PROJECT PROPOSAL
My integrating activity project, called Creating Identities, will take the form of a self-tape video that features five different scripts and characters. I have chosen acting as the artistic field I want to showcase because that is what I hope to turn into a career. I have eight years of experience in acting. I started out doing theatre in school, and in recent years I have taken many classes through different acting studios and occasionally private coaching. Last year, I signed with an agent so I am now auditioning professionally.
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During quarantine, the career of an actor has completely changed. Previously, actors were able to physically go into an audition room and have face-to-face contact with casting directors. However, now everything is done from home. Acting classes are held on Zoom and auditions have moved to a self-tape form. Self-Tapes are when an actor records their performance for an audition on their own. They have a person standing off screen that reads the other lines, while the actor is seen in a medium close-up shot from the chest up. There is not much production that goes into a self-tape, as the focus is supposed to be on the actor’s performance.
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I have chosen the self-tape form for my project because I want to showcase what the life of an actor looks like during the pandemic. Acting suits our theme of identity incredibly well as we create new identities with each character we audition for. With every script we receive, actors are expected to lift the identity of a non-existent person from the page and make the character feel real. This is especially difficult during the pandemic, as we are all stuck at home in the same environment constantly. I have to sit in my bedroom everyday and try to create completely new characters, even while nothing around me has changed.
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Therefore, my project will be a video, filmed as a self-tape, that showcases five different scenes. Each scene will present contrasting characters, to show the different identities we must create. The scripts will be found online, using casting websites like Casting Workbook that have a sides library, as well as some old sides I have from acting classes and workshops. The set up for each scene will be exactly the same. I will be standing in front of a blank wall and be framed from my chest to the top of my head. Each character will be distinct as I want to show the range that actors are required to have. After I have filmed all five scenes, I will edit them all together into one video. The materials I will need are five different scripts, five costumes, my camera, my tripod with a ring light, a blank wall, and my computer. In addition, I will need a reader that will read the scene with me, playing all of the other characters. This will most likely be my dad, as he is usually my reader for my auditions. My schedule for this project is as follows:
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March 24 - 31: Searching for Scripts
March 31 - April 7: Script Preparation & Memorization
April 7 - 14: Shooting the Self-Tapes
April 14 - 21: Shooting the Self-Tapes
April 21 - 28: Reshoots (if needed)
April 28 - May 5: Editing & Uploading
May 5 - 12: Final Changes & Submission
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This project will present a few of the differing identities present in our society. In addition, it will show how alike and different identities are, and how easy or difficult it is to create an identity separate from yourself. I hope to not only communicate my abilities as an actor, but to provide some insight into the challenges we have faced while auditioning during the pandemic.