Hi Reader,

This weekend I shared a dramatic scene that my student Lisa and I created for her demo reel.

If you missed it, you can still watch it here.​

But today I want to show you why we didn’t stop at just one scene.

Just like actors need different headshots for different genres --

--we also need different demo reel material that shows we can live truthfully in those different genres.

Comedy casting directors want to know you can actually be funny, that you have timing, rhythm, and comedic chops.

Casting directors working on one-hour dramas need to know you can feel grounded, real, and emotionally available in that world.

Those are very different muscles.

And one scene usually doesn't show both clearly.

So rather than stop at one strong dramatic scene, we intentionally chose a contrasting piece.

​The Gentleman sits firmly in a grounded, dramatic world — so we paired it with a sitcom to showcase a completely different side of Lisa’s work.

Because Lisa has real comedic chops, this was an opportunity to showcase that.

Here she is in a comedic scene from Schitt’s Creek.

Watch the first 15 seconds — her point of view, the way she establishes her relationhship with her brother, even the way she lands the “12 things of milk” tells you immediately she can live in this world, too.

Watch it here 👇🏼 🔗

And quick correction from my last email…‼️

I mentioned an agent thought Lisa’s dramatic scene might be from a real show — but it was actually this comedy scene!!

She had sent this material out to get new representation, and here’s what she texted me after:

That’s exactly what we’re going for.

What’s so effective about this clip is how clearly you can see her comedic instincts — the pacing, the reactions, the specificity.

It lives in a completely different world from the dramatic scene I sent this weekend.

And that’s the point.

This is why I designed Casting DNA to help actors create and refine two contrasting scenes.

Because in my experience, that’s the minimum most actors need to clearly show what they're truly capable of.

That doesn’t mean one has to be comedy and one has to be drama, but if you can play in both of those worlds, it’s incredibly helpful for casting and agents to see that immediately.

Otherwise, they’re left guessing. And when that happens — they move on.

So, if you want to create scenes like this for your own reel —

Adria

P.S. If you want to do a quick gut-check on your current materials, you can try the free Casting DNA Pre-Check here. It’s a quick diagnostic tool that helps you analyze your own casting profile materials. If you try it, will you hit reply and lmk? I'd love to hear what you find out. I honestly geek out on this stuff. 🤓

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