I feel Like Giving Up.....Can You Guys Help Me?

Question

I want to be an actress and I've tried everything. I don't live in a big city and there really aren't any classes here and no acting coaches. I want to make my dream come true, but sometimes I feel like there is no hope for me. It's very depressing at times, but I keep telling myself that if I have faith, then maybe my big break could come. My dream is to win an Oscar when I'm 17 or 18. I want to be the youngest person to ever win one in the 21st cenutry....(im 15 now) it seems impossible....I know. But I believe that it could happen, maybe anything could. But how am I going to reach my goal when I have no experience? When I haven't even really acted before? I need help. I need to find a good teacher or good classes close to me. Can anybody recommend any? Does anyone know any good acting teachers that would be willing to help me? I'm in Baltimore, MD, by the way...it's really not a big city. If anybody can help me, please speak up.

Thank you

Answer 1

First of all you have an unattainable unrealistic goal. You do not have a dream, you have a hallucination. You don't have plays in school? Why aren't you in them? If you have no experience, how do you know if you have any acting ability? Try out for some plays and if you don't get cast after a couple of years, change your dream. God helps those who help themselves. You can't just sit there and think anything is going to happen. And of course, you did not know that you have to have your parents' permission to do anything professional unti lyou are 18. Look at all the opportunity you have been told exists in your area.! Now all you have to do is get mom and dad to agree to help you.

Answer 2

No, you haven't tried everything, you just don't know where to look :)

When you turn 16 and can drive yourself, you will find that there are many opportunities to be had. I don't know all the theatres in Baltimore, but check out Potomac Stages (www.potomacstages.com) for a listing of all the community and professional theatres in the region. They aren't listed by city, so you'll just have to go through them. The community theatre's will list auditions on their webpage, so start going!

Join the Actors Center (www.actorscenter.org) for casting notices and a listing of all the agencies with their contact info (Pat Moran, Taylor Royall, Betsy Royall and Carlyn Davis, who just opened a new office in Baltimore, are the biggies in Baltimore).

There are many opportunities for student, short and indie films (check the Baltimore Craigslist) and big budget movies frequently film around the area - "24" just filmed an episode in Baltimore, and Die Hard 4 and Shooter (among many many others, but these are more recent) filmed many scenes there and John Waters usually films there. To work on these films, you need to be signed with the agencies.

I’m in DC and I’ve found that a lot of the works tends to be around here, but there is quite a bit in Baltimore and again, if you can get a car and are willing to drive the hour to DC or even do some theatre in some of the middle places like Annapolis, Bowie and Laurel, you’ll find that you will have access to many opportunities!

Also, subscribe to local actor's Brian Dragonuk's listserv for casting notices. Send an email to [e-mail] and [e-mail].

Check out the Baltimore Theatre Alliance - http://www.baltimoreperforms.org/

For training, have you looked at the Baltimore School for the Arts (where Step Up was filmed and based on)?
Also, check out the Actors Company for acting classes - http://www.actorsco.com/ and the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival offers a Summer Teen Intensive - www.baltimoreshakespeare.org

So, this should get you started :)


Good luck!

Answer 3

Baltimore is not a hick town. You have some good professional theatres there. Look in your local phone book and in the calendar listings in your local newspaper to find out more about them. Depending on how far from home you're able to travel, you might also want to look at theatres in Bethesda, Cumberland, and Olney. On occasion (not all the time, it depends on what shows they're doing) all of those Maryland theatres might be holding auditions for performers your age. Maybe they also run youth acting classes. I don't know for sure, but you're right there, so you can find out.

In the meantime, you should start by getting as much experience as you can by acting in plays at your school. In addition, you might want to get in touch with Pumpkin Theatre about their summer training programs. (I think they focus mostly on musical theatre. Are you also an aspiring singer and dancer?)

Don't worry if the local scene seems to be a long way from Hollywood. Every bit of acting experience you gain close to home will help to prepare you for whatever bigger things await you somewhere down the road.

Answer 4

Nothing, especially the Oscar is going to come to you in Baltimore. You need to go where movies are being made...New York, L.A. etc and make it happen. You get experience by doing! To be perfectly honest, if you expect to win an Oscar within the next three years, you need to do it now. Most movies take time to film, edit, etc. Then they release the movie and if it's Oscar worthy then you have to wait until it can be up for awards season. It's a lot more complicated than you probably think. I believe in faith, but it will only get you so far in this business! Good luck to you!

Answer 5

I don't think you're looking hard enough. Being 15 is hard because you will have to rely on others to te=ake you everywhere, but classes, agentts, etc. do exist.

http://www.baltimoreschild.com/dirtheater/index.cfm?fuse1=list
http://www.everymantheatre.org/classes.html
http://www.performanceworkshoptheatre.org/opportunities.html
http://www.redfieldarts.com/Redfield%20Arts%20Class.htm
http://www.acteen.com/letters.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bal-li.artsked04oct04,0,3839370.story?track=rss - This schedule is old, but this is your local paper listing ACTING classes...
http://www.marylandfilm.org/faq.htm - click on Hotline, then you'll see casting calls, etc.!

I do not live in your area and have no experience with those classes first hand whatsoever so check them out for yourself. For not such a big city, there sure are a lot of classes...

And these are the agencies that are SAG franchised:

Kids International Talent Agency
938 EAST SWAN CREEK RD., SUITE 152, FORT WASHINGTON, MD 20744
Tel: [phone]

Taylor Royall Agency
6247 FALLS ROAD, BALTIMORE, MD 21209
Tel: [phone]

WHEN you have been in class for quite some time, you have credits on your resume and decent headshots, then you send those and your cover letter to them to see if they're interested in taking you on as a client.

good luck,
Marianne

Answer 6

Explore all your options. Do you need to get an agent right away?
Start out by auditioning for small parts, or go to a local theater and do an online search for classes in your area.
If you don't get a part or are feeling down, just tell yourself that you'll get it the next time around. You have very high hopes for yourself, even if you don't reach them, you can still be successful.