I offer both private and on-going classes each week.  As well as audition coaching for current projects.

If you have any questions regarding class and coaching please give me a call at the studio: 323-868-9225

On Camera Acting Class from Chad McCord on Vimeo.

Hollywood Reporter:
The River Sorrow: Cannes 2011 Review

The killer that Anderson (writer) has created is a well-crafted blend of Ted Bundy and a religious fanatic. Michael Rodrick’s portrayal of the murderer is well-blended, both charming and scary.

Watch Jessica Williams GUEST STARRING tonight on SINGLE LADIES! (VH1 8/9c)

Annually, May brings us many things; Cinco de Mayo, hay fever and most importantly, the Upfronts!  Between May 16th and the 19th, all the major networks announced their fall line-ups and for those of us not lucky enough to go to the parties, here are the highlights:

NBC added hour long ‘The Playboy Club’ (a period drama about…The Playboy Club) and ‘Grimm’ a cop drama about solving mysteries mimicking real life fairytales, and yes, you read that properly.   In the single camera comedy world, we have ‘Up All Night’ and ‘Free Agents’ to look forward too.  I won’t waste any time telling you what these shows are about, ‘Up All Night’ stars Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph and ‘Free Agents’ is bringing us Kathryn Hahn weekly, what else do you need to know?  ‘Whitney’ was also added to the Thursday night single camera comedy block, only problem, it’s a multi-camera.  It’s based on the stand-up comedy of Whitney Cummings (who also stars) and don’t quote me but I don’t think a laugh track is going to cut it on Thursday nights.
Fox’s big fall showboat is ‘Terra Nova’, produced by Speilberg (and 50 other people).  I guess we get to watch a family travel back in time to the land of the dinosaurs to change events that lead to the destruction of human kind.  I want to be excited, but I’m not.   Zooey Deschanel stars in the single camera ‘New Girl’ centering around how quirky and adorable she is (shocker!), while Jamie Pressly returns to Fox in ‘I Hate My Teenage Daughter’ as a mother who hates her teenage daughter.  If you’re a little disappointed in Fox, don’t despair, we have the J.J. Abrams’ ‘Alcatraz’ to look forward to midseason.
ABC has gone, let’s say “high concept” with their hour-longs for next Fall with ‘Revenge’, a modern day re-imagining of The Count of Monte Cristo (snooze fest) and ‘Once Upon a Time’ about the mingling of the real world and the world of fairytales.  Thank god…another new show about fairytales.  We also get Tim Allen back, whether we want him or not, in the multi-camera ‘Last Man Standing’.  ABC also has some exciting midseason prospects with the comedies ‘Apartment 23’ and ‘Good Christian Belles’, both of which originally had much better titles including he word “bitch”.
Finally, shockingly, CBS landed the J.J. Abrams project “A Person of Interest’ with Jim Caviezel, although it seems better suited for NBC or FOX.  Poppy Montgomery stars in ‘Unforgettable’ as a cop with a perfect memory (I’m not kidding), and Patrick Wilson plays a d-bag doctor haunted by his idealistic but dead ex-wife in ‘A Gifted Man’.   And if any of this seems a little “un-CBS like” don’t worry, we have the sitcoms “Two Broke Girls” and “How to Be a Gentleman” to restore our sense of normalcy. 
In closing, I would like to personally mourn the loss of the following shows that I think deserved more time.  Requiescat in Pace:  ‘Perfect Couples’, ‘Traffic Light’, ‘Human Target’, ‘The Chicago Code’ and ‘Detroit 1-8-7’.  Judge me at will, I enjoyed them.

Which Side Are You On?

THEATER vs. FILM & TV
A lot of actors come to Los Angeles with a background in theater, yet don’t understand the fundamental differences between acting for the stage and acting for the camera. For example, while both formats define the space in which the actor may act, they do so by different means. In the theater, that space is marked by the proscenium arch, and in film & tv by the camera lens. The proscenium arch is large and expansive—a literal and direct indication of how broad your acting can and should be. By contrast, the camera lens is small and concise, indicative of the more intimate field of vision that applies to acting for film & tv. Despite this difference, however, the basic acting principles for these mediums remain more or less the same. So, when you come to LA and the casting director says “make it smaller” or “bring it down” they don’t mean “lose all the specificity in your acting,” they’re just saying, “you’re not in a theater, so don’t beat us over the head with your acting!” A helpful way to compare the two might look something like this:
Theater —— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——> You take your acting to them
Film & TV <—— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— We bring the audience to you
Another fundamental difference between acting for the stage and acting for the camera is the time the actor is allotted to prepare for their performance. In theater, an actor will usually have two months’ rehearsal, with the director guiding them through the process. This time and attention allows the actor to “sit with” – ponder and absorb their character’s thoughts and intensions. Further, a theatrical production’s numerous rehearsals are followed by tech week, and then opening night. This is a lovely evolution, and kudos to all those who partake. However, in Hollywood, your “performance/audition” is tomorrow at 10 a.m. sharp and you don’t have the luxury of all that. In this town, you’ll frequently have an audition one day, followed by a callback, maybe a producers’ session after that, and, if all the stars align…you’ll book it! In other words, the actor must hit the ground running—a process akin to a baby gazelle being born on the Serengeti, i.e.: get with the program or be eaten.
So yes, what you’ve heard is true: Hollywood can be a very unforgiving town.  And acting in Hollywood requires a different set of tools. Film & tv actors need to be able to look at a script from both the left and right sides of their brains when preparing for an audition.

You’re not in Kansas anymore.

Welcome to my new website… enjoy.