tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111490392024-08-29T06:24:02.714+01:00Step inside one woman's world as she climbs to the top (in kitten heels). Aspiring actress Lucy McGinn shares her adventures in a new chapter every couple of weeks. Season 3 is now underway! <br> <br> New readers, please start at the beginning by clicking the links on the right.Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-81712462747997146002007-06-02T14:42:00.000+01:002007-06-02T14:44:46.621+01:00

The second out-of-town audition I had was in Manchester. Marcus said not to bother going, but I had recently been (gently) encouraging my agent to send me on more auditions, so I had to go. Besides, what was so bad about Manchester? Everyone seemed to love their soccer – err football – team, so it couldn’t be that bad.Despite my best efforts to look imposing and in need of space, the

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-61843802800267266002007-05-27T17:26:00.000+01:002007-05-27T23:07:35.356+01:00

When your agent calls and says “you have an audition tomorrow,” you say “great – what time?” You don’t say “What’s the part? Where’s the audition? What kind of character will I be playing?” or heaven forbid ask “What’s my character’s motivation?” If the audition is for a commercial, you don’t get to evaluate the product to determine whether it’s really something you want to promote. You simply

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-27620803674929259912007-05-12T14:59:00.000+01:002007-05-27T16:43:19.926+01:00

Once I had some presenting experience, the doors were opened for more presenting auditions – corporate gigs, internet “TV shows”, etc. I tried imaging my career taking the trajectory of Greg Kinnear’s – working my way up to presenting on E! and then landing a career-defining role like his portrayal of a gay artist in As Good as it Gets.I got a job doing some “man on the street” interviews, or vox

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1153238734939895302006-07-21T11:02:00.000+01:002007-05-27T23:42:32.001+01:00

“There’s more to London’s nightlife than musicals and plays. After you see a show in the West End, why not step into Soho, where you’ll find some of the trendiest hotspots in London. Just around the corner from The Palace Theatre, you’ll find Kettners where you can enjoy some bubbly at the champagne bar or relax and listen to the pianist in this lavish lounge…”I had a paid gig for the London

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1152804743387863472006-07-14T09:48:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.443+01:00

On my first paid acting gig, I earned £50 for a full day working on a “TV pilot”. It sounded exciting – six characters living in trendy Hoxton. We’d be filming all day. Sure £50 wasn’t a lot, but there was the hope that future work, at Equity rates, would be forthcoming.Unfortunately, when I turned up I realized we were being paid to do the writer/director’s work for him. He had no script, no

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1152550583642817682006-07-10T17:50:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.444+01:00

Every few months, an actor needs to put something new on her résumé to show she’s been active, engaged in the industry and is thus employable, i.e. not a lazy couch-surfing wannabe who’s hoping for her big break to fly through the window. I was well overdue for a résumé refresh, but short on time, so I signed up for a few one-day courses at City Lit. An interview was required to get a space so I

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1149863095199524402006-06-16T09:30:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.444+01:00

Everyone knows the only way to get a tan without causing wrinkles is to use self tanner. So being in an ageist industry and having a Nicole-Kidman-like pallor, I naturally chose this route to becoming a bronzed summer beauty (as advertised on the bottle). Shortly after the first appearance of the British sun, when most of the population had pink-tinged skin from their annual

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1149840156782937102006-06-09T09:01:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.444+01:00

When London’s summer finally arrives, a shared joy spreads across the city. Moods are improved and people are friendlier and less hurried. Bars and pubs from Angel to Soho to Clapham have people spilling out of them onto the sidewalks and streets, taking the rare opportunity to enjoy a pint in the great outdoors. When it gets too hot however, trouble begins. Bus rides become sticky and getting on

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1147877428570349452006-05-17T15:46:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.445+01:00

Having an American accent in London can be a positive or a negative for an actor: there are fewer parts for Americans, but fewer people competing for them. So I always keep my eye out for castings requesting “native American speakers” (presumably they don’t mean American Indians). My agent sent me on an audition for a low budget musical. I’m really not sure how she got the idea that I’m a singer,

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1146222125372125892006-04-28T11:59:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.445+01:00

I had tried avoiding him, I postponed our meeting twice, but after bumping into him at BAFTA I could avoid him no more. I had to give Marcus an answer about the Marilyn movie. I had to decide whether or not to do nude scenes. This could be a turning point in my career – for the better, or for the worse. Who could forget what Showgirls did for Elizabeth Berkley (or didn’t do, rather)? But there

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1145545158378402932006-04-20T15:52:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.445+01:00

A few text messages, a couple of exchanged voice mails, and Dean finally asked me out on a date. Or was it a date? You never know with these industry things. I didn’t care – we were going to see a movie. Not just any movie – a premiere. It wasn’t at just any old cinema either. It turns out Dean is a card-carrying member of BAFTA. I couldn’t resist calling Olivia to gloat. “Olivia, guess where I

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1144422203769254742006-04-07T15:58:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.446+01:00

At certain times of the year, the entertainment business in this town seems to snap into gear. No one plans to get much done over summer (particularly in August) or over the Christmas period. Then there’s a scramble to get things on the move. January seems to be the month during which all the behind-the-scenes action takes place. So after a seemingly endless dry spell, I now have audition notices

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1135000387733333622005-12-19T13:48:00.000+00:002007-05-12T15:11:03.446+01:00

Following the clothes-changing debacle, I thought I’d never hear from Marcus again. Instead, I got a text message the next week.“New script. Call me.”He must be paying by the letter.The inevitable message-decoding attempts ensued. Does he just want to share some good news about a project? Does he need actors for a read-through (unpaid, no doubt)? Or could it be that there’s a part for me? More

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1134353247637120472005-12-12T02:04:00.000+00:002007-05-12T15:11:03.446+01:00

Sometimes the need for glamour at one’s destination exceeds the needs for dignity on the journey there. It’s the Machiavellian principle applied to glamour: the trends justify the means.I have, on occasion, been known to put my make up on while on the tube (not known exactly, as I wouldn’t do this in the company of anyone I know). Although I have gotten my daily make-up routine down to 4 ½

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1132320038966882802005-11-18T13:09:00.000+00:002007-05-12T15:11:03.447+01:00

Walking into the waiting room for an audition is often like walking into some strange hall of mirrors. The Casting Director has a brief to fill and, until you are a known actor, you fit the brief based on height/weight/ hair color/looks. So you walk into a room and see 15 versions of yourself. It can be surreal.I got an audition for a KFC commercial. Not exactly the product I’d like to be known

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1131746330689108022005-11-11T21:25:00.000+00:002007-05-12T15:11:03.447+01:00

Being glamorous is easy when you have a personal assistant, a chef, a stylist, a hair and make-up team and time to work out two hours a day. Unfortunately, I have none of the above. It has been an indulgence, however, to go to a top London hair salon every six to eight weeks for highlights, a cut and blow dry. When I told Cheri how much it was costing me, she immediately whisked me to the nearest

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1130603929560185932005-10-29T17:35:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.447+01:00

Now that I have an agent, I only have two more of my stated goals to achieve: get paid acting work and become Fabulously Successful. Getting an agent can be a key to the former, if not the latter. But first I had to tell her what I was and wasn’t interested in doing. Theatre – yes; theatre in education – no. Feature films – yes; student films – no. Indies – yes; undies – no. Towards the objective

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1129288882925769762005-10-14T12:19:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.448+01:00

Although short of being controversial, “The Method” is still a much-discussed and debated technique (and not only on Inside the Actors Studio.) To boil down The Method technique, the actor calls upon his/her own past emotional experiences to create the character’s emotions. So when your character’s child gets run over by a train, you think about when you had to put your dog to sleep. Does The

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1128644959637499922005-10-07T01:18:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.448+01:00

INT.PRESENTERLucy McGinn’s meteoric rise from “quirky neighbor” to A-list celebrity was a Cinderella affair. This is her story. This is the E! True Hollywood Story.SCENE 1: GROWING UPPRESENTERLucy grew up in a small Midwestern town where she caught the acting bug at an early age. Along with her childhood friend Betty, she used her tape recorder to make her own radio dramas. In high school, she

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1127562707656464962005-09-24T12:49:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.448+01:00

There are so many reasons not to date actors: they’re flakes, they don’t have steady jobs, they’re short. But when the only people you meet are actors, sometimes it’s unavoidable. I knew Rich was a rising star when I first met him. Objectively, he was attractive enough. He had black hair, green eyes and a killer smile. He did that grungy “I don’t care”/hair slightly greasy look to T.But the thing

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1126876595808113262005-09-16T09:10:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.449+01:00

The completion of a major project is inevitably followed by a period of “now what”. The Fringe wasn’t exactly the big break I need but at least it’s a good résumé builder. The end of the Fringe was a big party. The whole thing is supposed to be actually – if you’re not developing a slight hunch from 30 pounds of flyers strapped to your back. At least I made some good contacts. But it’s too soon

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1125674737632431682005-09-02T16:22:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.449+01:00

Thursday10 a.m.After several hours of flyering yesterday with 30 pounds of flyers in my backpack (not an exaggeration), we only had a dozen people in the audience. I’m feeling pretty beat up but I have to get back out there and pass them out again today.11:30 a.m.Did I mention I'm covered in mosquito bites? I don't even know how I could possibly get so many on my butt – I’ve been wearing jeans

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1124977215683584802005-08-19T14:34:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.449+01:00

There are 1700 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and five of them are productions of Twelfth Night: one youth performance troupe (£7), one traditional performance (£9.50), us (£9) and not one but two musical adaptations (£10 and £12). With start times ranging from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., you could literally watch Twelfth Night all day long.Bobby has ordered even more flyers and we’re all on

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1124717057506497352005-08-12T14:21:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.450+01:00

Getting ready for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been a whirlwind. Somehow, when I met up with Bobby at Patisserie Valerie two weeks ago, I accepted the part, agreed to help promote the show and signed a contract all before our cappuccinos arrived. He must have worked in sales – he knows his stuff: Always Be Closing.The production is a modern interpretation of Twelfth Night; I’m playing Viola.

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11149039.post-1123250081432234962005-08-05T14:52:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:11:03.450+01:00

Looking for work in this industry is more difficult than most, and not just because there are more actors than jobs. A lot of it is who you know, and if you don’t know anyone, chances are you don’t get much work.In most industries, a company can get sued for discriminating against you based on gender, race, age or simply based on your looks. In acting you can only get jobs if you are the right

Devon Dudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762024025149729019noreply@blogger.com