Auditions for acting

Acting auditions are used in the casting process to demonstrate the level and range of a performer's talent, and functions as well as finding the right actor for the work written. For actors, the audition piece is typically not from the show being considered. Some auditions involve cold reading, or performing a script that the actor is not familiar with. An actor may be called back multiple times during an acting audition for a certain role. Auditions are a very important part of any actors' career. To get more information on the topic, got to acting auditions. If you're thinking about pursuing an acting career in New York, visit New York and learn everything you need to know. Often, actors in New York audition for several months prior to landing their first role; it requires a great deal of patience and determination. Acting in New York will generally establish a solid foundation for any actor. Acting classes can help any actor improve their craft. If you're interested in moving forward with your career, visit acting classes to find out how. Acting classes are specific courses or lessons at a university, school or other educational institution. Acting classes are intended to educate, inform, and teach individuals about the art of acting. Many topics can be covered in acting classes: movement, speech, acting techniques and cold reading practice. Many acting classes will offer students the opportunity to perform each week in order to improve his/her skills. Certain schools will also offer what is known as an "audit" class. This type of class is designed to give students the opportunity to attend a class, in order to observe its format, prior to enrolling.

When the Stakes Turn Toxic

Anyone who’s bought a lottery ticket or played bingo has gambled. Gambling is any game of chance in which money changes hands. It’s common in most cultures around the world. Many people enjoy gambling as recreation without causing harm to themselves or others. Yet some people can’t control their impulse to gamble, even when it takes a terrible toll on their lives.         

For these gamblers and their families, researchers have been making progress in several areas. Scientists are learning why people have problems with gambling: how common it is, what goes on inside the gambler’s brain, which is at risk and what kinds of treatment can help.

Problem gambling is defined by some researchers as gambling that causes harm to the gambler or someone else, in spite of a desire to stop. Between 2% and 4% of Americans struggle with this condition. Problem gambling can progress to a recognized psychiatric diagnosis called pathological gambling.

Pathological gambling may affect from 0.4% to 2% of Americans. “Pathological gambling comes with a constellation of problems that contribute to chaos,” says Dr. Donald Black of the University of Iowa. “It’s associated with worse physical health, excessive smoking, excessive drinking, not exercising, not seeing primary care doctors and worse dental care. It also fuels depression, family dysfunction, crime, bankruptcy and suicide.”

Together, pathological and problem gambling may affect up to 5% of Americans. That number may rise, though. Laws in many states are creating more options for legal gambling, and internet gambling is becoming more common.

Still, gambling is often done in family settings, condoned or encouraged by parents. And the younger you start, the more likely you are to get into trouble later on. From 3% to 8% of adolescents have a problem with gambling.

Dr. John Welte of the University of Buffalo has found that, across the lifespan, gambling problems are even more common than alcohol dependence. They are also much more common in males, in young people, and in people who live in relatively poor neighborhoods. “That’s not true of the prevalence of alcoholism,” says Welte. “Alcoholism is much more democratic. So think about motives for gambling. People are hoping that winning will improve their lot. That makes them more vulnerable to developing a gambling problem.”

In a study of mostly African-American inner-city youth, Dr. Silvia Martins of Johns Hopkins University has found that about 15% have some form of problem gambling. Most at-risk were adolescents and young adults who began showing symptoms of depression at age 12. They were highly impulsive, although not hyperactive or aggressive. As the African-American boys developed into their teens and early adulthood, gambling appeared to be a separate risk factor for early fatherhood and criminal arrest.

“We are following up with these inner-city kids every single year as they enter adulthood,” says Martins.

But why is gambling irresistible to some folks and not others? Using advanced imaging techniques, Dr. Alexander Neumeister of Mount Sinai School of Medicine looked at the brains of people with gambling problems and alcohol problems. He measured the number of special receptors involved in regulating impulse control and other factors.          

“A key feature of addiction is impaired impulse control,” says Neumeister. “Abnormal function of the forebrain leads to reduced tolerance to waiting.” The resulting impatience may cause people to act without considering the consequences. “Our imaging clearly points toward the importance of impaired forebrain function in addiction.”

Pinpointing areas in the brain’s reward center, Neumeister’s team found that people with alcohol addiction and gambling problems show different functioning of these special receptors compared to healthy people. The differences were related to the severity of addiction. Other researchers are trying to develop drugs that could treat the affected areas.

Talk therapy can also help. Dr. Nancy Petry at the University of Connecticut Health Center works with pathological gamblers and people seeking treatment for drug use disorders. Gambling problems arise in about 10% to 20% of substance abusers. Petry compared the use of different types of talk therapy, including very brief interventions and cognitive-behavioral therapy CBT. CBT teaches people how to think differently about problems and then act on that knowledge.

“We found very brief interventions and CBT were effective in reducing gambling and gambling-related problems,” Petry says. “There was a significant improvement relative to usual care or standard forms of treatment like Gamblers Anonymous [a 12-step program].”

Anybody can have a gambling problem, and no one should feel ashamed or be afraid to seek treatment. “Pathological gambling is a medical disorder, not a sin or a vice,” says Dr. Carlos Blanco of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. “There is no stereotype. The main predictor of outcome is really motivation.”

In other words, what counts most is a strong drive or desire to take action. Blanco offers gamblers motivational interviewing, which helps them explore their mixed feelings about trying to quit gambling. This primes them to be ready and willing to begin CBT. Using both therapies together can be very effective.

If you have concerns about your gambling, ask for help. Your health provider can work with you to find the treatment that’s best for you.

Card Games Rules

A new card game starts in a small way, either as someone's invention, or as a modification of an existing game. Those playing it may agree to change the rules as they wish. The rules that they agree on become the house rules under which they play the game. A set of house rules may be accepted as valid by a group of players wherever they play, as it may also be accepted as governing all play within a particular house, café, or club.

When a game becomes sufficiently popular, so that people often play it with strangers, there is a need for a generally accepted set of rules. This need is often met when a particular set of house rules becomes generally recognized. For example, when Whist became popular in 18th-century England, players in the Portland Club agreed on a set of house rules for use on its premises. Players in some other clubs then agreed to follow the Portland Club rules, rather than go to the trouble of codifying and printing their own sets of rules. The Portland Club rules eventually became generally accepted throughout England and Western cultures.

It should be noted that there is nothing static or official about this process. For the majority of games, there is no one set of universal rules by which the game is played, and the most common ruleset is no more or less than that. Many widely played card games, such as Canasta and Pinochle, have no official regulating body. The most common ruleset is often determined by the most popular distribution of rulebooks for card games. Perhaps the original compilation of popular playing card games was collected by Edmund Hoyle, a self-made authority on many popular parlor games. The U.S. Playing Card Company now owns the eponymous Hoyle brand, and publishes a series of rulebooks for various families of card games that have largely standardized the games' rules in countries and languages where the rulebooks are widely distributed. However, players are free to, and often do, invent house rules to supplement or even largely replace the standard rules.

If there is a sense in which a card game can have an official set of rules, it is when that card game has an official governing body. For example, the rules of tournament bridge are governed by the World Bridge Federation, and by local bodies in various countries such as the American Contract Bridge League in the U.S., and the English Bridge Union in England. The rules of skat are governed by The International Skat Players Association and in Germany by the Deutscher Skatverband which publishes the Skatordnung. The rules of French tarot are governed by the Fédération Française de Tarot. The rules of Poker's variants are largely traditional, but enforced by the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour organizations which sponsor tournament play. Even in these cases, the rules must only be followed exactly at games sanctioned by these governing bodies; players in less formal settings are free to implement agreed-upon supplemental or substitute rules at will.

 

California Card Rooms

State law requires that every owner, lessee or employee of a gambling establishment obtain and, thereafter, maintain a valid state gambling license. The Bureau of Gambling Control Bureau investigates the qualifications of individuals who apply for state gambling licenses to determine whether they are suitable and to ensure that gambling is conducted honestly, competitively and free from criminal and corruptive elements.
Gambling License

An owner of a gambling establishment must apply for and obtain a valid state gambling license from the Bureau and the California Gambling Control Commission. The Bureau's Licensing staff will conduct in-depth background investigations on applicants to determine whether they are suitable to hold a state gambling license. Suitability is determined by a number of factors including but not limited to the applicant's honesty, integrity, general character, reputation, habits, and financial and criminal history.
Additional Tables

The owner of a state-licensed gambling establishment who wishes to operate additional tables on a temporary or permanent basis must submit a request to operate additional tables to the Commission. The number of tables requested cannot exceed the total number of tables authorized under local and state law for the gambling establishment.
Game/Gaming Activity Approval

All controlled games pai-gow, poker, etc. and gaming activities jackpots, bonuses, tournaments, etc. must be approved by the Bureau and must comply with local gaming ordinances prior to their play at a licensed gambling establishment within California.