AFTRA

Workshop #2

"ACTORS MUST CAST WIDER NETS TO LAND WORK IN SMALL MARKETS"

Re-printing authorized by New Orleans CityBusiness#

June 16, 2003

By Keith Pandolfi

Denise Dal Vera may be an actress but she sure doesn't act like one.

While many thespians are considered outsiders, bohemians or eccentrics, Dal Vera is just the opposite. With her conservative business suit and "sensible shoes," she's the kind of person who would fit more easily into a corporate boardroom than backstage at a community theater.

That's a good thing, since much of her work comes from major corporations such as The Procter & Gamble Co., General Motors Corp. and Bank One Corp.

It may not be Broadway or Hollywood but Dal Vera manages to get an impressive amount of work in her hometown of Cincinnati, which, like New Orleans, has a much smaller pool of acting opportunities.

Last week, Dal Vera visited the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts to share tips with about 50 New Orleans actors.

The visit was co-sponsored by the Arts Council of New Orleans and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.

Though she's appeared in plays, films and TV shows, Dal Vera said she is able to carve out a full-time career doing commercial work, which pays $250 to $1,200 for everything from voiceovers to hand modeling to "precision pouring."

"I spent eight hours pouring blue fluid on a maxi-pad," she said.

"Anytime there is industry, there is work."

To nab that work, Dal Vera said New Orleans actors need to make themselves marketable to corporate America, which often sees them as something of a peculiarity.

"Employers don't understand us," she said. "And they don't respect us. We are ego driven, which puts us in a horrible place because we set ourselves up for rejection. And because of the passion many actors have for their profession, many of them will work for free.

"But could you imagine a construction worker doing a job for free?" she asked. "In most professions, that is not how people operate."

To earn respect, actors need to dress professionally, market themselves and, most importantly, find a reliable agent who won't sell them short. They also need to invest in their careers by diversifying their work to include everything from corporate trade shows -- where they can find work as presenters -- to improvisational comedy and singing. "There's a lot of work for people who can do jingles," she said.

Rick Landry, owner of New Orleans-based Rick Landry Casting, has provided talent for commercials for such companies as Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola. He said commercial work has slowed in New Orleans since Sept. 11, 2001, but at least one national commercial is shot here each month.

To cut down on costs, some companies use employees or family members instead of professional actors, in their ads.

"Most of the actors in New Orleans have the professional skills to get these jobs," he said. "But those who are very experienced move to Dallas or Chicago where a lot more commercials are made."

New Orleans, however, is picking up commercially. Last year, the Louisiana Institute of Film Technology LLC struck a deal with Los Angeles-based HSI Productions Inc. to bring $100 million in TV commercials, film and music video work to Louisiana during the next five years.

For New Orleans actors to take advantage of increased opportunities, they'll need to brush up their interviewing and professional skills, said Herta Suarez, national director of special projects for the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.

"We are trying to train the talent here and generate a larger talent pool," Suarez said. "We have to start turning things around so the actors who are living here can stay here."

Suarez worries that many Louisiana-based companies don't use local talent to cast their commercials.

"These companies should be using local talent," she said. "It's just the fair thing to do. We need the business community here to support them."

John Maginnis, vice president of marketing and creative services for
BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana, said he's always looking for good, local talent for his company's ad campaigns. But his expectations are high.

"From my point of view, the ability to act well in a commercial is no different from the ability to act well in a play or a movie," he said. "We are looking for top-notch talent."

While Maginnis uses many actors from New Orleans or Baton Rouge, he also looks to Dallas or other cities for talent. "Dallas is a production center, and there is a vibrant community of actors and actresses who have gravitated there," he said.

He thinks the program being offered by the Arts Council and AFTRA is a good first step toward developing a local acting pool to serve his company's needs.

Richard Martin -- an actor who just moved to New Orleans from New York – said the market is smaller and slower here than in his former home. Still, he's impressed by the determination he's seen among the city's actors. Like in New York, he said, "People here are very enthusiastic about their work."

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# Copyright 2003 Dolan Media Newswires

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