Meet John Putch

by Patricia Tallman

(Reprinted from Casting Networks Newsletter, March 2008)

John Putch began his professional career as an actor at the age of five in a summer theater run by his father. He is the son of Jean Stapleton and the late Producer/Director William H. Putch. He has had a respectable television and film career and now enjoys directing. Some TV credits include mini series, Hallmark MOWs, and series including “Scrubs” and “Son of a Beach”.

One of John’s award winning films is called “Mojave Phone Booth”, a digital dogma style movie which stars, Annabeth Gish, David DeLuise, Steve Guttenberg and Missi Pyle. He directed, co-wrote, produced and edited the ensemble drama. Another notable feature film, “Valerie Flake”, premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in the Best Female Lead category. The film is now airing on Showtime. He is editing his latest film, “Route 30” starring Dana Delany even as you read this.

There were several members of Talent To Go (www.talenttogo.net) in a room with John asking questions.

Pat: This is a chance to speak honestly to someone on the other side of the table. No question is too small!

Actor A: For two years I have been in the business. How do you go about getting a good agent?

John: Pound the doors down! It used to be really easy. You’d go in and perform a scene, and they would love you (as new talent) and they would send you out. Now, you need an entrée to get in the door because there are already 800 actors in line ahead of you! Getting the agent to pay attention to you is the greatest hurdle.

Pat: What do you think about the new technology to get noticed like YouTube or MySpace?

John: Anything! Use it! Make short films, use the narrative work. Nobody really wants to sit and meet you, they really just want to see what you can do. They’re the judge if you have talent and they decide to try you and send you out. If you can get them to give you 5 minutes and you are not begging or using too much of their time, you can be the guy that isn’t exhausting to meet and that in itself is a great person to be. You come in and say here is my stuff, great to meet you, goodbye.

I encourage every actor to look for moviemakers like me. There are people making movies in every garage in this town and a lot of them are pretty good. Leaving opportunity for you to find a part you’d not usually get because you’d lose it to whoever is the hot actor now. Now you have a movie to show, something to spin.

I find you’ve got to keep finding the movies to be in-whether it's shorts or the arts. Create them, be in them and send them out, outside of the system. Then you have ammo when you walk in to the ‘Great System of Annoyance’. But if you walk in cold, out of the box, no credits…it’s hard. So you should be making movies.

Pat: That’s something you did. Keep talking about that.

John: No one was hiring me on the movies I wanted to direct, or the TV shows I wanted to be hired on, which I most certainly had the qualifications to do. So I started making narrative films. It started out as a means to earn myself legitimacy and work- the same thing we are all looking for. They served that purpose, but they were awfully vanilla, run of the mill, straight up the middle show biz stuff-crap. It took me 15 years of making movies on the side to start making art films which is the true expression of what I wanted to say.

It’s easier as an actor to do that because you can find really good material to express yourself. There’s a lot of heavy stuff to work on. When you are a film maker, you have to create it yourself.

If I was an actor today, I’d have a digital camera, and I’d star myself in an incredible short film, a 10 minute short that I could make on the weekend with my friends. I’d be doing what I love to be doing. It costs absolutely nothing and it’s absolutely viable today.

Actor A: As one door gets harder to get in, the other door opens.

John: Yeah. Amass your arsenal. Before you know it, 6 months or a year goes by and you’ve got a pedigree of your own on your resume.

I speak a lot at festivals. I am a big film festival proponent for us artists. It’s the best way to find other artists to work with. Filmmakers; they are the greatest. Not necessarily the festivals here in LA. In the smaller cities around the country, or even not far from here, there are some really great filmmakers making films. They show up with their movies at the festivals to show their movies because no one else is buying them. I have met a lot of actors there. I met an actress at Sundance eight years ago. I finally had her come in and boom! She’s in my movie because I always remembered her. She had a great part. She got a decent piece of tape off of it. So you can really hook up at a film festival. Filmmakers are there to show their movie that they have poured their heart and soul into and what they have spent their money or their parent’s money on. They have gotten to the point where they want to show it and Lion’s Gate or whoever isn’t talking to them. Studios don’t want to buy a movie that doesn’t have Brad Pitt in it. That’s the reality of it and it’s never going to change. But they (the filmmaker) are desperate to show it and they are always going to be there. They will be at the screening from the beginning until the end of the movie answering questions about the thing they love to do. That’s when you can go up there, introduce yourself and say, ‘I’m an actor, here’s my card. Love your movie, let’s rock!’

Actress B: Are you working on a passionate art project now?

John: I am. Movie number 2 in my newfound way of doing what I want to do is called, “Route 30”. I shot it in my hometown in Pennsylvania for $50,000. It’s the best movie I have ever made. It’s in post-production now, I’m done with the picture cut, I’m turning it over to the sound guys now and off we go. Another year of fun festival showings. (laughs)

Actress C: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you tell yourself as an actor when you were getting started?

John: I would have said,"Don’t freak out". Stay with your interpretation with whatever it is you are bringing in the room. I didn’t do that. I was constantly changing my spiel because that’s what I thought they wanted to see. It wasn’t until I got into the director’s chair that I realized I didn’t want to see what you thought I wanted. I wanted to see what you wanted to bring in. I want to see what you do to it. I used to drive myself crazy. Whenever I tried to change it to what I thought would get me the job I would stop paying attention to what I should've been doing and how I should've been interpreting it. I was so desperate about them liking me and me being ‘right’ for the part. I thought the concept of ‘you’re not right for the part’ was a nice way of saying ‘you suck’!

If I were acting now, I’d be so much more relaxed, I wouldn’t care and I’d be way better at it. I would find a way to enjoy being in the room with the crazy people because they really don’t know what they want.

Actress D: How much is it about being ‘right for the part’ or making great character choices?

John: How do you know that’s the case? When you are meeting someone for the first time when they walk in the room, how do you know if they are acting or if they made that a choice?

Actress D: I've heard that from a casting person-that sometimes they are looking for someone who just is that person, not an actor. They are casting the personality.

John: Look, the people on this side of the desk really don’t have experience in the theatre; they don’t know how to talk to an actor. In the '70s, people from the theatre were still writing for television and directing. You may not have come across this in your young life but I've spanned some decades, and I’ve seen it. When you go in to a room now, they don’t know anything and they don’t know the first thing about your process, so a comment like you heard comes from ignorance. You can’t believe it. You need to prepare your thing and not think about what they want or what they think because you are you, you are channeling you, this is the only original thing you have, your take on it. You’ve got to go with that and stick to it like glue because it will never fail you.

Actor A: I get called in for cops all the time. Sometimes I am asked to wear the uniform and I like doing it. It works for me. For the smaller productions they love that I have my own because they don’t have to buy wardrobe for me.

John: You do not need a cop outfit. You love it, you enjoy it, that’s valid. But if you were to come in to audition for me and you wore a uniform, I’d be like what?’ I can use my imagination. I can see you as a cop or detective.

Actress E: Is your process different when you are having auditions for film or television?

John: No way. Focused honesty wins. Don’t be self-conscious. Be the person doing their work, not trying to reach out to me. I used to do that. ‘This is mine! This pilot is mine. I’m going to beat that guy.’ And you’re gone.

What I want is the truth, I want you to be relaxed, I want you to be great. When I cast, my room is different than the rooms I used to walk into when I was an actor. You will run into cognizant people out there and you’ll be grateful.

Actress F: Are there casting directors that you enjoy working with?

John: I haven’t worked with one for years because I haven’t had a production of my own that I could hire whom I wanted. Now, in television, it’s like being an actor. I just walk on the set like I’m going to direct and everybody is in place. You are the outsider; you have to win their trust as the director. I have worked with Jeff Gerrard a lot. He has helped me with my films over the years. He’s been very good to me. Sheila Manning let me shoot my first short in her office. The films I’m doing now, I cast out of my phonebook. I bypass the agents entirely. The less I talk to an agent the better. The actors have no problem with it. We get right to the point. I love saying no to agents.

Pat: Tell us how you self-destructed.

John: It was the last audition I ever had for a pilot called “Philadelphia”, a Bochco drama, casted by Junie Lowry & Libby Goldstein. They had been hustling me in and out of auditions for years. They said ‘you got to come in, it’s great’. I was already making low budget films, getting $5000 for the entire movie and I didn’t care. I loved it. The allure of the paycheck got me to come in. I was not right for the part, it wasn’t comfortable, the dialogue…I couldn’t feel it. I was so wrong for it. And I was right when I say I was wrong! It couldn’t come out of me in a natural way. The waiting room was the only fun I had. In the waiting area were some of the biggest names in character actors of the time, all reading for different parts. Bobby Costanzo, Michael Lerner, Richard Portnow…feature guys who were in all the Mafia movies at the time. They were laughing and having the best time. They were so relaxed, I was loving it. This really was amazing what I was watching. I was entranced by them.

I went in and I started, then I stopped and said please let me go back. So I started again and it got worse. And I stopped and I said, ‘I apologize, I’m really rusty, I don’t do this anymore, please forgive me. I am going to go now.’ I thanked them and I left. That was the last audition I ever had. I shouldn’t have gone. That’s the lesson there. I should have listened to my instinct. But I listened to the allure of the pilot, of the money.

Hey, if it was a national Pepsi spot and I thought I was wrong for it, you bet I’d show up! That’s a crap shoot, that’s got nothing to do with my abilities. It’s luck and what I look like. I had a joyous time doing commercials because you shouldn’t care, you are in and out and you have a nice time.

Young Actress G: How do you prepare for a part? I usually work on the character and I try to get it memorized.

John: Read the whole script, even if you only have a few lines out of the 60 page script. It’s going to tell you the tone, the world you are in, everything. If you like to, it’s great that you can get it memorized, because you are a young person and you can! I’m a big fan of holding the sides. There is nothing worse than going up and you go blank! It ruins everything, for you and the people in the room because it makes them uncomfortable.

Actor H: Do you read with your actors or do you have a reader?

John: Depends on the budget. If there is a casting director, they’ll read. If not, I’ll read. I don’t like to, I want to watch and pay attention. If the director is jumping up and reading with you, I guarantee you they are the writer and they’re new. They have to hear their own words spoken the way they want to hear them, and that’s a whole other story right there.

Actress I: In TV, do you prefer directing comedies or dramas?

John: Yeah, I think comedy is the way to go. However, there is a different stress in comedy television because people seem to be really (insanely) insecure. They have to do it 5 different ways. They can’t just go “That was the funny one.” I can. I’m old enough now I can be that guy on the set. I can go “No, that was funny, we don’t need ten more. Thank you.”

Actress B: Are your films comedy?

John: They’ve spanned the range. The last one was a light comedy. The one before that was a straight out drama that had funny moments. I do ‘em all,’ because you know how we get pigeonholed. Same with a director.

Tim Van Patten, who used to be an actor, was on “White Shadow”. He’s one of the Van Patten brothers. Now he’s a big shot HBO director. He directed “The Sopranos” and “Rome”. He once told me “John, don’t look at what they do to your show. Don’t watch it. You’ll never be happy. You turn it in, you leave. You’ve done such great work. Then they hack it to bits, put music in from the beginning to the end. It has nothing to do with what you’ve done, and your name is on it.” Of course, I did not take his advice. He was right. So now I leave my version with the studio. I go home, and if it comes on my Tivo, I delete it and make a note. That’s a residual. (laughs) I keep track of those.

Actor A: What do you shoot in?

John: Now I use those P2 cameras, you use a card, there’s no tape, Panasonic HD. Thank God for digital. I can make a movie for 50 grand. A feature. Whereas if I had to use 16 millimeter, it would cost me 100 grand. With the tools now, there’s nothing that can stop us. You all should have your own camera and you can get them for so cheap. You can be editing on your laptop. You can be pushing out product and reels, there’s no stopping! It’s great. It responds well to minimum lighting. It’s a boon to the filmmaker and the actor.

Actress J: Do you write your own projects?

John: Sometimes. One movie, a friend of mine from college wrote it. Other times I’ll be hired on an independent film and it’s someone else’s script. “Mojave”, I co-wrote and “Route 30”, I wrote alone. Now when I do my movies out of my garage, I think I’ll write them myself. Writing and directing seems like a good fit for me. But acting, directing and writing? Not a good idea. Unless you are forced to because you can’t get someone else to direct you! (laughs).

Actor A: You got me. I was going to do that! I was going to act, write and direct.

John: Ah man, you can’t do that! Trust me. You’ll know why when you start doing it. You’ll go “Oh…that Putch was right. Should have had a director.”

Young Actress K: What makes an actor stand out in an audition?

John: I don’t know. A big clown nose, a floppy hat? (laughs) I don’t think you can try to find that answer. You can only go in and play it how you want to play it. The rest is up to fate.

Pat: Do you think every actor should spend some time in the theatre?

John: It’s a great place to learn how to be a human being. First of all, you work as an ensemble. There’s no star system. That’s what's good about theatre out here. Everybody has to put it together themselves. It’s important. That’s something Hollywood, in general, doesn’t understand. Theatre is one of the places you can find it. The other place is independent films, where you are all helping to make it. You are doing the props, playing this part, helping with costumes.

Pat: And you are networking.

John: Yes, you are. You’ll forge great relationships in the plays you do or the films you do. Well sometimes. Sometimes they’ll be complete douche bags, and it’ll be horrible and you’ll go “ok, that was that one.” And move on.

Actress C: So you come from this incredible theatrical background. What did you bring with you from that and what were you totally missing?

John: The answer to both is the same thing. I brought with me this belief in integrity. And when I got here, it’s no where. It’s within a few people, but it’s not within the business.

Actress C: So how do you compensate for it?

John: A lot of therapy over the years. Realizing I can’t change it. I wish it didn’t hurt. I wish I understood it 20 years ago. In the theatre there was an incredible sense of integrity. The material was locked. The script you could not change. It was in a published Samuel French book. When my dad was directing these plays in the theatre and he’d want to change some creaky old line, he’d have to call up Sam French in New York, and they would contact the author to see if they’d let him do that. What he went through to change something that was so dated it didn’t make sense anymore! It was a great respect to the script.

You come out here and in television the pens are flying all over the script. You don’t get a laugh on that line and it’s gone.

Think about it, movies were a new technology, and people paid to see it. It was a commodity. It hasn’t changed. Yeah there is art in there. But the bottom line in the movie domes and TV sets is you are a finely buffed, fluffed and crafted product presented on the shelf with the lights on it, in the front space at Ralph’s. You are that box of corn flakes. That’s what we do. In movies it was always about a business. In theatre it wasn’t.

Actor A: Would you go back to Pennsylvania? Do you miss that integrity in the theatre?

John: You can never go back. I lived it and it was great.

Actor A: Would you direct a play here?

John: I don’t know. I haven’t had the itch. I’d rather make a movie out of the play. The theatre experience is something I try to have in my films. It’s a group, it’s love. If I did do theatre, it would definitely be a musical. I love musicals.

Actress B: Sound Of Music?

John: I like a little more offbeat stuff. Weird musicals.

Actress E: Improv seems like the hottest thing right now. Do you want actors to come in strictly on text or do you want them to improvise? How much play do you want?

John: That’s a good question. My advice is if you are going in for television, don’t change anything without asking first. That’s TV. In feature film, if it’s the writer/director, it's probably ok, but I’d definitely check with him. If it’s something uncomfortable for you to say and it’s not coming out right, I’d ask “Can I change that word around so it comes out better?” That’s a great way of putting it.

Actress E: What about commercials?

John: Commercials I would not change. It’s because I know writers now. I have seen them in the room. I used to do that. It never worked. Now I understand why. They are not confident enough to be open to another perspective.

Actress E: The word on the street is improv is the way to go.

John: I am not on the street. I’m out of the loop. Who told you that?

Actress E: My agent. They say in the breakdowns they want people with heavy improvising skills. Especially for commercials.

John: It may not mean you have to be improvising. It may mean that that's their idea of someone who’s loose and not uptight.

Judy: They ask that all the time in commercials.

John: (to Judy) Remember when we used to have to sing at HKM and dance?

Judy: Yes, I do!

John: I didn’t mind the singing, hated the dancing. I skipped the auditions that said, ‘it’s on the beach and want real looking bodies.’ No they don’t! That’s what they say, but they don’t!

Young Actress L: If on the script it says to cry, and you can’t cry, would you get coaching?

John: You can mess yourself up worrying about that. You can destroy the whole read.

Young Actress L: Should I cancel it (the audition)?

John: No. If it’s a parenthetical “The tear rolls down the left cheek at one mile an hour” don’t worry about it. We want to see it how you see it. Just scratch those out. If you get there it might not even be on that line, that moment. They just write that stuff and they have no idea what happens in a room with actors. Some people get a lot of work because they can cry on demand. I couldn’t do it. Whenever I tried it was a miserable failure. So I’d go the other way. And if that didn’t get me the job then so be it. I wouldn’t get hung up on it. If I were directing this scene the first thing I’d say is don’t pay attention to that. Just stick to what you are doing. It all comes from there.