acting question?

Question

i'm really shy, w. stagefright, and i've never acted once in my life. but recently i've realized i want to act! i've always been really awkward in front of the camera and scared in front of a crowd, and being in the spotlight was neverrr a wish of mine. but lately i'm dreaming of acting (& especially sing - a secret talent i've never shared with anyone) but i feel it's unrealistic to go out and start acting now...at 16. i'm not trying to be famous (yet :D haha) but i don't think it's worthwhile since most kids have been acting since they were 3 or 4. i wouldn't even know where to start anyway. i don't want to audition for my school play and make a fool out of myself to my classmates until i'm 100% sure i really enjoy acting. i have a feeling no one would believe in me, and since i'm really quiet i think i wouldn't be taken seriously at all. but it's something i really want to do..and i've always been told to follow my dreams and all that. :) haha ..any advice?

basically..if you don't want to read all of that. i want more than ANYTHING to be an actress, but i don't think i'm good enough and i don't think i can. which sounds like the usual pessimistic me..but it's the truth. haha :D

Answer 1

My dad has taught theater for sixteen years. I've lived at a theater since I was born. We own our own theater now and I practically live on stage. I was pretty shy at first but there is no real trick to acting. Just think about what you were saying. It's good to think about what the character might do but it's got to be you, not the script. Think of the situation and think about you would react in REAL LIFE. This is the important part so listen good. ACTING IS REAL LIFE ON STAGE. Make everything like it would be normally.

OK. Now here's the hard part. The actual audition. Find a long, funny speech from something. It can be a movie, a poem, or even a TV show. Memorize it. And make sure it's funny. It's lot easier to make someone laugh than it is to make them cry. If they ask for you to do a monologue that's what this is. A piece that you've memorized.
If they say you're going to do a cold reading then that means that they're going to give you a few pieces of the script and you're going to read it. Ask them if you can read over it a few times. They'll say yes. Read it a few times! Think of how you will do it. And then take it away!

Here's where it gets confusing. First impressions are everything. Have a presence in the room. Posture is everything. Sit tall and straight in your chair. Hold your head high and don't slump! When you say your monologue or do your cold reading, be loud!! Loud doesn't mean you scream and speak as fast as you can. Loud like in singing. Pronounce your words correctly. Say them slowly and loudly. Don't clip your words but don't slur them either. Give a pause after each sentence or paragraph.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! Don't change the script. If you need a minute. Don't say like, pause. Don't say um. Take a pause. And above all else, avoid all nervous gestures. If your playing with the hem of your blouse or something in your pockets or your zipper. Anything! STOP! Keep your hands to your sides and out of your pockets. Make hand gestures as they feel natural. Avoid repeating one gesture to many times, though.

I wish you luck and I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Closure is the key word here. If the husband and wife love eachother, they must understand you can't just move on until u know the corpse is actually dead and gone forever. Knowing that there have been miracles, and talking to the person in bed at the hospital help, also helps give closure to the wife and kids...they will feel that they did all they could and all they wanted to do before the natural end of life. I would have to say that leaving the family secure is sensible, but how comfortable are you really going to be if you have depression and guilt from not being there as much as you could have been until the TOD came???I'd be a mess personally. And money wouldn't matter to me much. Yes it would add to the stree, but when you are depressed, you could give two shits about anything.

Answer 3

Hoo boy..........

Make up your mind. Do you want to go through the rejection, humiliation and heartache? If you do not want to risk making a fool of yourself, there is always the Insurance industry.

Do you want the intense fulfillment of making 300 strangers cry? Or laugh? Do you want to sweat your a** off for little or no $? Do you want to be "bright" when you have a 102 fever?
Are you prepared to come out of your shell? Do you have what it takes to stick it out, no matter what?

If you do, welcome to the World of Acting. Now go get some training, and don't compete with me for Jobs.

Answer 4

why not start really small, by asking the director of the next school play if there is some tiny part you could do. Then when you learn that is not so bad, you can tryout for larger parts and then, who knows? Best wishes,Doc

Answer 5

You should join a local youth theater group for sure.

But when I started acting, I had bad stage fright. I overcame it. And I questioned the same exact thing. My story goes like this: I went along on an audition with a friend who was well established, simply to help him run his lines because he didn't get the script until the night before. While he was reading for the casting director, the associate casting director asked me if I was an actor. He showed me a sample photo and resume and I sent mine in a few weeks later. I ended up on General Hospital as an extra. I knew then that I wanted to be an actor. I don't know why. It just hit me like a ton of bricks when I was on that sound stage. But eventually I got speaking roles and was cast as a regular on the show. For the next 8 months I battled stage fright. I was able to overcome it just enough to pull off my scenes, but it felt horrible leading up to each and every scene that I was in. I eventually took a public speaking class and voila, my problem was solved. So that can be dealt with.

Here is some useful information regarding stage fright:

We all know what stage fright is, and I don't know of anyone who has never gotten it sometime in their life. I our worked in radio and TV for more than 30 years, and I can tell you this about stage fright. Even now, if I have to get up and speak in front of a group of people in a live audience, I get nervous--something that never happened when I was looking into a camera or sitting in front of a microphone.

Many of the top entertainers in the world say they've gotten stage fright too, so don't feel as if stage fright only happens to you. Famous people who are known to have suffered from serious stage fright include Barbra Streisand, Donny Osmond, Kim Basinger, and even Sir Laurence Olivier.

Stage fright symptoms are probably caused by adrenalin (a.k.a. epinephrine), which is a hormone commonly associated with fear. When the brain perceives danger or a stressful situation arises, adrenalin starts pumping, and anxiety increases.

Symptoms of stage fright include:

* A general feeling of anxiety before, or during, the beginning of a speech or presentation.
* Cold hands, sweating hands, or shaky hands.
* Dry mouth.
* Fast pulse.
* Nausea.
* Rapid Breathing
* Shaky knees.
* Tight throat.
* Trembling lips.

Stage fright, and the symptoms that go with it, lessen as you become more accustomed to speaking in front of groups of any size, but even veteran public speakers agree it never goes away completely. So if you're going to enjoy any success making a presentation you have to learn to control stage fright to some degree.

To the best of our knowledge, no one has ever died as a result of stage fright. But you can find plenty of surveys that say most people would rather die than give a speech. If that sounds like you, follow some of the advice and strategies below.

1) Comfort yourself in the knowledge that even veteran speakers get stage fright. If it happens of Barbra Streisand and Kim Basinger, what do the rest of us have to be ashamed of?

2) Understand that a little stage fright is actually good. It gets your adrenalin going--and that will help you keep your energy level up. That's a good thing.

3) Build your confidence with rehearsals. If you practice, practice and practice some more, you'll eventually feel so comfortable with your material that you won't stress out about the possibility of embarrassing yourself.

4) Visualize success. See yourself doing well. Imagine audience members applauding and coming up to you afterward to pat you on the back and shake your hand.

5) Don't visualize failure. Avoid dwelling on any bad speaking experiences you've had in the past. And don't think about disasters suffered by people you know.

6) Remember some important basics. Be well rested and relaxed, arrive early, check out any audio visual equipment well in advance,

You can't always eliminate stage fright and nervousness all together, and as I pointed out in Tip Number 2, you probably don't want to. But you don't want it to paralyze you either.

Follow the steps above and you find that going on stage is no longer something to fear.

Answer 6

i am the same way as you i have just realized i have a passion for acting. i am SUPER shy. i havent acted once either... im only14 but i would like to be able to maybe someday be an actress. im sorry i really cant give you advice im trying to figure it out 2.

Answer 7

Like the theatre doc said , start small and gradually get bigger.