Say that you have dreams of becoming an actress..but you don't know how to go about it. what would i do?

Question

i going to be a senior in high school and looking for colleges for acting or maybe even an agent.

i going to be a senior in high school and looking for colleges for acting or maybe even an agent. i have acting in several plays at my church and at school. and for church i also do skits.

Answer 1

Forget about looking for an agent. You need a lot more preparation. It would have been nice if you said you had acted in several plays in school or community theater and perhaps summer camp and/or had worked on crew at summer theater. So you have got a bunch of catching up to do. Look for colleges with a strong undergraduate program in theater with enough opportunities. Talk to the students to find out if undergraduates get to act in class project plays directed by older students. Some colleges that have a strong graduate program but the undergrads are isolated. Today it would be nice if the college had related film, video, and stage departments. Also find out if the school is professionally oriented and how controlling it is. For example, from my past: The Dallas Theater Center was associated with Trinity University and formed the graduate program for them even though it was 200 miles away. The program was rigidly controlled by the man who ran it then, Paul Baker, and there was almost no flexibility and it sucked up all the student's time including giving "scholarships" that required work time even when the student was on GI Bill. The department rarely cooperated with other theater groups in town and students left and distanced themselves from the place. (I was admitted and decided not to go.) Southern Methodist University (where my MFA is from) had a good undergrad program with a lot of students who were upper-upper-class (as the school is) earnest and a very serious grad program that put people in the business (Beth Henley, playwright; Powers Booth, actor http://imdb.com/name/nm0000959/ ), had teachers with wide ranging professional experience, interacted with local theater groups and graduates formed local semi-pro groups.
If you want to be a pro, ask the students.
Work on opportunities - see what is happening this summer near you, although it is very late and look for places in your town during the coming year as well as summer activities during college.

Answer 2

Mike1942 is right. You have some catching up to do. Some have known that they wanted to be in acting and have been training since they were in grade school. You also need to realize that even if you are the best in your school, there are a million other schools with best actors and actresses there. Simply being the best in Peoria or even Richmond doesn't guarantee you work as an actress. There are two schools of thought on studying acting: 1) major in drama, be in every class that comes your way, then graduate and hit the job market. And good luck, because you have precious little to fall back on. OR 2) Major in something in the humanities field but take every opportunity to be involved with plays, films, etc Then, if nothing happens in the theatre world, you have a business degree or an English degree or a teaching degree that will get you a job a little more easily. I started at UNC and realized that I would get precious little actual stage time, so I transferred to a smaller college where I was able to be onstage for 3 out 4 productions each year. That experience was more valuable than some classroom experiences. However, at the risk of sounding like a killjoy, you should know that you have a very difficult career choice ahead of you.

Answer 3

You're doing what's right. Go to acting school and act as much as you possibly can. The agents and the work will come later. Too many people want to put the cart before the horse. You sound like you've got the right ideas and are doing the right things. Remember that the craft comes first.
Luck to you.

Answer 4

that's great that you are already looking at colleges that have theatre departments! now before you go looking for an agent, take some theatre or film classes, go to auditions at your school or in your community, and - if you do get roles- start making a resume.

just a note: some directors don't usually go for those who are beginners in the industry -and by "beginners" i mean those who don't know what to do in an audition, have never done any acting before, etc.- they like to see people who have at least some experience.

as for agents, start looking them up! be careful tho, because there are a couple of agencies that sound like they are top-notch, but in reality they have tons of lawsuits against them.

good luck!