hey everyone! i am a newbie to the biz and looking for some advice or help getting started with a career that i know i was born for! i have put off pursuing acting and theatre mostly because i needed to make constant money for my family and didn't make the time to pursue my all time passion.(being on tv) but i couldn't stop the nagging in my head telling me i need to do this, anyone ever feel that way? if there is anyone out there that can help me get started on something or let me know where i can go to help me make my dream a reality i would be most grateful, thanx and look foward to meeting you all! sincerely, Dan Subia, woodland hills, ca.
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I'm 6 months new into this. I'm in the uk. I would say find a good coach to start off with. Then get onto some of the acting sites. Start applying for jobs student films are a good place to start. Then see what happens from there. When I was a newbie I posted on here looking for help too!!! Good luck hope that helps.
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Do you have representation yet or are you just begining the entire process? I have found in my many years of working in the industry there are a couple of ways to break in, but once you are in things get easier because it can be a lot about the connections you make. I work on the management/PR side, but have many friends and clients who act and see they appear in movies and tv due to the connections they made from another production so don't burn any bridges and remember an assistant might be the next power player to take you where you need to be. Keep in mind you are a brand and business and if you take it seriously and treat your work as a business you will reach your dreams and beyond! :)
I did some TV work once long ago though it was never my personal dream. I did a few commercials and was an extra on a soap that was very popular here and still is. I never had big parts but I did do some actual acting as a nurse in the background of a hospital drama. It was a bit of fun. I'll tell you how I got the work. They were looking for people who were accustomed to withstanding immersion in cold water for long periods of time. As a long distance swimmer, that was me so I applied and got work on this ad. We had to sit in a very cold lake for long spells while they filmed the ad. It was a little boring but no problem. That was my first foray into the scene. From then on I could say I had experience so it led to other ads, the extra work on the soap and even a few auditions for more major parts. But my true passion was not being in front of the camera - I'm an author.
to Denise: thank you very much for your reply. to answer your question, no, i do not have representation, but i am going to look into getting that right away and see where it takes me. any good people around woodland hills i can look up? thanx again for the tips.
and thank you too Tui, have a great day.
I guess, my answer would have little relevance to your question unless you like sitting in cold lakes. :) But is there some weird skill or quality you have that might be enough to get you a foot in the door? I wonder if a lot of actors rely on good looks and/or acting talent alone. (I'm completely ignorant of the acting game so that is said in ignorance.) You certainly have the looks, going by your profile pic. But it might be something else altogether that gets them the job that provides the foot in the door. Here, you had no show unless you could say you had experience and just sitting in a cold lake provided that for me. Maybe you don't fancy sitting in a cold lake, but is there some other thing that might help? Perhaps you know how to ride a horse and they need riders? Or can you sail a boat? Are you a skilled rock climber. Do you know how to do swordplay? Here in NZ if you knew how to paddle a canoe or ride a horse or do swordplay, you might have had more chance of getting extra work in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. or if you were very small and had curly brown hair you might be chosen as a Hobbit extra.
There are so many people in LA that you could work with. You want to really do your due dilligence on them to make sure they are not scam artists because there are a ton of those out there. Many times people will not even audition you withou representation, but you can seek out more indie projects and make connections where you can. There used to be networking happy hours with industry people each week at various places I would attend to connect and get to know people in all aspects of the industry. You never know who knows someone else. :)
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I belong to Beckinfield - you get to make your own character and work from there. Granted it's limited but at least you become part of a community, which is geared toward the supernatural or anything you want to do. Telling stories, encounters that your character has gone through. It may not pay but it's a start. Student films also help a bit- though you have to bug them to develop a reel. One last thing, try auditioning for your community theater. At least it'll help to see if you really want to do it. Saying it is one thing, actually doing it is another.
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I felt just the same for a 1000 times, then decided to finally take the challenge. First and foremost, you'll need a folio and some show reels. Here on stage32 I've seen some very nice examples of them. So get it done in a week or so,as a part of homework then post it on social networking to market yourself and then the world is full of opportunities!
thanks Richard and Chaitanya, i'll start in that direction asap. have a great day!!