Acting

I have been asked to blog about stunts. Asking me to do that … well, first off you just asked a stuntman to write. I’m not a writer, so let’s see how that works. Imagine being asked to blog about your girlfriend, who you love with all your heart. The problem is, she keeps leaving you for younger men, and now you’ve reached a time where you can’t fight off the younger men any more. That’s how I feel about stunts. In fact, I must now bring those young men to her and make certain that she doesn’t h...

ACTING – 10 Monologue Tips from Ruth Kulerman  1. CHOOSE AN AGE APPROPRIATE MONOLOGUE. Now I could do Juliet’s monologues deliciously but they’d call Bellevue or the loony bin, since if Juliet had a grandma it’d be me. Just because you can play 35 doesn’t mean you should choose Lady M’s letter scene–if you are 17 years old. The saddest audition I ever saw was an exquisite innocent angelic awkward 12 year old singing a sexy, come-on suggestive bump and grind number. I wanted to cry–but only...

“Wow, you work in the film industry, that must be amazing!!” I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard people say that when they find out what I do for a living.  Well, I have to admit in a lot of respects working in the film industry is indeed amazing. The numerous benefits & rewards can, without doubt, be life changing, but working on a Hollywood movie isn’t always a glamorous affair. For starters, it’s hard work and can at times be very stressful. It’s not uncommon for long days t...

Fellini entered the dressing room suddenly. The play hadn't finished yet. There were two comic actors yet to go. We had done our part. We had gone back to the dressing room. Little by little we were getting back into ourselves. "It seems like they laughed!" Said Roberto. Roberto was my partner on stage. "They laughed yes!" I answered. We had done an extract of our show. Twelve minutes exactly. We had been told not to do more than fifteen. There were six comic actors on the list. We wer...

Excerpt from Actor Muscle: Craft. Grit Wit. A Professional Guide to the Business of Acting: "THE ONLY REAL ACTORS ARE FROM NEW YORK" ONCE UPON A TIME there was a New York stage Actor who was getting fantastic notices when his play traveled to Los Angeles. A very good Agent (we'll call him A+) was keen to represent him after seeing his remarkable performance. Since signing a new client needs unanimous agreement among all the agents, A+ arranged a big meeting so that the Actor could...

When RB asked me to guest blog, tell a personal story and give some advice, I shuddered. So much wisdom has been written. From great essays that went viral like Frank Langella's The Demon Seesaw Actors Ride to Julia Cameron's bible The Artists Way, there's so much to say and nothing to say ... The same demons the divine Langella and Cameron speak of remind me that I am an actor, not a writer, and what if no one wants to read my words? But just like when I walk onto a stage, onto a set, into...

Thanks for bearing with the weird title... Recently I have been on several interviews for jobs, 'proper' jobs, some of them highly paid, with real responsibility. They went well, I have been called in for second interviews.... The thing is - I don't want any of them! Really, I couldn't imagine anything less appealing, I know what I really want to do and it's not that! My journey into the world of the entertainment industry has been short if you look at it from the point of me trying...

Show business has always been in my blood. When I was 5, I stood on a stage and sang with a live band at my grandfather's infamous restaurant in New York, Moskowitz and Lupowitz. Based in the lower east side, the restaurant was a celebrity hangout for the likes of Henry Fonda, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Laurence Olivier and Paul Neman. The world's biggest stars walked through that door every day. Some of the effects rubbed off on me. My uncle Hy Anzel was an accomplished character actor who worked in telev...

The most frequent question asked of me is, "How do I get an agent?" My Plan A and the one I consider the strongest approach is to mail well-thought out, and attractive hardcopy packages that appeal directly to the needs of the agency (commercial or theatrical). All packages will include a picture, resume, cover letter and access to a performance reel. I spend a great deal of time on this in my business of acting class, and devoted an entire chapter plus additional segments in other chapters, to...

So who is Sonal Shah and why are you reading this? I'm just a gal in the entertainment industry. Everyone is on his/her own path and has a story to share. As an actress, here is a bit of mine. I've been a bridesmaid 15 times. FIFTEEN!!! Yep, I'm the little brown version of Katherine Heigl. Wait a second, does that mean I only have to be in 12 more weddings before I get to marry James Marsden?? Albeit, I don't have a husband...I am married to my acting career. Sound like a clich'e? We...