Posters: Actors

Thinking About Acting?

By Cathy Richey, the Cathy Factor

Most people believe that acting is all about exhibiting a natural, instinctive skill that you are born with and hold inside you. In reality, acting is actually a trait that can be stimulated and sharpened with the proper training. While there are thousands of actors working around the world on a daily basis, there are only a few exceptional people, who by exhibiting their "natural talents," have made it big in tinsel-town.

Do you have what it takes to be one of these exceptional people? Do you have the determination and desire to give it your all to achieve your acting dreams, aspirations and goals? Or are you simply looking for a short cut, which will most likely lead to uncertainty and disappointment. If you are willing to stay focused and work hard, you could make it in show business.

You have decided acting is the career path for you. But where do you start? Is it hard? Yes, but the steps to becoming an actor are very random. One persons path to being famous or just being a working actor is usually completely different from someone else. There is no one way. There are some basic steps that you need to take to get things rolling.

You could start by taking a local acting class or working with your local community theater. You need to find out if it's something you really want to do. Making a living as an actor is a tough road, so you need to make sure it is something you really want to pursue.

You may also try getting involved with your local college or universities' film or media department. You may not get paid, but you can get yourself on film which could be seen by other casting directors and talent scouts. Plus, you'll get a copy of the finished film that you can use as an audition demo video to send to talent agents.

Once you've decided to give acting in your local community theater a try, you'll need to know how to go about auditioning. Scan your local newspaper's entertainment or arts and leisure section for notices of open casting calls.

Another simple and more direct way to track down audition information is to call the theater's ticket sales phone number and enquire about future auditions. Some other ways include searching the Internet and also trying to establish contacts in the local school or university where there may be open public auditions that are used for community outreach programs.

In spite of these efforts, if you are still not able to make it as a performer in the play, don't give up yet. Volunteer to help behind the scenes in roles like costume, set design or lighting, because this may look good on your resume as creditable experience. Many great actors started by working behind the scenes, so keep trying.

An actor's 'business card' is their head-shot. A head-shot is an 8x10 photo with your acting resume and contact information on the back. Traditionally, these photos were black and white, but these days they are are color shots. Almost every major city has got a photographer that can snap these kind of photos.

A standard resume is going to have your name at the top, with your union affiliation, like the Screen Actors Guild, underneath it. You are also going to want to have your contact information, usually to the upper right or left. The contact information will be your talent agent or manager if you have one. If you don't, then you need to provide your own contact info.

Note: NEVER put your home number or address on your acting resume. Get a cell phone number or some other number so people can leave messages. Your resume can fall into the hands of some unsavory folks (and you don't necessarily want them to have your personal information).

If you live near a major metropolitan area, you most likely have a talent agent or two that deal with local industrial films and things of that nature. Seek them out and see what they can offer you. If you live near a university, it probably has  some kind of film program. They need actors for their films and scenes that they have to produce for school.

Remember, the best way to get experience and education is by continuing to act as much as possible. Constantly be on the lookout for casting calls and audition notices in newspapers, on web sites, and posted to community notice boards, etc. If you work hard and are dedicated and devoted, you may soon see opportunity come knocking your way.

After you've performed in countless community, school and church productions and successfully appeared in local broadcast and cable television commercials, you might consider making the move to bigger cities, like New York for theater or Los Angeles for film and television productions. You should also apply for membership in the Screen Actor's Guild or the Actors' Equity, after you have been hired for a few union productions. Enrolling in these unions makes sense as these unions demand higher wages for their members.

Becoming an actor is not like becoming an engineer or doctor. You don't go go to school for four, six, eight years and then you automatically get a job. You can study theater for years and years and never really be able to make a consistent living. It can be a little disheartening because once you get to the big time, it is not always based on actual talent. A lot of politics start getting involved when the paychecks get higher.