by Blake-Paul Francis
Introduction
During my second year of drama school, I have begun to make the transition from an actor in training to a marketable actor. My main goals within this year were to find out where I belong but also where I want to be in the industry. Throughout the year I have found myself becoming more observant of my appearance and attitude so that I am prepared for when I enter the industry.
Leading on from this I wanted to be able to progress into my third year with a confidence of knowing my different casting types and therefore catering my headshots, biography, CV and agent preferences so that this can be accomplished.
One of my goals within this year was to build my skillset as an actor as much as I possibly could and similarly planning and researching classes and workshops in which I can partake when I graduate therefore making me a more unique actor who can offer a range of things.
Alternatively, a large goal within this year for me was being open to trying new things and being bolder therefore I am able to announce my presence in an audition room by the energy I bring in as soon as I walk in and make myself unique and bolder through giving 100% in my skills lessons.
In this portfolio I have outlined many different topics in which I feel are important to enable me to become more marketable whilst also reflecting on my second year of training so I can analyse what my strengths are but also the areas that need a bit more improvement.
Furthermore, I will digress into my plans and goals for the future and the plans in which I am putting in place to make these possible.
Appendix 1 Headshots
Headshots will be one of the first things casting directors and agents will see when I am advertised in the industry and due to this, I really wanted to be able to provide them with all the aspects and looks that I’m able to achieve therefore broadening my casting type and making me more employable. My first step towards this involved me analysing the current third year headshots. I approached this with two things in mind which were that I wanted a photographer that was able to capture a younger look but also an older one.
From delving into our upcoming graduates of 2026, I took a heavy liking to the style and vibrance of Gary Topping’s Headshots which were taken by the company Akta and Christopher Fields’s Headshots that were taken by Paper tree (See Appendix 1). These both had aspects in which drew me closer to them, for example, Akta provides a range of vibrant colour within the headshots they provide in which I believe will benefit my goal in achieving a younger casting type. Additionally, they’re very cost effective as they provide a Pay what you can scheme, this made them more beneficial for me as I can focus funding on other aspects without breaking the bank too much.
Alternatively, Papertrees headshots gave me a more established and mature impression when I first glimpsed at their work thus providing me with the older look/casting type in which I also hope to achieve through my headshots.
I also have begun to research into different clothing and colours in which work best for me within my headshots. Luckily, I was provided with a free to use website that established my colour palette. Due to the simplicity of this I have already been able to begin experimenting with different garments and colours. For example, I have discovered more neutral and darker colours within my palette give me an older and more serious look which benefits my goals in a drama or period casting wherefore the brighter colours of my palette give me a more welcoming and friendly Prescence.
Through this research I have pondered the possibility of getting headshots from both of these photographers so I can achieve my goal of broadening my casting type as they both lie together right in my budget.
Appendix 2 Acting Cv
When it came to my acting CV (See Appendix 2), I had to delve into a lot of research regarding it due to the fact that it was my first one, I found that current working actors within the industry provided a lot of useful information regarding things such as platforms to create my cv and what to include. From this I found a YouTube video by Neil Kelly that helped me formulate my Cv. This was due to it being quite recent in which I believe was helpful so that I could apply the current industry standard.
I wanted my CV to be professional and simple but also stand out and from accumulating my research from actors currently within the industry I believed this aspect would be beneficial. I focused on being able to show my versatility as an actor within my CV for example by analysing which roles I have already had and including a wide range of my castings like Macbeth and Benedick which shows my ability to perform both in a Shakespeare comedy and tragedy. Furthermore, I included notable directors in which I have worked with in my training which I believe has made my CV stand out due to their previous credits with companies such as The National Theatre and the RCS, which are companies I hope to work with within the future.
I chose to keep my Headshots and personal details right at the top of my CV and had them take up a large portion of it so that I can make an impression as soon as it is looked at. This part of my CV is also a different colour from the rest of the page so that it stands out due to it containing notable things such as my appearance and Spotlight ID.
When it came to my skills section, I wanted it to be chunky and have a lot of different skills so that I can show all I have to offer, for example including my ability to use an American accent which opens my casting bracket to wider and abroad regions.
Finally, I included all my professional training as an actor through the years to show my consistent work ethic and passion for my industry in which I included my training from both Screen and Stage.
Appendix 3 Acting Bio
As I delved into the current Bios of the graduating actors, I was able to establish some key aspects that they all included and therefore wanted to transfer this over to my own. There was a large number of adjectives used within them to give a sense of the actor’s personality and also a sample into their recent work and hope for the future.
When approaching my own (See Appendix 3) I struggled to decide what adjectives would sell me and represent me the best and therefore I asked my peers to describe me to give me a variety in which I could use. I wanted to encapsulate my eagerness to do a variety of work and also my determination to succeed. To support this, I used ‘fearless’ as my opening adjective to show my confidence but also my willingness to try new things. Additionally, I have outlined the things in which I hope to achieve within my future, for example showing my interest in Shakespeare so that I stand out to companies that create these productions such as the RCS.
I also wanted to include snippets of recent training and notable roles that support this so that I am able to come across as determined and experienced. Finally, I included aspects that make me more unique compared to other actors such as being Northern and expressing my desire to work on new contemporary projects to show my range of interests.
Appendix 4 Appendix 5 Spotlight & Agents
As part of my mission to make myself a marketable actor I have made preparations and plans to set up my spotlight page just before my third year. This will allow me to access a broader range of acting jobs and allows me to advertise recent work Aswell as upload self-tapes, voice reels and singing reels so that Casting Directors and Agents can easily view them.
One of the biggest changes personally was the decision to change my stage name for when I enter the industry and partake in my third year season at drama school, this was down to two specific reasons, firstly due to personal problems I wanted to change my name so that I didn’t have an association with a particular person in my family and secondly I didn’t feel that my name had the impression that I want to make. Therefore, have decided to change my stage name to Blake Lochlann. I believe this name is quite unique and memorable which is the two main aspects I wanted to achieve, but also it has a personal meaning to me whilst also linking me to my birthplace as it is an Irish name.
As part of my preparations to build my spotlight page and additionally to prepare me for my third year, I undertook some research into both casting directors and agents (See appendix 4 & 5). When it came to researching potential agents in which I’m interested in I was quite fortunate in that over a few years I had accumulated a lot of agents that spiked my interest through social media. From this I gathered this information into a table that included their contact details, location and pros and cons. For example, I researched the agency Articulate and found that they are quite local and have a very good reputation. This has allowed me to start creating shortlists of who I want to reach out too. Furthermore, when researching casting directors, I started by researching media and productions that I like myself and could see myself in from this I was able to look into the cast and then research specific casting directors and how to reach out to them. From this I have begun to formulate emails so I can introduce myself to them.
From all this research I have discovered that I want to focus on a healthy mix of theatre and Film and Tv work as I have interests in both and therefore, I will continue this research to be able to keep myself up to date with the industry.
Summative Statement
During my first project in second year which was The Rimers of eldritch I started to implement and bring together all my separate work regarding voice, movement and acting and experiment with different techniques to see which benefit me the most. One of these things that helped me make a major discovery was incorporating Laban techniques into my work. At first, I looked over all my notes from this in which I took down from my various movement classes in studying Laban this year. I found that using an effort such as ‘wring’ as a starting foundation for a character allowed me to unconsciously develop this further into a unique style of movement for my characters. I found that this really helps me due to the feedback I got from peers and teacher regarding how I am able to transform into a new person using my physicality. Considering I have found that at the start of my process of building a character I am glad I now have something that I know works for me. I know this will highly benefit me in my third year and even my second project of this year due to the fact that in Punch in which I am doing now I have three different characters that are quite different in personality and physicality. I also discovered the importance of my vocal technique within this project. This came to light from my feedback for this performance in which I was told that my voice fits well in an American accent due to it having less stress on my articulators, however I knew that I needed to be able to have a clear healthy voice in my own accent too. Therefore, I researched into Cecily Berry techniques which I found really helped me especially when warming up in being more conscious of my clarity. I have found that this benefits me due to being informed of a big improvement in my voice from my voice teachers, I hope in the future to apply some more of these techniques to be able to keep improving my voice to its best potential.
One of my other discoveries this year was due to the start of mock audition sessions both within class and with the casting director Suzy Catliff. I had a small understanding of what to expect due to being in audition rooms in the past however I made note of specific things in which I need to work on for these in the future. The feedback for both my mock auditions were positive however I was only offered a ‘recall’ from my audition with Suzy. From this I was able to examine what I did differently in each one to benefit me, for example I believed in my audition with Suzy I was bolder and more playful with the script, I believe this was due to me and my scene partner using different transitive verbs each time we rehearsed it to keep it fresh and playful. This allowed me to be more open to redirection in the rehearsal room in which I was commended on my ability to do this efficiently. Comparing this to my mock audition for the Leeds playhouse brief, I found that I had little chance to be more playful due to the fact that I was very familiar with the texts as I have used them a lot. I also feel like I had less preparation for this one. Therefore, to stop this from happening further in the future, I spent a lot of time researching and reading new plays in which I was able to gather various monologues that I have begun to experiment with. Through this I have discovered the benefit of having multiple monologues in my repertoire with various styles and themes attached to them so that I don’t present an over-rehearsed monologue. Overall, in both mock audition sessions I have determined that I am able to bring energy and a great impression into the rehearsal room whilst also maintaining professionalism. I have begun to incorporate little things such as how the way I dress can affect how I’m perceived in the audition room but also how it can benefit my impression and cater towards the character I’m auditioning for. My goals for the future in this area is to always make sure im fully prepared when I enter the room so I can make strong connections and lasting impressions.
Finally, one of the personal discoveries I have made throughout my first year are the mental restraints I put on myself in both the rehearsal room and after a performance, this was particularly brought to light during my Shakespeare assessment. In the rehearsal room I found that I was trying to perfect my performance so much that I was actually restricting myself from showing my best potential. I would walk out of the room feeling deflated even after receiving highly positive feedback. For example, after my performance for my Shakespeare assessment one of my lecturers approached me and asked if I could analyse what I did differently in that moment as it had really benefited my acting and ultimately gave me a higher grade. After some while I determined that due to positive reactions from the audience, I released myself from the fear of perfection and trusted the techniques and process I had worked on so hard for to fully show an authentic and true performance. I found that this helped me make bolder decisions right on the spot that contributed towards my character positively. However, I knew that I needed a method so I can apply this to every situation and therefore I have begun to reflect on my performances in a more positive way by journalling what I personally enjoyed in what I did. I have found from this that I am more open to my directors in the rehearsal room for their different approaches whilst also applying my approach to a character on top of this.
My goal as I progress further into the industry and my training is to reflect more on my performances particularly in my voice and movement as I tend to neglect these areas, in the hopes of being able to verbally explain what I myself though were my positives and areas of improvement without putting myself down and disregarding all the hard work I have done towards my characters.
As I come to an end of first year I have reflected on my journey from my first year of study and can positively say that I have seen a dramatic improvement within my craft and outlook of the future, as now instead of feeling scared for what comes next, I am beyond excited to make my own impact within the industry. My goals for the third year and my future are to be able to have a solid plan of what my next steps are when I finish my training for example, knowing different places in which I can continue to train whilst working to keep my work fresh and new. I plan to further extend my knowledge of practitioners in all aspects of my training so that I’m able to keep adding to my personal process. However, my biggest goal of all is to determine fully where I want to belong within this industry and start to network more so I can make the foundations that enable me to make my positive impact and take the industry by Surprise.
However, I am happy to know that I have improved my knowledge on the business side of the industry by now having lists of connections likes casting directors and agencies in which I hope to make deeper connections but overall I am now proud of who I see myself as and who I am yet to become and cannot thank the people who have brought me here enough.
