#actor advice

Hi there! I’m not a witch, nor do I follow any Pagan, Wiccan, etc religions (I’m Mormon, more on that later) but I’m an actress and I am playing a witch (like a classic witch from the Medieval Ages, complete with magic fire effects and exploding peoples brains with my mind like Eleven from Stranger Things). She’s a version of the character of Morgan le Fay from Arthurian folklore.

I have so much mad respect for anyone who practices witchcraft (along with any religion, belief, or practice for that matter). I don’t believe it to be “evil” or “devil worship” (unless you’re like actively worshipping Satan lol, but I won’t judge). I think it’s a beautiful practice and honestly, if I wasn’t Mormon I would definitely be a witch. (I know “witchcraft” as a whole isn’t a religion, but for simplicity’s sake I’ll refer to Pagan, Celtic, Wiccan, etc religions and the practice of the craft as a whole under the umbrella term “witchcraft”.) I think witchcraft is beautiful, a great way of connecting with the universe, and to be completely honest I’m a sucker for the aesthetic lol.

To get into character I’ve been doing tons of research, making a Grimoire for the character (that I use onstage) and including a lot of things in the Grimoire from real-life witchcraft. Is this sacreligious or disrespectful to you guys in any way? I’m not worried about disrespecting my own religion, I know what my intentions are and I know that by getting into character I’m not somehow contradicting my morals. However, I do worry it may be disrespectful to real witches. Is it offensive that I am making a Grimoire without really believing most of the things I’m putting in it? I mean, I wouldn’t be offended if someone read the Bible without really believing it, just because they were trying to get into character for a devoutly Christian character (Mormons are Christians btw). But I know opinions may not be the same across all beliefs or faiths. So I want y’alls input, so I can make sure I’m not being offensive!

(I know Mormons can get a bad rep based on how some of us act towards other minorities, but those people should NOT represent Mormons as a whole. I respect and accept EVERYONE and want my blog to be a safe space for people of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, religions, beliefs, and ages.)

Please help me learn how to play this character in a respectful way that will make y’all comfortable!

Love,

Earlier today I scribbled an angry facebook post that read, "Dear Actors, you don't get bonus points for having a fucking cool website," thinking that people would think, oh she has to look at actor websites for work and she must run into enough annoying ones to merit this post. 

Instead I got two replies:

"Oooh resentment."

and "no, but they do get jobs."

So I guess my point wasn't coming across. So here's what I'm trying to say:

Find a friend, relative, whatever and ask them to roleplay this: you are an assistant and you have 50 things going on and casting sends you 9 links for actor websites and you have to show your boss the reels so he can pick five for an audition. And you need to pull up the reels immediately because he's standing at your desk and doesn't know how long technology takes / works. Okay? Now, have them go to your website. If it takes them longer than 10 seconds to find your reel then your website is too god damn complicated. It should have two things prominently displayed, your headshot, and your reel. 

Here's some other offenses I've seen:

-Sure the little icons that turn into words when you hover over them with your mouse are nifty, but I don't want to solve puzzles, just have the links clear and easy to find.

- It's awesome that you've been in 50 commercials, but you don't need video links for all of them. Just your reel.

- You only need one reel. Seriously, keep it simple. 

- Have an actual reel, the clips don't need context, I just want to see what you look like when your face is moving. Don't put your entire scene from your guest spot on "Go On." 

- Sixty seconds or less. Jam some clips on and call it a day. 

- Make sure your links work on other computers, I have clicked on SO many videos that are private. Delete these or make them not private.

- Put a headshot on your dumb website. Otherwise I have to go to IMDB and use whatever low resolution thing I can find there.