College/ uni vs. auditioning?

Question

I am trying to decide if I should go to college or university for acting and try to fit in some auditions while I'm there, or if I should rent an apartment while continuing to audition and make acting my full time job straight out of highschool. I already have experience in film/TV but I dont know whether to continue this and rent a apt, or to go to college/uni and try to audition when I can fit it in. Or maybe I should take a year off after highschool and audition, and hen if nothing big happens, go to college once the year is up. Any advice??

Ok, that whole thing came out wrong. Reading it over, I realize that it sounds as though I just think of acting as an easy little hobby, or as if I expect to be working nonstop in this industry. But let me assure you, I know how hard this buissness is. I guess I was just trying to decide whether to go to college first or to just try right away to give acting my all. I am 14 right now, so I am just planning ahead. I do have an agent and have been doing this for about 4 years, and I am SO incredibly driven to do well at this. I have decided that it would be best to just continue auditioning straight out of high school and put college off for now. Thanks for your advice!!!

Answer 1

I would like to know more about this alleged experience that you have. You will not be able to make acting your full time job right out of high school, it is so difficult to become and actor you may never be able to do that. But I think it is a good idea to go right after your career and put college off. College will always be there but your youth will not. A year is not enough time to give it a try either, I can almost guarentee nothing will happen the first year. But again, if you are determined to be an actor, which you do not sound like you are, you could make it eventually. If you want to know more, read my profile and write to me at my aol address where I advise aspiring actors for free.

Answer 2

You make it sound so simple. I know from experience that if you try and throw an audition in "when you can fit it in", you will have to be an exceptional person to really do well.

You will be best served first of all by getting a base of training under your belt and continuing to do that, whether you go to college or not. That's if you are really serious about an acting career. You probably already know this, but if you want to audition to try and get an agent, you will need some monologues. You'll have to choose the right ones and train to be able to deliver them effectively.

If, on the other hand you will be auditioning for jobs directly with casting directors, then you will have to build up your cold reading skills and learn how to break down a scene for example.

Plus, I know from personal experience that it's one thing to have a 9-5 or a part-time job that is pretty much a no-brainer and then get some time off to do an audition, but it's something else to have a colorful schedule that you already have to balance and then go to audition.
You want to make sure your head is in it or it will show. I personally do much better when I'm completely focused on my acting.

And then... What if you actually book a job? Then what? Will you be able to take a day or two off for a job that you book? What if the job will take a week or more? Then what?

Think it through. If you give it a half-hearted effort, you will get half-hearted results, which means most probably that you won't be getting many auditions and consequently, not much work either.

You also have to realize that especially if you don't have an agent, you will have to spend time to get yourself those auditions. It's not like they will just come whenever you have time in your schedule. You'll have to work to get them.

So, in conclusion, you can do both, but unless you can commit to an acting career with all your energy, just don't be to hard on yourself and expect too much...unless of course you are a highly driven, highly motivated and exceptionally organized person.

You might find this page link helpful: http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/teen_acting.html
You'll find 21 tips, some of which you might find particularly helpful such as 29 ways to promote yourself and 17 things you can do to start your career today.

Good luck!

Tony

p.s. Don't forget that if you want to be good, then acting classes will need to be a regular part of your schedule as well.