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Acting Career Tips

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How To Start An Acting Career By Anthony Smith ActingCareerStartUp.com

Every year, thousands of young people and non, decide that they want to pursue an acting career. The problem is that many of them believe it is as simple as getting a picture taken, putting together a resume and getting an agent . That kind of thinking is precisely the reason why most aspiring actors never make it.

 

 

Here are the REAL first steps! The basics of what you’ll need:

* Knowledge of yourself * Creativity * Knowledge of exactly what you want out of your acting career * A solid plan to keep you on track * Lots of motivation * Business skills * A good, solid financial base

1. Find out what it really means to pursue the career in acting you say you want to pursue. Talk to both working actors as well as those who have been struggling to get work or who have been working sporadically. You can learn what to do and what not to do from both groups. Learn what a typical day could look like, especially at the beginning of your career.
2. Start reading up on acting techniques. Read books like Sanford Meisner on Acting or The Art Of Acting by Stella Adler. They will help you to understand that there are different techniques that, first of all you will need to fall back on time and time again in order to be able to deliver consistently compelling performances and also how acting classes are conducted. You’ll know what to expect and also have some basis on which to choose a school.
3. Choose an acting school. If you have choices, don’t just try and get in the first school you come to. Shop around, know what you expect from your training, interview teachers and ask lots of questions before choosing. Once you start studying the craft, count on continuing to do it for a good portion of your career.
4. Study the industry. Learn how it works. Learn what agents and casting directors do and what they expect from actors and actresses. Learn why they are in the business they are in. Learn who casts the different projects there are. For example if you are in New York , you will want to know who casts for certain Broadway shows, for Law & Order, Guiding Light, as well as other even smaller projects. Learn about the different ways that actors can ensure their work gets seen.
5. Learn some basic business skills. On my site for new and aspiring actors, I have listed and described only 10 of the 21 I wrote about in my book. However many you study, you need to know that first of all as an actor, you are a free-lance professional and as such, you must sell yourself in a positive way to your ‘customers’ (casting directors, agents, directors, producers, etc.)
6. Start putting together some of your basic marketing materials: Headshot (commercial & legit (dramatic), Acting Résumé, Acting Cover Letter, Monologues (at least two: comical and dramatic), but you will probably need more. Now the concept of type begins to be more important, because you want all of these things I mentioned here to all communicate the same message about who you are as an actress/actor.
7. Make sure you have a financial base! Many aspiring actors don’t make it, because they don’t think about this step at all before they throw themselves into the mix. An acting career can be a full-time or part-time thing. If you want it to be full-time, you MUST have the time to dedicate to it, because chances are in the first couple of years at least, you might not be making enough money to support yourself, so you will need either a base of money to fall back on or you will need to have streams of residual or passive income coming in so that you don’t have to worry about how you will pay the rent.
8. Try and get some experience: community theatre, low-budget theatre projects, student films, indie films, background work on TV or in film. Background work is a great education in the beginning of your career AND you make a little money at the same time. The more you perform, the more comfortable you will feel.
9. Now use your research of agents and of the industry to find the right agent for you.

There are different ways to do that. You can meet agents (and casting directors generally) in a few different ways:

1. Do a mass TARGETED mailing with regular follow ups. When you do that though, start to understand and learn what the interview/meeting with the agent will be like so you know what to expect!
2. Meets and greets or Schools that hold seminars in which they let you audition. They do charge a fee, however.
3. Forums with casting directors and agents. Usually last a few hours and give you the chance to audition for and/or have a one to one meeting.
4. Showcases in which you perform. Industry professionals are usually invited to check out the talent.
5. Invite them to a show you are in, to see a television program or a movie you are in.
6. Continue to study! Other than continuing to hone your technique, you will want to start boning up on your audition skills, monologue performance, cold reading skills, improv skills, etc.
7. Now your business skills will come in handy, because now you must realize that you are the CEO of your own company, of your own brand. Your ability to market it or not, will have an effect on how successful your acting career turns out to be.
   

   Acting is a tough business! You must have thick skin, because you will be hearing the word NO a lot. You must be prepared for that and know that is not to be taken personally. It’s part of the game. There are a lot of scam artists out there. Beware of them. They will sometimes pose as agents and then tell you everything you want to hear about how they will launch your career, but that you FIRST have to pay $XXX! Don’t do it, no matter what they tell you! Talent agents don’t cost money. They take usually 10% of whatever the job pays AFTER you have actually done it!

How To Start An Acting Career If You Live In A Small Town: 17 Things You Can Do Today

One question I’m often asked is about how to start an acting career.

My own personal experience coupled with what I got out of a recent conversation with best selling author Brian O’Neil (Acting As A Business: Strategies For Success), allowed me to produce this list of things you can do to facilitate your acting career start.

Some of the questions I entertain come from young people who are frustrated by the fact that they live in a small town and can’t seem to find any opportunities to act in their area. Whether that is your case or not, if you are looking to start an acting career you should find the following list helpful.

1. Look up casting offices in your area.

2. Look up talent agencies in your area.

3. Check your Regional Theatre Directory for their policy on auditioning and for information about local and upcoming projects.

4. Universities with film departments: Film students are required to produce a certain number of film projects each year and for those projects they are always looking for actors!

5. Find advertising agencies that have clients who shoot on-camera commercials and commercial print ads.

6. See if there is a SAG, AFTRA or Equity office in your area and see if they have a list of reputable talent agents in the area.

7 . Through your local courthouse or cultural affairs office, look up your regional theatre directory.

8. Check the arts & culture section of your local newspaper for theatres, shows, plays and events in your area. Take note of the venues where they take place and contact them for the information you desire.

9. Contact local photographers to see if they have contacts for ad agencies, other actors, casting directors, agencies. Agencies and Casting directors often refer actors to certain headshot photographers.

10. Look up you state’s film commission. Usually state film commissions have a list of upcoming film projects to be shot in that state.

11. See if there are any special editions of magazines and/or newspapers that have to do with theatre, film or acting in your area.

12. Pick up a copy of the Hollywood Reporter. Sometimes you will find a list of film projects that will be shot in different areas of the country.

13. Try to find a list of Equity and Non-Equity theatres in your area. Go there and they should be able to give you a wealth of information about where you can go to get started, teachers, schools, etc.

14. Look up acting schools, acting teachers and acting coaches in your area.

15. Look up casting offices that cast for extras, even if they are in a big city like New York or L.A. and sign up with them. Make sure they have your headshot and résumé and cover letter. But tell them where you are and where you live. If you are not in the big cities where lots of film and extra work is being shot, you’ll want to tell them to call you when there is work to be had in an area you can easily get to.

16. Remember that when building your résumé, the more theatre work you have on your résumé from reputable theatres, the more attention you will get from casting directors and agents.

17. Lastly, you could also go and take classes with casting directors or agents if you can find them. That is a great opportunity not only to meet casting directors and agents, but also to spend time them. Good luck!