Writing about the working craft
Long-form reference pieces on auditioning, representation, technique, and the working life. Written by Freya, for actors and parents of actors.
Latest articles
60 articles across all categories. Showing page 1 of 5.
The full craft stack: every discipline a working actor eventually meets
Screen acting is not one skill. It is a stack of overlapping disciplines, and a working actor meets most of them over a career. This pillar …
What scene study actually is: from table read to first run
Scene study is the working actor’s laboratory: a small group or one-to-one setting where actors take a short scene apart, interrogate it, an…
Five questions every scene study session should answer
If a scene study session ends and you cannot answer five specific questions about the scene, the session did not do its job. This article la…
Scene study for screen vs stage: the differences that matter
Stage scene study and screen scene study overlap in the big ideas and diverge in almost everything else. The structure of the scene is the s…
Self-directed scene study: running the work without a class
Not every city has a scene study class worth the money, and even where one exists, you cannot rely on it for every hour of work you need. Th…
The first-pass cold read: three instincts to trust in the opening beat
When you get cold sides and you have four minutes, your first instincts are usually right. The problem is that most actors override them wit…
Cold reading in the room: what to do with a sheet of sides and four minutes
An in-room cold read is its own skill. You get sides at the door, four minutes in the corner, and then a stranger asks you to read. The prep…
Why cold reading fails (and why it is almost never a text problem)
Most actors who think they are bad at cold reading are actually bad at something else: listening, committing, or staying present under the s…
Cold reading drills you can run with a phone and a friend
You do not need a class to get better at cold reading. You need a phone, a friend who will read opposite you, and a small stack of unfamilia…
On-camera technique: why stage instincts work against you
If you trained on stage first and moved to screen later, your instincts are working against you in ways you do not always feel. Stage trains…
Eyelines, frame, and the geography of a screen scene
Eyeline is one of the small technical things an actor cannot bluff their way through on camera. A wrong eyeline reads as the actor not being…
Stillness on camera: the economy that separates stage actors from screen actors
Stillness on camera is not the absence of acting. It is a specific economy of movement that trusts the lens to magnify whatever is happening…
Browse by category
Auditioning
Self-tapes, cold reads, callbacks, and how to walk into a room with a performance rather than a rehearsal.
16 articlesFor Parents of Young Actors
Practical guidance for parents of young performers. How to get started, how to stay safe, how to balance a career with school.
4 articlesAgents and Representation
Finding an agent, working with one, and the realities of self-submission when you do not have representation.
3 articlesCraft and Technique
The working craft. Accents, scene study, Meisner, Chekhov, voice, and the long practice of getting better.
31 articlesThe Working Life
On-set etiquette, showreels, headshots, unions, and how to build a career that lasts past your first booking.
6 articlesGood places to start
How to prepare a self-tape in 24 hours
Preparing a self-tape in 24 hours is a standard working-actor skill. The process is broken into three blocks: text work (first four hours), …
How to get your child started in acting
Getting a child started in acting in a healthy way is a staged process, not a single decision. The first stage is play (local drama classes,…
Meisner, Chekhov, and Stanislavski: how the three relate
Meisner, Chekhov, and Stanislavski are three of the most influential acting techniques in Western training. They are not competitors and the…