“Got a reel I could see?”That’s the question…the one that makes actors sweat. Don’t have one? Or worse, embarrassed by what you do have? Then you know that feeling. They say luck is when opportunity meets readiness. Well, that one simple question will tell you if your luck’s in, or you’re out. Right then and there.
Every actor knows they need a reel. But what the heck are they actually looking for?
This book’s your answer.
Why this book is differentWe have trained over 3,000 actors in on-camera technique for 25 years, mentoring them on their careers. From the start, there was a need to write original texts so that actors could work, shoot, and, hopefully, shine in their showreels. We present our first volumes of those texts: two in English and two in Spanish.
Each text comes with what inspired it, along with tips and recommendations on how to shoot them. Think of it as “author’s notes” so you can approach things with some insider knowledge.
Finally, we hope these pieces can provide the inspiration you need to find your authentic self in front of the camera.
What we define as Effective ActingOther books categorize their monologues into two simple categories: comedy and drama. Sure, some texts here are comedy (or at least we hope so), and others are drama, but isn’t real life a mix of everything?
How we’ve divided the texts in this bookInstead of grouping these monologues into broad and arbitrary categories, we’ve organized them based on what motivates the character to speak and makes the viewer sit up and take notice. We look at it like this:
- Head: texts that keep them intrigued
- Guts: texts that impress them
- Heart: texts that inspire them to care about you
And there’s one more category that’s a bit unconventional but could be useful:
- Period: texts that make them dream.
ABOUT THE AUTHORSAssumpta Serna237 film and television productions in 30 countries. Over thirty awards for Best Actress. Her most notable works include *Matador* (1985) by P. Almodóvar, *Dulces horas* (1982) by C. Saura, *El Maestro de esgrima* (1992), *The Craft* (1996), and on television, *Falcon Crest* (1989), *Aquí no hay quien viva* (2006), and *Borgia* (2017). A screen acting teacher, she has written nine books, including *Monólogos en V.O* and *El trabajo del actor de cine*, the first book in Spanish on screen acting (1999).
Scott CleverdonTrained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he has worked in film and television. In Los Angeles, he worked in studio films, TV series, and as a voice actor. In 2022, he wrote and directed the play *Minerva* in Mérida (9,000 spectators). He has co-written three film scripts and four books.
Serna and Cleverdon co-created the first university postgraduate course on on-camera acting, developing a methodology with over 18,000 hours of training given to more than 6,000 students in 9 countries. In 2020, they founded *Familia de Cine*, a community of professionals that has produced over 600 podcasts on their YouTube channel. They are finalizing three books with a scientific approach to the art of acting, based on 25 years of experience, research, and on-camera training with thousands of actors worldwide.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHING OFF BOOKhttps://www.escuelaassumptaserna.com/editorial-off-book/
