Acting is a team sport.

We rely on our scene partners,

castmates and creative collaborators to

bring the story to life.

But what happens when that trust and

connection

just isn't there?

Whether it's a clash of personalities,

conflicting work styles or just bad

chemistry,

working with another actor you don't

like, can turn a dream role into an

emotional mind field.

In today's episode of casting actor's

cast, we'll explore the triggers behind

actor to actor tension, the toll it can

take, and how to navigate difficult

dynamics without sabotaging

the work or your sanity.

This is casting actor's

caste.

Well, hello, and welcome to this

episode of casting actors cast.

I'm casting director McCorkle Casting group.

I hope you're having a good day.

Thank you for joining us on this

episode.

This is kind of a challenging episode,

I think, because based on even personal experience,

I learned a lot, not from those people

that I really enjoyed working with, but

also those times where there was

tension or challenges working with

another actor.

And so it's an episode I think that's

long overdue, and I'm really happy to

share this information with you today.

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Ok?

Was that pleady enough?

Was I kind of begging a little too much

there maybe, ok.

Anyway, let's move on.

Let's talk about

not getting along with another actor.

And that's first, I think, there's

value here in talking about why this happens.

Because

there are triggers

for those kind of actor conflicts.

Now, you may have had these already, or

you may not have had these, and maybe

this information is going to be

something that you can use for future reference.

But I think the number one issue is

clashing personalities.

And it took me a long time to discover

that one actor's intensity is another's arrogance.

Just because the actor that you're

working with is intense, doesn't

necessarily mean that they're arrogant.

Just because they're arrogant

doesn't mean that they're not intense.

So that's something to take a look at,

is to really explore

the motivations behind that kind, or

that level of discrepancy that you see

between intensity

and arrogance.

There's also conflicting work styles.

I don't know if you've had this

experience, maybe you have, but an

actor who loves the method

versus an actor who's just much more

technically oriented.

Or the over rehearsing

versus spontaneity

issue that a lot of actors might have

some actors don't like to over-rehearse.

They don't like to kind of work things

out.

They like to work things out on the fly,

then might not sit well with you.

And of course that's what can cause

some levels of tension.

Then of course, there are those power

struggles.

You know, that actor that tries to

dominate the scene, or they try to

control the blocking,

for whatever reason.

And again, I've said this in many

episodes.

I am not a psychologist, I'm not a

therapist,

but those kind of control issues are

sometimes very off putting for an actor.

And so

that is something that we need to just

be aware of.

That is potentially something that can

trigger you.

There's also insecurity projection.

There's that jealousy thing or

comparison leading to judgment

that maybe one role is getting a lot

more attention from the director,

that actor is getting all kinds of

interesting, positive notes, and you're

not getting much.

Those kinds of things can really lead

to creating an atmosphere.

That just feels kind of

First of all, it's on professional

behavior.

That

conditioning

can only escalate unless you nip it in

the bud.

But other unprofessional behavior,

I don't know if this triggers you at

all or not.

But chronic lateness,

lack of preparation,

there's also boundary crossing.

Sometimes that takes place.

It's just important to understand that

these are, pretty much, can be common

in a rehearsal setting.

But early on is important to establish

those kinds of boundaries, to establish

those kinds of professional habits,

and nipping that in the bud, if you

find it bothers some coming from

others, then we'll talk about, in a

second.

We're going to talk about how to deal

with that, and how to go through that.

Something that's really personal for me

is what I call the offstage friction.

Off stage friction is sort of like the

personal life that bleeds over

when there's gossip,

or perhaps your politics don't coincide

with another's politics

that bleed over.

That kind of conflict

can only exacerbate

over time.

And so I think there is a way in which

that we can

discover what their takeaways might be.

The reason that this is personal to me

is,

I had a really wonderful experience

on Broadway, in the play that I

play a large role in, of a few good men

on Broadway.

I did over 500 performances on

Broadway, and there was one actor in

the play.

And we had little to no

connection with each other other than

one brief scene.

But I can't even tell you what happened,

which is kind of embarrassing,

but I can't even tell you what the

catalyst was, but we just got pissed off

with each other.

And I'm not sure

what it was about,

but I can tell you that we didn't speak

for a long period of time.

It was as if we kind of ghosted each

other

to each other.

Onstage.

That was so bizarre.

But it happened more offstage than not,

I have to say, only because of the

nature of the roles we were playing.

But it just was one of those things

that we both held onto this level of anger.

Perhaps it was because of the

characters we were playing.

Perhaps it was just that we were tired

of each other being together for such a

long period of time.

But that kind of

scenario did color the experience for

me.

And had to report to you that years

later,

when I got into casting, I actually

brought this actor in for some rolls.

I actually brought this actor in and

cast him in a couple of projects.

And you know what, it's as if nothing

happened.

It was nothing we ever made reference

to after that and I guess that that's

ok.

It is what it is.

So what's my key takeaway.

See, I don't believe that conflict, it

doesn't always come from bad actors.

It's often just simply a clash of

values, or a class clash,

sorry, of expectations

that you have from another actor.

But here's why it matters.

Because it can impact on performance,

and it can impact on your process

how

well

emotional energy,

emotional energy, drains

the scene.

And that makes us suffer from tension or

heaven forbid detachment.

And you know what?

Who suffers the audience can feel the

disconnect.

I promise you.

It can be subtle, it can be subliminal,

but it can affect the performance.

Actors may self censor or shut down

emotionally to cope with the situation,

but also know that it can affect

reputation

or ensemble cohesion.

Working with another group of actors

where there is that kind of tension

can often be challenging.

Why?

Well, there's risk of long term

resentment if it's left unaddressed.

And we all can just

Embrace and understand that that kind

of long term tension can have detrimental

effects, both personally and

professionally

let's talk about external actions,

when and how to seek help.

We're going to continue the

conversation.

Right after this,

you have to ask the question, when do I

involve a third party?

When is the emotional situation to the

point where I need to go outside of the

situation in order to get

professional

help?

In the circumstance,

repeated boundary violations is pretty

much the number one thing that would

warrant going outside of yourself and

the situation by going to somebody in

the company

there's also,

hate to bring it up, but there's also

safety concerns.

It can be emotional or physical.

When you feel that your performance is

being affected,

and private efforts that you've made

have failed,

who do you go to?

Well, in the case of theater,

the first line of defense in that

communication

is the stage manager.

The stage manager is there to keep the

show cohesive and running.

And if there's something that is

altering your ability to do that work,

that's the time that you need to go and

address the stage manager.

If you are in a rehearsal for a film or

a television project,

then that's the production context that

you are in.

Then it's important that you understand

that the director

and or the producer is there to help,

perhaps resolve those conflicts again.

That would be a first line of defense.

That would be the default go to if you

find yourself in that situation.

Now, if you're in a kind of a high

stakes television show or

a film,

and you're working

in, not in reality, in rehearsal, but

actually shooting,

those are kind of high stakes

situations.

And that's when it's important to go to

your agent or rep your agent or manager.

Because they can listen, they can

process, and they can bring it to the

other people that are involved in the

project should it be deemed necessary.

So here's how to approach it

professionally,

if you find yourself in that situation

that you need to talk to a stage

manager, a director or a producer

or your own agent,

let me give you some advice about that.

I want you to consider sticking to the

facts.

Do not overe-motionalize

the situation.

Sticking to the facts

really helps you stay focused on

keeping it non emotional, so that it is

something that can be addressed.

Feelings are not facts.

Feelings are not facts.

I love that phrase.

Please do your best to avoid gossip or

any kind of character assassination or

character judgments.

I think

there is something to be said about

offering potential solutions

to a situation.

You could decide that, maybe you could

adjust the blocking.

Maybe you could reblock that scene in a

way that doesn't or deflate the

emotional context.

Maybe there is a request that you have

for

giving separate notes,

doing it privately, rather than in

front of each other.

So those are the kinds of creative ways

to explore should you find yourself in

that situation.

But I also want to address some

internal strategies,

knowing what you can control.

One thing you can control is your mind

set.

Reset,

focusing on the work,

not the person.

You can do that, if you separate the

actor from the role, don't take it personally.

Also practice emotional detachment

with presents.

In other words, stay committed,

but protect

There are some techniques that we can

cover.

So when you just don't get along with

another actor,

I think that there are some personal

things you can do for yourself

to help

ease the situation.

It might not necessarily wipe the issue

away, but resetting and re tracking

your mindset

can be quite valuable.

One set boundaries,

for example,

just

control the warm up time.

Please do your best to limit backstage

chat.

Keep it very upfront keep it very

professional.

Also, I would consider

using breathwork or visualization for

Scenes.

When you can do that before a scene,

for example, that can help you refocus

that energy into the work and not into

the emotion.

If you could practice seeing partner

neutrality,

you would find that to be extremely

valuable.

Here's what I mean by that.

Play the objective,

not the actor,

play the purpose of the scene,

not the emotional context of the scene.

The emotion will be there.

But if you are able to maintain and

understand the objective of the scene,

there's a lot less room for that.

Speculative sensitivity,

of good words,

speculative sensitivity.

I think that those are ways that you

can almost

distract yourself.

You can almost distract yourself by

filling up the purpose and the

objective of the scene.

Also reframe the situation, treat it as

an acting challenge to stay focused

under pressure.

That

might be the answer

to those conflicts.

So professionalism

in the face of friction

here's what you can do.

Show up on time, prepared and grounded.

Even if others don't do that.

Another

don't bad mouth your coworker.

It always comes back around.

Remember that this is temporary,

but your reputation

is permanent

having and stepping outside of yourself

and understanding that can save you a

lot of wasted time and energy.

I think that your best revenge is your

best performance,

giving it all you've got.

So here are some takeaways and some

encouragement I want to give you.

Please know that every castmate you work

with is not going to be a soulmate.

Let me repeat that, every castmate you

work with

is not a soul mate.

And you know what

that's ok,

because growth often comes from

friction,

as long as it's handled with integrity.

See, integrity is not a bad word.

It's something that you can stand

behind.

It is something that you can hold on to.

You can be kind respectful and still

protect

your space.

You don't have to like everyone, but

you do have to be professional

with everyone.

I know this is kind of a challenging

subject to talk about sometimes,

but

because we're creative people we're

also sensitive.

Because we're sensitive people, we are

also hyperaware

of our environment, and that includes

the other people that we work with.

Treat yourself with integrity and

respect.

Understand that everyone's going to

have a slightly different approach to

the situation than you might.

And that is ok.

Every experience you have is a learning

experience.

And your reputation

as somebody who gets along with everyone

is not a bad place to be.

Because the number one issue I get

asked,

add an audition when you've left the

room or left the zoom audition

is,

how are they to work with

you?

See your reputation as an actor

goes equally as far as whether you are

right or not for the role.

So eliminate

that part of yourself

by not staying focused or concentrating

on the conflict, but Embrace the resolution.

Ok?

Somebody write that down?

That was really good.

Hey, thanks for tuning in.

I hope you found this information

helpful today.

Please leave a like or a share.

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Also, if you don't mind, please

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If you're listening on iTunes, for

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if you let others know about how you

found this information.

I'mJ effrey Dreisbach

You've been listening and watching

casting actor's cast.

My thanks to the Broadway podgast network