Transform Your CLUB SET into a TV SET

2 DAY Stand Up Workshop in NYC 

 December 3^rd & 4th

12-5pm each day

About Amber Bickham

Booker/Producer:  ComicView [BET], Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-up at The El Rey, The Ruckus [COMEDY CENTRAL]

Consultant: NBC’s Stand Up for Diversity.  Talent Scout for the HBO’s U.S.C.A.F. and The Comedy Festival – Las Vegas

Casting Director: Black Jesus [ADULT SWIM] & Legends of Chamberlain Heights [Comedy Central]

•    2 days (Saturday  + Sunday), ‪12-5pm

•    My workshop helps you turn your existing club set into a TV set OR build a new one from scratch based on your life

•    You will learn the networks' joke preferences; there are certain types of jokes they will never book and also will never tell you why.  I want to help comedians avoid telling  "wrong" jokes in  network showcases. 

•    You will learn about all the different types of sets and more importantly, what category you fall into

•    Each comedian (except auditors) will take turns on stage (with mic/stand/stool), I will film your time on stage each day and give you a USB thumbdrive with your video (just yours) so that you are not given the added pressure of having to remember my notes each day.

Address to workshop will be given after payment.  The workshop is walking distance from Times Square.

REGISTRATION
-SEATING IS LIMITED-

PAY IN FULL - $350 (Savings $50)

DEPOSIT - $200    

** BALANCE is $200

Please note you save $50 by paying in full, both paying in full and making a deposit guarantees your spot.  Don't want until the last minute to register, I only accept a small group to give everyone a good amount of stage time.

AUDIT: 

DAY 1 - $75  

BOTH DAYS - $125 (Savings $25)

**If you have never taken my workshop and only want to audit for one day, it has to be the first day Saturday, December 3rd. 

HAVE QUESTIONS?

 EMAIL: 

WORKSHOPS@TALENTOVERSTOCK.COM

AN OPEN LETTER TO CHRIS TUCKER

AN OPEN LETTER TO:

CHRIS TUCKER

Dearest Christopher,

I remember watching you on Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam back in 1992 and thinking, at the age of 13, this guy is going to be a star. And you did. You have, arguably, two of the best sets in the history of Def Comedy Jam. It's been 16 years since I was first introduced to you and 13 years since you became a household name. So why do I only have ten Chris Tucker movies on my shelf?

And only six of them are starring or co-starring roles....three of which are Rush Hour movies.

So what gives? I remember hearing a rumor years ago that you stopped making movies because you made a decision to no longer curse. Okay, I can respect that, I braced myself to never see 'Smokey' again.

But in the past ten years, you've done nothing but Rush Hour movies. Why? Is 'Detective James Carter' the only character that's come across your desk that doesn't use profanity?

Listen, don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for the few times you've graced me with your presence. But I need more. You were my favorite comedian (before I discovered Dave Chappelle in 98'). Where are you? What are you doing? Come back!!

Now I know beggars can't be choosers, but I still have a few stipulations:

REQUEST #1:

NO MORE SEQUELS!!

I love you, but I can not watch another Rush Hour movie. I just can't. I only saw the last two because I needed a Tucker fix and you hadn't done anything non-Rush Hour since 97' (Jackie Brown), and you were only in one scene.

And while we're on the subject of sequels, I don't want to read in Variety that you're doing a Money Talks 2 and PLEASE GOD not a Friday 4. I will disown you, if you sign on to do Friday 4.

REQUEST #2:

GIMME MORE STAND-UP!!!

I miss seeing you on stage Chris. You're hilarious! Can I get an HBO special? I'll even settle for an anonymous tip that you're going up at the Laugh Factory on a Sunday night. Just something. If you need a reminder of how great you can be, look at these:

REQUEST #3:

DO SOME DRAMA TOO!!

I know you're a comedian at heart, but some of your best work was as 'Skip' in Dead Presidents.

Let's kick it into high gear Chris! If you need help picking projects, I'm here for you. (For a consulting fee and Producer credit on the films, of course). I'm not running some non-profit 'Save the Millionaire Actors Foundation'.

Call me if you need me. I miss you,

Yup, that's me. And yes, I know it's kinda creepy that I have this, but...whatever.

-Amber Bickham

GREAT PERFORMANCES - ANGELA BASSETT

GREAT PERFORMANCES - ANGELA BASSETT

Here's one of many great performances by the beautiful and talented Angela Bassett:

WHO'S BETTER: DON CHEADLE OR JEFFREY WRIGHT?

WHO'S BETTER:

DON CHEADLE OR JEFFREY WRIGHT?

Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright, two of the most talented character actors today...

But who's your favorite? What are some of your favorite performances?

REMEMBERING the REAL EDDIE MURPHY

REMEMBERING the REAL EDDIE MURPHY...

Ever since I posted a letter to Eddie Murphy yesterday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the good times. I've decided to share some with you. Enjoy!

and just for fun...

I had no idea that I knew ALL the words to all three of those songs! lol. Eddie was jamming!!

AN OPEN LETTER TO EDDIE MURPHY

AN OPEN LETTER TO
EDDIE MURPHY.....

Hey Eddie,

It was really great seeing you at Chris Rock's show a few weeks ago. Chris always delivers, doesn't he?! Anyway, I'm writing you because, while it was great hanging out, there were so many things left unsaid.....

I miss you Eddie. I miss the joy you brought into my life. I guess what I'm trying to say is......I miss you making Rated R movies. It's been NINE YEARS since you shot Life....and to tell you the truth....I didn't really like it.

I've held my tongue long enough. Are you ever coming 'back'? I hear rumors every year that you're coming 'back' and you're going to start by first hitting the stage. Is this true?

This constant waiting is bringing out the worst in me. Last night while I was watching TV, I became overcome with jealousy, because I realized that not only did you leave me with no warning, you left me for CHILDREN.

Don't get me wrong, most of those movies were funny and you constantly reminded us that you're still a comedic genius, especially in The Nutty Professor.

But aren't you tired of talking to animals, children and yourself in every movie? Wouldn't you like to yell, tell dirty jokes and curse again?

Now, I know you've made a lot of money on all those PG-13 movies, but it's time to come home Eddie. I miss you. We all miss you. So come home Eddie. Come home.

I'm going to end this now, but before I go, I want to leave you with some of my fondest memories....

I will welcome you back with open arms, whenever you're ready.


Call me,

Amber

Please share your thoughts with Eddie and I in the Comments section.

How to ACT in an Acting Class

How to ACT in an Acting Class

Most actors, both new and working, take acting classes periodically to improve their abilities.

They learn new techniques, perform monologues they've prepared, pair with a partner, break down their scenes and often make beautiful and smart choices during their performance.

They do this because they are actors, it isn't just what they do, it's who they are. They've chosen this as their career. When you choose this as your career, every time to perform or 'become', whether it's in a class or a paid gig, you are professional at all times because YOU ARE WORKING.

That being said, I sit in on about 3 acting classes a week and a few days ago I sat in on one with new teachers and a host of new actors I had never seen before. I was like a kid in a candy store!...Only to find out that I wasn't in an 'Advanced Acting Class' at all, but instead had traveled back in time to 1995 and was back in my Drama 101 class, stuck in a room filled with grown men and women behaving like children with an advanced case of A.D.D.

So 'actors', let's have a refresher course on how you should behave in an acting class:

BE QUIET! If the instructor is not talking directly to you about your performance, SHUT UP. I'm not an actor, but if I was and I was paying $40 - $100 a week and had to hear you cracking jokes every five minutes for three hours, we would have a problem. So shut up and listen, you may learn something!

PREPARE AND STUDY: Breakdown your scene/monologue line by line. Know your character's backstory, their objective in the scene and what ultimately happens to your character in the end.

BE PROFESSIONAL: Steer clear of other actors that want to joke and chat with you during class. Don't listen to their meaningless chatter, in fact, don't even look in their direction! Stay focused, be quiet and learn!!!!

Remember, your acting class is not just a place you go to practice acting, it's the place you go to become a Professional Actor.

STUDY WITH A PRO: TASHA SMITH

STUDY WITH A PRO:
TASHA SMITH

♫

♫

I love, love, love actress Tasha Smith ("Why Did I Get Married", HBO's "The Corner"). She's strong, charming, funny, intense, sexy, relatable, welcoming and intimidating...sometimes all at the same time. A true talent. I say all that to say that this amazing actress also shares her wisdom, techniques and acting secrets with fellow actors in Los Angeles. The Tasha Smith Acting Workshop or TSAW, is based in Los Angeles (Santa Monica & Wilcox to be exact) and meets every Monday -Wednesday. She also periodically has workshops in other major cities, so check out TSAW.com for a workshop near you.

If you are an Industry Professional looking for multi-ethnic talent of all ages, you can contact Tasha and her other instructors to arrange an audit:

E-mail: info@tsaw.com
Phone: 818.725.2902
Fax: 818.474.7678

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Have you taken Tasha's class? Share your stories with us!

Just say NO to ACTOR RECYCLING!

Just say NO to ACTOR RECYCLING!

I've received tons of e-mails asking what prompted me to start my main site, TalentOverstock.com. I was inspired to create a website dedicated to a small group of people (high level studio & network executives, top agents, managers and even some casting directors), in an effort to dispel the notion that there's no fresh talent in Entertainment....and to create a platform for every actor out there who deserves recognition (recognize that spiel from my site?).

In a nutshell, I think that becoming a successful actor is one part talent, and 99 parts 'who you know'. It's an insider's game. The 'powers that be' and/or Casting Directors often bring in the same actors for all their projects, actors that they're already familiar with and their abilities. Which is why you see the same recycled actors over and over and over again.....some of which even play college students but are well over 30 in real life (shout out to the cast of Stomp the Yard).

So not only is it monotonous to see the same 45 actors over and over it again, it's also frustrating because most of them suck. And to make matters worse, isn't it depressing and quite scary knowing that Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Angela Bassett, Sally Field, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey and Martin Lawrence are all up there in age and there's no new generation worthy of replacing them? I mean we have rappers playing action hereos now and Flava Flav has a new sitcom. C'mon. Remember Malcolm X? Die Hard? Indiana Jones (puleese pass that franchise down to Shia Lebeouf, Mr. Spielberg, please)? Shawshank Redemption? Rain Man? What's Love Got to Do With It?, Steel Magnolias? Kramer vs Kramer? Fatal Attraction? Coming to America? and Ace Ventura? ....um did Martin ever have a classic movie? ......uh, well, remember the show Martin?

So Hollywood you mean to tell me, that the only replacements we've found so far are for Julia Roberts and the Wayans Family? Don't get me wrong, I'm more than willing to swap out Julia for Rachel McAdams and Marlon and Shawn for Damon Wayans Jr. but two is NOT enough!

ACTOR RECYCLING is going to completely ruin television and film. It's frightening when I go to the movies now and watch the trailers for new movies. Remember when going to the movies was an event? Remember when there was a time you could sit through a whole movie completely entertained and never once think: "If I leave now, I might be able to get my money back"?

So I say all this to say, that I started this site because I'm tired of seeing the same recycled actors over and over again. Yes, it is an insider's game to make it in Hollywood. And yes, Casting Directors primarily do bring in actors they're used to....So I've decided to show my cards . I'm posting one new actor a day and I'm saying: "This person is good, add them to your rotation. This is what they look like, this is what they've done before, they've trained with this person or this company and these are the roles they can play". Success does take a long time, but I'm trying to speed the process up.


Wish me luck!


-Amber Bickham

ACTOR'S TIP - Picking The Right Photographer

ACTOR'S TIP - Picking The Right Photographer

Okay so you're ready to pursue an acting career...The first thing you need to have before you can begin auditioning, is a headshot. Picking the right (and affordable) photographer is no easy task. There are literally hundreds of photographers at your disposal in every major city. But how do you find the right one?

RESEARCH - View as many photographers' portfolios as you can find, to get an idea of their level of expertise, style, use of color, lighting, etc.

BARGAIN SHOP - Photographers can range anywhere from $100 to $1000 per shoot. So shop around and find a photographer that's both affordable and has an impressive portfolio.

Personally, I highly recommend MIKE QUAIN. He's affordable and, in my opinion, the best in the business. Here are some photos from Mike's website:

www.quainphoto.com

What do you think of the photos?

Have you shot with Mike?

Send your photos to me at TalentOverstock@gmail.com!!