Perspectives

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noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:57:00 +0000

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Advice to Parents of a Child Actor

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:17:00 +0000

An associate is putting together a new book "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with advice from industry professionals for parents of child actors. I thought I would share part of my contribution here.

Each person’s career path is so unique that for all the rules, realize there are no rules. Dreams can be real for those who work hard, dare to be different, and take chances. However, there are a few guidelines, tips, and legitimate questions to consider that may be helpful along the journey for young actors.

WHY?

Before embarking your child in a career as an actor, seriously ask why you want to do this. Is this what your child wants or is this YOUR personal dream as a parent? Are your expectations realistic for what it takes? Are you and your son or daughter ready to make a long term commitment?

AUDITION INSIGHT

Directors, Producers and Casting Directors WANT your child to be right for the part. Those seemingly intimidating people behind the table truly want each person that walks through the door to be the perfect fit. They need to fill the roles. When your child auditions they must understand they are a vital part of the process and are helping a creative team to get the job done. This positive and professional attitude projects confidence (also helps with nerves!).

Learn to take direction! Often Directors or Casting Directors will give suggestions for a line reading or new interpretation. They need to know that during rehearsals or a shoot that your child can be flexible. Any actor must be prepared to go with the flow, listen to what is being asked and be free enough to try something different. A good actor must be creative with an ability to modify, expand & experiment. Good acting classes will provide essential tools and tricks to overcome fear, find relaxation & focus, and to discover the freedom to get in touch with emotions. This is usually a natural for kids, but technique can be developed from an early age.

If your child does not get a part that doesn’t necessarily mean they did a bad job. Casting so often comes down to look, type, or style. Another child may just better resemble the actor booked to play the Mother or Father, for example. If the Director or Casting Director likes what they see - some talent, a good attitude, attentiveness and an ability to take direction - your Son or Daughter will be remembered and most likely called in for a future opportunity. One audition sometimes turns out to be the initial introduction for another part in a project down the road!

When an audition is over, forget about it. Move on to the next. It can be a long and frustrating wait wondering if your child got the part, or a call back. Let it go. If you get good news, then celebrate. There are too may auditions to worry about each one.

Most importantly encourage your child have fun, be truthful, and to be themselves.

DON’T BE A NIGHTMARE PARENT!

If your child is cast in a project, the production team will have to work with YOU and your child. Your behavior as a parent can make or break your son or daughter’s early chance at success in the entertainment industry. There is nothing worse than a “Helicopter Parent”, meaning those that hover all the time and interfere. Directors and producers will not only reject your child, but will avoid future contact if a child is known for having an overbearing parent. Of course you care deeply that your child succeeds, but you must learn when to step back and let your child do what they are good at.

Don’t over coach! I worked with a parent who always over rehearsed his daughter with line readings. He made her practice repeatedly exactly how to say a line. The poor girl was chided if she did not deliver the words and intonations as coached. This only made her nervous and is so against the grain of any creative process for an actor.

She was a talented young lady, but unfortunately so excessively drilled it made her plastic and mechanical by the time she got up to read. Once we got Dad out of the room and the girl was allowed to be herself, to just read the lines with an understanding of what the dialog was about, to know her intentions and tell the story from her heart, she was wonderful.

Learn to help your children gently, but give them the freedom to do what they do naturally.

RESEARCH & MARKETING

Watch successful kids on TV, Films and Shows to see what really works. Except for some “over the top” kid shows that have absurdly cute and robotic youngsters, you will find most employed child actors are very real, natural, and believable.

Network and build relationships that interconnect. Go to industry events. Let folks in the business know your child is around and what they are capable of. Promote with mailings of headshots and postcards. Follow up on leads and recommendations. Use the internet for social media and develop a working website for your child. Join other industry related websites like nowcasting.com, Actor’s Access and others to increase visibility. Even successful celebrities must constantly work at marketing. Fame is fleeting at best and public interests change as quickly as the weather. Find opportunities for your son or daughter to be seen and have their name and face recognized. Both parent and child should be known for professionalism, a superior reputation, and for being someone others will want to work with again and again.

Be prepared to go to major entertainment centers such as New York or Los Angeles if you plan for your child to work on main stream shows beyond regional theatre, print work, industrials and local commercials. However, local work is an excellent training ground and opportunity to build a resume.

SCAMS & SCHEMES

A good agent or manager is going to be a vital key to the success of any actor. A professional and well connected Agent will have access to auditions and opportunities impossible to pursue otherwise. Agents can have tremendous influence with a network of casting directors, producers, and directors.

HOWEVER, beware of agencies, schools, & organizations that promise to make your child a “Star” for a fee. Legit representation will earn commissions or payments from getting work. Some agencies or casting firms do now ask for an internet fee to put you on websites such as AgencyPro. There are legitimate companies that have this requirement.

No one can guarantee your child work and companies that claim otherwise are being deceptive to get your money. They are not looking out for you or your child. Be cautious of agencies or schools that require you to sign exclusively or use their own photographer for headshots or portfolios. It’s a huge racket. Protect yourself. Be your own advocate. DO YOUR RESEARCH! In this day and age there is no excuse not to search for background information on the internet. Get recommendations & referrals. Do not let your potential excitement at a seemingly “Golden Opportunity” blind you to reality. Some of these scam places will have a certain volume of “real” success stories, but these are minimal and only there to mask the truth and create a false sense of security.

JUPITER ALIGNS WITH MARS

Fate and luck often has more to do with success in this business than anything. Comedienne Kaye Ballard once said opportunity is “Being in the right place at the right time ... but then saying the right thing”! Some people find themselves in situations that can lead to the fast lane seemingly overnight. Others work for years before they are “discovered”, if ever. Above all, learn to enjoy the process and keep a sense of humor. Everything is possible and everyone potentially has the opportunity to succeed. True talent can eventually rise to the top, but your child may still need the planets to be aligned in just the right way. No one can predict what that magic moment will be. Have faith, be inspired and don’t believe everyone who may tell you “no”. Success can happen by just pushing forward against the odds, plus having a support structure of those you trust and whose opinions you respect.

The Gunshot or How To Die In Film With Your Pants Off!

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:36:00 +0000

“I don’t want it to look like ALIENS” director Erik Pagan told special effects wizardess Melissa. He was referring to the spurt of blood that was supposed to shoot forth from my chest when I’m blasted at close range by a hand gun. I can’t give the story away, but Matt Servitto and I play opposite each other as two bad cops (or maybe we’re two good cops with issues!). You will soon be able to decide for yourself when short film FAITH is released to a waiting public. Servitto, as many already know, is actor extraordinaire and SOPRANOS regular. “Maybe we should try 150 pumps this time”, Pagan added. Servitto resisted the urge to make a lewd comment, but his raised eyebrow screamed it all from behind his iphone session of WordWarp. He showed me the game which became an obsession for both of us between takes over the course of this shoot.

I was rigged with thick plastic tubing, a blood squib that was supposed to fire on cue powered by high pressure air. Larger budgets would use some form of powder explosive device triggered electronically. This “economical” version proves just as effective, but with less control over the end effect. I was fascinated how it all worked.

The tube is sealed on one end with a small hole drilled into the side, like a flute. It’s then strategically placed over my shoulder and adhered to my chest with gaffer’s tape. This required I shave what little chest hair I have, both to allow the tape to properly stick and to avoid violent pain when the procedure was done and the tape is ripped away. The tape stayed in place, but there was pain.

Filled with fake blood, a nasty sticky fluid, the tube’s drilled hole is packed with shredded foam wadding. The open end of the tube is attached to a trigger activated valve that, when released, blasts high pressure air from the pump. This forces the blood and wadding to shoot out of the hole which is carefully lined up underneath a scored slit in a shirt. The spewing blood looks like a bullet has entered the site. In theory it should all work perfectly, but practical reality is rather tricky.

Now add context of the scene where my character must take in what’s in front of him, turn around, and upon turning react to being shot. Easier said than done. The EFX operator must blow the trigger at precisely the right moment in the staged action. If the director were to call “Bang” (instructing the effect to fire), I may instinctively react to his command too early before the actual blast. I would need to react once the squib blew, not from a verbal cue. We rehearsed the action for the operator and so I could react to the squib. The first take just farted out some of the wadding that looked more like I snorted from my nose (No comment Servitto!) Not the desired effect.

An added complication is that although wardrobe had multiple copies of my shirt and white undershirt, I only had one suit to wear. We still had scenes to shoot that took place chronologically before this moment. The suit had to stay clean and blood would no doubt dribble down below my shirt. As the camera would only see me from above my belt line, I shot the scene without my pants!

For the second try director Pagan wanted a good spurt, but not too much blood. Everything was set, we took our places, “ACTION” was called. I took in the scene in front of me, my back to the camera. The EFX operator was hiding behind a dresser to my left, the blood filled tube leading to my body like a backed up colostomy bag. I turned towards the camera then with a pop the squib fired and I jerked back. I felt a wet spray. “CUT” came the call from the other room “That looked great!”.

A moment later I felt this cold fluid dripping from chest onto my stomach, soaking my briefs then flowing down my leg. As one might have done in real life I looked down to see blood oozing from me. I look up and across the wall are the splattered drops of more blood, looking like a real murder scene! Cameraman Rolf Dekens, sporting a huge grin, has blood splattered on his forehead, cheek, and down his neck. “Oh Man! You really got it” I pointed out, “You want to get a cloth?” But, I think he loved this new battle scar which he wore proudly for the rest of the evening! We shot a couple more takes, trying to perfect the effect, which entailed quite a clean up job and re-setting of all the elements. Playback in the monitor looked very real, so hopefully when all together it will have the impact intended.

Farewell To A Queen

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:18:00 +0000

A year ago today, 16th October 2008, a regal lady of the sea took her final bow and made a very emotional farewell departure from the bright lights of New York City. After 39 years of transatlantic crossings and world cruises the elegant Queen Elizabeth 2 blasted her resonant horns for the last time, echoing through the skyscraper caverns of the Big Apple as she sailed down the Hudson River. With an escort of tugs and a fireboat in the lead, her paying off pennant half blowing in the chilly Autumn air, she glided past her younger Cunard sister Queen Mary 2 with hundreds of well wishers waving and cheering.

She then slid past the Statue of Liberty for the last time, recalling memories of so many visits. How many early morning arrivals were there before the break of dawn? An irreversible destiny one last time to catch a current past Miss Liberty, her torch a welcome beacon revered by so many seeking a new life in America. Contemplating the endless romantic sunset departures that marked the beginning of a lifelong dream for so many. To be one of the lucky ones "Crossing the Pond" on one of the truly great ocean liners bound for Southampton, following in the wake of regal liners before her. Never again. One last sigh as she passes beneath the mighty span of the Verrazano Bridge into the great expanse of the Atlantic and dark of night with a lonely bell tolling.

On this day I stood on the front Observation Deck of Queen Mary 2, video camera in hand, capturing the sights and sounds of this exhilarating and desperately moving moment for an upcoming documentary. The end of a legend. History in the making. I knew that for the next few days I would still see QE2 at our side, each day switching from Port to Starboard as she sailed in tandem with us, or should I say us with her. But, for the moment as the sun faded from the sky and the blue grey smoke swept eastward from her classic red and black funnel, it felt as if we would never see this venerable lady again.

New York would bid a final farewell and we would only have a few more days ourselves until a heart wrenching salute, privately, two huge ocean liners alone a few hundred miles off the coast of England. A Mother saying goodbye to a Daughter. Dear friends waving so long with tears in their eyes, heading towards an unknown future, never to meet again.

We say farewell Great Queen with love, respect, and thanks for your journeys, leaving memories that will never fade.

Three Queens - An International Rendezvous

New Teaser Trailer for MR OCEAN LINER Documentary!

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:24:00 +0000

Stop the presses! Hot off the line! Here is a sneak preview Teaser Trailer from the upcoming Documentary MR OCEAN LINER, The Life And Times Of Bill Miller! Enjoy!

Back From The High Seas

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Back from a spectacular three weeks on the High Seas and in the UK both Lecturing and filming the one and only Bill Miller in action for MR. OCEAN LINER. Week One was primarily spent on board the Queen Mary 2 from NY to Southampton. Excellent interviews with Commodore Bernard Warner, Chief Purser Jonathan Leavor & Assistant Entertainment Director Amanda Reid, all of whom have known Bill for many years. Each provided new insights into the dynamic personality and vibrant aura that is Mr. Miller. Jackie Chase, Cunard Line Public Relations Manager & Laurel Davis, PR Coordinator were on board and provided magnificent assistance arranging schedules and locations. Other filming included fun cutaway shots of Bill walking about the majestic Queen Mary 2 as well as a series of several of his live lectures in Illuminations, a wonderful art deco theatre on QM2. All this was shot in between delivering my own series of talks for Cunard Insights and DVD signings!

Once in the United Kingdom for Week Two I took a train up to Shrewsbury in Shropshire to interview Howard Franklin, a dear friend of Bill's for over 30 years. Howard is also a shipboard lecturer on subjects of Royalty and Design and was personal florist to Princess Diana and the Queen Mother. The evening included a special birthday bash for Howard given in a country estate with over 70 of his closest friends who also constitute the top of Shropshire society. Quite a spectacular event and really lovely people.

After a couple days in London & Portsmouth to catch up with several dear friends, it was back across the Pond for Week Three, this time on Queen Victoria. This voyage was busier than the outbound with multiple interviews that included Captain Ian McNaught, who was final Captain in command of the Queen Elizabeth 2 as she made her way to Dubai. Other fine subjects with Bill Miller stories to share for the camera included Singer Paul Ritchie, Entertainment Director and author of the "We Are Cunard" blog Alastair Greener, ship's Doctor Martin Carroll, and the one and only Thomas Quinones, best known for his vibrant and dramatic Heritage Tours on board QE2.

A great deal of time was also spent transferring video images from tape to computer hard drive so that I had an immediate back up and could also start initial editing. I could not resist capturing footage of Queen Victoria herself, quite a beautiful and comfortable liner.

We still have much more to film with several interviews coming up over the next few months with more graphic work and image scanning as well. Using a still frame from on board Queen Mary 2 we now have a mock "Poster" as a teaser that is now a marker for the project website now open www.MrOceanLiner.com. Not much there as yet, but more images and an initial video trailer to be added soon! More details to follow....

Mr. Ocean Liner

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:48:00 +0000

I was warned by friends that once I started a blog I'd post a few times then get too busy to keep it up on a regular basis. I thought, "No, I can do this...". Well, clearly it's been a while since I've posted anything. Life keeps all of us running around and it's hard to find time to sit down and actually write about it. Too busy living and doing to stop and keep up a journal, let alone to regularly keep up my "status" on Facebook. I don't know how people do it. I know I should just set aside a time each day to make an entry, but easier said than done!

A new adventure is underway that I'll try and share as I can. In a nutshell, the one and only Bill Miller, otherwise officially known as Maritime Historian and Author William H. Miller, Jr.

(www.BillMillerAtSea.com) or more aptly as "Mr. Ocean Liner", has asked me if I would produce a documentary of his life. He had seen my DVD "Three Queens An International Rendezvous" and liked the personal feel, rather than a large Busby Berkeley production. With new HD video equipment, professional editing with Final Cut Pro and a fantastic replication company that does DVD/Box design & shrink wrap, it's now possible on a small independent scale to produce a first class product.

Over the next several months I will be following Bill around with a camera, taping interviews and lectures, special events, Bill's friends and family old and new, as well as scanning 100's of fabulous photographs and models. We started last week in Manhattan at the Southstreet Seaport Museum and will be embarking shortly on a transatlantic adventure sailing both the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria. Like the rehearsal process in theatre, it is the creative process of exploring possibilities and putting it all together and that I find the most exciting. It's a blank canvas and anything can happen! More to follow....

Somali Pirate Takedown The Real Story Commercial!

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Here's the brand new Discovery Channel Promo Commercial for Somali Pirate Takedown The Real Story! It's amazing how quickly this is being aired!

Lessons with the Captain

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:48:00 +0000

First week of filming was aboard the Cape Rise, A Roll-On/Roll-Off cargo ship specifically designed as part of the Ready Reserve Force, a Maritime Administration program which provides worldwide sealift of supplies like tanks & choppers for the U.S. Military. It’s a massive vessel with multiple decks, huge vehicle lifts & cavernous holding bays that reminded me of the Nostromo in the film Aliens. It looked like a huge factory warehouse floating on water.

After breakfast, introductions, and a conversation about wardrobe, my first task was to spend time up on the bridge with the real Captain of the Cape Rise to get a sense of what a Captain actually does. As I wrote earlier, it seems Captains mostly drink coffee and look out the window, apart from their jobs as Chief Administrators. I wanted to know more about his world and we had conversations about responsibility, Somali Pirates, and procedures.

Captain Gary let me pick his brain pondering how he may react if found in the same situation as Captain Phillips. Remarkably, he made it all sound very routine. Not that being kidnapped was a regular or desirable occurrence, however I got the impression that Piracy was pretty much a business transaction that both sides understood. At least until the Maersk Alabama. The recent Somali Pirate takedown will no doubt drastically change the entire tone. Although Pirates climb on board with guns and the intention of taking over a ship, there was no motivation to kill. It’s about money. These young guys are apparently just young hired hands for minimal pay, deployed from a mother ship run by true Pirate Kings. These little outboard motor craft would never make the 150 - 200 mile journey away from shore.

The Captain said that although it would be a tense situation, they would just want to get these Pirates off the ship as soon as possible and continue with their payload. Clearly, something went very wrong with the Maersk Alabama.

Fire water hoses are commonly used to detract or delay pirates from gaining access to a ship and pressure is certainly strong enough to push a man back. Horrific images come to mind of old news clips; Birmingham 1963, protests, black men and women pounded by white police officers shooting water. Hoses deliver quite a force up close. But, as the Captain pointed out, it’s quite far from the upper deck of a ship down to water level where the pirates would be. The water quickly diminishes into a wet spray that does nothing more than make the pirates rather wet & really pissed off. Plus, what crew member in his right mind would hold the nozzle of a hose over the edge of the railing in full line of sight of an AK-47!?

This conversation left me with the impression that although adrenaline would be pumping, this situation would most likely have been handled calmly and professionally with tempered reactions. People ask why Capt. Phillips got into the lifeboat in the first place? Only he knows that answer, but cooperating would be less dangerous and hopefully get the captors on their way and off his ship faster. The tables turned when a negotiated hostage trade failed. The Pirate leader was returned and they pulled away before returning Captain Phillips.

As an actor, I found it all absolutely fascinating to put these pieces together, all the various theories, all the possible choices. How panicked and fearful would Phillips be? How hard an edge would he have? How calm? When confronted by these young men, how confident would he be that all would be safe? He had a responsibility to his crew, as well as to the shipping company.

I asked the Captain, from a personal perspective, if he is truly aware of the weight on his shoulders of running a machine as huge as a floating skyscraper on it’s side, moving tons of highly valuable, often top secret cargo? What about the lives of his crew and anyone who may cross the path of his ship?

Assuming a shrug and simple “You get used to it”, I was surprised when the Captain made it clear that he is constantly aware of the huge responsibility. Tempered with years of experience and confidence, the Captain then praises the talents of his excellent and extremely capable crew who really to do the “hands on” work.

Further lessons included an introduction to some of the controls on the massive panels in the bridge - how the PA system worked, where the emergency alarm bell is located and operated, which specific emergency sequence to ring, the control for propeller pitch and speed, electrical lights, how to shut down certain equipment alarm signals that would go off.

In the chart room adjacent to the bridge the Captain briefly taught me how to measure out check points on a map using a divider and certain techniques that I could recreate for more legitimate action as a Captain.

Although I had barely scratched the surface and this introduction was minimal, my time with Captain Gary helped give me a sense of comfort and belonging on the bridge of this ship. I could at least now walk into the set with a certain feeling of “ownership” before the Director and I even started to talk about the scenes.

Is it Live or Is It Memorex?!

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:26:00 +0000

Ok, just coming up briefly for some air. More details will follow later, but I can safely say that a week of shooting has been completed with a few additional days still to come. I have no idea how the finished product will come out, but from what I have seen I can tell you that the footage looks good. From my own personal experience, many scenes are rather intense, including having a very real looking AK-47 Rifle shoved in my face by a screaming and very convincing actor playing a Somali Pirate, demanding that I stop the ship he has just taken over.

We spent long days on board a military “Roll On Roll Off” cargo vessel in the Portsmouth Marine Terminal which served as a double for the hijacked Maersk Alabama. What I love is the conflict between reality and drama for television. As technical advisor we had the real life Captain of this cargo vessel to insure authenticity of facts, figures, processes and general shipboard Captain and Crew behavior. We needed to show “life on the bridge”, the control center of the ship, earlier that morning before the Alabama is captured. The question came up “Well, exactly what would the Captain be doing?” The director asked “What buttons would he be pushing?” referring to the massive panel of lights and levers. “Would he be at the steering column?” As an actor I also wanted to know what sort of legitimate and vitally important “Captain-like” action would he demonstrate? “Well,” came the reply “He’d probably be drinking a cup of coffee & looking out the window”. I could feel all our eyebrows collectively rise. The director came back “Well, how about in the Chart room, wouldn’t he be plotting a course? That would look interesting!” “Well, not really. That’s what the staff are for”.

So all the exciting button pushing and switch setting by a brave Sea Captain is primarily for the viewers, not what the Captain would actually be doing!

My next amusing bit of Reality vs TV is a scene where an officer makes an important satellite telephone call to alert the Navy, Coast Guard, and other vital military & support forces that the Maersk Alabama has been taken over by Somali Pirates. The script required an exciting scene where this call goes out. On the port side of the bridge (that’s left for all you land lubbers) there is a really cool looking radio station. It has two CRT screens, keyboards, microphones, electronic thingys that go “beep” and lots of impressive buttons. This is going to look very official. “So,” the director eagerly asks our Captain and mentor “is this where the urgent satellite call went out?! “Well actually, that’s the ship to ship radio, not the satellite phone.” Scanning the bridge our director then asks (expecting to find a really high tech electronic device) “Where’s the satellite phone”. “Right over there” says the Captain, pointing at what looks like a household white wall phone that would hang on anyone’s kitchen wall - the kind you’d find at Best Buy or Wall Mart. Just a regular, normal phone. So much for fancy Hollywood special effects in a real life documentary dramatization. I can’t spoil the secrets of how these scenes were actually played out, but I can say that there was a blend of real life and that heightened excitement!

An Actor Prepares

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Sun, 24 May 2009 05:26:00 +0000

Getting ready for a role. Everyone has their own technique, but I sometimes wonder how fellow actors also go through this crazy process of assimilation and knowledge seeking. I think back on years of classes and the resulting blend of Meisner, Hagen and Stanislovski. Grabbing parts of one philosophy and combining it with the process of another, then adding some of my own method and mixing it all up to try and make sense of my character. One of the very best teachers in the Industry, and one of my favorites (not to mention a wonderful actress herself) is the fabulous Carol Fox Prescott who had the most profound effect on me. Going after simple truth, pursuing objectives and utilizing breath are key elements of Carol’s training. But for all the technique, when it comes to being on the set, it all just has to happen without specific thought or awareness. You just have to “be” and “do”.

So how do you find that comfort zone, or even that edge, that awareness? There may be some who can just walk into a job and take it as it comes, but for me that would be a total nightmare. Preparation is the counter for nerves. The more prepared I feel, the more relaxed and confident I am. And it’s not just being ready for the camera, it’s the entire process of getting the part, then getting “there”, both physically and emotionally.

For my first blog, I’ll try and document some of the recent “process” of landing an upcoming television role and then share some of this experience as best I can as it unfolds.

This particular adventure started with an email from an agent I work with in Virginia saying she is submitting talent for a Discovery Channel Documentary on the Maersk cargo ship hi-jacking and wanted to know if I can send her a recent picture. She made a note that it will shoot the last week of May in Norfolk, VA and that she is submitting me for the role of Richard Phillips, the Captain who was held hostage by the Somali Pirates.

I wrote her back with my headshot attached, confirming that I still looked like my photo. Well truthfully, I look more like my headshot when I put in my contacts and don’t look like I just crawled out of bed! This agent was also doing the casting and we had worked together before on other projects so she was already familiar with my work. After I hit the send button, I thought I should Google this Captain Phillips to see what he looked like! I had been out of the country, delivering lectures on a ship, when the Maersk Alabama hijacking took place so although I knew of the incident, I really had no idea how closely I would or would not resemble the Captain.

To my surprise, the more recent news images of Phillips showed we indeed had a similar look. We’re about the same age, both with Salt & Pepper hair, similar nose and beard, although my facial hair was short cropped and neater in my headshot. I decided to do something that most in the business would advise against, but which I knew could help: I grabbed my digital camera, put on a blue baseball hat (like in the photos of the Captain) and took a quick snap. Not great lighting, looking a little sweaty, in other words much like the photos of Capt. Phillips. I then sent the quick digital to my agent, pointing out the similarities.
Then comes the part that every actor must come to terms with. Forget about it. Let go. Pretend they never called you. Of course it’s easier said than done. We all want that job, particularly when you know it’s a key role your up for.

I get another email the next day “The producer has not made any final decision but they like your look a lot. Can you please keep growing facial hair until they make a final decision?” Well, that just adds fuel to the fire, making it very hard to just “forget about it”. I thanked my Agent and made quick comment that my birthday happens to fall around the shoot dates and it would be a great Birthday present if I got the part. I then started letting the beard go, after trimming it more into a goatee like the real Phillips.

Three days later, when I’m just beginning to get antsy about time to make alternate plans to go away if I’m not hired, I get that wonderful email saying I have been booked for the job. Now the work begins.

Even before I have a script, my instinct is to get online and start looking up every bit of information about Captain Phillips and the Maersk Alabama I can find. I want to soak it all in. I want to know what he sounds like, his mannerisms, his energy. I need to absorb as much detail as I can about exactly what happened out there off the coast of Somali. What was the timeline for these events?

It is truly remarkable how much information there is out there on the internet. Between Google and YouTube, it can be overwhelming. As the news channel reports came up both as text articles and in video clips, it soon became clear that many news websites simply repeat the same story released by AP wire. Very little is different or new. Then, digging deeper, a great discovery comes up with first hand blogs and written accounts by one of the crew members. Then more interviews of other crew members start to fill in the pieces of the puzzle. Then up comes an animated replay of the event, of the Navy Seal sniper attack that took out the three Somali Pirates. Further research gives a detailed tour of a lifeboat like the one from Maersk Alabama. Seemingly inane details come up, such as the type of provisions carried on board that only adds to the reality of what happened, a greater sense of the location.

Although I am a great enthusiast of classic Ocean Liners and martime history, I have very little personal background with “behind the scenes” protocol and language of the shipping world. Further searching came up with a fantastic list of nautical terms - 100’s of words and acronyms that I could not possibly memorize in such a short time, but nevertheless provided familiarity with some of these terms. If I’m going to step onto the bridge of a ship and into the shoes of a veteran Sea Captain, just being somewhat familiar with his world helps so much.

For another job, as FDNY Captain Jay Jonas in COUNTDOWN TO GROUND ZERO, an Emmy Nominated program for the History Channel about the heroes of 9/11, I played the commander of the famous Ladder 6 Chinatown team who were trapped inside the B Stairwell of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. I am very proud to say that this program is now played every year in tribute on the anniversary of that tragic day. I had no prior experience as a Firefighter before getting the role. As with most casting, it does helps if you look like the character and can carry off a believable read, but how can any actor accomplish in a few days or weeks what the real person has developed over years of actual life experiences. My personal concern was to be somewhat familiar with basics, even if I did not have the real life knowledge of these real heroes.

The first thing I did with that job was to call my local fire squadron and ask them if it was possible to come over and ask a few questions, to see inside a fire house and get a sense of what it was like. To my pleasant surprise, the guys were great and told me to come on over. Not only did I get to interview several of the firemen on some protocol and hear some of their stories of life on the ready for alarms to go off, but they put me in the full gear, air tanks, boots, axes, hose, etc, which gave me an instant feel of the uniform and tools. I was quite taken aback by the total weight these guys had to carry on their bodies as a regular part of the job and was grateful for the preview.

Besides reading several books and watching several DVD’s on the events of 9/11, I was able to find many interviews, some just audio and others on video, of Jay Jonas and his team. I also found a fireman’s training workbook which I studied and tried some of the tests included in the back. I don’t think I could have passed all qualifications without more time, but once I got on the set, this background truly helped with more than just the lines. It was an immersion that added to the reality for me as an actor.

At one point, when the director added an improvised line that was not in the script, some of my recent training actually proved quite useful in maintaining truth in the re-creation. In one particular scene, when we were all trapped in the smoke filled dark rubble of the collapsed stairwell, I was told to turn to my men and add a line telling them to put on their Oxygen masks. My earlier research made it exceptionally clear that the tanks contained compressed air, not highly flammable Oxygen which would never be used by firemen anywhere near a fire. The director appreciated this information and the scene was then played more realistically.

In another instance, working as the overbearing Principal Snelgrove on AWESOME 80’S PROM for Tony Award winning Producer Ken Davenport (who also Directed), we were not only put through a rigorous and intense process of improvisation exercises that fine tuned our ability to react with live audience members in the moment, but we were immersed in boot camp style techniques to know terminology, trivia and all details connected with the 1980’s. Our job was to live in the year 1989 and know that period inside and out. I lived through the 80’s as an adult and I STILL needed serious study! Our character work involved massive research, way beyond our acting training.

My point is that for all the excellent and most necessary training any actor can have, (finding the subtext, knowing your objectives, being truthful, being in touch with your emotions, listening to your fellow actors, allowing yourself to react honestly and openly - all of which need to just happen and be a part of you) there is this other vitally important element of understanding the world into which you have stepped. Even if the dialogue is limited or there is more action than words, having a connection to the history and terminology becomes a part of you that definitely shows on stage or on camera.

This is especially true in film, where everything is usually played with great realism, you can be at a real location, real weather conditions, heat, water, physical weight of costumes or strenuous action (I can’t tell you how many flights of stairs we climbed with heavy air tanks on our backs during COUNTDOWN!), but at the same time it is an altered state of reality that is played out in stop and start chunks, repeated takes, the need to be aware of camera positions, your blocking for lighting, continuity, hitting your marks for focus and screen composition, all the while trying to be as real, natural and as connected to your character and fellow actors as possible. This is only accented by the cruel awareness that every minute is costing the producer a great deal of money and you have a very serious responsibility to get it all right in the most expeditious and professional manner possible. Talk about an adrenaline rush! Check back later for the next installment of the “Maersk Alabama Adventure”. Thanks, Bob

No Longer A Blog Virgin!

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Neal Marshall) — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Ok, I've finally decided to join the 21st Century. I've resisted the urge, or should I say pressure of vaulting forward from my comfort zone and thought I'd give this a try. To be honest, I never truly understood the need to post personal commentary and blow by blow descriptions of one's life for all the world to see. Of course, one can pick and choose what is broadcast across the ethernet, but I think it's about letting go and sharing. As much as blogging has terrified me, and I don't think I have been alone with this, I will confess that I have been very moved by many of the comments I have read from others who have been touched, inspired or motivated by the words others have published online. I, too, have been enlightened and encouraged by what I have seen on several blogs, if not amused and entertained from time to time.

So my next thought/question is what the hell should I write about. Although I've joined the ranks of Facebook, I find it very difficult to post daily, or often hourly as some folks do. I love my friends dearly, but honestly folks, sometimes - TMI! I have, however, learned that some of what I may consider inane or mundane, is grossly fascinating for some. I still can't even comprehend using Twitter. So, again, what do I write? I welcome comments and suggestions!

I will wait for my Spritual Guides to motivate me to put thought to words and I guess this will be a journey of exploration. We'll see what comes out! Thanks! Bob