Archive for May, 2009

Wow. The last two rounds of GO PRO workshops in Portland sold out in record time, so we’re offering it once again.

Sign up now for GO PRO on Saturday, May 23rd, 2009, because both sessions will fill up fast. Not only are we announcing our workshop on The Casting Scoop, but we’re blasting it to our Portland-area friends and fans on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook, our Tools 4 Actors newsletter subscribers and those who have registered their interest with Eventful.

Once again, there will be two 4-hour sessions, one for Beginners and one for Intermediate/Advanced actors.

NOTE: This is a repeat of the workshop offered in January and March. If you’ve taken a Beginner session, you might be interested in attending an Intermediate/Advanced session. If you’ve already attended the GO PRO Intermediate/Advanced session and are interested in a “What’s Next?” type workshop, shoot us an email and let us know!

Also, this workshop is ideal for adults (or parents of child actors wanting to know how to better market their kids). It is not specifically geared towards children, but we will consider mature and serious child actors on a case-by-case basis.

Not in the Portland area? Check out this post if you’d like to attend a GO PRO workshop in a city near you.

(Hop to the bottom if you want to register now)

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WILL YOU MISS THE BOAT?

In the coming year, regional actors will audition for Hollywood films in cities all across the country.
Some will get cast.

Others, who may have been perfect for the role, will not be chosen.

Many more will miss the boat entirely.

Which group do you think you will you belong to?

Most of you know that I’ve owned a casting company in Oregon for almost 10 years and have worked on a lot of these kinds of films. Before that, I worked as a stage actor, director and producer on three continents. Over this period of time, I’ve learned a few things about what it means to be a professional in the entertainment industry. And, as you may have already figured out, I’m passionate about showing Hollywood that regional actors have got the goods.

But sometimes very talented actors I know blow their chances, because they don’t understand that it takes more than being a good actor to book jobs.

It takes developing the mindset and focus of a pro. It means upping your game, wherever you are in your career. For beginners, this means breaking into what seems like an unbreachable fortress. If you’re already working in film and TV, it means taking your career to the next level and booking the jobs you deserve to be booking.

THE NEXT LEVEL

Is it really possible that, despite being the best actor for the role, you may not advance to the final rounds of consideration or even get a chance to audition, because your professional skills aren’t on a par with your skills as an actor?

Hate to break it to you, but YES.

It kills me to see actors miss out on opportunities that they have the talent to be a part of right now, simply because they haven’t made the mental switch to PRO. That’s why the idea of this workshop keeps nagging at me. Especially if some of the projects we think may be coming down the pike materialize over the next several months.

And since I’ve got some tools and advice that I think can help you make that leap from amateur to professional or professional to force of nature, I figure why not pass on the information?

Just so everyone understands, though: This is not an acting or auditioning workshop. You won’t be asked to get up and do a cold read or perform a monologue.

I’m going to talk about how to develop the mindset of a professional actor, utilizing simple, proven techniques that I’m very confident will take you to the next level in your acting career.

I’ll cover topics such as:
How to evaluate yourself and where you are in your career

How to determine what you REALLY want as an actor and set goals accordingly

What it means to GO PRO

How to develop a strategy for success

How to market and brand yourself

How to take your career to the next level, whether you’re just starting out or have been acting for years

If you’re already booking all the jobs you can keep up with, you probably don’t need me. You’re already leveraging your acting skills and professionalism into paid gigs. But if you’re like most actors, you’re not doing everything you could be to make that career leap.

THE BUZZ

By the way, I offered just a taste of this material in an online course I taught at over 1500 colleges and universities for more than six years. Here are some of the comments my students made:
“I feel so fortunate to have literally stumbled across this class, never imagining that someone with your extensive experience would be slightly interested in sharing all of this priceless information with others like myself, who simply haven’t had a clue how to start making their dreams become a reality.”

“I have learned so much from this class. The information is so valuable, that I have printed out each lesson and the binder is now a permanent installment to my acting reference books. You are now in the likes of Audition by Michael Shurtleff!”

“Since I’ve started this class, I’ve pushed up my game and have gone on three auditions and have been cast in one, so far. My confidence has really soared because I am armed with good, solid advice. Thank you.”

“This course has given me more information than the past five books I’ve read on ‘making it’ in this business. Your advice is intelligent, well researched (well, you ARE living it!), well written and on and on. How come you haven’t written a book? Never mind, if other actors are in the dark about the acting process/business, then *I* have a better chance, having armed myself with all of this knowledge! THANK YOU!”
I’m no longer offering this course online, but I can tell you that the new material I’m developing is ten times more powerful (I can hardly wait to finish it!). Alas, my book is not yet available, so for now the only place to get this information is at the May 23rd workshop.

PRICELESS TOOLS

Here’s an example of some of the things I hope to send you home with:
A blueprint for achieving your acting goals

Effective strategies for leveraging time and money, in order to have more of both to devote to your acting career

Things you can do TODAY to jump-start your career

An understanding of your perceived roadblocks to success and your REAL roadblocks, so you can overcome them

Tools to change your mindset from “How can I get them to hire me?” to “How can I create so much value that they’d be crazy not to?”

Hundreds of you have confided to me that your biggest fear is never getting the opportunity to live your dreams; that you need someone with an inside knowledge of the industry to guide you, give you advice and provide you with the tools to success.

GO PRO will be an opportunity to download all this information from my brain directly into yours. After almost two decades living and learning this stuff, I have condensed all the most powerful material, so that you can see results in a much shorter time frame.

I’m looking for actors who are ready to develop the mindset of a pro and the laser-like focus of an Olympic athlete. If that’s you, I’d love to see you there. Space is extremely limited and the next time I offer this workshop, it won’t be in Portland, so hop on the list right away, if you don’t want to miss the boat.

Plan to bring a sack lunch or snack, so we can spend more time working rather than hunting for food. Also bring your headshot and resume (or your closest approximations of them, if you’re a beginner) and a notepad.

I look forward to seeing you!

Lana Veenker

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GO PRO will take place on May 23rd, 2009 at the Portland Acting Studio, 107 SE Washington Street, Portland, OR 97214 (map).

The Intermediate/Advanced workshop is from 10:00 to 2:00 pm, including a lunch break.

The Beginner workshop is from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, including a snack break.

The cost of the workshop is $75, payable in advance. You can register online at one of these two links:

Intermediate/Advanced

Beginning

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. PayPal Express Checkout is also available.
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PS: I would normally charge up to twice as much for this material, but since many of you have written to say that times are tough for you right now, I’m taking your advice and offering the workshop at a highly discounted rate.

I’d rather make it a bargain, so that more of you get the opportunity to learn these tools and apply them to your lives. Hollywood is knocking. Let’s raise the bar and show them what we’ve got.

Level the playing field. Come join us on May 23rd.

MORE BUZZ:
“Thank you, Lana, for confirming what it was that I was feeling about my present marketability and for the priceless advice. What is so satisfying is that I have been provided with unbelievable tools to help me accomplish any goal I set out to conquer. Thank you!”

“Lana, thank you for one of the most exciting, informative courses I have ever taken. You covered so much more information than I expected. You were concise, consistent and funny as well. I was a sponge and I hope I got it all. Thank you for such a dynamic class!”

“This course is beyond words. I’ve learned more here than I have from all classes, workshops, word of mouth, and Yahoo! groups all together. I cannot thank you enough.”

“I took your online course earlier this year and my career has skyrocketed!”