Headshot and Resume are Essential to Success

Do you want to know why a resume and headshot are critical to your success? It tells a casting director everything they need to know about you as a professional performer. First and foremost the resume is going to tell your history and life story in mere words and listed out credits. Casting directors and producers look at your resume for your successes, where you were raised, where you have journeyed to, what you have accomplished and what school you studied at. Most casting people will use your resume to find some connection with you as a performer. Since every actor must list their performances and credits, many casting directors may find a connection in unique ways. It’s possible they know the same teacher who taught you how to act, or that you worked with a director who helped them a few years back. You might both have a similar skill such as tap dance or martial arts. Any connection can possibly make a difference in your audition.

Ishitta Joy

Many people may warn against listing credits that are non-professional productions, such as community theatre or high school plays. You may be surprised how much those obscure productions can help portray a strong image of the type of actor you are. You want to find a connection with a casting director and production team. Playing a key role in a high school play might help paint that picture for the director, and could be very similar to the role you are trying to land. They may even find a connection with you for simply doing any type of free or volunteer work possible, especially community work.
As for the headshot, just keep a few small tidbits in mind. The headshot is not a glamour shot, so remember that you are in control of how your headshot looks, not the photographer. You will want to look professional, clean and somewhat moldable. The look is important to directors who have to visualize you with a wig, costumes on or certain makeup. If your photo portrays a person caked in makeup and glamour, it may hurt your chances of being seen in that role. A simple but elegant look is perhaps good to start out on. Think of your photograph as a clean template to work with. Although headshots are traditionally on a backdrop, locations or scenic backdrops should never take precedent over the headshot itself. Remember, you are the focus on the headshot and you’ll be fine.

Ishitta Joy is a New Yorker and active theatre actor who studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

The Life Challenges of an Actor

Many actors start their careers out working free or as interns. You can find actors everywhere in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Canada, Australia and San Francisco. They work in coffee shops, restaurants, music shops, theatres and anywhere they can find part time work to support themselves while they chase their dreams. Actors are often depicted as rich, stuffy, big shots with huge egos and lots of money. The truth is that isn’t always the case, and is something that usually never happens. Most actors often look for notoriety and will perform to create a true work of art rather than chase the money and lights. Acting is a way of life that is true to form. Many actors get into character to become engulfed by their new realities, and to portray a sense of realistic characteristics. Sometimes actors get so entrenched in their character that they accidentally take their work home with them, including the attitudes and personalities of their characters. It’s a truly magical and awe-inspiring experience because once an actor captures that character perfectly they can portray a new reality. Many actors relish in the freedom of portrayal and expression. When an actor is truly nailing a part, they are relishing the moment and have a unique sense of liberation.

Finding the role of your dreams and finding work are two completely different things. However, many of the best actors can take any role and truly capture the character so well that it leaves an impression on the entire cast, crew and directors. Simply finding work is fulfilling, but landing a role that is iconic can be the breakthrough moment every actor is seeking.

Ishitta Joy graduated from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

Theatre and Storytelling

Archaeologists, scientists and historians often discover artifacts and evidence of rituals that resemble the modern theatre. Some of these discoveries were made in some of the oldest known human societies that date further back than the Greek and Roman Empires. Greece is known as the foundation of modern Western Theatre influence. In a sense, this can highlight that the yearning for art and theatre may be an instinctive human trait. Entertainment naturally is a time for families, friends and complete strangers to bond and celebrate.

Theatre, in general, will bring people together from all walks of life for a unique and shared experience. There is a sense of harmony when an audience gathers in a room and quietly and patiently waits for the show to begin. The audience is possibly an essential aspect of performance. Without the audience, there is no person to entertain or engage. Without a completely engaged audience, there is no person to leave an impression upon and make a connection. It is important to have a direct human interaction with the audience and stage actors. Historically, plays existed before television and were also a great way to express views on politics, current events and contemporary living. The performing arts are also a great way to help youth express themselves and develop a personality as well as self-confidence.

New Yorker, Ishitta Joy, is an actress who lives and loves the theatre. For her, the theatre provides the ability to communicate to an audience. It also gives her a centralized outlet to express herself while spreading messages of hope and love. She developed her acting skill as a graduate of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

Ishitta Joy – The Legendary Lee Strasberg

In the 20th Century, Lee Strasberg was a major figure in theatre and film. He is the pioneer and curator of Method Acting, and his advocacy of the acting style has spread globally.  Before becoming a prominent theatre director, he was an actor who retired in 1929. He retired at a very young age and formed a drama organization called the Group Theatre with two additional colleagues involved.  The Group Theatre directed many plays including a Pulitzer Prize-winning play called Men in White. In 1948, he joined the Actors Studio as a teacher. He took pride in knowing that the studio provided a venue for creativity, exploration and growth for young actors and theatre professionals. The Actors Studio is where Lee Strasberg became one of the most famous directors for his unique approach to acting and teaching.

Ishitta Joy

Originally actors were expected to learn their lines to the point where they could repeat them on cue as second nature. Lee wanted a complete departure from this style of acting, and worked to help actors draw on their experiences and emotions. The idea was to portray a more genuine presentation of the character they were playing while engaging real emotions. The results were immeasurable, and brought real integrity to the character on stage. In Lee’s mind, the actor was creating a reality that can sometimes be a difficult technique for an actor.  For over 30 years, Lee Strasberg spent his time with the Actors Studio influencing generations upon generations of young actors and directors. Names such as Al Pacino, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean have all credited the Actors Studio and Lee Strasberg in some shape or form. Many of his pupils went on to become major stars in theatre and the big screen.

In the 1970’s Lee returned to acting and landed one of the most crucial roles of his career in The Godfather II. He received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as a crime boss rival of the Corleone Family. Before his death in 1982, he appeared in a few other films with George Burns and Al Pacino has co-stars.

Ishitta Joy spent two amazing years studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She considers it to be one of the best journeys of her life.

Ishitta Joy

Ishitta Joy.

Lee Strasberg, Continuing the Teaching of Constantin Stanislavsky

Constantin Stanislavsky left a large influence not only on the students of acting but on the industry of acting. Countless drama teachers throughout the world would continue his teaching. Created for developing the style known as method acting, Stanislavsky brought to the theatre and film world something it had been missing for far too long.

One of the teachers who followed the teachings of Stanislavsky and continued the teaching of their students was Lees Strasberg. The founder of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute opened the famous facility in 1969 with his wife, Anna. Built with a purpose, the Institute was founded on the principle of reaching a great number of aspiring actors and actresses in order to help them with reaching their acting goals. Among the students of the Lee Strasberg Theatre include major stars like Marlon Brandon and Al Pacino. Lee Strasberg enjoyed the opportunity of working with one of his students, Al Pacino, in The God Father Part II.

Lee Strasberg stressed more than anyone during his years of teaching the style of method acting. Traditionally, people were not yet interested in putting in emotions into their performance. Strasberg retired from acting before he was thirty. This would lead to him becoming a teacher of the dramatic arts and influencing an immeasurable amount of actors and actresses.

Ishitta Joy is one of the students who graduated from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Though she attended the Institute long after the death of Strasberg, she believes that the institute lives up to his style of teaching and sphere of influence.

Creative People

Science has now demonstrated beyond question that creative people think and act differently from everyone else. It is not an exaggeration or a metaphor to say that their brains are wired differently. But that doesn’t make it any easier to live with them.

Creative people tend to drive people who love them nuts. For ordinary folks, it seems like these creative types live in a world of their own devising – and that happens to be true. Rather than letting them always get under your skin, and instead of trying to change them, the experts say that it is much better to try to understand them.

One of the exasperating things about creative people, especially those who aspire to make art, is that they tend to fall in love with their work at first, but start to hate it, sometimes even before it’s finished. Film director Francis Ford Coppola commented on this once, in reference to writers and writing: “There’s a hormone secreted into the bloodstream of most writers that makes them hate their own work while they are doing it, or immediately after. This, coupled with the chorus of critical reaction from those privileged to take a first look, is almost enough to discourage further work entirely.”

But hating their own work is rarely enough to make them turn to something else. They might fail or be rejected a thousand times, but they keep at it. Even once they succeed, most creative people are likely to fail again, because they are bound to try out some new and untested idea.

Ishitta Joy is a creative person who lives and works in New York, where above all other things she loves to act and go to the theatre.

Lee Strasberg, the Famous Teach of the Actors Studio

Lee Strasberg is a notable name in the world of theatre and film from the 20th century. Well known for his work as a theatre director, Strasberg also spent much of his time as an advocate for Method Acting, a style of acting that was not yet popular among actors.

Beginning his career in theatre as an actor, Lee Strasberg would retire from the main stage in the year of 1929. The early retirement had come before he celebrated his thirtieth birthday. Shocking to many, Strasberg knew the reason why he retired so young from the stage life. It was not too soon after his retirement that he brought together a dramatic organization named the Group Theatre. Founded with two others, Strasberg was a part of this group that directed a variety of plays, one of the most noteworthy being Men in White, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

Ishitta Joy

Later, in the year of 1948, Lee Strasberg would join the Actors Studio as a teacher. There he would continue the purpose of the studio to give professionals a venue for creative exploration and growth in their profession. Strasberg departed from the traditional style of teaching acting. He was urging the actors to use their emotions, experiences, and truly put themselves into the situation of the characters. Lee Strasberg told all his students that they should use all of these in their performances.

Overall, Lee Strasberg spent more than thirty years with the Actors Studio. Influential on a plethora of young actors, Strasberg aided many young actors on their way to becoming major stars.

The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute was started in the famous teacher’s name. Ishitta Joy was a graduate of the famous Institute. It was there that she says she spent two of the best years of her life.

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a serious social issue, but one that has no easy solutions. Women between the ages of fifteen and forty-four are extremely susceptible to domestic violence: more women in the United States are hurt by partners than they are in car accidents, muggings, and rapes put together.

The facts are as shocking as they are ugly. On average, three to four million women in the United States are beaten by husbands, ex-husbands or boyfriends every single year, according to a Federal study. When that is broken down it factors out to a woman being beaten by her partner every fifteen seconds. According to the same federal study, one out of every four women will experience some kind of domestic violence during the course of her life.

Researchers generally agree that domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior used by one intimate partner against another in order to gain or maintain power and control in a relationship. Most often it is a male partner against a female. Abusers use many tactics against their partners, including fear, humiliation, manipulation, and violence. Abusers may have a need to control because of a low sense of self-esteem, or jealousy, or anger issues. In some cases men with so-called traditional belief systems think that it is their right to control their partner, and that women are not equal to men. And domestic violence can be tragically cyclical. Children who witness it, or are victimized by it, may grow up believing that it is normal and a reasonable way to resolve their differences with others, especially those who are closest to them.

Ishitta Joy understands just what a serious issue violence against women is, and wants to do whatever she can to help women feel safe and protected.

Ishitta Joy – Lee Strasberg

Lee Strasberg is a major figure in 20th Century theatre and film. He was noted primarily as a theatre director, but also is known as an early advocate of an acting style known as Method Acting.
He began his career in theatre as an actor but retired from the stage in 1929, when he was not yet thirty years old. He soon formed a dramatic organization called the Group Theatre with two others, and with that group directed many plays, including a Pulitzer Prize winner called Men in White. He joined the Actors Studio in 1948 as a teacher. The purpose of the Actors Studio was to give theatre professionals a venue for creative exploration and growth. It was here that he became famous for his approach to acting.

In a departure from the traditional approach to acting, which mostly involved actors learning their lines and saying them on cue, Lee Strasberg wanted actors to draw on their own emotions and experiences and use them in their performances. This, he believed, would bring greater truth to the stage. “The real secret to method acting – which is as old as the theater itself – is creating reality,” he said. “That is tremendously difficult.”

Ishitta Joy

Lee Strasberg spent more than thirty years with the Actors Studio and was enormously influential on generations of young actors, many of whom went on to become major stars, like Jane Fonda and Joanne Woodward. He returned to acting in the 1970s and had an important role in The Godfather Part II, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his performance as a crime boss rival of the Corleone family. He appeared in other films before his death in 1982.

Ishitta Joy is a graduate of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and says her two years there was one of the best journeys of her life.