Did you know that ThinkTalk has a career show for actors? The Spotlight has featured interviews with Jason Schwartzman (you may have just seen him in Funny People), Claire Danes (you may have seen her in your dreams), and Shia LaBeouf (you definitely saw him in your dreams ... or Transformers). This show is a great resource for aspiring actors, with some great tips on developing your character, getting a first break and making it big. To the right is a short clip of actor Lance Gross answering a question on landing an agent.

Today, I found a fascinating post at Robin Hanson's Overcoming Bias blog on Actor's use of "status" to make dialogue with other actors more realistic. Not being an actor myself (though I did play Curly in Oklahoma once in High School!) I was unfamiliar with this concept. But after reading the excerpts in Robin's article I began to grasp it ... and it blew my mind. Acting coach Keith Johnstone explains:

Status is a confusing term, unless it’s understood as something one does. You may be low in status, but play high, and vice versa. … We always like it when a tramp is mistaken for the boss, or the boss for a tramp. … I should really talk about dominance and submission, but I’d create a resistance. Students who will agree readily to raising or lowering their status may object if asked to `dominate’ or `submit’. …

Many people will maintain that we don’t play status transactions with our friends, and yet every movement, every inflection of the voice implies a status. My answer is that acquaintances become friends when they agree to play status games together. … If I take a cup of tea to a friend then I may say `Get up, you old cow’ or `Your Highness’s tea’, pretending to raise or lower status. Once students understand that they already play status games with their friends, then they realize that they already know most of that status games I’m trying to teach them.

Get it? If not, head over to Robin's blog for more info (and be sure to read the comments, he has some smart commenters). But if you do understand, I think this is a great concept for actors. Once you can view your companion in the proper status for you character it will break down any awkwardness or barrier to a smooth, comfortable scene. For more info on acting advice, be sure to check out ThinkTalk's The Spotlight.

Alright, that's a lot of info. Just some short, quick Links today ...

Cheezhead Lists the Cities Where Raises are Rising: DC tops the list (yay!), with Tampa, Boston, Philly and Denver rounding out the top 5. The raises average just over 2% for the regions on the list, with around 76% of companies stating that they will be offering raises. So if you're looking for a move, these are areas to consider.

Ere.net Reports on Radio Resumes: An LA station is giving job seekers an opportunity to record 30-second advertisements for their resume over the air and then lining to the resumes on the station's website. This is a pretty cool concept and a great way to get your name into the public sphere.

The New York Times Advocates Statistics Careers: "The rising stature of statisticians, who can earn $125,000 at top companies in their first year after getting a doctorate, is a byproduct of the recent explosion of digital data. In field after field, computing and the Web are creating new realms of data to explore — sensor signals, surveillance tapes, social network chatter, public records and more. And the digital data surge only promises to accelerate, rising fivefold by 2012, according to a projection by IDC, a research firm."

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Each day at the ThinkTalk Blog we will post some links that we find informative, interesting, or just plain funny. The goal is to let you know what else is going on out there, and ultimately help you with the development of your career.

The hit stage musical Avenue Q is coming to ThinkTalk. Remember how much fun Sesame Street was when you were a kid? If so, you’ll love the off-Broadway musical Avenue Q. It’s the louder, funnier and more PG-13 version of your favorite childhood show (but is not actually affiliated with Sesame Street, fyi).

Avenue Q opened at the Vineyard Theatre in 2003. It’s the story of Princeton, a college-grad who is trying to make it big in New York and the only affordable housing within his price range is Avenue Q. The show won Tony awards for Best Musical and Best Score in 2004. It has also received excellent critical reviews — Entertainment Weekly named it Best of 2003, and The New Yorker called it:

An ingenious combination of ‘The Real World’ and ‘Sesame Street,’ the show presents the friends on Avenue Q as something both more and less than ‘Friends.’

If you are anything like me, your first reaction might be, “Puppets, Really? Puppets?” But with song titles including ''Everyone's a Little Bit Racist,'' ''Schadenfreude,'' ''The Internet Is for Porn'' and ''You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love),'' this a hilarious show with enough sarcasm and edgy humor to satisfy even the pickiest of play-goers.

And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: it’s finally time to ask the Avenue Q cast your ThinkTalk question.

That’s right, we want you to ask the actors and puppeteers from Avenue Q your career questions. Anything you want to know about what they do, how they got there or any career advice they might have. Check out the instructions on how to ask your question. It’s quick and painless, we promise. The deadline to ask your Avenue Q question is February 9th, so don’t take too long!