Lisa Gay Hamilton and Camryn Manheim have a lot in common. Not only are they both regulars on the critically acclaimed ABC-TV series "The Practice" (Saturday nights at 10 pm ET, currently in reruns, new episodes start Sept. 20), but they are also both Obie Award-winners with extensive New York theatre backgrounds. Manheim won her citation for Craig Lucas' "Missing Persons," at the Atlantic Theater Company. She's also well known for her one-person autobiographical show "Wake Up, I'm Fat," in which she explores her identity as an actress and lifelong battle with weight problems.
Hamilton triumphed for playing opposite author Athol Fugard in his "Valley Song," at Manhattan Theatre Club, and has appeared in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson" on Broadway and numerous New York Shakespeare Festival productions, including "Measure for Measure," "Henry IV, Parts I and II," and "Two Gentlemen of Verona."
Neither performer was well known to TV viewers, and their casting in Executive Producer-writer David Kelley's gritty series about a tiny, struggling law firm might come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with his work.
But Kelley--whose previous credits include such ground-breaking series as "L.A. Law," "Picket Fences," and "Chicago Hope"--uses many theatre-friendly East Coast performers for "The Practice." (Although it is set in Boston, the show films in Los Angeles.) In the first season such stage names as Edward Herrmann, Jayne Atkinson, Barry Miller, Linda Hunt, Kate Burton, and Virginia Capers have made guest appearances.
Since a steady gig on a network series is often a goal for the average actor, Back Stage spoke with Manheim and Hamilton about how they achieved this "dream job." For Manheim, a cribbage board was a factor in the decision.
"The casting person for the series came to see my one-woman show, 'Wake Up, I'm Fat.' He recommeneded David Kelley come and see me," she explains. "My manager thought I wasn't conservative enough to play a lawyer. I mean, I have 12 holes in my earlobe and I ride a motorcycle. But David reluctantly met with me. It didn't go too well at first. My manager was there and kept saying, 'Do the funny part from your show.' I would do it and it would not be funny.
"Then I noticed a cribbage board in the corner. I mentioned it and David kinda perked up. I asked if he played and he said, 'You don't wanna go there with me.'
And I said, 'Look, we can go on with this conversation, which is not particularly going anywhere, or I could beat the shit out of you at cribbage.'
" 'You don't understand,' David said, 'I play against the computer.'
" 'No, you don't understand,' I said, 'I play for money.' Then I suggested we screw the audition and I play him for the part. He laughed. He never did play, but I think I impressed him.
"So then I got the script for the pilot and here's this big, ballsy woman walking into the law office. I knew he wrote the part for me. P.S. I later played him at cribbage, murdered him. He then banned cribbage from the set."
The lesson to be learned from Manheim's encounter with the producer-writer is to be yourself in the audition situation. "It was really about my personality. He didn't respond to the demo tape of my show, but he did to me in person. Eventually he did see the one-woman show and totally ripped it off for 'The Practice.' A lot of my character's line were from 'Wake Up, I'm Fat.' You can't let him know anything about you because he'll put it in the script."
Did Manheim ever envisage herself as a TV series regular? "No. I never really thought of myself as your basic TV type. I realize there's Roseanne and Kathy Bates, but I hadn't spent much time in Los Angeles doing the pilot scene."
Westward, Ho!
Hamilton, on the other hand, did come to L.A. during pilot season, seeking employment on the video waves. Pilot season runs from January to May and refers to the period when sample episodes of potential television series are cast and filmed. An overwhelming majority of all hopeful shows are lensed in Tinseltown, requiring East Coast-based performers to make the trek westward.
Unlike Manheim, Hamilton did not bet Kelley for her role. "I got it purely by auditioning," she says. "Like most actors, I made the annual pilgrimage here [to L.A.]. I had been put on tape by Alexa Fogel, one of the casting directors for ABC, but I was heading to L.A. anyway. Subsequently, I read in front of the producers and had a screen test."
She admits loving the theatre, but finds TV work more financially rewarding. "When you're in the Tri-State Area [New York, New Jersey, Connecticut], you're going to be doing theatre 90% of the time. I was able to stay in New York because theatre is my first love and I was able to just make a living at it. But I found as I matured I was tired of being as poor as I was. I had to pay off my student loans, my rent, my bills. I could not maintain a nice, middle-class status. Economically, it was necessary to go to Los Angeles."
The actress was signed to play the law firm's receptionist for the show's initial run of 13 episodes. When the program was renewed, she signed on again. But the security of a steady paycheck also has its drawbacks. "Typically, when you sign on, you have a five- to six-year contract. They might fire you. The show might get canceled. I returned to the show for the second season in order to make money. But you can't do too much theatre while you're filming a series. The producers are allowing me to miss a few episodes so I can do Jonathan Demme's film version of Toni Morrison's 'Beloved.'
"But I cringe when I hear that Anna Deavere Smith is doing a new play, or that Emily Mann is putting on an awesome season at the McCarter, or that Frank Langella is looking for his Roxanne at the Roundabout. Because I'm not free to do those things until April or May."
Stage Versus TV
Is there a significant difference between acting on stage and for the small screen? The two concur that while the same basic principles apply, there are degrees of contrast between the two media. "The skills that go into both are the same," states Hamilton. "Acting is acting. But TV acting calls for the quieter part of yourself and for smaller movements. We started shooting the second season last week, and I had just finished performing 'Valley Song' on stage in Los Angeles. I said to myself after we shot a few scenes, 'You were huge! Tone it down.' "
"Act with your eyes," Manheim advises potential TV performers. "It's all about your eyes. Small gestures are important. Small moments can get lost in the theatre depending on the venue. I usually work in small, intimate theatre, but sometimes the acting has to be even smaller before the camera. And you have to know what the shot is. If it's a wide shot you can act with your whole body. But if it's a closeup of your face, then you can't use your arm. You have to realize that what's happening is each episode is a 50-minute movie being made in eight days, and the same rules for films apply here."
In the spring, Manheim teaches a course in acting careers for the Actors Center in New York. She stresses the importance of managing the business aspect of performing and developing relationships with people who are working. "I did not have an agent for five years after New York University grad school. So I made a point of developing wonderful relationships with [directors] Mark Brokaw and Michael Mayer, and Tony Kushner, before 'Angels in America.' I also think it's useless to send a letter to an agent who hasn't seen your work. The only way an agent will see your work for even one minute is through the recommendation of someone they know or if they've seen your work previously. So you need to develop contacts with people the agent might know.
"Your peers are your best contacts. Young writers, directors, who might be in a position to help you some day. Young people should never pooh-pooh filmmakers right out of NYU, because they might be the Steven Spielbergs of tomorrow."
She also advises that you take control of your career and stay informed. "Maximize things you have control over," she says. "Stay informed about seasons around the country. If I hadn't known they were doing 'A Moon for the Misbegotten' at Berkeley in 1990, I know my agent wouldn't have submitted me for it. He doesn't want me there making a lower salary. But if it's a part you're really interested in, you have to know where the shows are being done. If you figure out the business part of acting, you'll get to do the art part."
Her final piece of advice to young performers is eminently practical: "Pay your bills the day they come in. You'd be surprised how much time and energy and worry you'll save if you just get them out of the way." q
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PULL-QUOTES:
"Acting is acting. But TV acting calls for the quieter part of yourself and for smaller movements."
--Lisa Gay Hamilton
"If you figure out the business part of acting, you'll get to do the art part."
--Camryn Manheim
OR:
"Your peers are your best contacts. Young writers, directors, who might be in a position to help you some day."
--Camryn