The 4 key ingredients to booking a U.S. role

Let's face it.  Booking U.S. roles isn't easy. 
It requires more effort and skill than you probably thought. 

That's why in today's episode I am sharing with you what it really takes to be in the running for a callback or book that U.S. role. 

Listen as I share:

• The 4 key ingredients to booking a U.S. role
• Pronunciation differences between different states in the U.S.
• The importance of analyzing the text from an American perspective
• how to set  up  your state of mind to get the role you want.

LINKS MENTIONED: Join me for my FREE 3 Day Challenge: Master the U.S. Audition and learn what it really takes to book U.S. roles.

Register for the challenge here: https://www.katherinebeck.com/challenge

LEARN MORE FROM KATHERINE BECK:

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SHOW TRANSCRIPT

You're listening to the All American actors Podcast, episode 84. In today's episode, we're talking about the four key ingredients to booking au s role that's coming up next. Ready to go behind the scenes and learn what it really takes to build a sustainable career as a working actor in the US film and TV industry. Join me Katherine Beck, your all American accent coach, as I give you the insight and inspiration to take action on your career, learn my best tips and tricks to performing with an American accent and hear from working actors and other industry professionals. To give you a comprehensive overview of this biz we call showbiz. This is the All American actors podcast. We will jump into today's episode in just a moment. But first, I want to let you know that I am running a three day event. The master the US audition challenge returns it is a new year, we've got a new challenge for you a new monologue that's really going to get you work and good. So if you are ready to join me for yet another challenge, buckle up, let's go. All you need to do to register is head over to Katherine beck.com forward slash challenge. I cannot wait. Alright, let us get into today's episode. Now I wanted to share with you as we talk about these four key ingredients of booking a US role, which I think is so important. It's really the framework to my teachings inside of all American voice and everything that I do. I just got back from a trip to the US. And it's the first time that I've been back in the US for three years. And I went to a new place that I've never been now I've been to Arizona, but I've never been to Sedona, Arizona. And the last time I was in Arizona, I was actually a kid. So it's been quite some time. So this was a real treat a real adventure for me to go someplace that I had been and some of the things that I love about the USS because it's so expansive, that there's so many different types of terrain and animals and things that you can see and do and all the different parts of the US. And every one is a little bit different in each state, right? Because there's a different culture a different way of being and I love that. So it's really great to be in Arizona specifically Sedona some of the key things that I saw, which I just loved about this part of the world were the magnificent Red Rocks, which you could hike, and I did and I had one of the most amazing hikes I've ever done. I climbed up, I looked it up online, because I was thinking, Gosh, this is really high. And there were moments where I was a little bit freaked out like oh my goodness, am I gonna be okay, it was 875 feet up high. I don't know what that is kilometers, but it was very high. And if you saw on Instagram, or Tiktok, I did post like a couple of videos. And you can see like how high I was, it was magnificent. And what a way to clear the head and get ready for 2023. Let me tell you, I'm so fired up just from that walk or hike in nature. And being amongst those red rocks. It was amazing, but also seeing the desert and the massive cactus or cacti that I saw. And it just got me into like excitement for exploring a new place and new opportunities. And being in touch with nature is such a great thing. Getting yourself grounded. Again, the cool thing about Sedona as well is it's known for its energy, it's got these vortexes of energy, and it amplifies how you're feeling. So if you're feeling angry, you might go there and feel really angry. If you're feeling happy, you might go there and feel really happy. Thank goodness, I was really happy. I felt so happy the whole time. And it was just a really beautiful experience. I think I cried twice. Maybe I definitely once maybe twice while I was there because it just opens up like this flood of emotions and feelings just so beautiful. I got to see new wildlife something called the Hava Llinas, which are wild pigs, I saw a whole herd of them cross the road I was I had to stop my car and wait for a whole pack of them to cross the road. And they're so cute and so funny. And I just loved it. And I got to see snow for two days as well, which was super cool, because I have not been in the snow for many, many years. And it very rarely snows in Sedona. So that was a special treat. So the thing with the US as well as you know when you go to these different areas evergen sound slightly different because the US is such a big place and we're influenced so much by everything and everyone that surrounds us. I grew up in Chicago, which means I would likely pronounce things certain words differently from someone who grew up in Arizona. So like for example, a couple of words that always come to mind which are really kind of funny in certain parts of the US You will hear people say milk, but in parts of Chicago or like the Midwest, where I'm from, you might hear milk. Like it's more like milk. So weird or pillow becomes pillow. Pillow. Alright, strange or we might say a particular thing differently. So for example, like let's say you get a cola, like a Coca Cola in some parts, they may call it pop, which is what I pretty sure I called it growing up. It's been a long time, but I'm pretty sure we call it pop other areas like I think in New York, like East Coast, they call it soda and some other areas, you might hear soda pop, or you might even hear, can I get a coke. So everyone has a different way of ordering or calling that particular beverage, a different thing. So the reason I bring this up, and I talked about this last week on the podcast is because there's no perfect American accent, there's so many variations within the same theme. And it also really helps to know where your character is coming from, where did they grow up? Do they say milk? Or do they say milk, it's little things like that, that can really help you hone in on the specificity of your character. And that's gonna help you book your role. But here's the thing, your accent is only one part of why you booked the role. It's only one part of the creation for that audition. But the mistake I see so many actors make is they put their attention just on the accent, and then they get in their head. And then they forget about all the other things that they usually do to actually get their foot in the door to get a callback to or to book the role. So I want you to be careful that you don't put all your attention on the accent, when you get a US audition. That's only one fraction. It's a fourth of where you need to put your focus is on the accent. Aside from that it's the character. And you're probably thinking, well, da, ya da. But what makes the character American. And this is where again, I see so many actors who are not born in the US make massive mistakes is because you're not thinking about crafting this character from an American perspective. You're you're thinking about it from your perspective. But your perspective, for example, let's say you're born in Australia, you have a totally different upbringing than I did growing up in Chicago. So the way we might craft that character could be slightly different. And it's a slight differences that may stand out to somebody in the US watching it and go, your accent isn't strong enough, it may not be your accent, your pronunciation may have been fine. But the character may not have felt American Catch my drift. So that's a massive one for me that I work on with my students. The third is the text in your text analysis, being really careful in the decisions and the choices that you make in analyzing the text that you're analyzing it again, from an American perspective, so really having a good understanding of what makes Americans American, and how is this dialogue American? What are some of the characteristics of America, that in the language in our act of communicating, not just accent but in communicating that exudes being American and not, for example, Australian? So how can we analyze that in the text and in the progression of the story moving forward, in that scene from beginning, middle to end, there's so much that you can do but so much that so many actors don't consider because again, you're using your own cultural perspective, instead of that of the American perspective. So that's text. So give me three things. Now there's one more super important as well, is the state of mind of you, your state of mind, so many actors, I see walking into the process of auditioning with something that's American and losing confidence, and just wanting to get by, and not allowing themselves a chance to win to get the role. You're already giving yourself a million reasons why you won't book it. So guess what happens? You're not going to book it. You've already booked yourself out of getting that role. So what's the point?
Why even auditioning, right? It's so painful to see so many actors go through this and I get it. I totally get it because I've been there. But it shouldn't be this way. So we've got to set ourselves up with our state of mind being really strong that you can envision yourself booking this and that you're going to do all the things to get yourself this role. If you want it badly enough, you will get it certain things obviously that are out of our control, like you know, if you don't look the part, chances are you're not going to get it but you can always shift their perspective. You may not be what they had originally foreseen for the role, but if you knock that audition of the ballpark, you may impress them so much that they might change the role to suit you and what you bring to the table. Or they may give you another role, right? So anything's possible. So keep that state of mind strong, because you are in control of what happens next. And you can either sabotage yourself right from the start, or you can set yourself up for success. And I choose the latter. I choose success. What's it going to be for you? All right. That is it for today's episode. I hope you enjoy that. And if you want to dive deeper into this very topic, then you're definitely going to want to join me for the master the US audition challenge because we're going to be diving deeper into these areas. All you need to do is head over to Katherine beck.com forward slash challenge and I will see you there now let me know if you love this episode, take a screenshot of the show. Share it with me on your Instagram stories and tag me in it at Katherine underscore Beck underscore you can find me there if you've got any questions or topics you'd like to hear on the podcast. Just send me a DM and let me know. Now make sure to share the show with all your actor friends, let them know what's coming up next week and invite them to tune in with you to learn how to become the All American actor so you can be a working actor you dream to be and I'll see you back here next time.