Acting???? I need some adivce...?

Question

I'm in 9th, 14 yrs old, and I really want to get into acting. I plan to go to college and take acting classes and I'm in drama now but does anyone have any suggestions for me? I really want to attend school like a normal person but I'm afraid if I wait too long to get into acting, I won't make the cut. HELP!!!

Lol, I guess I should have mentioned this before but I'm NOT planning on exitting school, the college I hope to get into is CalArts, and I do plan to take other courses to back up my acting career. I keep almost a 4.0 grade point average with acting in my life and last but certianly not least... ACTING IS MY LIFE!!!! :D

Answer 1

ok! take a deep breath! Calm down! You're gonna be ok! I'm a sophomore in college as an acting major, and if i've learned anything is that ther's always time. I assume since youre looking at cal arts that you want to be in film and television. Don't worry about time, because you won't become unmarketable untill you hit 40, and even then, if you're any good, you'll be able to get work. Study on, work hard, this sh!t is difficult and scary once you get out of the higschool classes, but when it's right, it's amazing.

Answer 2

ACTING MYTHS

"Reprinted from ACTOR'S TOOL KIT, THE SEVEN ACTING MYTHS
by Bob Fraser

Myth #1 - YOU HAVE TO START YOUNG
This commonly held belief is far from the truth. Although starting young will certainly give you more time to perfect your craft, many stars have started "late."
Phyllis Diller started her career at age 38 after raising a family and spending almost twenty years as a newspaper writer.
Richard Farnsworth was over fifty before he began his acting career. When he won an Academy Award nomination for his role in Comes a Horseman, it came as a surprise to many in the industry that this 'newcomer' had been around since the '30's - as a stuntman.
There are literally hundreds of these examples. No matter how old you are, if you love it - TRY.

Myth #2 - IF YOU HAVE TALENT ... YOU WILL MAKE IT
Although it's important to have some talent, any reasonable observer can point to dozens of successful actors who might be considered 'talent challenged.' In fact, depending on talent alone is a strategy for disaster. There are many other skills (mostly business skills) that lead to success as an actor. If you're talented, great. But don't depend on your gifts for success. It's mostly hard work.

Myth #3 - AN ACTOR MUST BE OUTGOING
Not at all. In fact, I'd say that the opposite is closer to the truth. Most of the stars you watch and enjoy are basically shy people. It is under the cover of a role that actors seem to be demonstrative. If you are shy or retiring, you are like most successful actors. Don't sweat it.

Myth #4 - ACTING CLASS WILL RUIN YOUR NATURALNESS Wow, this one is really off base. In fact, without some training it is unlikely you will get to the top ranks of the acting profession. Agents look for training. Casting directors look for it.
And it goes without saying that education has rarely hurt anybody.

Myth #5 - HAVING AN AGENT GUARANTEES YOU WILL WORK There is no doubt that having a salesman for your acting business is beneficial - but signing with a good agent rarely happens before you have already achieved some level of success.
Actors who think an agent will automatically get them to the top, rarely get there. Agents are not magicians - they are salespeople who develop leads for your acting business.
Period.

Myth #6 - YOU CAN BECOME AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS
This almost never happens. In fact, a brief study of the careers of very successful actors will convince you that the average time it takes to get into the ranks of regularly employed actors is about 9 years.
Like becoming any sort of professional (doctor, lawyer, architect) this is a business that takes time to accomplish.
That's why they call it 'paying your dues.'

Myth #7 - ACTORS MAKE THE BIG BUCKS
No. This is totally wrong.
Sure some do ... and their salaries are publicized to the skies. But the reality is that the large majority of actors make very small paychecks and they don't make them very often. Go to SAG's website and see the statistics. Just making a decent living as an actor is a huge challenge.
Bottom line: Don't go into acting for the money. If you want to act, do it. And do it for money as often as possible.
But don't kid yourself ... this is hard work and the pay is nothing to write home about - unless you have the tenacity, business skills, and work ethic to get to the very top.
I hope you do.

Here's some good advice from the cadets at West Point:
RISK more than others think is safe.
CARE more than others think is wise.
DREAM more than others think is practical.
EXPECT more than others think is possible.
posted by Luvs2Act @ 1:02 PM
Source(s):
http://www.actingresource.blogspot.com/...

Answer 3

Focus on school, act as much as you can, any chance you can get and/or make (get a local troupe together over the summer breaks, and put on local community theatre).

Then, when you DO get to college: focus on BUSINESS courses. Acting cannot be taught, only honed. You WILL need business to survive as a working actor. Unless you WANT to be a waitress chasing down auditions... major in BUSINESS courses, minor in drama.

HAVE fun, and NEVER stop acting. You are 14 years old and already you ARE an actor! Congratulations. NOW you only have to figure out how to earn a living at it.

Don't waste your time or money on drama school, when you will require skills that will allow you to pursue acting and the arts.

Someone also posted a few up from this: read!!! read the trades, read scripts you will need to learn the 'talk' lingo, common terms, who is who, what is what, where is what.

READ BOOKS, plays, short stories, anything.
Play with different characters in differents scripts. KNOW all the classics, read read read.

Practice all the fine tuning stuff everyday: stretches, vocals, memory skills, physical strength, endurance (yes this is necessary).

Stay at HOME with your parents AS LONG AS YOU CAN!! UNTIL THEY Kick you out. As you get more and more work, you will be required to travel, and honestly, having your homebase be your parents place ROCKS ON!. They will water your plants, and take care of your pets, and make sure there is a warm meal waiting when you take the next train home for a few days down time.

FINISH SCHOOL!! You MUST do this, I don't care if you don't start your official career until you are 22 this IS NOT too late or too old. Acting can be started at any time, any day, any season, by anyone anywhere. You can continue acting while in school.

BUT beware: You will have days (weeks, months, years) when you make no money as and actress and can't expect to earn a good living. That's why I say (again again again) take something other than Drama in College. Think of something you are good at that can be flexible (journalism, accounting (yech), consulting, design, carpentry, electrical, even house painting) where you can work your schedule around any acting auditions or jobs you can get. HINT: Entrepreneurship in a trade skill related to theatre (set design/production/carpentry/set building, electrical/lights/sound/effects) Be creative and realistic.

MOST importantly: have fun.

Answer 4

First of all, pursue acting only if you're obsessed by it and can think of nothing else. It's a tough profession, and you'll go through a lot of hard knocks and disappointments, so you'll need to keep a positive attitude and not get discouraged. For every audition you may get, you'll get only a small percentage of actual jobs.

Second, go to college and, even if you get a BFA or an MFA in acting, take classes in something practical you're almost as interested in. You'll need something to earn a living while you're pursuing acting. (Waiting tables is fine, but will make you only so much money; waiters have a lot of flexibility in being able to make audtions, though.) Even office skills are handy; temp work is a boon to the struggling actor (and you will probably struggle). Take all the classes you can in school and do as many shows as you can in every aspect of theatre -- work crew and tech; stage manage; try your hand at designing. Take voice and dance classes. Maybe even try to take up an instrument. The more arrows you have in your quiver, the more employable you'll be in the business. Read all the plays you can, old and new. Listen to cast albums, read the trades. Know what's going on in the business, who's who, and what's happened in the past. (As a director, nothing annoys me more than actors who come into an audition with no idea of what the play they're auditioning for is about.)

Third, you'll need to move to a major city: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Denver, Minneapolis. Somewhere with a thriving theatre and/or film community, and (again) do as much as you can in as many areas. The more you do, the more people you'll meet and the more connections you'll make, which will lead to more work.

Lastly (and to repeat), persevere. It will be tough at times, but if you really want it, it'll come. You may not be a star, but you'll be working actor.

Answer 5

It all depends on why you want to go into acting. If you're really drawn by the idea of acting itself -- getting to know another person from the inside out and really becoming her onstage, sharing her life with your audience -- take all the time you want. Study more. Study psychology courses and sociology courses as well, so you can understand people better. Volunteer at local organizations that help people. You will meet some of the most amazing people there! Acting is all about knowing and becoming other people, so get to know as many different types of other people as you can.

If you're really more interested in being a star, read the celebrity magazines and try to look like the people in them. Do whatever they're doing that your parents will permit. Please be aware that, even with all their wealth and fame, these people are rarely truly happy. They all speak of an emptiness inside that their fame and money will never satisfy. You'd be better off trying to find a 'real' life that can bring real happiness.

I've been with a theatre company for over 20 years now, and really do enjoy what I do. I'll never be rich -- in money, that is -- but I've had a truly rich life. Real acting is worth all the time and effort it takes to pull it off.

Answer 6

You'll always have the time to take acting, but the best time to go to school is now!

You will not be able to attend acting college without, not only, an education, but good grades to back it up.

Having an education will make you a more appealing actress and you will find better parts as well.

Actors...the good actors we see and can recognize on sight, got where they are, not because they had this irresistible drive to leave school at an early age and go into acting, but because they studied before.

At your age ,I'm sure you are scared of the future, but failing to make the cut certainly shouldn't be one of those fears. Put your school years behind you. Then take acting classes!

Good luck!

Answer 7

Depending on where you live, there might be a Performing Art School near you. NY and LA have more than a few. The other thing is you are only 14. That isn't waiting too long. If you are bad actress 26 is too old, but if you are a good actress you can act until you get so old that you can't memorize lines anymore.

Answer 8

Ask your parents for help, ie, taking you to auditions etc. Keep acting in school and local theatre and make home movies for fun. Ask people to give feedback and pointers.
Once you actually get a role in a play, movie, TV show, then you can worry about whether or not to go to school "like a normal person". Right now keep doing the "normal person" thing until your not a normal person.
As soon as the paparazzi starts chasing you around, you are not a normal person.

Answer 9

Well Im the same as u in some ways but im starting to get into it now (1st audition 28th) but it depends on where u live like i live in stl so i go to a website that post auditions all the time but if u really care about this then u wont get out of it so just stick to it and talk to ur teacher about it

Answer 10

lol, wait. take it one step at a time. not saying u can't act, but ur acting like u've already got a career in acting. first, just keep doing what you're doing. act in school dramas and stuff like that.

now lets say the opportunity did come around for u to become a professional actress. I'm sry, but it's kinda hard to have a career in acting and attend school just like everybody else. so, chances are u have to choose one or the other.

well, i hope i helped. buh-bye now!