How do i persue my career in acting ?

Question

hey guize i am in 11th class and dont know anythig about this feild but very much intrested and want to become a well known actress.
PL. HELP &ADVICE WHAT SHOULD I DO

Answer 1

How do i persue my career in acting ?

Hi,

With regard to your acting career and really getting started, here are some things to think about and to keep in mind:

First of all what kind of acting are you primarily interested in? Theater, Film, Television, On-camera commercials, for example. Always try and give yourself as specific answers as you can to these questions.

It's important to know what it really means to be a working actor. Maybe you already know. I don't have much information about you other than what you wrote.

This is a question I get almost daily....how to get started in acting? In fact it is a question that I have seen young actors have over the last three years and it is one that inspired me in a big way to create resources that will help them, while at the same time, learning a thing or two myself.

Here are some of the issues that actors face before they even get close to working. I've already written it on the following page link. Forgive me, but I don’t want to go to my site and copy and paste things I already wrote, so sometimes I will send you there to read. OK?

http://www.actingcareerstartup.com

There are certainly more of these issues, but this is the reality. I certainly don't want to rain on your parade, but rather to help you understand that you need in my opinion four things that will help you get started so that one day you will have a good chance of getting work as an actor. I’ll talk about them in a minute.

I say all this to let you know, something that you already know which is that there will be a lot of things to do before you get there.

Click on the link below and have a look at the actor quiz. It will help you realize some things you know and things that you don’t but that you will have to know with regard to your acting career. http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/actor_quiz.html

My recommendation would be to do a little homework that consists of the following things:

Start to gather information about the different types of acting techniques that there are. There are several different methods and the reason that there are different methods is, yes because there are differing opinions, but it is also because everyone has his/her own preferred style of learning. You have yours and I have mine. For example I was studying a more Method based technique for awhile and after a year and half I wasn’t making progress as quickly as I wanted to, so I changed to Meisner. Best thing I ever did! My acting skill level rose quickly. I feel more comfortable with this Meisner technique. Look up books by or about and read them. They’re interesting.

Stella Adler
Uta Hagen
Sandfor Meisner
Lee Strasberg
for example.

Then start to think about a good school. I’m not saying you shouldn’t start studying before you read all those books, but read them. It will enlighten you. Then think about the things you will find on this link below with regard to how to choose an acting school.
www.actingcareerstartup.com/acting_classes.html

Study the industry:

Go and visit www.backstage.com. There you will find a wealth of information about the acting industry.

Check out www.sag.org, www.aftra.com, www.actorsequity.com for information about the three major unions.

Find out what the outlook is for actors, how much they make for jobs, days, per hour, what average earnings are, statistical breakdowns by type, race, age group, what effect reality television has had on other categories in television. Starting to understand some of these things will help you get an overview and understand more about what you are getting yourself into.
You will be able to find a lot of those answers and begin to understand the industry by going to the union websites.

Work on yourself: PLEASE DON’T UNDER ESTIMATE THIS!

All this having been said, just don't forget to build your base, which consists of three important things: We already talked about the industry and your acting skills. The last thing has to do with you as an individual.
With regard to working on yourself, if you develop the following abilities, you will have a better chance of being successful, not only in your acting career, but in life in general. Not to mention that if you start thinking about these things now, you will be leaps and bounds above the rest of your peers. They are:

1) KNOWING YOURSELF AND FIGURING OUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT: greater knowledge of yourself: strengths, weaknesses, resources you have at your disposal (and not only financial!)
Clarity of your vision for the future of your career in a very detailed way. If you can do that, your actions will be more focused and you will waste less time and energy. To put it in a positive sense, you will optimize your efforts and probably get results faster.
2) DEVELOPING YOUR MOTIVATION & CREATIVITY: The ability to keep yourself motivated to do what is necessary daily to further your career. Knowing how to do that will help you tremendously!
The creativity and innovation to apply in promoting yourself and helping you to stand out. You can imagine how important that will be with all the competition there is!
3) PUTTING TOGETHER A PLAN: a solid and detailed plan for how you intend to achieve that vision. Many people think that planning is writing some stuff down on a piece of paper and doing those things. There’s much more to it than that!
4) MANAGING YOUR BUSINESS: essential business skills that will help you to be successful as the free-lance professional that you are as an actor. Unfortunately many actors don't realize that they are in business, with a product to sell and promote, that is themselves.

So what could your next steps be? Yes, find that class, but do your homework first to find the best one you can for your needs.

Gather some information and talk to actors about what it really means to be a working actor, not like Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, but like the average Joe, out there pounding the pavement, getting jobs that last a few days, doing student films, commercials, looking for an agent, auditioning, getting rejected, doing mailings and drop-offs, preparing for auditions, going to class, saving up for months just to be able to get those new headshots, etc. Talk to successful, working actors, who are working regularly. Talk also to those who are working sporadically: a commercial here, a day role on a soap opera there, a play here, an industrial there, etc. And, you will want to talk to to those who are not working much, not auditioning much. Learn what to do and what not to do.

Here is a link in which I talk about one of my typical days last summer in NY, looking for work:
www.actingcareerstartup.com/working_as_an_actor.html
And
www.actingcareerstartup.com/a_working_actor.html in which I talk about an independent film I did not long ago.

And go check out suggestions I gave you above.

Lastly and maybe most importantly, realize that the person who will embark on this new mission of becoming an actor is you. Whether you are successful or not (and success is something that you must first define for yourself) will depend on the industry itself, but it also will depend largely on you. By that I mean, your attitude, your talent, your willingness to learn and be curious, your perseverance, determination, method, your clarity around what you want out of your career, your capacity to find creative solutions and creative ways to promote yourself and set yourself apart from the rest, your ability to create a financial base so that you can concentrate fully on your craft, your ability to motivate yourself and to handle rejection, your capacity to be disciplined and plan for your success and it will also depend on your capacity to sell and market your acting ability.

Good luck to you!

Tony
www.actingcareerstartup.com

Answer 2

You have to have a good head shot first and foremost. You need to hire a private photographer to take pictures of you, you can show to agencies. Most agencies if they like you will want you to use their photographers but they can be pretty costly usally at least a grand for pictures. Agents can normally be found in the phone book or if you go to big events like concerts or Nascar races they will probably be there doing promotional work you can get a number from someone already doing work. Also I don't know where you live but your best bets are Atlanta,LA,and New York if your serious. If your female its best if your at least 5'9" if male 5'11"
Peace

Answer 3

I signed up to be an extra in some Hollywood films being made in Chicago. It doesn't pay much, but you will get to meet assistant directors and other staff. I was in some major Hollywood releases, but only has an extra.

Answer 4

Take acting classes. Ask your parents to call the Community in your city and ask if they can recommend a school where you can take acting lessons.

Answer 5

For Acting, I would recommend

http://www.hollywoodnorth.com

Answer 6

I sssugggessstt you buyyy a grrrrrammar book.

Cuz - scripts have words and stuff.