24 Jun Alex Goode
The Heller Approach could not be more practical; as a teacher, Brad arms his students with the tools necessary to tackle any situation. I was brought in to audition for one of several lead characters in an upcoming feature. After my initial read with the casting director, she told me that she liked me alot, but the part I was auditioning for had already been offered to a well-known actor. She then handed me a set of sides I’d never seen before and asked me to step outside, prepare, and read for this new character on the spot. Brad had just taught me a lesson the night earlier about cold reading and told me that “sooner or later, a CD would ask me to read for a different part than I’d prepared for” and that his lessons in cold reading would prove invaluable when this happened. Of course, I never expected this to happen the next day, and just like Obi Wan Kenobi, I found Brad’s words of wisdom echoing in my head as I prepared to cold read for this new role. I was subsequently called back twice and went on to screen test for the part. Thanks to Brad’s foresight and experience, I couldn’t have been more prepared for such a curve ball.
-Alex Goode