HPAG Workshop #5 off the CHARTS!! Talent filled!

November 25, 2012 

The 5th Hollywood Players Actor's Group Workshop! 

Mission Statement by me, Kelly Mullis, started off the workshop.  I talked about my career as an actress and how it is so very important to create your own projects in this business. To not sit by and wait for the phone to ring. You must constantly feed your creativity or you'll get down in the dumps!
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR CAREER MORE THAN YOU DO!! Therefore, it's completely up to you to make it happen! No one else is going to make you do what you need to do! You must get your head shots taken, get on Actor's Access and LA Casting, do workshops, submit to short films and webseries or even better write your own and make them happen. There are actual people looking on youtube and funnyordie for talent all the time!  If you do something good...people in high places will notice!  So go for it!

After I spoke briefly, each person got up and did a 2 minute intro of themselves. This is such a cool thing about the workshop! I just love hearing what people have done in their careers and where they are.  Everyone is different.  Some are just starting out, some have been at it for a while. I love the passion and the love of acting that comes out from these actors. They all have dreams and they are going for it! That's amazing.

STRETCH AND VOCAL WARM UP
We all stretched and did big yawns to stretch out our faces and our voices.
After we did 3 AHHHHHHHHHs! in a row.
Then we did some Me May Ma Mo Mooooo's! Starting low and going high!  So fun!

WARM UP EXERCISES
I had everyone pair up into two's and had them box or do karate in Slow Motion. It was so entertaining from where I was standing! There were 9 of us including me, I was the odd man out, so I didn't get to box.  That's okay.

After that I had everyone line up in two lines and we did the MIRROR Exercise. First, one side was the mirror and the other was the person in the mirror, then I switched it!  Good one!

Then we did the ALPHABET Letter Throw Game. We stood in a circle and threw the letters of the alphabet at each other. We skipped some letters here and there, so we kept having to start over. Good game of focus and listening.

AFFIRMATIONS!
Affirmations are important for every actor because we can be so hard on ourselves sometimes. We need to remind ourselves that we are unique, talented and beautiful just the way we are. Tell yourselves that often!  OK!?

IMPROVISATIONS
I have a book full of improv scenerios which I cast carefully with people that I know are coming to the workshop.

#1 Improv:  Toni Christopher & J. Michael Hudson.
Toni played a palm reader, with a bad attitude, who J. Michael comes to see. He wants her to tell him his future. Toni wasn't very welcoming at first because he interrupted her Karmic Meditation Session with herself. She finally lets him in for $50 and makes him sit down. She starts reading his palm and pretty quickly realizes that he has a very short life line and doesn't have much time to live. In fact, she gets so freaked out that she puts the plant on lap to hide from him and tells him he only has 3 days to live! She says  "Go out into the world and live life to the fullest!" It was so funny. Toni and J. Michael were awesome in that improv.

#2 Improv: Carl Rolle & Maya Massar

Carl played an airline pilot.  Maya played a crazy highjacker! She busts into the cockpit where Carl and J. Michael (co-pilot) are flying the plane and demands that J.Michael leave the cockpit. She then produces a gun from her waistline and precedes to yell and scream that the pilot turn the plane around and head to South America. She is beside herself with intense hysteria. We don't really know why, but she definitely needs to get to South America. She ends up on the floor, pulling his leg, then back on her feet with the gun in his face. It was kind of funny to watch. I couldn't help but chuckle! Poor Carl, he did the best he could, but in the end, the plane did crash and many lives were lost. Great work you two, way to commit!

#3 Improv: Kelly Mullis & Ashley McGee

I played a woman who has been called in by the bank manager to find out if I'm getting a house loan. I come in very excited about this adorable little house I've found and how I'm going to fix it up, etc. I've filled out all the paper work and everything is in order. Ashley, the bank Manager, looks up my social security number on his computer and my file comes up and it says that I'm not approved! I am so miffed and confused.  We try to get to the bottom of why my credit is so bad. I blame it on a gym that I was a member of that I had a contract with and stopped paying for because they moved. I pout, I flirt, until eventually Ashley gives in to my wishes and approves me anyway! What a guy! I hug him and leave with my new loan.  :)

#4 Improv: Elan O'Connor & Lisa- Mari.

This was one of my favorites of the workshop! So hilarious! Lisa-Marie plays a manicurist at a nail salon and Elan is an old customer who is super excited to hear about the latest gossip.  Lisa-Marie is this adorable blond actress, but she decided to do an Asian Accent for the character! She even did the walk and gestures like an Asian Manicurist. Lisa-Marie's character has to inform Elan that one of the clients at the salon is having an affair with a married man, but that she is sleeping with that woman's husband.  The woman is in the nail salon and they keep turning towards her and smiling and saying hi to the woman! It was so funny. Elan just can't believe her ears. The girls worked off each other perfectly. It was so entertaining. Awesome work girls!

#5 Improv: Kareema & Maya Massar

Maya plays a sympathetic woman who's friend has been accused on a crime. She defends this friend and Kareema is the non sympathetic person who continues to say that that person is guilty and all the bad things that person has done. 








THE COLD READINGS of SCENES

"Eli Stone" starring Maya Massar & Ashley McGee

Maya plays a woman who is looking to hire Ashley, a charming lawyer, to help her with her custody battle with her ex husband.  Ashley played Eli Stone very wonderfully. He was sympathetic to her needs.  Although at first he was reluctant to help her with her case because he didn't feel she could win.  Maya was a very fragile woman as the mother of a young son. You could feel her desperation and sadness.  They did great!

"DAMAGES" starring Elan O'Connor & Carl Rolle
Elan and Carl both play lawyers negotiating a settlement for the case they are working on. Elan was sassy and strong, Carl was a bit on the A--hole side himself.  They worked great off each other. The scene was very back and forth with the sharp dialogue. I thought it was fantastic.  

"OFFICER KILLED" starring J. Michael Hudson & Toni Christopher

This was a very intense scene.  Toni played a wife who's husband had been killed by a landmine that he stepped on. J. Michael was a fellow soldier who was supposed to protect Toni's husband in war. J. Michael explains that he tried to diffuse the bomb.  Toni asked how long he'd been standing on it. J. Michael said one hour. Toni said "He knew he was going to die! Why was he there?! Why did you send him there!?" Toni's face was red with anguish over her loss. J. Michael was stoic. I would like to have had him raise is voice a bit in the role and explode back at Toni with as much passion of their mutual loss as she did.  But otherwise, it was a wonderful scene by them both.

"CHILD CUSTODY" starring Kelly Mullis & Lisa- Marie Gilvery
I played a Social Worker for the City and Lisa-Marie plays a young, single mother who comes to see me and ask when she can get her son back.  I explain to her that the judge gave her a month to get her affairs in order, to get a job, and a place to live and to maintain those things and prove that she can be responsible enough to raise her kid on her own. Lisa-Marie's character is acting a bit twitchy and I ask her if she's on something! Drugs? She denies it and says that she hates all the rule that society puts on people.  I tell her that I will have to report her drug use.  She's leaves in a huff and I have no other choice than to tell my boss about her drug use.  Sad scene. Lisa-Marie did great!  I really believed that she was on something and that her heart was broken and full of desperation.  My character was just mean and not very sympathetic. Well, only slightly caring. 

"PRIVATE PRACTICE" starring Toni Christopher, Ashley McGee & Elan O'Connor
I loved this scene! Toni Christopher plays an actress who fell on stage during a performance and split her head open.  She is getting stitched up by Ashley, who plays a doctor. He inquires about other roles that he may have seen her in.  She's is so adorable and perky. Elan plays another doctor that Ashley has paged for a consult. She comes in and examine Toni's head and asks questions. A moment later, Toni goes into a complete seizure. At first she's sitting on the examination table, the next she's on the floor! Toni Christopher commits like no one I've ever seen. I was really impressed. The actors were a bit freaked out, because I don't they expected that to happen.  Next scene, Toni is fine. She's back on the table being told that she's good as new and her MRI Scans are clean and she thanks the doctors for their help and rushes off to her acting class across town!  Wow! Great scene guys!  Ashley and Elan were great doctors!

"COVERT AFFAIRS" starring J. Michael Hudson and Carl Rolle

J. Michael plays a guy named Auggie who is hooked up to a lie detector machine to find out if he leaked some important secret information.  Carl plays the interrogator.  Carl was crisp and professional with his dialogue. He was very direct and suffers no fools.  J. Michael played the character close to the cuff, with a bit of an edge. I loved the dialogue timing between the two of them. I did wish that J. Michael would have raised his voice more and gotten a bit more irritated with Carl's questions and accusations.  J. Michael admitted that he was second guessing himself about being too big in the scene. But scenes sometimes need "BIG" actions. It makes the scene come to life. It was a good scene though.

"BLUE BLOODS" starring Elan O'Connor, Ashley McGee, and Lisa-Marie.
This scene was very interesting indeed.  Elan plays a woman who's fiance has been murdered after he returned from Afghanistan. He was a hero of sorts in his home town. Ashley is questioning her about her fiance.  Elan explains that he was addicted to pills to get through the mental and physical pain of being in war. Ashley asks about a James Phelps. Elan says that he was her fiance's best friend. Ashley says he was wearing his dog tags when he was killed. Elan asks Ashley if he's been to war. He confirms that he had and understands what Elan's fiance went through. Elan asks Ashley if he'll find out who killed her fiance and he promises that he will with conviction. Lisa-Marie only had one line, but was very present in the scene making Elan feel comforted and understood. It's important to be a good listener in scenes.  Ashley did great as well...I just wish he would have had more conviction with the promise to find the killer, to make Elan believe him. But otherwise, Ashley did great. Elan was beautiful with her emotions. She even had tears in her eyes when talking about her fiance. She really committed to the material.  I really loved this scene!  Great work you guys.

"COVERT AFFAIRS" starring Kelly Mullis & Carl Rolle 
Kelly plays an advocate who has just been on TV talking about more transparency from the CIA and I mention the Director of Clandestine Services by name. Later I meet with the director played by Carl and he's none to happy with me for outing him on TV. He accuses me of trying to push him out of the door.  He says if that happens that there will be someone just as equally bad or worse to replace him.  I scoff at his shallow threats and I am not rattled by his empty promises. Carl is always good at playing those kind of hard characters who are supposed to be intimidating. I am attempting to play strong and smart characters more often myself.  Felt like a good scene.

"BOSS MONA" starring J. Michael Hudson & Maya Massar
J. Michael plays a co-worker of Maya who is playing Boss Mona.
J. Michael is found by Mona sitting at her desk and looking at her email. She is not very happy to see him there at her desk. She goes into bitch over-drive and they have a little office spat.
J. Michael was much more animated in this scene. He was dry and sarcastic. Two co-workers butting heads.  It was a heated scene. Maya was pretty mean.  I liked it! Good job J. Michael! You listened to us and came out of your shell! Good job.

"LEAVING LAS VEGAS" starring Carl Rolle & Kareema
This is a repeat of the scene I did with Patrick a few weeks ago. It was quite a different version. Carl played his drunk character very sweetly and comically. A happy drunk.  Kareema is a brand new actress and was very inside herself during the performance. In time, she'll gain confidence and not be so stuck on the page. I said that I would have liked to have seen her a bit more flirty with him and overjoyed that he decides to stay with her in her apartment instead of a hotel.  But she did well, for someone who has probably never acted before.  Carl was very comfortable in his role.

And that concludes the 5th Workshop of the "HOLLYWOOD PLAYERS ACTOR'S GROUP"!
If you'd like to participate in next week's workshop, just send me a message on Facebook or
call: 323.428.3739 to reserve a spot!!!

SEE YOU ON THE STAGE!!
Kelly Mullis, Artistic Director of HPAG

 We like to do these crazy and then serious group shots! By the end of these workshop we are all so happy and bonded. It's awesome! I love it! Come check it out!