Ask An Actor

My name is Alice and I am an actor... I once kneed myself in the face on stage

[20th-centuryghost]

Fun Adult Tip:

Don’t put glass cups inside of other glass cups when you’re putting away dishes. They will break.

[askanactorblog-blog]

I learned this whilst working at a bar. When the glass cools: it can form a vacuum between the glasses when the glass contracts after cooling down

Rinse the outer glass in warm water, this should cause it to expand and allow you to slide it free. If this doesn’t work: fill the inner glass with cold water (to make it contract.)

DON’T USE ICE OR BOILING WATER: you can make the glass shatter that way.

I’m sure your dad doesn’t care about the glass, he’s probably just grateful you weren’t hurt in the process.

[askanactorblog-blog]

Makeup timelapse and tutorial/commentary on the creation of the stiched zombie (in case you have ever wanted to look like a member of the undead and/or get fake blood everywhere.)

[askanactorblog-blog]

Outtakes from 2 hour makeup time lapse.

Featuring: Falling off a couch, getting paint in my eyes, spilling expensive make up all over my desk, and losing my tiny mind in front of camera.

MUSIC: ‘Jazz comedy’ by bensound.com Used under a Creative Commons License

[demonicae]

Because everyone secretly likes the bits where it all goes wrong.

[turtle3679]

This is really cute, if you don’t mind me saying so.

[askanactorblog-blog]

Not at all, thank you for saying so ^_^

[askanactorblog-blog]

50 posts!

Yay... you’re going to be seeing a lot of me... you unfortunate souls.

[askanactorblog-blog]

Man to Machine in under 5 minutes.

Watch the outtakes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sDY5WjtRHc

MUSIC: Pro-Bots and Robophobes by Scandroid Store Link: https://fixtstore.com/collections/scandroid/products/scandroid-probots-robophobes-feat-circle-of-dust-digital-album?variant=13938379590

Permissions granted courtesy of FiXT.

[askanactorblog-blog]

Outtakes from 2 hour makeup time lapse.

Featuring: Falling off a couch, getting paint in my eyes, spilling expensive make up all over my desk, and losing my tiny mind in front of camera.

MUSIC: 'Jazz comedy' by bensound.com Used under a Creative Commons License

[memoriesinatrunk]

When an actor stumbles into their fandom on Tumblr:

[askanactorblog-blog]

THIS WEEK: I tackle a question I get asked a LOT... how do you cry on cue?

Ask an Actor runs every Friday to answer your performance related questions (both sensible and silly.) Keep ‘em coming!

TO ASK A QUESTION: e-mail: [email protected] twitter: @WestonAlice Tumblr: http://askanactorblog.tumblr.com

Music: "Jazz comedy" by bensound.com Used under a creative commons license

[askanactorblog-blog]

Everyone loves those make up videos where everything is done very seriously and it all goes according to plan...

Sorry, it's not one of those videos.

Containing: various outtakes from the process of putting on new make up alongside Mehron's Liquid Latex. Lots of giggling and some swearing.

e-mail: [email protected] twitter: @WestonAlice Tumblr: http://askanactorblog.tumblr.com

MUSIC: Retro Soul by bensound.com Jazz comedy by bensound.com Both used under a creative commons license

TAGGING MY SAD ROBOT CROWD (because I think they would appreciate where I was at least trying to go with this.)

@girlwiththegreenhat

@trbl-will-find-me

[eluvix-blog]

[videocore1984]

[askanactorblog-blog]

Want to be an actor? Still stuck in school? Want to know what you can start doing now to hone your skills?

This video is for you.

You will be happy to know that at no point in this video do I start trying to convince anyone that they *shouldn’t* be an actor by saying how hard acting is/how competitive it is/how poorly paid it often is etc... Any aspiring actor will have heard a LOT of that stuff already.

This is just about what you CAN do.

[askanactorblog-blog]

What's the weirdest non-scripted thing that's ever happened to you while performing?

oooh, I can’t wait to answer this one in a video. I’ve had a number of things going wrong on stage/screen/in front of the mic. However I have picked a few of the ‘weirdest’ ones out for you.

For now I will tease:

Stage Management fuck up. I get sent on stage at the WORST time.

Guy breaks a chair and nearly flips a table in my house on camera.

Fire alarm whilst recording audio... there’s only one exit from the building.

Bizarre improv: because NOTHING is scripted (or sacred)

[askanactorblog-blog]

Well, last night was interesting.

This was the first time I’ve ever used latex with this much paint, so I was expecting a total disaster.

For anyone wondering how I did this. I tore up a whole lot of tissue paper and layered it with the latex to to build up the ‘tear’ around my face and neck. Let it dry. Paint it white.

I actually did the robot makeup AFTER the latex. Which isn’t usually done (as it’s difficult to avoid the latex with the paint brush.) But I managed it.

This was Mehron liquid latex (and their silver paint.) The rest was Snazaroo and three hours of worth of patience.

[askanactorblog-blog]

"What is the worst injury you've ever sustained whilst performing?'

Ask an Actor runs every Friday to answer your performance related questions (both sensible and silly.)

TO ASK A QUESTION: e-mail: [email protected] twitter: @WestonAlice Tumblr: http://askanactorblog.tumblr.com

Music: The Show Must Be Go Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

[demonicae]

Well… I’ve had an interesting evening If nothing else…

Let me tell you: this is one kind of rock you really DON’T want to lick!

Totally self-indulgent photos following a make up test…

[askanactorblog-blog]

I see a lot of actors/singers suffering with this. So here are some tips for how to deal with performance anxiety!

Ask an Actor runs every Friday to answer your performance related questions (both sensible and silly.)

TO ASK A QUESTION: e-mail: [email protected] twitter: @WestonAlice Tumblr: http://askanactorblog.tumblr.com

Music: "Jazz comedy" by bensound.com

[askanactorblog-blog]

Make up testing. The drawing at the bottom was the style guide. I think it turned out pretty well for a first try.

[demonicae]

Two hours to put on, 7 mins to take off… typical.

[askanactorblog-blog]

@girlwiththegreenhat

To answer your tags: (’Is this for anything specific or just for fun?’)

Short answer: Both.

Now for the long answer (sorry in advance: I ramble and answer questions you never asked.)

I’ve been getting more and more into the application of stage make up. It’s a skill I picked up years ago but intermittently come back to for fun.

There are lots of little rules about stage make up that you don’t usually have to apply. The colours have to be more vivid than usual because stage lighting tends to bleach out colour in everything (also under certain coloured lighting you’ll notice some colours/details disappearing entirely.) This is why stage make up often looks garish and ‘over done’ up close and personal.

For example: the green on there is *bright* green, but under the bright light it looks muted.

You also have to apply ‘The Ten Foot Rule’: Can it be seen from 10ft away (or more) without looking a mess? Can you tell who the character is from far away? I have to admit that I put in a lot of little designs in here that were mostly for my own amusement (the screws and the wire work around the teeth.)

And now to out myself as a total nerd (as if the photos don’t give it away entirely.) This character has been the product of character creation. I do a lot of tabletop gaming (D&D and the likes.) I do a lot of gaming with people that I also work with (in fact one of them just sent me THIS image which I think you’ll appreciate):

Robots have been on all our minds recently and it was decided that my next character would be an automaton. So... here we are.

I developed the make up from my conceprt art for the character (you can see this and our GM’s plan for a ‘possessed banjo’ HERE )

I don’t LARP, but halloween is always right around the corner... best get practicing now.

You’re probably well aware of the make up used, but just in case anyone else reads this: Snazaroo and Mehron.