any advice to help me become an actor ?

Question

I'm 12 and I want to become an actor now, I live in maryland and do you have any advice, and can you help me reach my goal. please !

Answer 1

Hey, I was in Maryland this weekend! I saw the Chevy Chase Bank, what was that all about?

Anyways, my advice. Your 12. You're not even close to being grown up, and you'll flat out rejected in a second. 12 year old kids aren't in necessarily high demand, nor do they have a lot of experience or talent. Sorry kid, someone's gotta tell you. But hold on to your dream. If you still wanna be an actor when your 20 and done highschool and don't know what to do with your life, and you're sitll holding on to that passion, go for it.

Answer 2

Alright, first of all, don't listen to anyone who tells you you're too young. Actors come in all ages, shapes, sizes, and appearances.

Secondly, buy the book "Breaking Into Acting For Dummies" off of Amazon for $15. It'll tell you what you need to do to reach your goals.

Thirdly, get your parent's support and help. Since you're 12, they're gonna have to be carting you around to auditions and stuff. They may not take you seriously at first, but if this is really your dream, they'll come around.

Look into community theaters in your area and get involved. Even if you don't land a part right away, do NOT be discouraged. Help out backstage or in the box office, or ushering. Be INVOLVED as much as you can and you will gain valuable experience.

Most importantly, don't give up on your dream. But also, don't sacrifice other areas of your life for this either. Even if you know beyond a doubt that this is what you will still be doing 40 years from now, you still need to be smart about it. study hard in school, do well, broaden your interests in all sorts of things, not just the arts.

Answer 3

At age 12, your main limitation is what your parents will agree to. Most of the child and teen actors that you see in films and TV shows have parents who work full-time as their managers. Is Mom or Dad ready to give up whatever job they have now to drive you to auditions in NYC?

More likely--and probably more healthy, since child star often leads to adult wastoid--you will want to participate in amateur shows near where you live. Keep in touch with all of the amateur companies in your area (if you don't know which companies there are, ask at your local library or call the entertainment editor of your daily newspaper). Keep track of colleges as well as community troupes. They'll announce when they're having auditions and whether the show needs an actor your age (and depending on your looks, your 'playing age' might be eight to twenty-two).

Also, see if you can get workshops or lessons, not only in acting but also singing and dance. Maintain a good exercise regimen, watch your diet, and read lots of plays! A good actor not only creates a character, but also knows a lot about shows and is able to bring lots of different skills to the performance.

Now, the most common route to a career as an actor is to go to a college and earn a bachelor of fine arts (BFA) degree in theatre performance. When you get to about age 16, get your high school counsellor to help you identify which colleges you will consider. The BFA will get you acquainted with all aspects of the theatre business and will polish your acting skills.

After graduation, you can count on continuing to take lessons in acting, movement, voice, etc., while scrambling to earn enough at a grunt job to pay the bills so you can keep chasing every open audition you can find--and getting rejected about a hundred and one times before your first paid acting job.

Once you earn a union card (if you can get into a tip-top BFA program, you might be accepted into the union upon graduation), then you can participate in closed auditions, agents might believe you exist, and making a living as a full-time actor becomes possible. Note: only 1 in 1000 actors gets at all famous or wealthy--but the other 999 love the work, get paid fairly well, and can't imagine doing anything else.

Answer 4

An actor for stage and an actor for film are two completely different things. it sounds like you want film. First and foremost: get an agent. The more experienced the agent, the more expensive. Take small part first. Any kind of gig that lets you be an "extra" is perfect to start off with. Then you move your way up to commercials, the small speaking roles, and so on. The important thing to remember is patience. No one makes it big their first audition. A lot of it is being able to work your way up from the bottom. I would take an acting class specific to film and read practitioner books on acting in the film industry. Break a leg!

Answer 5

I am 13, a little older, but we still share the same dream. I want to act more than anything. My advice is to look as hard as you can for small acting jobs where you live. This will help you create a resume that will impress people. You and I are still young and we have the limitations set by our parents. But the best advice is to do the absolute best that you can do with those limitations and most importantly, use the time you have until you can be on your own to get experience. Do community theater, take acting classes, summer theater camps, anthing that will help you. Than when you are old enough to be on your own, you will make it a little bit farther than others.

Answer 6

the fact that you are 12, with a goal in mind is a major portion of your battle. consider (if you will),a whole pie.slice the pie into four parts. i have been a professional theatre performer since i was 8. so i believe one portion of the pie should be talent. the next portion would be goal.(u nailed that already) next, education(in theatre with academics for second dependable career) and finally,the last portion of the pie would be passion. upon completing your education(as far as you can go),nothing will work for you like the passion for your dreams. it will make you go for the gold, surpass rejections (there are a cazillion of those), and strive to be the best. just remember one thing. don't lose sight of who you are. become an actor, don't let acting become and overtake you. as we say in the theatre "break a leg" :)

Answer 7

Go to a school audition, that is where many get their start. Also, if you can sing, go audition for a professional or community theater group. Proscout is a great agency who does open calls where you can go and be interviewed, and if they like you, you can be invited to a conference where you can meet with acting and modeling agencies. Go to www.proscout.com for information on this. Unfortunately, you usually need a little experience, at least in school plays, to get through using proscout. Just audition for a local play and work up from there. You might need to make some leaps outside your comfort zone; I started in school plays, then went up to school play competitions, then went to professional and community theaters. I am very happy with where I ended up and hope to continue my acting and singing career. Good luck to you and glad to hear of an upcoming actor!!

Answer 8

The best way to start is to find someone connected in show business who can help you. But before hand, attending workshops, theater arts would be a great advantage. When you have the proper training, you can easily reach your goal.

Answer 9

Ask your parents to find an acting class for you. They can call the Community Theatre and the Professional Theaters in your city to get the names of acting teachers.

Answer 10

Ask your parents to call the Community College in your city and ask them where a 12 year old can take acting lessons.