Actor Life in the US vs. the UK (with Harry Waller)

This week, Daniel and Monty discuss similarities and differences of life as a working actor in the United States and across the Pond in the U.K. with intercontinental special guest, Harry Waller!

Topics include:

Bard City's most recent "Shakespeare in a Week" production of Troilus and Cressida.The surprising clarity that can be discovered in a short rehearsal process, and the constant yearning for more time in a rehearsal process regardless of length.The thrill of getting to play roles cast non-traditionally and play parts you never thought you'd get a shot at.Working with Christopher Luscombe on The History Boys and the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of Love's Labours Lost and Love's Labours Won (or Much Ado About Nothing).The importance of and differences between the respective acting unions: Equity (UK) and Actors Equity (US).The brutal nature of the E.P.A. (Equity Principal Audition, or a union-run open call for union members in the US).Legal and professional differences between non-union and union acting work.Self-submission services like Actors Access or Backstage in the US or Spotlight in the UK.The difficulty of accessing for auditions for non-union actors in the US and for actors without agents in the UK.The "illusion of openness" in the US industry vs. the closed nature of the UK industry.Being overwhelmed by the number of people auditioning for a given role in New York vs. in London.The huge differences between the typical audition in the UK and the US.What's actually going on in our minds when we're auditioning actors and how different it is from what we assumed when auditioning for others.An important campaign to get Monty on next season of Living With Yourself using hashtags #CastMontyInLivingWithYourself and #LivingWithMontyself

This week, we introduce a new segment at the end where Daniel and Monty each share a recommendation from the past week for something to watch, read, or listen to. This week, Daniel suggests Living With Yourself on Netflix, and Monty suggests the podcast Knowing: Robin Williams from Macmillan Podcasts.

Music is by Kara Arena, Master of Music for Rude Grooms. Follow us @thiswoodeno on Twitter and Instagram, visit us on the web at thiswoodeno.com, like us at facebook.com/thiswoodenopod/, or support us on Patreon (patreon.com/rudegrooms) to join the conversation during livestream broadcasts of every episode.

This week’s shoutouts & further reading include:

Bard City (twitter.com/bardcity)Royal Shakespeare Company (rsc.org.uk)Buy blu-ray discs of Harry's Love's Labours Lost and Love's Labour's Won (aka Much Ado About Nothing) on AmazonOwen Horsley (owenhorsley.com)

This Wooden O is a production of Rude Grooms. Learn more at rudegrooms.com or follow us @rudegrooms on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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