7 habits of highly effective people

Part Seven: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

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We made it to the last habit in our Blog series based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People written by the brilliant Steven Covey!!

The 7th Habit is….

SHARPEN THE SAW

This is definitely a habit that MOST actors I know neglect. Sharpening the saw is all about keeping your primary tool for success in tip top shape. What is that most important resource? IT IS YOU!

Many actors, particularly those in the New York Acting Community, tend to grind too hard. They forget to schedule time for rest, rejuvenation and rarely take time for themselves to have FUN. They often think that any time spent away from working on their career, self-taping auditions and doing projects is moving them in the wrong direction– and that couldn’t be further from the case.

In order to be a successful performer, you need to approach your life holistically. The more well rounded you become, the better you can source from your life to accurately depict human experiences. Living your life well gifts you great knowledge that you can bring to your craft and to the characters you create.

The book talks about the main pillars for sharpening the saw. They are:

  • Physical
  • Spiritual
  • Mental
  • Social/Emotional

Physical sharpening is about taking care of your body. Healthy food, WATER (oh man how many of us don’t focus on drinking enough water!!), exercise, getting enough sleep, taking time off when you are sick– all of this is important to staying sharp in business and in life.

Spiritual sharpening is about connecting with something greater than yourself.

Mental sharpening is about expanding your mind. Read books. Take classes in things OTHER than acting. Learn a new language. Do some writing. Try out brain training exercises for mental agility!

Social/Emotional sharpening is all about connecting with your people. Find people you can trust and be vulnerable with them. Create deeper relationships and connections. Build a community around yourself of people who BELIEVE in you and you in them!

Reading all of these habits you may be thinking “How do I do ALL of this?” Really good time management, and allowing certain things to take a front seat when they need to and a back seat when they have to. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s happiness in your life and work. It will look a little different for everyone and it will change throughout your life.

Take what resonates the most and focus on that first. Personal growth is a marathon and not a sprint. Success finds people at ALL ages and stages– so there is no rush. Enjoy the journey of becoming your best self– that is what life is all about anyway!

Thanks for hanging with me thru these principles! Check out the rest of our blog for other tips and tools on how to create a great acting career!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

7 habits of highly effective people

Part Six: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

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Only 2 Habits left in our series! Habit # 6 is

6. SYNERGIZE!

Synergy is the ability to understand another person/perspective/thought in order to merge it with your own to either learn or build something greater than either of you would without that input. You must truly understand all points of view and needs and get creative to find solutions, choices or options that help everyone win.

SYNERGY is what makes projects THRIVE.

SYNERGY deepens relationships.

SYNERGY solves problems.

TRUE SYNERGY is energizing.

Synergy with your creative team on a project is what makes a film or play come to life. You need all departments to come together to make successful entertainment.

Synergy with a casting office keeps getting you auditions. You need each other at their best in order to be successful.

Synergy while you problem solve helps you find time to get your self-tape done and done well! Find creative ways to get your schedule together to make this possible.

Synergy in your career keeps it feeling vibrant and FUN! We are a relationship based industry. Every notable project of any type involves synergy.

If you feel like your career is lacking synergy, ask yourself– who do you know working on great work that you can add value to?

For example: You know a local theatre company. Synergy with them could mean…

You become a teaching artist for them and introduce them to the school your nephew goes to and start a theater program together.

You bring them your holiday solo concert for next year since they don’t normally have holiday programming. You both can earn a little holiday cash.

You know a writer. Synergy with them could mean…

You offer yourself and maybe include some friends to do a very early stage reading of their work. They get help learning from their draft- you can update your network on your collaboration and practice portraying new characters.

You collaborate together to write a story that you can perform as a short film, monologue or other format. You both get a project to be proud of and submit to festivals!

You know and love a local coffee shop. Synergy with them could mean…

You offer to self-tape a mini spot promoting them that you can both use on socials

You host an actor meet-up group here so you can connect with fellow performers and swap marketing ideas. They get business and you get a place to curate a community.

Synergy can be created in limitless ways. All you need are willing partners, creativity and a goal.

Enjoying this series? Stay tuned– our last blog on this subject is coming up soon!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

7 habits of highly effective people

Part Five: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

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Welcome to Habit #5 in our Series of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People as pertains to ACTORS.

5. Seek First to Understand– Then to be Understood!

This is really cool to pull through the lens of an actor and I have three specific directions I want to go with this.

Direction 1– SUBMISSIONS

Direction 2- CHARACTER HOMEWORK.

Direction 3- REPS

So let’s start with Submissions. I would guarantee that EVERY Casting Director I know would tell me that they get many actors who are wrong for the role for every breakdown they release. Every single one. WHY? Because often actors aren’t seeking to understand before they try for the job.

In order to UNDERSTAND a project, you need to explore all known details carefully. You need to LISTEN to what is needed before you spend any time creating. I know sometimes this can be tricky because breakdowns don’t always include a lot of info, but you need to take what IS included very seriously.

For example, if a breakdown says they need local hire for a project and they are looking for people with fluent Spanish, and you KNOW you don’t have a place to stay in that city, you don’t have money for a flight AND you haven’t tried out your Spanish since JR year of high school– DO NOT SEND A TAPE. The details that production knows are important to them are in those directions. Don’t assume that you are an exception to a rule– because the more people who assume they are, the more frustrating it is for casting to sift thru everything and every part of the process suffers.

Ok so part 2– CHARACTER HOMEWORK. When you approach your scene and begin to make choices, you need to mine your section of the script and your character description for clues about who this person is and what they want. This is tricky without reading the whole script (always read the ENTIRE script when given the opportunity–it doesn’t always come up but take it when it does) but do your best.

Look for patterns in the way they think/speak, look for what actions they are playing, try to determine their ideal outcome in each moment, etc. You can’t make thorough choices until you have done this work as an actor. Once you have done this work on your script– then you SEEK TO BE UNDERSTOOD. Make choices that clearly show your character’s wants and desires so that your performance is believable to casting AND to an audience.

And part 3– REPS. In order to get an agent, you need to understand what an agent NEEDS from an actor to get them audition appointments. Without an understanding of an agent’s process, you can’t be sure that you are providing them with all the necessary tools they need to do their job.

What are those tools?

A resume ready for work at the next level. A picture that places them in the right worlds for what casts locally. Training that they can trust to represent the agency on set. Quick correspondence for fast audition turn arounds. Solid communication skills and work ethic for when things get busy– or to help things GET busy when they are slow.

You need to understand why all this is needed and have it at the ready in order to get an agent to understand that you are ready for Rep!

Find this blog helpful! Don’t forget to check out the earlier ones in this series!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

7 habits of highly effective people

Part Four: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

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Moving right along to Habit #4 in our Series of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People as pertains to ACTORS.

4. Think Win-Win.

I love this one. Life is FULL of possibilities and outcomes. Tap into a little creativity and MANY problems can be solved by solutions where everyone can benefit. It may not be the first solution that always comes to mind, but when you are committed to solving a situation, Win-Win scenarios are the holy grail.

Not only do they move you forward, but they move those around you and/or working with you forward. That creates tremendous good will for the people in your community and encourages people to feel confident and excited when working with you.

So how do you do this as an actor? Here are a few WIN-WIN scenarios I dreamed up for you to explore.

STUDENT FILMS- You need footage. They need actors. When you are just starting out in your career, student films are a great way to get some low stakes experience in front of the camera.

LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING AS A CONTENT CREATOR- Brands want great content and you love insta and tik tok. Brands love connecting with authentic individuals who have great social media followings to get the word out on their products and compensate for this service.

BECOMING A PRODUCER/ACTOR- When you are able to help a project along in ways other than performing in it, that can benefit everyone and make you a more enticing casting decision! Can you help coordinate a group sale of tickets? Help scout filming locations for an indie? What a gift you can be to projects you work on!

BEING A READER- Casting Directors need actors to be readers for their auditions. What’s great is while you are reading, the CD also gets a taste of your skills and abilities! You can support those auditioning and this part of the project while practicing your skillset and strengthening your relationship with that Casting team.

FINDING OPPORTUNITIES YOURSELF EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE REPS- Just because you have an agent, doesn’t mean you just stop looking for work on your own. Your agent is part of your TEAM and YOU are the CEO! Everytime you bring relationships and opportunities to the team– everyone truly benefits!

Say you find a great opportunity that hasn’t formally been released yet– and you have a connection to get your work seen early for the project. That is great for you and your reps- ESPECIALLY when you book it and everyone financially benefits (yes- you should always give your agent the percentage, even when you find the job yourself). Your whole team benefits from your new credit, new relationships and new opportunities!

These are just a few examples of WIN-WIN scenarios that you can bring into your acting career to help advance your career. Touch back here as we move into point number 5 next week and give you more tips on how to become a successful actor!

Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection. Colleen is an expert helping aspiring actors prepare for casting calls, find an agent, and optimize their acting training for theater and television.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

7 habits of highly effective people

Part Three: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

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Thanks for hanging with us! We are here with blog 3 from our mini series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People! If you didn’t see the first two yet– be sure to check out those earlier posts! So let’s explore habit 3!

3. Put First Things First.

Most people these days have HUGE to-do lists. It can feel paralyzing, especially to creatives! Not all actions that end up on our “to-dos” actually move us closer to our success. Identifying the KEY actions that you need to focus on first is VITAL to finding success in ANY industry.

So how do you differentiate your tasks? How do you set-up your day to have success here? You need to learn the word “no” and when to use it.

There are important and non-important tasks and urgent and non-urgent tasks. You need to structure your day to include enough time working on things that aren’t urgent but ARE important. If you don’t set aside time for those tasks, it is easy to get caught in the worldwind of smaller things that keep you busy but don’t move you towards your goals. To do this, you need to be constantly thinking about what YOU need to do, what you can DELEGATE, what you can AUTOMATE and what you can say NO to. With that in mind, you need to schedule your week to get everything accomplished. Don’t expect to FIND the time. Put the time in the calendar. If you never work on the big picture, you can’t ever expect to achieve your big dreams. If that means saying no or asking someone else to do it– you need to! Otherwise, you are just coasting through reacting to things instead of taking action towards your goals.

So here are a few tips for you for point number 3!

  • Create a weekly schedule that outlines your daily activities. Block out time for submitting for auditions and doing industry research. Create your weekly schedule on Sunday night or Monday morning and adhere to it as closely as you can. The more you practice your scheduling, the easier it will be to set aside the proper amount of time to get your tasks done.
  • Do your MOST IMPORTANT WORK FIRST. Tackle the self-tapes, the audition submissions and your important relationship building tasks before you hop on the family email string, do the load of laundry or open social media. You will feel more control over your day if you can make time to do this on a regular basis.
  • Notice what you are doing that is getting you positive results in your life. Prioritize those things!
  • Ask yourself these questions when scheduling your tasks: 1) Is it important? 2) Do I need to do this now? 3) Can someone else do this? 4) Can I automate this for the future? 5) Does this move me closer to my dreams? 6) Is the outcome of this action important to my career and/or personal goals?
  • TIME BLOCKING! I’m a BIG fan of this method! Sometimes when we give ourselves mini deadlines we move faster. If you have all day to do an item, you’ll take all day. If you give yourself a timeline, you’ll work to do it within that time frame. Tighten your deadlines on individual tasks and watch how it changes your productivity.

Feel free to comment below on any action steps these principles inspire for you and we will get busy prepping habit #4!

Need a community to help you stay on the right path? Check out our ACTORS CONNECTING membership group on facebook! CLICK HERE to join the group for your free trial!

Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection. Colleen is an expert helping aspiring actors prepare for casting calls, find an agent, and optimize their acting training for theater and television.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

7 habits of highly effective people

Part Two: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

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Welcome back to our blog mini series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People! We are breaking down the 7 tips that Stephen Covey shares in his book (great read! I can definitely recommend it) but we are gearing our tips below to ACTORS looking to be more EFFECTIVE in their acting careers!

So onward to habit # 2.

2. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND.

For the baseball fans in the house– let’s start with a Yogi Berra quote– “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

You need to be thinking today about your ultimate destination in your career. What do you want to achieve? What do you want your life to look like? Who are you as a successful actor? What work are you doing? Who are you doing it with? What types of characters are you playing? How much money do you make? Where do you live?

Feel a little day-dreamy? Good! You can’t build your best vision of the future if you spent no time thinking about it and designing it!

If you don’t have an answer to all those questions above, it truly is WORTH taking the time to explore your heart on them. And don’t limit yourself to your career! Think about your relationships, hobbies, lifestyle and how life feels living in your chosen path. You can’t possibly move closer to the YOU that you want to be if you don’t have a clear picture of it!

So here are a few tips for you for point number 2!

Spend 5 minutes each morning thinking about the career you want to have. Set an alarm, close your eyes, and think about the life you want to be living for at least 5 whole uninterrupted minutes. Focus on the 5 senses and your emotions and think about everything in detail. You should be smiling while you do this! It should feel good or you are doing it wrong!

Create a vision board for your life. Put pictures that represent your career, lifestyle, income and relationships on it. Get specific and cover a whole poster board with representations of your future.

Set goals by working backward. Once you know your ultimate goals, it is easier to work back from there to identify the remaining milestones that need to get you there. Write that top goal and think “what would I need right before this?” and then write that goal down. Then ask the question before that goal and so on. Doing this will help you build your own personal road map.

Pave your brain for success. Envision how you will handle hurdles. They will happen and your reaction is important. Take time to really explore how you can overcome challenges with grace and grit.

One day, when you are gone and the Oscars want to celebrate your life–what do you want them to say about you and your career? What do you want family and friends to remember about you? Weave those answers into your life now!

Habit #3 is en route in a future blog post! Feel free to comment below on any action steps these principles inspire for you!

Need help taking regular action to move your career forward? CLICK HERE to check out our membership program which includes a weekly accountability group! We talk a LOT about mindset in the group– so if you need help with that piece– come find us!

Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection. Colleen is an expert helping aspiring actors prepare for casting calls, find an agent, and optimize their acting training for theater and television.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

7 habits of highly effective people

Part One: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – As Applied to Actors

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I’m a big lover of personal development books– and Steven Covey’s best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is a great read with actionable tips.

In this series of 7 blog posts, we will be taking Steven’s principles, and breaking them down into specific action steps for ACTORS. So let’s head into point number 1.

1. BE PROACTIVE

So many actors are waiting for their acting career to happen to them. For the phone call, email, opportunity, agent or connection to just fall out of the sky and into their lap. While certainly there are some freak success stories of these right place right time scenarios, any actor who is SERIOUS about their success shouldn’t EVER put all their eggs in lady luck’s basket.

It is strongly suggested that actors take an ACTIVE approach to opportunities. So what does that mean? Well here are a few ideas.

Seek/research job opportunities. I suggest that actors do regular “office hours” where they can look online for audition postings and apply directly, do agent research and outreach, build new contacts, and get a good understanding of what is happening right now in the industry to be ahead of any curves and trends. This is important to do as regularly as possible to avoid the task being too much of a behemoth. When you check the casting websites regularly, you have less to sift through and the process is actually quicker.

Produce Your Own Work. Don’t wait for the phone to ring. Pull together your own reading, one-woman show, short film, monologue slam– anything! Work tends to create work. Fill in your career blanks with projects that excite and inspire you, help you build connections and practice your craft.

Build ACTIVE relationships. Follow-up with people. Support what they are doing. Spend time building valuable connections and relationships. Pay special attention to the type of people you are spending the most time with!

Keep a “driver” mindset. It’s about YOU and what YOU are doing. No blame game on your agent, the market, the world’s circumstances etc. Focus on what YOU can do and what YOU can control. Any energy spent on blaming or excuses never booked anyone a job. Stop letting those negative things dominate your thoughts and words. Constantly drive your own “car”.

Action over Reaction. Spend more time focusing on what you want rather than reacting to everything the outside world is throwing at you. It’s easy to get distracted and fall off the path to your goals by trying to pay attention to everything at once. Take responsibility for what you want in your career and your results. Prioritize the action steps that move your needle forward over the busy work of life.

Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection. Colleen is an expert helping aspiring actors prepare for casting calls, find an agent, and optimize their acting training for theater and television.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

Alison Franck, Franck Casting

An Interview with Casting Director Alison Franck

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An Interview with Casting Director Alison Franck, Franck Casting by Tony Nation

Alison Franck (CSA) is a casting professional with over 20 years of Broadway, Off-Broadway, Touring, Regional Theatre, TV, Film, Commercial and Voice Over Casting experience. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing her.

When was the moment you knew that casting was the job for you?

I think I knew when I was in high school – I used to record whatever I was watching in order to see who was who in the credits (this was before the Internet) & I would save all playbills and memorize actors bios. Then I would go to the library and spend hours reading about who played what on Broadway.

I wanted to know actors and what they did… I was such a busy body about it all. I realized at some point there was a job for me…. Well, when I decided I didn’t want to be an actress any longer.

What are some of your favorite musicals and plays?

I love Sondheim! So Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George. (note: I have never cast a single Sondheim musical) I loved a play called “Our Country’s Good”…I love the usual big hits: A Chorus Line, Rent & Hamilton. I also love 1776, She Loves Me & Ragtime. I could go on and on.

I really need to see more new musicals. Recently I really loved Come from Away ( and I know that’s not so recent)

What can you tell us about the process of casting for some of your projects?

Because I mostly cast non-union tours. The main thing to note is – I’m looking for people who want the job & are available for the job. I post breakdowns on Breakdown Services/Actors Access always – then Backstage & Playbill Online most of the time & also on social media (Facebook & Instagram) it’s amazing to me how many different places I need to post.

I sometimes am shocked at how random it all is these days. I’m not just going to start calling people I know… I need to open up all jobs to all actors.

If you could cast any musical or play right now, what would it be?

Something by Stephen Sondheim. Literally anything.
Or a brand new musical. I also would love to work on projects like Come from Away, that uses a small chore of actors to play many roles… it requires actors who can do anything… I also loved that the actors all looked like real people. So it’s all about talent… that’s my favorite.

What excites you about an actor when you see their work?

Strong acting choices. Actors who do not play it safe, but based on their materials (songs, sides, monologues) really make fresh and interesting choices because they have invested in the materials… that includes understanding the time period, the age of the role & their work status/regionalisms/body language.

People over the years have misinterpreted my take on how people dress or what shoes they wear as a part of how I cast. Actually no. I just can sometimes tell based on what an actor is wearing that they’ve thought about the character. I also never make the actual casting decisions. So at the point an actor shows up to audition- it’s out of my hands and it’s all up to creatives.

My excitement is usually over how that decision influenced their acting choices and how the room responds to them. Sometimes dressing “differently” (meaning not wearing pink when auditioning for Elle Woods) is exactly what might make the actor stand out. It’s not always a matter of what’s expected, but rather, what works for that actor….

It’s part of a thought process that is a series of choices. What someone is wearing is superficial, yet it is part of their story they are sharing with the creatives.

What’s your best advice for actors today?

Things are changing so much- especially with self taping. It’s still a new hybrid & I’m still trying to navigate it. I feel like some actors love self taping but are never available for in person callbacks- and think we can cast from a Zoom callback & my creatives really want and need to see people in the room.

And some actors won’t self tape… and honestly- I’ve been open to skipping the self taping and just bringing people in from talent reels… but this is how I work. It’s not always up to me. I just am trying to get the best people in the room. I may want to suggest.. self tape to the best of your ability, but the goal is an in-person callback. (For theatre)

Alison Franck (CSA) is a casting professional with over 20 years of Broadway, Off-Broadway, Touring, Regional Theatre, TV, Film, Commercial and Voice Over Casting experience. For a decade, she was the Casting Director for the prestigious regional theatre Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, where she cast over 50 productions with some of the theatre community’s finest talent.

Notable credits at Paper Mill include the Broadway transfer of I’m Not Rappaport starring Judd Hirsch and Ben Vereen, Anything Goes starring Chita Rivera, The Baker’s Wife starring Alice Ripley, The Chosen starring Theodore Bikel and John Lloyd Young, Baby starring La Chanze, Norm Lewis, Carolee Carmello, Michael Rupert and Chad Kimball, The Full Monty with Elaine Stritch, The Importance of Being Earnest with Lynn Redgrave, and was the original Casting Director behind the Broadway transfer of Godspell, which included Telly Leung and Uzo Aduba. Off-Broadway Projects include It’s Just Sex and the original replacement casting for The Donkey Show (directed by Diane Paulus).

Tony Nation is a partner at the Actors Connection, and a professional actor who has worked in all areas of Show business. You can currently see him on HBO’s THE REHEARSAL in the pilot episode, in season 3 of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL and in an upcoming animated feature film in 2023.

be a little bit different

Be a little more different – than just more of the same, by Paul Liberti

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This was a recent piece of advice from an agent who came into my Commercial Class recently.

‘Be a little bit different – then just more of the same’.

How do you do that? Find out what makes you different and embrace it. Find your point of view. That is where a voice actor springs to life.

Have you ever heard an agent say – “Oh, I can’t sign you – I already have several other actors like you.”

The truth is – they have NO ONE like you. NO one has your point of view – your quirks – your energy.

Many voice actors work so hard to sound like everyone else and thus an agent hears several actors as THE SAME.

It is your job as an actor to have a point of reference and a point of view. That is why you were brought into that audition – to find what it is you have to say within that text. No one else does that – if you allow us to see that part of you.

Find your energy level – find your VOICE. Bring that to the work you do as a voice actor. There is only one you ever. That agent has never seen the likes of you – if you truly reveal it to them.

Love who you are. Love what you do. Show them that you are here to do this work as a passion. Then they HAVE to notice you.

Paul Liberti – Casting director and voice director for narration for THE RAZOR MAGAZINE. Paul is an acting teacher who teaches all genres of voice over including Commercial VO, Animation, Video Game, Narration and Promo. Paul is co-creator of AuthorDirect Audio, which directs nonfiction reads for Audible.

5 essential characters in animation

5 Essential Characters in Animation by Paul Liberti

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As a voice actor who is auditioning/working in animation…

Identify what relationship you are playing in regards to the main character. Character contrast makes a story exciting and becomes storytelling. As an actor, identifying your relationships – will help you discover your character arc in the storytelling. All great acting is about the relationship. Understanding that relationship – gives you a reason to move forward in the story.

Characters need to BALANCE each other in a story…

Characters’ ‘push and pull’ interactions move the story along. The evil character is a negative reflection of the depth of the good of the lead character. A mentor character can often push our lead to another level of self-actualization. Each character holds an essential balance for telling the entire story.

5 Characters – Essential to an Animation Story

1. The Protagonist – “I’m ready for my entrance…”

The protagonist is our hero/heroine, and the story is told from their point of view. They have the most to lose and the most to gain. The audience is meant to identify with the protagonist the most. This character does the most growth in the story. Their journey creates the story’s theme, and what they do – moves our story forward.

2. The Antagonist – “Bwa Ha-ha!!’

This character directly opposes the main character and creates obstacles for our hero. KEEP IN MIND – this could be an actual character OR an aspect of the main character’s personality.

3. The ‘Sidekick – ‘Holy H2O Batman!’

Every Batman needs a Robin. Loyal and supportive to the main character, this character’s goals align closely with our main character. Often the sidekick has differences from the main character – but they always compliment the main character.

4. The ‘Mentor’ – ‘Do or do not. There is no try’.

The hero learns from this character. Often the mentor will take our hero on a journey and protect them on that journey. They are the ‘Conscience’ or moral compass which guides our hero/heroine, keeping them on the right path.

5. The ‘Love Interest’ – “Mhwa!”

Our hero is in love with this character, but this character may or may not love them back. They help to set our hero/heroine on their journey of self-discovery. This character is sometimes combined with other characters, i.e., the Antagonist or the Mentor.

When creating an animated character, Identify who they are in the story, and now you are not just playing a character – but a character RELATIONSHIP as well.

Written by Paul Liberti, Voice Director and Casting Director

Paul Liberti – Casting director and voice director for narration for THE RAZOR MAGAZINE. Paul is an acting teacher who teaches all genres of voice over including Commercial VO, Animation, Video Game, Narration and Promo. Paul is co-creator of AuthorDirect Audio, which directs nonfiction reads for Audible.

Paul has taught for many University acting programs annually and teaches sold out competitive classes in New York City, Los Angeles, and nationally and also for the SAG/AFTRA Foundation.

Paul has worked as a dialect coach on film sets, Broadway and London’s West End Theater, and Regional Theater with recent shows like Disney’s Frozen, USA Network – Falling Water, The National Theater’s – One Night in Miami, Greater Tuna, Anastasia, My Fair Lady, Carousel, Brigadoon and many others.

Paul has been a voice actor for Pokemon, Blues Clues, Noggin’s Pinky Dinky Doo, Saturday Night Live Cartoons, and Sesame Street and Jim Henson’s Muppets. He is currently the voice of Curious George & The Man In The Yellow Hat.

5 essential characters in animation Poster