Download the full version of the Talent Company Newsletter by clicking HERE.
Welcome back! It’s been an exiting few months with lots of auditions and work placements, and of course the fantastically received TCA screen acting workshops. Another highlight has been the new BBC/ABC co-production children’s television series “Dead Normal”. The series is being produced by Burberry Productions and tells the story of three young ghosts who return to their former home and find it has become a school. Nearly fifty Talent Company members have been filming on location at the National Heritage listed Ripponlea Estate, and Josh Allen, long time Talent Company member, has scored the role of “Buddy” in the series. The series is filming until December 11th and we wish all our TCA members the best of luck filming the rest of the show.
Recently we held, for the first time, Screen Acting Workshops which were open to TCA members and all CPCA members. The workshop ran over two days and classes were held on various subjects including, monologues and scene acting. The beginning of each day saw the students being involved in an open forum with casting directors 
and actors. They were able to ask questions freely on how long it took to break into the industry and what they think their greatest achievements have been thus far. It gave the students a clear view on how the industry works ie: who does what.
In the workshop, students were taught the differences between acting for the stage and acting for the screen. In their Television Commercial class, the students focused on camera angles and camera shots and the process of how and why choices are made when directing a commercial. On the second day of the workshop students were able to put their learning into practice by creating their own commercials and deciding what shots and angles would get the viewers attention.
Our special guest was actor Damien Walshe-Howling who coached students on their monologue techniques and
developing their character skills and really becoming comfortable in becoming their character and making their performance believable.
Also attending the workshop were some of Melbourne leading casting agents who shared their knowledge on what grabs a casting directors eye and what will get you the job. The casting agents ran exercises on conveying different emotions and “bring their performance back” and making it real.
It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to be seen by 2 separate casting directors who are currently working on projects in Melbourne to hopefully secure work in the future.
Recently we spoke to Robert Hayes about filming for a television commercial and Mitch Taylor about filming a short film. Here’s what the boys had to say:
Robert Hayes
Simonds Homes House and Land Package TVC
Working on the Simmonds homes TV commercial was an absolute pleasure, Caroline Springs was lovely, lovely houses, lovely shopping centres. And the people that were organising the filming were really nice. We got the right shot within about ten takes which I thought was a lot but apparently was quick. We filmed the commercial in an amazing house, two stories, huge!
Most of the morning was filled with either the girl acting as my sister doing takes or people waiting around and replaying the takes on a screen wired to the camera. There were a lot of lights and screens over the windows that made the outside world look like a big white light.
Mitch Taylor
Pinion - Short Film
Through an iCast Brief on AT2 in July this year, I auditioned for the role of Lloyd, the main character in a short film called “Pinion” ( previous working title “The Guardian”) directed by Asuka Baskett.
“Pinion” is set in 1923, I had to have a 1920’s style hair cut to play Lloyd, had wardrobe fittings (including some quite uncomfortable shoes), and spent a day with the director and cinematographer on location before shooting to see where we would be working.
It was a really exciting and enjoyable experience because all the cast and crew stayed on location about a couple of hours out of Melbourne for this time, and I got to know and make friends with some very cool people!
I met all the other actors in the project because my character was in all of the scenes, and although some of the adult actors were very experienced, they were encouraging and positive, so I didn’t feel out of place being in my first ever acting job. I received some kind compliments and applause when scenes wrapped, and this really helped my confidence. Everyone was thoughtful, and looked after me.
The director, Asuka, was caring and really supportive, guiding me through each 
scene, and I loved working on this special film; it has such a fantastic atmosphere. I feel very lucky to have had this experience and would welcome the opportunity to do another film if I had the chance. I learnt so much about the whole process of film making and what it would be like to work in this industry, but as I didn’t get to see the “rushes”, I am really looking forward to seeing what the finished film actually looks like at the premiere.
The film will be screened at ACMI in the first 2 weeks of December this year, and then will be submitted to film festivals around the world, including the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2010.
The TCA is constantly submitting talent for every job that comes in and has successfully placed performers in the following jobs over the past few months:
Bubbles - Short Film
Karrisa Taylor
Michael Harrington
City Homicide - TV Series
James Aridas
Natalie Artis
Emily Borozan
Philip Chen
Alex Cullen
Declan English
Anjelique Ioannou
Toby Mansell
Kate Murphy
Michael Walker
Daniel West
Cricket Australia - TVC
Elijah Makoni
Dead Normal -TV Series
Elena Adams
Joshua Allen
James Aridas
Natalie Artis
Maisy Bennett
Emily Borozan
Ethan Brivik
Alex Cullen
Laura Doan
Declan English
Asher Griffith-Jones
Sarah Grimstone
Claire Hall
Zac Kearney
Aleksa Kurbalija
Jorja Lindsay
Jayde Mallia
Toby Mansell
Nikolas Mitchell
Kate Murphy
Jeremy Nakulski
Serena Oroszvary
Taylor Panayi
Jesse Tabone
Morgan Sinni
Aaron Stinson
Will Sutherland
Tristan Tambourine
Amelia Tang
Lucas Tang
Matthew Turner
Jemma Williams
Basil Zoccali
(more names to come in
next issue)
Dope - Short Film
Zac Kearney
Entertainment Store
Tim Addicoat
Pinion - Short Film
Mitch Taylor
Rush - TV Series
Josh Allen
Simon - Short Film
Matthew Werkmeister
Simonds Homes - TVC
Robert Hayes
Simonds Homes - Stills Campaign
Robert Hayes
Super Koala - Character Work
Sean Miller
Take it Like Man - Short Film
Juliette Salom
The Gaurdian - Short Film
Mitchell Taylor
Maya Burenkova
The Tree House - Short Film
Lillian Liberg
Tirimisu - Short Film
Dario Zanini-Sassan
Warner Brothers Channel 9
Belinda Jenkins
Full list of auditions and submissions: ABC Mockumentary, Alcohol Awareness Campaign, Bakers Delight, Bani Ibrahim, Big M, Brotherly Love, Bubbles, City Homicide, Coles, Cricket Australia, Dead Normal, Dope, Dunlop Volley, Elephant Princess 2, Entertainment Store, Fame the Musical, Fatso, First Annual Vampire Scare, Freedom Furniture, His and Hers, Holden, Home Court Advantage, Home Hardware, K-mart spring apparel, K-mart Catalogue, Lachlan and Freddy, Let Them Dream, Love is a Chair, Low Down, Motoring Company, Musketeer, Muscles, My Sister, Neighbours, Offspring, Oh! That’ll be an Antique One Day, Ok Outdoor, On the Street Where She Lives, Oscars First Kiss, Passiona, Peters Ice Cream, Pure Blonde, Rush, Simon, Simonds Homes, South Solitary, Spirit of Tasmania, Sports Bet, Sudo catalogue, Super Koala, TAC, Tennis Australia, Tethered, The Doll Maker, The Guardian, The Tree House, Tirimisu, Universal Studios 2009 (Japan) When she gets there, With My Little Eye.
