Blog - Debbie Bridge

Taking Risks as a Performer – To Boldly Go where you’ve not Gone Before!

OK, hands up, I’m a Trekkie, from before the time that term was even created and seeing as the new Star Trek movie is to be released, I thought about what it means for me today to ‘Boldly go where I’ve never been before!’

I see myself as a relatively conservative risk taker, at least with money, but it seems I may live outside the box in my choices.

Some examples:

jumped off the side of a mountain – paragliding
jumped out of a plane – tandem jump
studied for a year in Germany & realised pretty quick that the money wasn’t enough for me to live on
came to the UK, knew no one – once again, realising the money wasn’t enough
gone river rafting
walked alone in a Canadian park and faced a bear
left my 1st husband with below poverty level income
took a year out to travel and not at an age anywhere near my 20’s, facing the fear my career would be killed by it
found out I like brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and many, many other foods I didn’t grow up eating or liking
started up several small business ventures with mixed results
turned around several small businesses to take them from not making money to making money (& yes, some of these were in the arts)
spoke to total strangers at parties or even bus stops
learned to sing/act & dance despite being told as a child I couldn’t do any of these things well & then went on to make a career of each one
self-produced – stage shows, events and short films
set up my own websites
etc.

Do these things make me a risk taker? I’m sure there’s a debate in it. One thing I do know that working in the arts helps me find how much I can change and that something that was true yesterday for me, may not be true today or tomorrow because I keep learning, keep pushing my own personal boundaries as I discover more about myself and the world around me.

This is key for me: to always keep learning.

The people I admire the most live and speak these words and so I continue to seek new paths and develop existing ones I never dreamed possible when I started.

What paths or risks or frontiers have you taken? What does it mean to be you?

Debbie BridgeJuly 12, 2016July 9, 2016 Acting, Life Balance, singing 2 Comments

Update – Debbie Bridge

Updates – Debbie Bridge

Like most people, I always start things with the best of intentions and todays post is another one of those. It’s a chance for me, once a month, at least, to let you know what I’m up to!

I’m terrible for keeping up with what I do, I’m one of those people who does a lot, but I don’t hang onto it, so if you asked me what I did yesterday, I could struggle, as I much prefer to look at what I’m doing now! I don’t think this is a bad trait, just doesn’t help when people ask me what am I doing?

So, today, my favourite place to start from, is I’m currently in London and I’m here for a little over a week doing some cat sitting. Why cat sitting? Well, it’s because, I am planning on doing more house sitting when I go to Vancouver in September. My plan is to go out there and work with my agent in Vancouver to see if we can’t build better relationships with the industry in Canada.

I’ve just finished doing the show ‘A Threesome’ and I had some great feedback on my performances, which is always nice…there may even be some future projects coming out of that show, so watch this space.

A Threesome

I’ve still got 2 more of my monthly classes to teach – the Monday Monthly Monologues and the Solo Singing Workshops. You can find out more about those here: Monologues and here: Singing. After that I’m going to have a few months off from teaching for the summer months – ahhh!

So, if you’d like to meet with me while in London this next week, Vancouver from September to March or in Brighton over the summer – drop me a line, it’s always good to chat!

Debbie BridgeJune 7, 2016 Acting, Business, singing, Updates 2 Comments

Jennifer Lopez Carpool Karaoke and Engaging with your Audience

I don’t know about you, but I love Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. They are brilliant to watch and the latest 1 is with Jennifer Lopez, check it out here.

How do they do it? Why do we watch it? Despite having no audience, they still make us want to watch them.

Now, editing has a lot to do with it in a film based medium, but there has to be something else. I’ve watch or not watched, as the case may be, a film based medium if the performers just do/don’t pull me in and make me want to watch them.

Well, here comes confession time, this is my secret mission in my own work to really interact and engage with my audience whether that’s as a singer, actor, on camera or stage. I have even had the fun of doing it in a variety of languages, despite the majority of the audience not knowing what I am saying, here’s a good example of me doing this! I’ve done it underground – cave, London Tube, West End stage, Prince Charles front lawn, wherever and they love it! So how do I and many others do it?

Ya, that’s me in red, rollerblading, with cake and dancing/singing – it’s my cardinal outfit

Here’s some of what I’ve learned over the years both as an audience member and performer – most audiences love it when a performer talks straight at us. Naturally, there are those few audience members that don’t, that’s OK, it doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoying what you do. They may be of a more voyeuristic type…;)

I remember vividly, as a kid, when they asked for volunteers in a show, I was eager to be chosen and that impulse is still in me. As the performer, I love to chat with and get to know my audience.

So if you want to be more like me, here are 3 top tips to help you.

get there early and start talking with your audience, get to know them. You won’t feel like they are your enemy and you can start to build your relationships
look them in the eye – this can be tough, so practise this, whenever you can because in ‘real’ life, we hardly look at people in the eye when we talk to them, but children and dogs are brilliant at this – more than happy to look at you!
look for your friends – by this I mean, the packs or people in the crowd who clearly like you and what you are doing. Use them as your best help for encouragement.

How do you engage your audience? or how would you like to? Post below:

P.S.: If you want to know more of my secrets, join me at 1 of my workshops here.

Debbie BridgeApril 1, 2016 Acting, singing No Comments

Creating Your Own Work – what has that got to do with Deadpool?

Coming from the operatic singing background, the idea of creating your own work isn’t a new 1, but, of course, it’s 1 of the biggest things people talk about for those periods when you just don’t have work coming in, as it really helps to keep feeding that artist in us – whether that be the singer or actor or both, in my case.

1 man show

For me, I created Miss Givings, this was a showcase for me to show both sides of my talent, as well as my diversity within both talents. It was a long time in the growth of the idea and then, once I had clarity I was going to do it, finding the writer and director became my next priorities and I was fortunate, like all great ideas, they were found through my network of local people I know and appreciate their talent.

Anita Boult in Miss Givings

So, what has this got to do with Deadpool, the film that is so big in all the cinemas? Well, this is it, it’s a project that actor Ryan Reynolds wanted to create for himself. So, whatever level you are at in this business, if you haven’t already started to realise that this is a huge part of what your skill set is gonna require, then best get on board now, as it doesn’t get any easier to learn how to make projects come together both for you and your performing buddies.

Deadpool

What I’ve gained by doing this:

Confidence, network with locals to get to know them better, project management skills, experience I can use on my CV, my own production company which has already made 3 short films, one show and collaborated on other projects, work, great monologues that no one else knows, friends, respect, understanding of various other roles/jobs in my network – so huge amount of appreciation for those who fullfill them, photos, showreel material, agents, editing abilities, etc.

So if you have an idea – make it happen and you will be amased at what this may open up for you!

What project have you made work or would like to make work? Share below!

Debbie BridgeMarch 8, 2016 Acting, Business, Film, Singers, singing 1 Comment

CV/Resume – looking good on paper!

What makes a good CV/Resume?

CV/Resume

I have been very lucky to do Chrys Salt’s class at the Actors Centre in London, which I can highly recommend, if she is still running them, which handles this problem and many others.

I’ve, also, purchased her book, ‘Make Acting Work: the Practical Path to a Successful Career.’ It’s out of print, but you can buy 2nd hand copies and, while dated things aren’t up to date in it, a lot of her suggestions for the business still hold strong today.

So here goes….

1 page only
be honest
put your best credits to the top and don’t date them, use bold on anything you might want to highlight, like working with a well-known director, etc.
only put on education if you feel it’s well-known – Rada or a degree in a drama, or that you are doing on going classes at the Actors Centre or equivalent or with a well-known workshop with so and so, otherwise keep education off and at the bottom of the CV/Resume – let your credits talk, unless you are fresh from studies and lack any credits, then you may want to put them 1st
create uniformity and a logo for yourself – logos are easy to acquire through the Fiverr website – you only pay $5 american and you can have a simple logo made and designed for you
make sure they are easy to read
make sure your font and spacing work both as a printed and online version
have separate CV/Resume for your various skill sets – teaching/acting/singing – don’t put them all on the same CV/Resume or if you do, then have 1 CV/Resume which has the acting skills first and vis versa – you can always reference the various skills in the skills section near the bottom of your CV

So general order on the CV is Name (bold;big at top), address/telephone/website/email, personal details: height/weight/colouring, Equity number, Spotlight number, playing age, agent details (if have one), credits, education (if including), skills, accents

Here is a sample of my CV/Resume for you to look at.

Extras pointers:

When using your email, make sure to put your websites, phone number and spotlight number in your email signature, using same font as used on CV/Resume.

You can use the same social media accounts for all your work – teaching/singing/acting.

Keep all your website listing up to date: Equity, CCP, Spotlight, etc profiles all need to be kept up to date.

Update your showreel once a year, so it’s got some of the most recent work. This is when basic editing skills come in handy, as it’s not that hard to edit into and material out of show reels. Don’t go longer than 3 mins, but prefer 1 to 2 minute length.

What are the things that you have found that work best for you on your CV/Resume?

Debbie BridgeFebruary 13, 2016February 13, 2016 Blog post No Comments

Breath Technique – Taking Air In

Over the years, I’ve taught a lot about how to breathe, which always seems odd to me, as it’s something we do all the time?!

Yet something happens when we start to think about how we do it? Why is it some people find it easier than others? Why does it change when I get on stage or sing? Why does it need to change?

Breathing in…

Sadly, these are questions are part of those, how long is a piece of string questions, as everyone has their own way of doing things and there are so many factors that lead to good, poor and bad breathing.

The best thing is when we sleep at night, unless you have a sleeping disorder, you are likely to be doing good breathing because you are relaxed, but that hardly happens when you are awake and upright.

A lot of teachers talk about breathing into the diaphragm, as it’s a nominally involuntary muscle, I prefer to talk about filling up the lungs, as that is what we are really doing and then there are a series of muscles which really get involved in the breathing.

There are 2 main types of breathing which can occur – 1 is optimal and the other isn’t.

Clavicular – not what we want, except in certain situations

This is the most shallow breathing and is often very similar to when we panic or hyperventilate. This can be useful when we may want to get ourselves prepared to go on stage and raise our state of character, as the kinetic memory is so strong, it knows by doing this, you are likely activating your emotional memories on fear – so the feeling of fear is real, even if the situation isn’t.

Diaphragmatic/Intercostal Breathing – the best way to breathe

Keep Calm and Breathe Deeply

This is a combination of both of these sets of muscles to gain a more calming and efficient use of your lungs. They talk about this sort of inhalation in yogic approaches to breathing and many other relaxation or meditation practises. There are absolutely loads of videos to help you learn how to take the breath in well, but sadly, it doesn’t show you personally what your bad habits around this maybe. That requires more 1 to 1 work. I’ve seen many professional singer/actors show me how they breath and not realise how they are short-changing their possibilities by not knowing how to take in a good healthy deep breath.

I’m not going to talk too much about exhaling, as that is where things can get really complicated. This can depend on what you are trying to do with your voice and the dreaded phrase – ‘support’ the voice.

The exhalation is a huge blog post on its own and, once, again, I would say take some singing lessons or voice/speech lessons. I say these areas rather than yoga or any other practises as the intentions with the breath for yoga or any other complimentary approaches don’t require the sustainability you may need for the voice on stage/singing or even in a class room trying to be heard over your students. This is where a technique needs to be learned, if you don’t do it naturally.

Signs the voice isn’t working well for you in louder situations:

loss of voice after the loud event
tiredness/pain/scratching/tickling feelings while performing or after
horseness in the voice

Please note, there can be many reasons why the above problems are happening, but breathing well in a performing or any time you need to raise your voice or use it a lot during the day, breathing well and supporting your voice well can make a huge difference.

What to do when ill?

Now this 1 I’ve heard all sorts of suggestions, but here’s my favourite – rest! That really is the best medicine for a tired or ill voice. So what does that look like when you have to do shows – go to bed early, take breaks as much as possible, don’t talk unless absolutely necessary. Whatever you do DO NOT WHISPER – this tires the voice out even more, as most people do not do this with support or it’s still requires the same energy as being loud, so you really aren’t resting are you?

After that, the list is as long as the friends you have who have theories on how to cure the common cold/flu. Most are mainly placebos and don’t really do much except maybe put more sugar into your system which may give you the spike up, but there is always the spike down as well.

If you find you have a constant problem with your voice, then that may require medical help, as you may have damaged the vocal chords – please love those chords, as they are only 2 fine pieces of skin and once damaged, the repair time, if possible is very long!

Love your voice and be good to it and it will last you a lifetime!

Any questions, just drop me a line below:

Debbie BridgeFebruary 1, 2016 Acting, Blog post, Singers, singing, Voice Over No Comments

Student Films – the good, the bad & the ugly

Can’t say I can afford to do loads of it, lucky him!

The Good

When you want to get your profile started, new material for your showreel, help a mate on their project or have been out for a while and feeling rusty, student films can be a great place to gain what you need.

The Bad

Also, be aware that they are students, so it’s quite possible, you may know more than they do on a shoot. On my 1st student film, the other actor in the scene ended up joining the production to ‘help’. I’m not sure how grateful they were. I tend to not get involved unless it’s absolutely necessary and better when I am asked, rather than just jump in or volunteer. As the point is for them to learn in practise, if I do it for them, then they lose out on that valuable learning tool – mistakes. I will jump in, if I’ve agreed a time to leave and I need to go, so I will remind them that if they still want me to do scene X, Y or Z, then that needs to be done before I go, as I am not usually able to hang around longer, nor do I often wish to.

The end results have been mixed, but I’ve been grateful for the showreel material which has got me agents and work. I’m now in the position to do student films, it’s more a case of being pick and choose, for example, if I am looking for a particular role which I want to get a sample of, then I will apply, otherwise, I do not do them. I might consider them, if I am approach, as I am always flattered, that someone has taken the time to seek me out.

The Ugly

Be careful, student films can be a bit of rabbit hole and you end up putting your energy into projects which don’t pay and your may spend a lot of time chasing said students for that elusive ‘copy’ they promised.

In general, I’ve usually got my promised copies, but 1 I was completed edited out – it can happened at any level of the business! I have found working with master students, they tend to be more reliable or if it’s their end of year project, as there are outside deadlines for them to work to, which help to motivate the students to get the project done on time.

Self Produce/Mates Projects

I’ve done a few short films of my own and, once again, with mixed results, but its given me specific material that an agent has asked for and in the time frames I needed.

Plus, the bonus of this is, I get to pick my team, so I know we will work well together and the project will get done as well as those elusive copies will get sent out.

Best bit, I get a much better understanding 1st hand at how this works, so I gain huge respect for why there are so many on those big productions to make them work.

Summary

I’ve even had a student director say it’s so much easier working with ‘real’ actors’ – that was a rewarding moment for me!

I say do students films, as you need to, do self produce, as you need to and work with mates, as you need to.

At the end of it helps you figure out how to self submit when they are looking for a sample of you doing their script. I got a job while traveling in Holland because I knew how to film it, edit it and send it in – all within 24hrs.

What has your experience been doing students films and/or self-producing? Let me know below:

Some Student Film schools in the South of England

King’s College – London

University of Brighton

University of Sussex – Brighton

Brighton Film School

City College – Brighton

Bournemouth University

University of Southampton

University of Portsmouth

London Film School

National Film School and Television School – London

London Film Academy

Met Film Academy – London

Central Film School – London

This is just a sample and this is not an endorsement of any of these programs, just a listing, if I’ve forgotten some, then do add them in the comments below:

Debbie BridgeJanuary 21, 2016January 22, 2016 Acting, Business, Film, TV No Comments

Accents – lets talk it out!

Being an expat actor in the UK, I’ve learnt to play to my strengths. So for me that looks like, I go with what comes easiest and hailing from North America I do what I do best and that is the standard American accent. Can I do other accents? Of course! Some people are better at this than others, what I mean is a small group can pick them up quickly, most are like me – when trained they can learn anything and then there is a small group again who just don’t do accents other than their own. All have had careers in the entertainment industry.

Foreign Accents

My general motto is there’s no point in competing with those from the UK, so I generally don’t unless I think I can do it from when I walk in the door.

Casting people, in my experience, make snap judgements, so I’d rather do my job well in the accent of my choice than do it OK and it really isn’t showing my best – auditions are about showing our best. It’s a bit like speed dating, they know in the 1st few minutes whether you want to take this conversation any further…

I work with accent coaches when I can. They aren’t there to fix everything, but they are there to make sure that key words or phrases are set in place, so any minor slips don’t matter when you’ve got a really good over gist. I’ve seen this a lot when we go back and forth over the Atlantic – British accents in America aren’t as British as the real thing and American accents in the UK aren’t as American sounding as they are in America. This is down to the audience, in my mind, sometimes the accents are too strong for these markets to understand, so they aren’t always so clean, but there is an exception when accents need to be the ‘real deal’ or forget it.

Play to your strengths, we aren’t all Sean Connery – at least, not yet!

These times are when a casting breakdown says so, there is no point and you don’t win brownie points for showing how well you can do a foreign accent if they are wanting a native speaker. This is why I don’t often go for the UK accents, they can get someone better than me and with a lot less effort. Now there are those out there who can do accents very well, but please bear in mind, these people are rare and you do not do yourself any favours showing up to castings where it’s quite clear to everyone, but you that you don’t fit the accent. Personally, I just wouldn’t want to run the risk of getting on the wrong side of casting people, as their time is important and I wouldn’t appreciate it if someone hadn’t done their homework well enough, so I don’t wish to do that to others.

To be honest, I’ve got a lot of roles despite having a foreign accent because they like my work and are willing to be flexible with the role I’ve auditioned for. Sometimes, I’ve even been able to test out my RP accent in productions and its been very flattering when I get to do that, as I feel that’s a real risk for the director.

So my overall point – play to your strengths, if they like you, they will hire you or remember you because of you, not because you show off your versatility. The audition is your face to shine, so make it as easy as possible for you to do that and get the job 1st, then show them what you can do with your versatility.

How to find accent coaches?

contact your local Equity branch – they often have a list of people
ask other actors
for American accents – contact American Actors UK – they have a list of North American coaches based in the UK
join actor Facebook pages like BAN and ask if all else fails on these sorts of pages

What’s your experience? Share below!

Debbie BridgeJanuary 14, 2016January 14, 2016 Acting, Auditions No Comments

How to listen to criticism?

I’ve talked about listening to the inner critic, but what about the outer one?

How do you listen to criticism?

Lions and Tigers and Bears

This reminds me of that song from the Wizard of Oz – Lions and Tigers and Bears! Here’s the link if you need a refresher.

Something I would like to start straight off with is there is a difference with criticism and constructive criticism. The 1st is usually given without being asked and not necessarily from someone who knows anything really about the problem. The later is often what you get from a coach/teacher or anyone else you have asked for some ideas to deal with a problem.

To help with unsolicited advice, some key phrases that I’ve found which work well are: ‘you maybe right or thanks or I can hear my phone ringing, I’d better get that.’ Then try and find my 1st chance to walk away from the conversation.

I know when I 1st started out as a singer, I thought when I went to a coach, I was meant to try to do everything they suggested, it never crossed my mind to try to just look for the things I could do and maybe tackle some of the other things later or not at all. I was not encouraged to have my own opinion on what I was being taught, merely, copy and do.

It took me ages to realise that I was never going to be able to do what all those coaches were suggesting. While they all meant well, I needed to start to figure out what really was working for me and helpful and what wasn’t. This form of discernment has been a real skill in itself to learn, both as a teacher and as a student.

I know when I work with my students, both as singers or actors, I try to say at least once, if not several times, take what works for you and leave anything that doesn’t. All that matters is you figure out what is useful.

Sometimes, I’ve needed to hear the same thing over and over again before I really understand or can take it on, so it’s important to have a patient and understanding teacher. Sadly, there are a lot out there that aren’t. They think by saying something once, you can get it. I’m not saying this can’t happen, but this is not always the case, really depends on what is being asked and how.

Ever heard that saying: ‘Say what you mean, but don’t say it mean.’

but don’t say it mean

This can be hard at times, but this is what I would suggest you find in any mentor, teacher, coach, etc. I’ve always found an honest and challenging approach to my coaches is helpful, but it’s easier for me to hear when it’s said without any edge or a sense of nastiness in it.

My experience over the years as teacher and student has shown me time and time again, that it’s OK to be challenged in my work or to challenge people, but the more supportive and kind the approach the more likely the changes can happen and can happen more quickly.

What’s your experience been like for you as a student or teacher? Comments welcome below:

Debbie BridgeDecember 15, 2015December 14, 2015 Acting, Health, Singers, singing No Comments

Impulses vs Acting

Me playing Anita Boult in my one woman show Miss Givings

One of the reasons I wanted to be an actor was because I was told that acting meant you identified real emotions and reacted to the world around – like real life. So I was interested, so how did this lead me down the long and winding bath of starting out as a professional dancer, then becoming an opera singer to then come full circle to acting?

Well, it starts like this, I tried acting when I was 13, but the teacher wanted us to ‘melt like ice cream’ and ‘sway like a tree’. This was as far as I figured you could get from identifying real emotions and reacting to the world around me. How am I suppose to know how an ice cream feels when it melts or how a tree feels when it sways in the breeze? So I didn’t want anything to do with it. So where did that leave me? I joined the choir, they said I had talent, but needed come instruction, so that’s what I did. Along the way, I had a friend who was taking dance lessons, thought it sounded like fun and went along. Seems, there, too, they said I had talent, only problem was with the dancing is my career I knew would be short because I a serious injury when I was 14, so all that was left was the singing, so I kept on with that, to the point where I found myself

Me playing Musetta in the opera La Boheme

studying opera in university, as I knew very little about this style of music. I grew up in a world of country and folk music, my parents and my upbringing had nothing to do with the classical world of music.

So, I went out and tried a career in the classical music world with some success and still do it as and when I can, but really, my heart was always pulling towards acting, so when I joined the actors centre in London and took Scott Williams introduction class, that was it! No more melting like ice cream or swaying in the breeze. I found a place that was all about identifying emotions and learning how to work with my impulses to be able to react better with those I work with on stage, in a class room or in singing.

I now feel that thing in singing they talk about when you use the whole body. It’s no longer just in the mind or a hit and miss kinda event. I now have ways to get the whole of my system up and running, which allows me to read and respond to the moment. That is a great thing to be a part of, almost feels like you have a super human power, but really all it is, is being open to what has always been there right in front of me. So I notice if I am getting really locked in myself or if I feel I’m not quite connected to who and what is going on in front of me – my bullshit monitor is more fine tuned and I like it!

Me with Kitty Newbury have a lot of fun in Much Ado About Nothing

For me, the biggest difference between acting and impulse work is, acting takes a lot of effort to make it happen, impulse just happens and it doesn’t require me to think about a dead cat that died when I was 5 to help me get in the mode. I just get on the rollercoaster of emotions and ride – yeah ha!

What are your experiences of riding your roller coasters?

Debbie BridgeNovember 14, 2015November 16, 2015 Acting, Singers No Comments

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