How do I become an actress?

Question

I realy want to become an actress, and I find sites, but they are all scam sites. I am a good actress, but can't get noticed. Anyone have any suggestions on how to be spotted, or auditio sites?

Answer 1

Start by doing volunteer work; community theaters, workshops, theater groups and plays in high school & college. Do improv, mime, clowning, Shakespearean theater,... ANY kind of acting.

Hand out business cards like crazy... cheap ones you print out yourself on a home color printer but still look professional. Just get your name in the public's eye.

Improve your personal skills. Take acting lessons from a reputable acting school. Learn to sing and dance. Can you ride a horse? Fence? Mime? Play any instruments? These are all saleable skills which make you better able to act and understand a role.

Don't bother with websites. The only credential you need is your ability to become the role and how believable you are.

Join the theater acting guild or the screen actors guild (or both). These are requirements to work professionally either on stage or film.

Ask your teacher at acting school how to find an agent to represent you. Decide what kind of roles you will NOT accept (nudity? porn?) and let your agent know you'll accept anything else.
Audition like crazy, both screen and film calls. Read up on the part you want so you can protray that person convincingly. Have several 2 or 3 minute monologues memorized.

Grab any bit part you're offered within your limits. Your footage may wind up on the cutting room floor and edited out, but you will still have that experience to build on.

Don't give up and don't get discouraged. Thousands and thousands of people audition for just a few parts (that's why they're called "cattle calls") but if you're persistent, you'll succeed!

Get a day job. You have to have some means of supporting your love for acting until the acting job pays. Your day job will pay for acting lessons, time at the gym, your agent, your apartment, food, etc. You have to look healthy and be in shape or you won't last long.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Let's start at the beginning - what do you mean by actress? What medium do you want to work in? What kind of acting do you want to do?

How old are you? Are you working in another career at the moment? What is your educational history - did you go to college? Are you still in high school?

What experience in acting have you had? Do you have any reviews of things you have been in, demo or audition tapes? Have you made a resume and do you have a good head shot?

These are all basic questions that a serious theatre professional would ask before even beginning to TRY and answer a question like this. It's not buying a car - it's a way of life, a commitment to a serious profession, and it takes training and talent and dedication and an extraordinary amount of luck, depending on what your goals are. There are many people working as actors, making a good living - and you've never heard of them. Maybe even never seen them. They're not doing it for fame but for the work, and they are paying their bills and saving money and raising a family and working as an actor.

So answer the questions and know your priorities and if you are serious - then find someone serious to talk to who can give you professional advice based on your responses.

Answer 3

You don't say if you are stage or screen. They require different types of performance technique albeit using the same principles. How's your headshot? Have you looked at Backstage online, they sometimes post for film? Do you have knock out monologues or are they overused? Do you have backup monologues? Are you using monologues and choosing characters that fall into your 'type'?
Do you know what your 'type' is? Character actor, ingenue etc. etc.
It's hard. Just keep showing your face. There really is no magic wand in this profession. Break a leg!

Answer 4

what you need to do is to start locally. audition for parts in your local theaters. as you get more experience & larger roles, then start auditioning in nearby cities. this will get you the experience you will need and it will also help you to gain valuable connections. in addition, taking acting classes will help you as well. your acting coach will also know about local auditions & can help you work on your roles.

start smaller & work your way to the top.