Entertainment Series 2: Kim Houston

0:01 Welcome to another episode of Come Together. All right, Kim Houston, welcome. So happy to have you here. Thanks so much for the time. I love the invitation, thank you. You want to tell me just a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you do, and we'll go from there. Who is Kim Houston? Sure. So I'm a mom, first of all, and I work as a casting director and a studio owner. So I have an acting studio for all kinds of different people, people that are actors that currently audition, people that are brand new that have never auditioned.

0:53 And it's also a taping service for actors that need to get themselves on tape since they have changed since COVID really changed. Can you tell? Me about that what what changed? Since the pandemic, self taping has become the norm for actors and casting directors. It offers a lot more flexibility, definitely for them, but it also comes with its challenges. There's so many pros and cons. So an actor now has the flexibility to record pretty much at their own schedule and they can redo, take as many times as they want and really audition from anywhere. There's no need to be near casting hubs like it used to be. You know, you, you obviously save that way on travel and parking and, and time off of work. You have more control over your performance, you know, even in terms of writing and editing, because normally if you walk in a studio, it's, you know, you're kind of that's, that's the situation.

2:02 So definitely pros for, for actors. I think some are that the technical aspects, you know, especially for parents, you know, lighting and sound and editing is usually not their Forte. So if you have aisle, that's really you know it to get on tape for an audition and and that's not your skin. I believe there are meltdowns that probably a lot of arguments between us lives on getting you know, that the deadline done. So there's also this lack of real time feedback and directions. What I loved about casting, so they don't get that and they can feel disconnected for sure and and unsure even if their tape is being used.

2:50 So an investment for sure in equipment and setup and you know, it doesn't have to be a lot, but it's still it's something that actors never used to have to do before. So for casting directors are pros. You know, there's an efficiency now to reviewing the process and that can be on a flexible schedule. I could be anywhere really. Which do you? Take do you, do you take advantage of that? Do you travel a lot now? I live in North Carolina basically. Oh nice, where? I live in Asheville since 2009 and. How has your home, has your home or neighborhood been affected by that? By the floods.

3:32 Terribly so, yes, I'm so. Sorry. They're more than ever now with that, you know, there's a very, very strong community there and the retail has been amazing to be a part of that community. So sometimes I can't wait to get back for a lot of the things that are are going on there. Even after the storm, when we had no power, no water, no gas, I was there during that and it was terribly frustrating obviously. And I've lived through hurricanes in in Florida. That is where you want to experience something like that, not. Here people there are so good. Did just you know, they're thoughtful and they're about people enough, which is more of here you see, everybody's got to have a nice car and nice clothes and where there people know that people had a lot of money there because they they're not all show and and I've always been drawn to that. So definitely my property is devastated with the amount of tree loss and damage that the trees did even to the ground. They the with the amount of power that these 200 year old, you know, gigantic pine trees fell. They shattered our water lines, everything. And it's so expensive.

4:57 I don't know if you know to remove debris trees from a property, first of all, come up would be a fortune. But we had so many volunteers. Yeah, or to just, you know, help. Everybody was just, you know, running around with chainsaws, like, how can I help? What can I do? And so we took advantage of people cutting it, but then to have to remove it, huge vehicles and train. And so it's been a fortune. Yeah, but you know that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's so terrible. You know, I mean, my, my so my dad has a log cabin about an hour from there and right closer to Tennessee, right by Burnsville.

5:39 Johnson City, I think is actually the closest place next to it. Yeah. And so we have a lot of very positive associations of that place. And my dad, when we fly in, he flies to Asheville. And then, you know, we'll either rent a car, pick one up. But, you know, we love Asheville for the, you know, we've been visiting for the last 10-12 years and it's got a special place in our hearts. And we heard about, you know, it was just so it was so sad. And my dad called me and goes I'm driving through and he was this just breaks my heart to see what's going on. You know what the news shows and then, of course, stops showing at a certain point and people are still living there in tents. And there's been so many people that haven't even been found. Hunter So I I go back and forth. I'm really lucky to have that Asheville airport because they're expanding it.

6:25 I don't know if you've seen it lately. No, no, really. Going to Asheville in my early 20s, my mom and her husband had a an apple orchard just outside in Hendersonville. And in my 20s, you know, you'd leave Miami International and you're flying into that little hosted damp airport. I hated it. I just thought, Oh my God, this place is just Hickville and and I can't wait to get back to Miami. You know, I just always had that feeling of how long are we going to be here because it was always holidays. Well, the airport only now and this is, you know, 2024 started the rebuild is finally, you know, being renovated after and it's going to probably look better than Miami for sure, but they. Probably operate better.

7:15 Too, But the point is I absolutely love Asheville now. I moved in my just about when I turned 40 small children. I just had the opportunity with the film business dying in South Florida completely because of again, hurricanes are really what you know, kind of is always around my life. So there were so many storms that would would were coming through and film production just came to a halt because, you know, people just didn't understand coming from California and the earthquakes, like, what do you mean we shut down and we evacuate? And they had no insurance really for that and. Yeah, it's massively expensive, right? I mean, it's forcing to push off a project even for a day, right? So they just were like, you know, Florida, there's no guarantee there.

8:04 There's especially certain times of the year. And our hurricane season is so long. Yeah, people, it was really a mass exodus between 2000 and five, 2006. Most of the good crew left knowing that you know, Atlanta was building, they were build is they were accommodating you. Know tax breaks there too, right In Atlanta. Which incentives so, yeah. And for nothing really at that time because you have the whole state to contend with. So everything left, but before that it was you know, amazing to work in South Florida. Anybody can tell you that around during you know, even the 80s nineties was just high day of fun productions.

8:53 I mean we were casting for print, for TV, for film, for for commercials, voice over nonstop. Lucky to be a part of that development and those times because really, you know, with the not as high tech technology, things definitely were at a slower pace and it gave me like me even an opportunity to learn more because it wasn't fast. I mean, waiting for a script revision, you know, you had so much time just waiting for someone who was delivery driver to come with a new script that then you had to make copies and give to the actors had to come to the casting office and pick up their new scripts.

9:37 And there would, there was just so much more time, time to really consider who you were going to present to this casting for your client. You know, we really counted on these headshots and resumes and, and casting was, was everything then because. I'm sorry, I'm sorry to interrupt. Can you give me a basic breakdown for anyone that doesn't understand about what your job as a casting director does? Yeah. And then what you, how you look to prepare someone that you're an actor or actress? Or do you not say I, I don't know the I'm not up with the parlance, but to prepare an actor for their for their roles.

10:21 Casting for roughly 35 years now been able to be in the casting business, which is really fantastic. It's the best job ever, honestly, ending some ticket sometimes really, he said come up. So casting comes to fruition by a job, say, say a commercial, you know, or a car Honda, they want to advertise their car. So they're going to contact and AD agency. But you know, something together, whether it's point of purchase billboards, you know, a commercial, whatever it is that they're doing car shows, you know, they, they help them. So the ad agency then has a creative director.

11:04 You know, they've developed storyboards. They they have an agency director that overseas it all and they then hire production companies. But first those production companies need to bid on on the job to, you know, see who they're going to and that ties in talents director. It's a fighting process. Very, very creative on what people come up with and how do you decide on on who they're going to put this job to. So those are big terms for us. You know, if if something's awarded and is in production, usually is contacted and I can contacted by three different production companies on the same job, knowing that they're bidding and three things in the mix, which is really exciting. This was back in how we used to do things. Now it's very.

12:02 When you when you were doing that and you and you had the same script and you were looking at different production companies, would you based on the production company? Like I know obviously there's a mere interpretations of ways to read scripts and ways for different act, you know, actors to present the script. Would you kind of present each of them with a different twist on the script when the actors auditioning, or would you try to keep the same one for all three? Well, so when you're getting people bidding on your jobs, you know, they're calling you for your casting budget, you're they're giving those, you're not even getting a script yet. You're getting an idea of, you know, we're looking for five talent 10, talent 2, you know, depending have an idea of the spectrum of the, you know, if it's a lot of people, if it's one certain hero, if it's whatever it is, you know, and it's frustrating sometimes because you're not really hired yet on the job, but people are kind of picking your brain.

12:57 That's a really popular term. Yeah, because I get that. All the time, by the way, in my industry too, people call me for I saw a medical equipment, people call me. They'll be like, can you tell me about this, this and this machine? I make sure and they call it and they hang up the phone and they buy it from someone else because they have all the information I just gave them. And I'm like, why would you do that? Stop doing that because that was really a set of pet peeve for me as as soon as I got that even line, Oh, I just wanted to I was like, well, you know, I really charge for that. So I started. But anyway, director recalling kind of pick your brain on, you know, their idea on what they're thinking and if you can start thinking about it and you weren't even hired. So it was kind of like, oh, but if it was an award-winning director and somebody that, you know, you had a relationship with, you certainly wanted to.

13:43 You. Know the wheels turning and it was always great to get that much heads up also so yeah then you would get you know, the job would get awarded and you would get the the so you you initially get casting specs. So that means we're looking for, you know, women 35 to 45. Yeah. Say, you know, if it's a car commercial parents, we need kids. We need to cast the OR we know what the kids, you know, look like there's going to be a dog. So we need to be aware of allergies and fear and whatever. And so you kind of get that. And then then what casting does is where we going to find this.

14:25 So we are very resourceful depending on what those specs are, you know, Asian baseball team, if it's a, you know, I'm mad. I remember that are harder to find always, you know, a stunt AA body that has, you know, specific height and features that are, you know, very hard. I remember trying to find a body double once for Claudia Schiffer, who was a supermodel back in the 80s and she was just a freak of nature. How tall and gorgeous with this tiny waist and these shoulders. And it was, you know, nobody looked like her. That's why she was a supermodel.

15:09 Yeah. Have to find all these people, you know, somebody that can hang out of a helicopter or you know, whatever. I have a buddy that could do that, by the way, and I just did a podcast to the gentleman that's a stunt double, and he just told me he got rigged to a helicopter for the first time. And I'm like, I don't know how you do that stuff, man. It's crazy. That represents certain people, you know, there's there's people that represent more pretty people, the models, there's acting, you know, specifically there's some acting agencies don't represent children, so, or voice over actors. So you as a casting director, that's what people are, are hiring you for is where are you going to find, you know, this crowd of people at a concert or, you know, at, at a stadium or or whatever. This is really, you know, before AI and before what's called the cardboard people, which is a big thing in LA is you can, you can pay to have your image put on a cardboard cut out. No way.

16:13 Have your image. Yep. So they're cardboards. There's just people in stand. People in the background, Are you watching a Netflix show or HBO show? And there could be people in the background that are bystanders that are just literally cardboard cutouts. Cardboard cutouts. Get out. That is crazy. It's the cardboard people. It's a, it's a pre AI AI, you know, it's what everyone was afraid of before AI happening. Yes. And then, well, then it started, you know, having agencies just for background, because if you're a principal casting director, they really don't want you doing their background because they want you to focus on the principles. And that was a big problem for me because I wanted to do it all I want. You know, I'm not, you know, I have a crew, you know, but they, they didn't want you to. And, and I preferred that.

17:00 I preferred the background because that meant also I could be on set sometimes and I could see what you know, because a casting director rarely goes to a set, you know, we stay in the studio pretty much auditioning talent OR reviewing. So the opportunity for me to go on set was I, I loved it. And that's. Where, how, how, what what? What would come up that you would that you would be called on set? What would be? What would the scenario? Be I was hiring background if I was a casting coordinator, if I I see I've done thousands of music videos, that's when you really need somebody just coordinating and you know, contracts and making sure people you know their time and and safety if there's kids or whatever. So I've been an intimacy coach.

17:47 I've been. Oh wow, what was that like? That's probably crazy, right? Yes, well, now things have changed where you really need to have licensing and you know, I I would need to get some kind of a special degree, but back then they're like, no, we really need you as the buffer between, you know, if there was a child on set with an adult and they even had to put their arm on their shoulder or. Wow, really? That's, That's important. That's really important. Now on every set pretty much there's an intimacy coordinator, coach or safety person just to just to be there, doesn't matter if kind of interaction. So I enjoyed all of that if I did baby wrangling.

18:30 What's that? So if there's a diaper commercial and we need 6 babies and then we need 6 backup babies, there's a lot of. No way. What do you do for that? How do you find people? That's ever because once those babies are hired and on set, you want to keep the baby karma just happy, the juju going, everybody, because one baby starts crying, it's all over. Yeah. So you want to really just, you know, keep everybody happy and a lot of toys and wow of rocking a lot of playing. I love all those sets. I've been on every kind of set you can imagine from, you know, somebody just doing hand modeling where I've I've come in and done hand modeling when that actor couldn't for whatever reason, just been available. So this is back in the day when, you know, casting was done on three quarter deck machines and you had one and it was like, you know, this Bible pretty much that was your whole casting. And these clients were relying on you. And oftentimes they would pay me to go to London, to go to Canada, to go through customs and security so that nothing happened to this tape.

19:44 Because when you go through an X-ray machine, you're, you're, it's demagnetized. Oh yeah. Easily. And so many times we were called with clients saying there's nothing, there's no audio, there's nothing. And I mean tragic because you've. So what do you have to do? So what do you do about that? Well, you always make a backup is what I've learned very early on. Yeah, backups would be half inch, which is VHS. It's shit, you know, crappy quality. So and then you get the feedback, you know, and you've done all this work in you to have an unhappy client was just like, Oh my God, if the audio wasn't good and those days, you know, nothing was good. Really it was, you know, it's just like an actor now, like I was saying, that has to struggle with the tech. Casting directors really were more known for directing talent, not really no backside as well really as challenging. And as that text started to change, if you were not up on the tech side of being able to upload and you know all that, you were really left out.

20:49 So that was game changer for every business, as you know, but mostly casting because clients knew they could get things faster and faster. And it started to become this thing like, like, do you want me to actually find the right people? Or do you just want me to send you bodies like of who's available? And not even worse during COVID because then it was like, all right, are we, you know, are we hiring actors? Are we hiring people that don't aren't sick? Yeah, it got to be this constant testing. Testing. No, it's. Years that went on for years. Yes, so when you had to test before wardrobe, you had to test, you know, before you got to set, you had to and and that was a game changer because if somebody tested positive and they were about, you know, to be on set, it was just like what do we have?

21:35 We got to have your so it, it was a nightmare, honestly, and it drew me away from casting and into more of my studio where I could help people with the tech side more with auditioning really well for their different projects. They didn't have to be my projects. And really, you know, liberating to just be away from the, the pressure of the client too, and just help people with a casting perspective of, OK, this is really what it, what this client wants to see and feel from you. So help people understand more about the auditioning process. And that is what I love.

22:16 I don't make half as much as what I used to, but I'm happier. I can't see itself watching a lot of tapes constantly, whether you know, I, I'm watching from my phone or tablet or, or my, you know, desktop, laptop, whatever. It's constant screen time. So that's really hard. And I said as, as wonderful as it is to have that flexibility of, of scheduling and you have a more diverse talent pool with not seeing people in person, it's, it's hard to not be able to redirect somebody during a live audition and make that quick change or you know, the volumes of submissions now can just be overwhelming with the amount of people that are.

23:04 I feel like it's almost like a little like a mini ecosystem of like what the job market in general is like, where like it used to be that you could like knock on someone's door and say, hey, I'm looking for an internship, I'm looking for a job. And then and then the world went to resumes. And now that the resident world of resumes is so flooded, one of the only ways to kind of do it is to make connections, You know, And I feel like it's the same thing with, I feel like the, you know, actors go through the same, went through the same process, just in the microscopic, you know, Hollywood of the world. They're acting of the world. Difficult to yes, break into it that way. So I like to help people in a Safeway because it can be very unsafe as well as, you know, on people in different directions or promising you, you know, all kinds of things and especially kids because they, you know, they see the Tik tokers just making money and you know.

23:53 What do you think of kid actors and what do you think of TikTok and and all this stuff after being in the issue for so long? Yeah, it's, it's it's frustrating for sure, because you, you will see somebody, you know, naked overnight. There's a little Russian girl that is very popular with her YouTube videos in our in our area just because these kids just keep hitting replay, replay, replay because of what they're offering on the YouTube show that she has, which is, I've seen it. It's ridiculously, you know, basic and I think unintelligent, but whatever it's colorful.

24:35 It's it draws them in with the sounds and the and effects and the silliness of what she does and the character. So I could see it definitely will appeal to a toddler that one that can just keep hitting replay, replay. And so, you know, that's how she's become so successful, ridiculously successful. I mean this, you know, it's, it's, it's crazy what, what the numbers that I hear and see and. Staggering. The numbers are staggering. Yes, I've asked to be, you know, can you help us cast on the on these shows? And yes, I would, you know, because as soon as I mention it to even some of my students, they're like, Oh my God, yes, I'd love to do it and they're willing to do it, of course, for free.

25:20 So I try to facilitate in the right way, but I, you know, sometimes I can, I see, well, you know, wow, she's making millions and millions of dollars. But I mean, you're paying the people that you want to be on the show like nothing, $100 for 10 hours. And, you know, so I try, it's very difficult, my position being that in between, I need, you know, accessible to my client and, and help them, but I also want to be accessible to the talent and help them, you know, things they don't understand. And so there is a fine line there for, you know, just being in that position. I love doing what I'm doing because I know when someone comes to me and they have a talented child and they know that there's opportunities for them, I'd love to be able to guide them in the right direction and be very realistic.

26:14 Everybody, their, their child is wonderfully talented. So I, I like to expose them to, you know, whether it's a manager that would guide them and look for things for that particular talent or, or an agent that will help get opportunities and, you know, pass them on to casting. So I've become a coach in that way where I'm not an actor. And, and then beginning, I really wasn't marketing myself as a coach because I felt like, well, I'm not a coach. I'm not an actor. I don't really, I've never taken an acting course. But then I realized my years in front of, you know, clients basically, and working with talent, watching videos, watching auditions, being in that callback room to hear what saying about talent in these videos and has given me great perspective in knowing what is needed on an audition.

27:12 What, what I like to teach when people come to me and they say, oh, I want to join your acting school. And I'm like, well, it's really not an acting school. I, I don't teach acting. I definitely have actors that work for me that are coaches that can teach you, you know, the foundations of acting and you know what what some methods they use. I teach auditioning and any class that I have is an auditioning class. I will give you a script and we will break down that script and we'll talk about your character and how you can make the most out of your audition opportunity being for acting. I send them elsewhere because you know, it's like learning a new instrument. You have to just pick it up and start and be dedicated and that repetition is huge, that you're much time and effort as you would anything that you want to learn really well so. A breaking realization for me too, by the way, that anything I wanted to be good at, I had to put a lot of time into and it would have just happened by itself. And I was like, well, that stinks because I would like to be good at everything, you know?

28:18 Yeah, and there's so there's so much time. So you have to really, you have to really be realistic for sure. Everything takes time. There's a great book called 10,000 hours that's been recommended to me for actors. I think it does really, even if you happen to hit it big, you know, there's been so many stories of act. You know, I've had a little boy that was about 8 or 9 years old that was on just, you know, practicing auditions with me on a regular basis and, and the mom had a great relationship with me and, you know, on, on knowing what the goals was, were for her child. And, you know, he, he had talent. He was very, you know, thoughtful and could, you know, if a child can express things before they've ever even, you know, experienced them, like, all right, wow. That's they're, they're deep.

29:16 You know, there's some that, yeah, they're, they have this, you know, they want to explore that more. So this boy got a wonderful opportunity to be in a movie that was in the Academy Awards, really a very short time. He's walking the red carpet with his mom. And it just seemed, you know, like mind blowing that, you know, they went from this to that. And the, the problem is, you know, a lot of people I've found in in all these decades is as soon as they hid it in some way, they drop what they've been doing.

30:00 You know, I am immediately disconnected from them because I believe they think that there's so much more out there then and go and and you know, I'm not saying, you know, I'm not trying to like, you know, boost my ego that way, but you really should stay where you've always been in some capacity roots. Don't forget your roots. Don't forget where you came from. Touching in and making sure because those are the people that helped you get where you are, even though you know definitely it's a launching pad, but unfortunately those other people don't have the same relationship with you yet and you know that there's so many people out there that are guiding you in different directions. So have something, you know, imagine you have a you have a product, right and and you just came up with something amazing like this mouse, right?

30:58 Nobody had this mouse before It's and it's amazing you came up with it. You're selling it like hot cakes. Everybody that you're selling it to wants to know what what's next? Come on, because we're already on this and and, you know, a lot of those actors, they don't have what's next foundation of representation that's going to be able to say, oh, you know, marketing this job. I, I, this kid just booked this huge Hollywood movie. We've got this for them. So, you know, because they didn't develop those relationships. So if they had come back to their original source of, you know, support, they would have been more successful because, you know, we're all rooting for them. We're all like, yeah, we want to be a part of this as well. So to just flee the nest is always kind of like, wow. And then you see that there's nothing for them after. And the kind of those were, you know, a lot of talent that way. They just kind of, you know, they turn into teenagers. And then, you know, there's not a lot of work for teens unless you've already got that, you know, great representation, that base.

32:11 Does that typically happen more with young with young with young actors as opposed to adults? Yeah, 6 to 11 years old is really at peak 9 is absolutely perfect. 8-9 years old, especially if you're as on the small side, if you have, you know, small features, you're sure. If you know, typically it's, I don't know if you've ever met anybody famous that's an actor, but they're, they're all pretty small. You know what, I think it's so funny that you say that because one of the reasons I, I don't, I don't think I've ever been able to identify a celebrity in a crowd ever because I'm always used to them being like the front center of the screen. And so seeing them like blunt, just a regular person blended in with the rest of the world.

32:54 I almost don't even know to look for them, you know, like I wouldn't even know to like recognize them. I feel like. Really big features, like even even the rock. We got to work with the rock so much here in South Florida. So she's like here a wonderful person, doesn't really like, you know, to be around a lot of talent. We had two doors, which was very helpful when he was working because, you know, he didn't have to constantly have people talking and approaching him. But overall, everybody thinks he's this massive guy, but he has massive features. He has really giant arms and he's, you know, he's got a big head, but he oh, it's hike wise. I mean, my son was just as tall as him.

33:34 How? Tall is he? He was 6 foot 46 foot 5, but overall when you see you know his features. He looks like the Hulk in movies. I mean he looks like a human version of the Hulk. He's really not. He's really not that. He's just, like I said, those features are big. I actually bought a truck from him and I would get stopped all the time because the tints were so dark. They were illegal. Oh yeah. So, and this is before everybody, you know, would drive SU VS and you know, really it was right at that time where instead of even a limo, you wanted a black truck, you know, so I was constantly pulled over and I still had his registration of Dwayne Johnson.

34:20 I would reach. I didn't even know really who he was at the time when I bought the truck. I I had no idea that they were telling me The Rock. I was like, I really don't follow wrestling. I don't really know who that is, but then of course I would see the TV Guide and you know. Yeah. Muscles like, oh, that's I know him now and then when I got into casting, I shared a studio after I moved to North Carolina and then I moved back here. I shared a studio with a recording studio and it was great because I really got to understand the world of voice over, which I love and I'll talk to you more about. But they're steady clients because they also did a lot of ADR work, which is like dubbing.

35:05 So that's like when you insert a line that's missing or not. So he was there for for hours, for days, for everything. You know, it's so funny. What got them the job, though? Their little studio in Hollywood, really, you would never even know the studio was there because it's on a residential St. And he would pull up in a regular truck like nobody really knew, like, you know, that he was there. But the reason we got that job at the studio is because of the microwave. He would warm up his food. He had these protein meals that was like baby food almost that he would eat training like every three hours. And he had an assistant that would go and warm it up. And the microwave had to be a certain wattage, so when he was going around looking at studios.

35:52 No way that's what he was looking. For came in and pretty much looked at the studio. Yeah, this is great, but can I see your microwave? And looked at our microwave and opened it up and took a picture of the water. Everyone had that stick. Do you find that a lot? Do you find that kind of sticks? That's what I was. I said that's what got us the job though, which was amazing. What would? What was your I'm? Sorry, do do do do a lot of have you noticed that a lot of people have that kind of stick or, you know, the bigger name people like have these. I don't want to call them absurd because obviously there's a reason for them, but like what seems silly to like a casting director or someone like? We had one girl that was very popular and I'm sorry even to say girl because I think she was, she's the first transgender child that made it somewhat known. And I'm her name is escaping me now. But she wrote a book and then she had ATV show documenting. I don't know if you know about it, but it was it was about 8 years ago and she was really fessed for being the first teen really to, you know, come out and and be a trans. She would go into the session because she was recording her voice as well.

37:11 A book. This girl, boy, I'm sorry. I, I, they, I suppose is a term and I'm very, I don't mean to be, you know, offending any. Yeah. Generation so please forgive me I don't mean anybody harm, but this person who loved Donuts would eat non-stop Donuts throughout the whole session. We were blown away like this because we always ask, you know what would the artists like because we want to be prepared. You know the rock love that Vos water in the glass bottles, which at one time finds like I was so excited when I found like a case of them somewhere at some little dinky grocery store once this yes Donuts was non-stop for this one artist. What the voice of Jay Peterman from Seinfeld's Mr. What was his name in in Seinfeld's for boss?

38:13 Oh, oh, oh, oh, I know you're talking about. He was great Lane's boss, right? He had a very short, abrupt voice. I know you're talking about. So wonderful. I can't, I have to look up the actor, but he's so amazing. He played Mr. Peterman though on Seinfeld, but he is actually the voice of so many Jay. His real name is Jay Peter George Hurley. John Hurley. John Hurley. So he was Mr. Peterman and Seinfeld, but he has done amazing things in in the voice world alone. I mean, he's on, you know, SpongeBob and. What's his name with Pixar? John.

38:55 He was. He was Norm's buddy from Cheers. So yeah, this studio really got. Movie, I think, right? Say that again. I think it wasn't John something. Yes. Is in every Pixar movie. I think has a voice over appearance in every Pixar movie. It's so much fun. That was John O'hurley if you really look up his IMDb. Yeah, I'll look him up. The amount of voices, I mean Phineas and Ferb and you know he world. Like what's over what's what's what's voice? Because it's so funny because you have like superstars, you know that like want to do these fun animated. I mean even Tom Hanks originally with Toy Story, but.

39:39 It was fun because Voiceover is so much fun. You don't have to worry about what you look like physically. You're in a you know, you can have your hair, however flip flops. You're you're watching a screen, you're reading. You don't have to memorize and you can get so creative with your voice. You can have so much fun and really develop characters that you just need to could be consistent with. That is the real issue that people have is I can create a voice like this, but how long can I keep talking like that? How long? Remember that that's the voice that I want to, you know, have to name that voice and go back to it. And it can't be more of the, you know, the boy voice of oh, everybody sucks.

40:23 And you know, so you have to really identify different, you know, just characters and and be consistent with them and not just a few words. You have to do everything that you say has to be that way. And you have, it's just like a character development for being on camera. You have to really, you have to know the good, the bad, the ugly. You know who their family is, what they like, what they don't like, what you know, what religion are they like you. It's very important to put that kind of time in. And then you know, that's what you get is you get this, you know, the end results, which is whatever. Do talent typically look at from your experience? Look at voice over work.

41:15 Almost like a break from acting like a. Break from acting. Yeah, like I would imagine if I did Castaway and Big and, you know, all these movies and then I and then I went into into the studio and I recorded for Woody to be, you know, in Toy Story. I imagine that I would almost. Like I just said, it's even harder to stay in that consistent voice. And you're, first of all, you're getting direction, you know, only through headphones. You're not really seeing any, which is a different skill to learn how to interpret that, you know, the voices in your head are telling you what to do. You have to give so many different takes. You have to act even more.

42:00 Here's a great example for you. OK. It's the fundamentals even of just acting. The line I'm going to give you is so simple. It's called or it is. That was fast. That's all I want you to say. And it's called an ABC read. So you're going to give me 3 different versions of saying that was fast. OK, no. That was fast. That was fast. That was fast. OK, so that was great that you did that, but mostly weren't you doing it based on your tone?

42:41 I'm thinking like, oh, I have to say it a different way so that. Scenarios that I'll be saying that was fast in, you know, and like, yeah. First one. So that was fast. Was a little bit surprised. Like imagine, like, imagine. I almost imagine if like my wife went out to the supermarket, I was expecting her to take an hour and she comes back after half an hour. Whoa, that was fast. OK, that's great. And the second one. Then there's one to process where if I ask my students to do an assignment, right, an essay, and then they come back to me after 20 minutes, I'm like, that was fast. Like I'm a little skeptical. I don't always believe what they're saying.

43:21 And there's the just like, that was my day zip. I it's hard to think of 1/3 case I guess. That taxi, yeah, reacting off something. So you're ahead of the game even by thinking of scenarios because most people don't. Most people just think it's the sound I need to say it differently so it sounds different, but it it's not their reactions to scenarios. You're exactly right. Tapping into thinking, you know, even our session, our time together, like everything so that I can give you a different line that I'm not comfortable and and you can do the same thing.

44:02 Not so comfortable. I'm not comfortable with that. Right. Wait, so you're adding? I'm not so comfortable. You're adding the word, so and you're adding. Yes. How much does that matter? Can I ask about that? Crucial that you stick to crucial mind yes, that, and that's the hardest thing for people is they want to add things all the time. So you can add things like non verbals which are like you know or or you know. You can make sounds to help that reaction but you can't change the words. One of my favorite, one of my favorite parts of acting and one of my favorite parts of just like what when I when I watch a really well done, well made movie is often what's not said in between the lines or in between the words and how a character can use the whole a person actually use the whole body to say something that is not in the script. And I watch that and I'm like, this is this is where the magic comes in.

45:01 This is like. Is acting that is acting take the lines away and what are what is the scenario? Sum it up. Face your body you're exactly body language is is huge. So that's my biggest thing. And what I do in auditions is, you know, I give somebody a script and I let them do it how they've been practicing probably a million times before they got to the studio and see what they came up with. What do they want to do? Because it's kind of like, you got to get it out anyway. Otherwise they'd be like, well, I thought of doing it this way, but it's even harder if you have the first line because if I gave you. So I have a script here in front of me, let's see if there's anything in here that I could use for you. OK, so it says the first line is you're lying. You're lying.

45:59 So if I have you coming into an audition on the mark and you're lit and you're miked and you're ready to go and there's someone behind the camera and we say OK, efra, ready and action. And you say you're lying, right? So that is the thing though, remember the word that I'm saying is action. So it doesn't mean start talking. Oh. You're lying. Why are you saying it? What's going on? What is the scene? Right. So that is exactly when you want to use your body. So how often, how often is I'm, I know I've heard with a lot of actors, you know, based on interviews or whatever, reading about it, that, that there's usually a collaboration between like creating the setting and like the context for when you are shooting that like there's something, there's a history for the actor to fall back on to kind of snap themselves into that zone. Do you?

46:54 Do you create that too? So not in the audition process, no. So that is being in an audition and being on set is night and day really. You think like sometimes you're not even doing what you did in that audition. You know, everything can change. So that's what's so important about getting real set experience also, and that's something we offer at my studio. We create content for people so they can actually be on a set before they're on a set because those are things that people don't teach you. You just have to kind of figure out. Just like me with casting. I had no idea when I started casting, you know, how to really work with people until I had to really work with people.

47:35 I was kind of thrown into that job and I was doing everything I was told to do from my boss. But then, you know, it takes you a while until you learn your own style and see what really works. So, and every set is different, every audition's different. So you have to be flexible for sure. You have to really know how do you take direction, which is, you know, a lot of people don't have common sense. Listening skills is a huge issue today. I noticed that with my high school students. Active listening, yes, active listening is going to make you make those faces naturally and react because you're listening, you're really hearing. So I always say don't just say your line, let it hit. Let somebody their line important what the other actors saying is more important than your line, because that's going to give you, you know, just the an idea of how to say your line. They're yelling at you.

48:39 If they're so you're seeing partner, even though they're off camera is is crucial. It is a dance. That's what I always it's a dance. It's like take my hands. We're on it together. You know, eye contact, eye lines, knowing what you're really seeing in a room when you're seeing, you have to see it. You have to if I tell somebody cruise line commercials are so, you know, constant in in South Florida, though, I could, yeah, you could just look behind me and I could say find somebody on that cruise as you're leaving port and wave to them. So go ahead and do that. Find somebody. Nope. By me behind me. Find somebody behind.

49:21 Yeah. And you see them and you wave to them. So most people do the wave right away. And then what if the camera doesn't stop? What else do you do? You've already given it away. Lead up, find somebody your time doing that. Because that's the exploration. That's the part that we want, you know. Beautiful. Then, oh, they end up finding somebody down there at the end because otherwise you're just doing this. And then you're like, oh crap, they didn't say cut. Oh, I've already done like how many times, you know? You have a. Yeah, you have to. You can't. You can't empty out your entire tool to create it one time.

50:03 And listen to find somebody and then wait. So we do a lot of those kind of things in my studio. I do a class that's called Self tape Domination because so many people need to understand what is needed in these self tapes when it comes to somebody else watching them and IA class because then the class can also be the client. How did that make you feel? If you're the first of all, what are we looking for? You know, what do we want to feel from this? Let's make sure that that's what you're giving. When you're on camera, you're not so just worried about the dialogue, the dialogue, the dialogue. So many people have issues now with memorization. I believe it's the phone erasing our brains. I'm honestly.

50:51 I don't think, I think that's certainly a big impact. More of kids for sure. Kids in my studio and do three scenes, pages and pages and pages. I can't tell you how that has changed. Either by the way, I don't think, I don't think it's that we can't. I think that we've, I get the skill that we have to take a muscle that we have to exercise and if we don't exercise it then it falls away. So. It starts with the kids though, and unfortunately they are at a huge loss with that. It's very sad that that's and they cannot retain. I can tell a child we're doing voice over. So it's a line read. That means it's a young child that maybe doesn't even know how to read yet.

51:34 So I'm giving them a line that says help, you know, help me bring it back. And you know, they'll help help so she can bring it back. Like no, help me, help me bring it back. And they'll just like short out on me. And it's like help me bring it back. So, you know, then we have to sing songs also and we have to make songs aligned with certain music that we have to insert the song. So it's very tiresome because of that memorization skill that is just shot now. So monitors that people can actually read from that. Even as an actor, I will put the monitor here and that becomes your screen partner and we're basically rolling the lines for you.

52:20 Cool. Yes and no. I mean it's I mean. With what you have, I, I, I guess right? Meaning it's a you had. You came across a problem, you had to come up with a with a creative solution. Yes, so people are a little bit better of saying I don't want the monitor. I really want to just, you know, but they usually have to do a lot more takes because they just you know, they get frustrated too. Like I had it, I had it, you know. So yesterday was a really fun audition with a celebrity actor that came in that, you know, the first line was I will kill you mother fucker first line.

53:00 So it was just so fun to, you know, work with this actor because I knew obviously they had that line down. But when it came to just the, you know, the other things instead of, you know, instead of saying like, listen, if if you want to the line was if you want to build in Manhattan And they kept saying something else, you know, if you want to buy property or if you want it like they couldn't remember that line build for whatever reason. And I tried to convince them, please don't get hung up on that one word. You know you're saying the same thing. It's. Really. How you're doing it So, you know, actors get very attached to the lines and making sure some people think that just because they're wearing something that is, you know, something and that actor would wear that, that's going to help them get the part. I had an actress that came in last week that it was a part that definitely was more in the 70s eighties than current day. And she was and, you know, Joe hung up on that. She didn't have a real pencil in her ear. It was like it's, you know, it's not, it's not there's. Such a little security that I feel like, you know, you have to be able to like I think people grasp for anything that could make them feel more potentially secure. No, this is part of the role that I'm. And it's hard.

54:26 I really can't use props and things like that. So I am a good, I believe in props as long as I can't see them. So if they're, if you're sitting and and you're supposed to be added to, I like the sitting in the table. I think that's very important where other casting directors will say, just stand, you know, it's better for your energy. But that actor then is like, whoa, I'm supposed to be sitting. And they're so, you know, locked into that. So just do what I think you're supposed to be doing. It's just when you're using, you know, the prop is a crutch. I, I was so fortunate enough to work on this series, Jane the Virgin, when it first came out. And in auditions, we were casting for the mother. And the mother was a real bitch.

55:13 And in one scene, she's putting on lipstick as she's talking to her daughter about how horrible like her husband is, but she's putting on lipstick. I every actress had lipstick and it didn't matter about the lipstick. No, you could just use your finger, but be that you know, but they were so locked into it was just crazy to me that I was like really just you know, it doesn't matter. But they all, as soon as they arrived, they all brought that lipstick and. Yeah, definitely. It's, I think it's the thing that they cling to. It's the it's the grounding force that that allows them to some kind of security. Can I ask you one last question before I let you go? I'm so sorry.

55:58 Absolutely. I'm really having a blast, by the way. I hope we do this again because it's so to me, this is like I'm like a kid in a candy store hearing all this stuff. To see you sometime and just I mean I. Would love to. Before you ask me, anybody can be in TV commercials, film, voiceover you like we talked about, you need to just train, you need to start somewhere. No one is old or too young. We, I mean, we cast from babies to senior citizens. You see what's on TV, you see what's on movies. All of those ages are needed, so you just need to know how to do it. And that's really what I love sharing with people started This is where you I am your foundation. I love being a guy.

56:42 I like to just help people because I've seen people overnight. I mean, I I met a girl once I was in a Starbucks line and she was next to me and I was casting for I think it was an insurance commercial and I just knew looking at this girl, this is what this client has sent me in their specs. This girl, I have to talk to her. Oh, it can be creepy, like, hi, you know. But fortunately there's more women casting directors, I believe. Nice enough that if you approached me, I'd be like, Oh well, you know, thanks. You know, I'd like to hear about that. I have a, you know, card on me, so I'm not just like take my number. So and I like people. If somebody approached me with that card, I would definitely do my research.

57:24 I would make sure that they're reputable, look at reviews, see what they've done, see that, you know, it's a real thing, not just somebody wanting to, you know, no one should charge you money at all for, you know, being an agent or representing you. They're going to make their money off of you. But when it comes to training, you really shouldn't spend a lot upfront because you don't know if it's just going to be something like a tennis. You know, not everything is for everyone, but at least try. Just because you have a great voice does not mean that you're going to be a great voice over actor. It's important to learn from the very basics.

58:07 You make me want to come in. You're really enticing me. I really want to, yeah. For everyone, if you watch TV, you see that we could never have a guy with a beard, facial hair on, on, especially a commercial ever. Especially with food, never. Now it goes. So I encourage people, if this is their dream, go for it. Definitely there's a place for everyone and there's plenty of backgrounds agencies now if you just want to be on set and see what that's like, that's a great way to start. Happy to recommend. I like to meet somebody and give them a certain criteria for me. You know, I like to do at least three sessions that I can see that they are on time for every session, that they are prepared and that really make an effort to, you know, put in a little bit of homework for just three sessions because that shows me that they're professional, they're on time, they're dedicated because late even for a class, that's what I remember. Yeah.

59:18 And, and my job is to get you on a set and I'm not doing it. If somebody's late for my class, it's an incident my brain on, Nope, they're going to be late. I'm going to be the one that gets that phone call. Where are they? Yeah, yeah, definitely. A lot of set training and we'll out do things like that just for that purpose. Do you think set etiquette? Yeah. Percent. And that's our first classes. If you take a voiceover class, the first class is voiceover etiquette. First, the same thing on set. That's so great. It's so great. It's so cool because I don't think anyone thinks about these kind of stuff. But it's also important, especially when you know, when you think of making a commercial and making a show or a film or anything like these are like enormous operations and projects and like it really like.

1:00:07 Like I know for myself, even like I sell ultrasound machine and from point A, from leaving my warehouse to point B to my customer, there's 10 things that can go wrong along the way. Every single time that holds things up and the customer and the customer does not care about any of them. So I need to make sure that everyone is flawless along the way. If freight company comes two days late, sorry pal, I can't work with you anymore. You know, like it just yeah. I could be a total come off as a total bitch to parent. I walk in my door, I say I say the same thing. If you're late to my class, then there's no way I'm recommending you on a set until you show me that you're not going to be late and or if you bring a sick child in something like that, like right away.

1:00:49 I am making this is what is going to happen to you. If you arrive on a set, they're going to send you. So I'm a total realist that way that when people start texting me for class, oh, I'm in traffic, there's traffic. Are you kidding me? That's got to be the most classic thing you've ever you've heard throughout your career, right? Is I'm, I'm, I'm going to be late. I'm in traffic. Traffic really on a Friday at 5:00 in Miami? Really. Inning. But I say don't even text. Nobody wants to hear it. Get there as much time as you need to earlier and wait in your car. Yeah, start texting because nobody cares. Yeah, so.

1:01:36 That's really And people start telling me, you know, if I send out even info about something that's happening and they give me all the reasons why they can't do it. Just. Finally, decline. That's all. Can't do it. That's it. You don't have to tell me why. I I don't want to really know. Just yes or no. I mean, things I got to do, Yeah. What was your question? Sorry. I. My question was, and we can make this shorter, we can even carry this over into the next conversation for the next time if you have to run. But I want to talk to ask you about the notion of being typecast as opposed to like a diverse career, you know, and you know what, You know, so like, I think off the top of my head, Timothy Shamalay, whatever, however you pronounce his first name, like he just, I mean between Bob Dylan and Willy Wonka and Dune. And like he's one of these guys that it seems like can do anything.

1:02:31 And then you have, that's an actor, but you have actors that spend 20-30 years in a career pretty much doing the same role for, you know this, you know, for film after film. That's also. That's what. That's representation also. They're they're thinking that's all they have. You know, we do something in my studio, people that want to get into commercials. It's called a demo slate shot and it's basically the actor introducing themselves because every audition starts with a slate. So you would introduce yourself. Hi, I'm Kim Houston. I'm 5 foot 8. I'm in Miami, something like that. You do profiles, you show your hands, you show all the basics.

1:03:13 So we record somebody doing that head to toe as well. Then we do three different scenarios with them that are totally different from the look that they're presenting in that slate. Cool. Cool. By the way, we see them as a nurse with their hair back. We see them as, you know, a mechanic. We see them because wardrobes are important because and I noticed doing these, you know, and then I send them to agents on the actors behalf. The agent. Oh, I didn't know that they because, you know, the agent doesn't have as much imagination as you think if they're just seeing the same headshot all the time. Actors do is they communicate without always giving. Every time you communicate with someone that's representing you should be an opportunity to show them something new, even if it's just a screenshot.

1:04:04 You know, this is what I look like with brown hair. This is what I look like with, you know, I can be versatile. I can I can ride a bike. Here's a picture of me riding a bike. Like, you know, you really need to constantly be working at marketing yourself in, in a, in a variety that's going to get people to remember because it's all about visual. It's not really about, you know, the 10 I because I can remember people just from their headshots. And if that's all they're showing me, that's all I remember and is huge these days. And short, short, sweet, little quick moments will make people really remember you. And so that's what we like to do in the studio, is get creative and help people just get seen.

1:04:50 So you you so you do try to avoid having one kind of what kind of slate or one trick pony, I guess you could call it like that. Sometimes, you know, I watch so many videos that I and I often end up hearing the auditions more than I'm actually watching them because I end up doing different things. You know, if I get up to get a cup of coffee and an audition is playing, I find what draws me back in is the voice. You sure you know that seem No, no, no, no, no, like it'd be kind. It's hi, my name is S and you know, instead of I'm you know what I mean. It's like a different kind of confident. There's something in the voice me want to watch more. So I imagine that's what it's like for other casting people as well.

1:05:36 But I try to to get people really to work on their voice to lead with their voice to to get their voice to to show emotion before they even get to their face as it's an instrument that can really go a long way and get you, you know, not just trapped into that same. I mean there's certain people I just know from their voice. I could just I know who it is. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I. Can tell with a customer when I answer the phone whether they're going to be a difficult customer or not just by my the first minute of conversation I have with them. And like, you know, it's amazing how much you can tell from a voice. It's really, really cool.

1:06:18 It's a gateway for sure, but we do have great classes just for people that want to try just see what this is like and get on mic once. The problem is once they do it, they they're hooks really because it's like you and I started saying it's fun, fun. It gets you. It's like that ride that you take. That was so fast that the first thing I want to do it again. Yeah, can't wait to do that. That was fun. So I am all a big encourager, even if people don't want to get on, you know, in the business and go on auditions. Just coming to the classes. And it's wonderful for kids because we really work on that confidence, that eye contact, getting them to just be social. So important.

1:07:07 And reading that, I push voice over more than on camera for kids because it strengthens their their reading. They're articulate. They're they're clear when they talk. And, you know, typical skills that are going by the wayside at this point in in in the world. Very sad. Yep. I mean, we, I mean, really, I, I, I noticed even, you know, I, I'm the oldest of six, I'm 29, right? So, yeah, it's a big family. But I noticed, you know, with, you know, I talked to my siblings, friends. Eye contact is not simple, you know. Their ability to express themselves is not something that you take for granted. Their ability to hold the conversation, to make small talk or or or speak clearly is not something you take for granted. It's it's very hard for kids.

1:07:53 Yeah. So I have a a 22 year old and a 23 year old and I can honestly tell you the best thing I ever gave both of them was personality. I mean, these kids, I didn't push them into TV or film or anything because I didn't think that was something I really wanted them to care about, you know? So they're great with their voice. My son isn't phenomenal voice actor, but my daughter is a flight attendant and to this day she's only 23 and only been working a year. It's called to be the purser which is the one that controls first class and you know. Cool because of her communication. Because she gives eye contact and she absolutely loves that directness with one person at a time and making everybody feel comfortable. And people her age, her peers, they don't want that position. They don't.

1:08:47 They feel uncomfortable. And she's like, Oh my God, this is like, I love doing this. Yeah, it it works in your benefit if you really have those basic skills and and I love reinforcing them, especially with kids needed as well. So you know it's needed for sure, or maybe it's not. I don't know if maybe you know things are changing so much that it's not as needed, but in the world you. Know I think it is by the way, I, I even though things are changing so much, the reason I think it's needed is because if you take a look at overall like mental health or emotional state or well-being or loneliness, we're not we're not doing better since we've gotten worse at that.

1:09:31 Like I think that there's something so deeply ingrained in humans that like we need that eye contact and we need that presence and that communication that you know that even though it's not comfortable and like it's you know, especially the longer you push it off and the less you practice it, the more uncomfortable it is. But I think that and the fact that people are less happy or less emotionally, you know, satisfied or emotionally well than they were 1520 years ago, you know, speaks world as to, you know, whether or not it's, you know, whether or not we need it. So many things are different now, you know, the whole like, I mean, I can go on and on about this just as a parent, but the whole, you know, so socializing, play dates and things where didn't have any of that. I, you know, if I had anxiety as a kid, it was worked out in a sport.

1:10:21 Do you? Do you ever read the book The Anxious Generation? What is it called? The anxious generation. No, no, but I will. You it's. I've recommended it before. It's by a gentleman named Jonathan Haidt HAIDT. Yeah, and I already know about it though just. Yeah, it's and it's one of the most important. 1. Of the most important books I've ever read, I think it's amazing. Thank you so much for your time. I'm really just I. Really, really appreciate it. This is so much fun getting to speak with you a little bit. I hope we can do this again. And I think there's going to be a ton of fun. I really, really appreciate it. It's going to be awesome. I'm going to send you the link when we're done. OK, Thank you so much for coming on.

1:11:03 I really appreciate it. We'll talk soon. Take care. Bye.