Why should you read this...?

Ok, here we go.

WELCOME everyone!

I am starting this blog in the hopes that this may serve as a resource for aspiring and established artists. Perhaps a place where we can learn from our mistakes, and/or victories, in efforts to achieving our creative and personal goals.

I've been working in this business long enough to know a few things. And when I say, "I know what I'm talking about ," I mean "I've witnessed the benefits and consequences of what I speak. I have witnessed and observed actors "kill it" in auditions, and also "shoot themselves in the foot." By that I mean: a killer audition can be often sabotaged by an actors insecurities. i.e. invading personal space, not knowing when to leave a room, apologizing , etc.

How do I know these things? and why?

Well...long story short. I've been around. Plus, my experience OUTSIDE the industry has benefitted me just as much as my experience WITHIN it.

I am a professional actor, coach and teacher, based out of New York City. I recently received my MFA in Acting from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. I am also a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, in Los Angeles, and studied at Oxford University in the U.K.

Being only 2 years out of Grad School, I have already been privileged to work with several of New York’s Off-Broadway theaters, including: The Actors Company Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Bridge Theatre Company, and at The Neighborhood Playhouse. I have also worked with many prominent Los Angeles area theatres such as, A Noise Within, International City Theater, South Coast Repertory Theater, and The Pasadena Playhouse. I worked in film, national commercials, and t.v. Most recently: The Unusuals, All my Children and Guiding Light. I just completed shooting several Independent Films: Jason’s Big Problem, Forged, and Experiment 7. Look for them in the coming year in a festival near you!

I coach privately, and teach acting, speech, and dialects at the University level (currently at Rider University, and have taught at Rutger's University, at both New Brunswick and Newark campuses). 
 In addition, I've worked at seminar companies, served as readers for prominent casting houses, and just kept my eyes open and watched the "Actor-Condition" at work (not quite the "Human-Condition" as we, actors, can often be a sub-species of our own - come on now...we all know this to be true).

Before I began my pursuits as an actor, I was a registered Lobbyist in Washington, DC. A parallel world of sorts, and the lessons I learned in that environment, also apply to ours. In fact, I remember the distinct sensation of gratitude for my time in our nation's capital shortly after I moved to Los Angeles. I found I possessed a savvy I didn't know I had...I can only attribute it to the experience I had in DC. Or, maybe it's all just common-sense. Who really knows, or cares...

So, here it begins. Each entry will be addressing a specific issue we artists face in our daily lives. I hope these entries can serve as lessons from which we all may learn. Whether it be from my own personal experience, or those observed of others, we all can deepen our craft, work a little harder and better ourselves as we press on undaunted in the quest to achieve our goals. I hope these entries may also serve as a basis of knowledge for which actors may empower themselves to give their very best when working and/or auditioning. Let's start removing all the reasons for not working.

To learn more about me, visit: www.christopherhalladay.com

Here we go!