Acting

Thank you so much, Timothy!

I truly appreciate your support and guidance. I’m currently developing my project with a strong international vision, both as a creator and as the lead actress.

I’m especially focused on building a character-driven story with emotional depth and global appeal.

I would love to hear your perspective — from your experience, what do you think helps actors stand out the most when they are also creating their own projects?

Looking forward to learning more from you and the community!

Ana Cristina Rodrigues what I find useful in my experience is repetitive routines, keeping up a skincare routine making your presentation both hygienic and professional. there is more to preparation in the actors need to know how to model and models need to know how to act post.

nobody likes working with stinky people.

then after finding a roll you'll like to audition for is were the 5 W's: who are you playing, what is their motivation, when is it taking place, where is it taking place and why is the character doing this. there's more to the 5W's in another post.

there is way more to include but this is a good start to help

“Thank you, Timothy! I couldn’t agree more — a disciplined routine and deep understanding of the 5 Ws are game-changers for creating memorable, authentic characters. I’m actively applying these principles in my projects, blending emotional depth with strong visual storytelling to make every performance stand out on an international level.

Hi Ana Cristina Rodrigues I would like to encourage you to come to this month's open house. It is an interactive webinar that will walk you through how to best use Stage 32. It on March 25 at 12pm PST. Even if you can't attend live, I encourage you to register so you will have the recording in your library.

https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-march-2026-communit...

Thank you for the invitation, I’ve registered and I’m looking forward to watching the session.

This is such a fantastic resource! Huge thanks to Laura Hammer for putting this together. As we talk about navigating callbacks, we can't overlook the foundation: line memorization. This guide offers clear, actionable steps that help actors move past the 'mechanics' of the script so they can focus on the performance and the notes from the CD. Definitely a must-read for anyone looking to level up their audition game!

Thank you for sharing this Laura Hammer There are many great audition technique webinars on the education page!

Check out my post here on Navigating Callbacks: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/acting/Navigating-Callbacks-A-Guide-for-W...

I've cast a few short films, so I'll share my 2 cents. What's led to call backs in my experience is actors who are willing to fully embody the role and go the distance with it. Needs to feel lived in, not rehearsed. You have room to freestyle and make choices, within the confines of the sides. The ones I call back usually show some level of commitment to experiencing what it's like to be the given character.

One example was casting this little girl for a short film I did in 2019. We saw hundreds of young actors for the part. It was a flood of looks and styles and talent. The scene they read was about the little girl trying to comprehend that a distance was forming in her connection to her increasingly maniacal dad, but she was a little girl so she could never really understand it. Given, it was a pretty emotionally complex scene for a child, but that relationship hinged on this scene. Most actors played it confused or naive or what not, but the girl we ended up casting went all the way with the sides - she took the feeling of confusion and built on it. She was initially confused, then for a moment naive about it, then eventually sad and broke down in tears as the realization dawned on her. She cycled through the emotions flawlessly and you could see the realization happen in real time. Then she was awesome in the movie

“Na minha visão, o que torna um ator memorável é a verdade emocional aliada a escolhas claras. Quando parece vivido, não apenas interpretado, faz toda a diferença.”

Aaron Marcus thank you for such an open post about what not to do. with your story you have saved countless others from making the same mistakes in their career. from all of us here on stage 32 thank you

That is so kind of you, Tim. You can sign up to be on my special mailing list on the bottom of my home page at: howtoactandmodel.com. Thanks again.

“Ótimo ponto. Profissionalismo e preparação são fundamentais — cada teste é uma oportunidade de mostrar consistência e comprometimento.”

This is a great exercise to implement into a weekly routine of practice!

Laura Hammer thank you!

my goal is to teach others new and exciting routines to implement into their day to day life to improve one another to be the best they can be. rather it's a new skincare routine or something they can include in their acting and modeling routine. having a challenge to work through bring out the most in ones professional journey.

Karen, this is such an important step. Casting directors shape the emotional reality of a story in ways audiences often don’t realize. As a writer, I always imagine the kinds of actors who might inhabit the characters while I’m writing. The right casting choice can reveal layers in a character that even the script only hints at.

Ashley, thank you for sharing this. It’s fascinating hearing actors describe intimacy scenes as emotional conversations rather than just physical moments. As a writer, it really reinforces how important it is to map the character’s emotional arc clearly on the page so performers know exactly where they are in the story, especially when productions shoot out of sequence.

I was actually looking into this recently too. I think online acting classes can be really helpful, especially if the instructor gives direct feedback on your scenes and auditions.

A friend of mine tried a small online acting workshop and said it helped a lot with confidence and character work.

I'm also curious to see what programs other actors here recommend.

I tried a couple of online acting classes last year and one of them was actually really good because the sessions were very interactive.

They focused a lot on audition techniques and practical exercises instead of just theory.

They also had a free workshop option which helped me decide if the classes were right for me.

I don't know of any interactive online acting classes . stage 32 has several acting and audition webinars and labs that you can find on the education page.

I personally attended John Casablanca acting and modeling classes, I paid attention to what they taught, kept an open mind and took notes. rather my personal opinion on a subject I followed their input on industry standards. the schooling was not free it was 76 a week for 30 weeks but well worth the lessons taught. especially to learn a skill, trade and valuable routine that id never had interest in before. Mohammad Jahanzaib

This is an interesting way to look at it Timothy Miller I can see how a modeling class could benefit a stage actor. Especially if they struggle with stage presence.

Timothy Miller enjoyed reading this. you're also touching on two distinct approaches to working on a character: 1) from the outside in and 2) from the inside out. It always ends up being some combination of both, but usually the actor leans on one more than on the other, either because of training or personal preference or director's working process.

What attracted you to acting?

Sebastian Tudores

growing up I've had to learn how to be a role model because I never had just one person I wanted to be like. from my Father being the hard worker he was my role model, to my protective brother and sister I learned how to be a guardian to my family, and then throughout my job experiences in life all built to what I wanted to become.

a role model is nice but wanting to have the recognition for who I am to show others who I am and what I represent was what I want and to not be blamed for what I had nothing to do with. so being in front of a camera or in front of an audience is what I want to show others that I am the role model people need, someone who shows companion, offering help, teaching others, to standing up to those who are in the wrong and admitting when they themselves are wrong. I hope this answers your question

No Jose Harmon acting classes are open to everyone. They don't' check union status.

Jose Harmon, I want to echo the wonderful advice Laura shared. Stage 32 actually has some fantastic acting education resources, including classes, labs, and webinars with working industry professionals. If you’re not sure where to start, you can even reach out directly to the Education Team at Edu@Stage32.com and tell them a bit about your goals, the type of work you’re pursuing, and where you are in your career right now. They’re really great about providing curated suggestions for classes that might be the best fit for you.

They can also let you know if anything relevant is coming up on the schedule, which can be really helpful if you’re trying to plan ahead.

Congrats on getting those callbacks, by the way. That’s a great sign that things are moving in the right direction!

Suzanne Bronson hi Suzanne sorry for the misunderstanding i was trying to see if the website with the sag agents required you to be union or could you find an agent while being non union

Jose Harmon for sure, put one, two, or three of those self tapes together and get the reels up there. the first thing someone look at is the headshot - the second is the tapes. keep them short (1-3 minutes) also, everything Ashley Renée Smith said :) cheers

SAGAFTRA.org

Hi

João Pimentel One thing that might help you get even more responses from the community is translating your posts and comments into English using tools like Google Translate. Since Stage 32 has members from all over the world, posting in English can help open your thoughts and questions up to a larger number of members and make it easier for industry professionals on the platform to engage with you directly.

Sorry, Ashley Renée Smith I have automatic translation enabled on my computer, so I end up forgetting to translate for you, but thank you for the heads-up!

You're so welcome, João Pimentel!