being will figure it out. But for all of us in the entertainment industry, it's not so much about invention as it is rei

Now that we're beginning a new year, it brings to mind our hopes and goals for the year ahead. Many of us spend time thinking about what we dream of in the future - that perfect job, relationship, house, vacation, etc. - and how wonderful our life will be when those things happen. In class we do several immersive-type exercises where we commit to the mode of a character, whether it's an improv game or a scripted scene. We literally behave as that character would in given ci

When I was in my twenties and I had made the decision to become a full-time actor, my approach to life was much different than it is now. Because I had made a career move from office worker to artist, I thought that gave me permission to live a free-form life. Party til 2am on a weeknight? Sure! Sleep all day, any day? Why not? My thinking then was I'd pull it together if an audition came up - but the auditions were few and far between. Looking back that's no surprise

Hey look - it's been three months since my last post! Have I been that busy? Well...yes and no. I'm in an undisclosed location finally writing the book I've been threatening to write for years. So that's good. But notice, I'm not writing that book right now. Because I'm procrastinating. Because I'm in a little slump. Because the last chapter I wrote wasn't perfect. See where I'm going here? As the only person in the universe who puts off creative projects because of

Yes, you read that correctly. When you audition, not only is it not your job or your concern to book that job, it's none of your business. "Huh? What do you mean? But I'm actor - I don't just want to book that job - I need to book it. I've got rent/mortgage to pay. I've got to impress my agent. My ego needs a boost, and so does my IMDB starmeter. I want to make my ex jealous for dumping me. And...and...and..." Look, I get it. I'm an actor too. Every time I read for