February 8th, 2011 by admin

With the success of such films as “Harry Potter,” “Spy Kids” and the “Chronicles of Narnia,” more and more youngsters are turning to their parents and asking if they can make movies like the kids they see on the screen. Becoming a child actor or actress is not something to be taken lightly, and there is a lot for the children – and their parents – to learn.

As a parent, your first duty is to make sure your child is happy and well-adjusted. You have probably heard the horror stories of over-zealous stage parents hoarding all of their child’s money, or even the stereotypical “child star” terrorizing the set. While some parents and children fail to handle success very well, the parents who are informed and never stop learning about the profession very often do succeed.

If your child is serious about becoming an actor or actress, there are several steps you can take to get them started right their in your home town.

First, sit down with your child and make sure they know that becoming an actor or actress is a commitment that will take months and probably years before they see any real results. There are a lot of actors, but very few “stars” in the entertainment industry.

Once it is clear your child understands their commitment, go ahead and contact the local community theatre to find out what shows are coming up and when the auditions are. Community theatres are great opportunities to get young people started in acting. You should also contact your state film office to find out where the nearest acting workshops are located and schedule a time to audit one or more of the classes.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 13th, 2010 by admin

People watch TV, go to movies or theater to be entertained. The truth is, everyday life can be rather mundane and boring. Imagine watching a film of somebody going through their typical day. You’d probably fall asleep before the first 10 minutes were up. The fact of the matter is, people’s lives are dull, at least most people’s.

This brings us to the problem of entertainment, especially in the movie or TV business and most especially in the theater. We need our entertainment to be just that, entertaining, yet at the same time we need it to be based in reality. If you were watching a cops and robbers TV show and suddenly you saw your favorite police officer pull out a skate board and chase the criminal down brandishing a laser gun, well, your reality would pretty much be shot to heck and the credibility of the show itself would be destroyed. The shows must be based in reality and yet must still be entertaining. This is a very hard line to walk.

Actors have the hardest job when it comes to bringing reality to a part without putting an audience to sleep. The above example is extreme but the problems can even occur with more subtle things.

Let’s take a scene where the hero cop is interrogating a suspect. For starters, he can’t go throwing him around the interrogation room. There are certain rules cops have to follow and failure to do so can lead to a case being thrown out of court, or worse, a lawsuit against the department. But during the interrogation the suspect finally admits to the crime, most likely a savage murder, and even smiles about it. The hero cop is outraged and he wants to just take this slime and wipe up the floor with him. Realistically he can’t do that. But he doesn’t have to. A good actor can convey that emotion and desire by the look he gives the suspect. Maybe he even starts to go after him but then stops himself, the look of pure hatred for this person in his eyes. That is great acting and how you bridge the gap between dull reality and exciting drama. Mixed in with a tense score and the scene will probably have more impact than if he punched the guy out into next Sunday.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 11th, 2010 by admin

In the course of an actor’s life he is going to meet a lot of people. Many of these people will have a direct or indirect effect on his career. Some, more so than others.

Probably the person who will have the biggest effect on the career of an actor is his agent. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, agents are impossible to live without. By definition an agent is someone who finds work for an actor at a fee of about 10 to 15% of whatever he earns for that job. But an agent is much more than that in reality. An agent is the actor’s mouthpiece. He’s the one who tries to display the actor in the best possible light through his own charm. Agents have to be very good talkers and have personalities that are easy to get along with. As an agent they will have an extensive list of contacts from producers to directors. They use this list to get an actor every chance that they possibly can. And then after the actor gets the job the agent works on the terms of ther contract to make sure that he gets the best deal possible. A good agent will have the actor’s best interests at heart, knowing that the better the deal he makes, the better he makes out as well.

Then there is the casting director. This person can make or break an actor’s career. If an actor can’t get past the casting director he has no chance. Casting directors are specifically hired to find talent for the movie, show or play, whichever the case may be. This is the agent’s first line of contact. These are the people the agent sends photos and resumés to. These are the people the actor auditions for. Without passing the audition with the casting director, an actor has no chance to meet the next people in line who will determine whether or not he’s going to get the job.

After that we have the actor’s manager. A manager has a slightly different role than the actor’s agent, though there are some similarities in the duties they perform. Both work for the actor with the actor’s best interests in mind. A manager will basically try to find the actor work, give him advice and try to guide his career. He may encourage the actor to try for certain roles and tell him to avoid others. An agent may also do the same, but he is more concerned with getting the contract. Managers look more at the big picture and long term career than the day to day operations. Managers are the ones who give the actor their face that they will show to the public.

Finally, there is the producer. A producer is the one who handles all the behind the scenes details of a production. They bring together the directors, actors and writers and try to make it all work, in spite of the many different personalities involved. It is important that the actor is able to work well with the producer or he can find himself out of work very fast, contract or no contract.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 10th, 2010 by admin

People who are just getting into the acting business have quite a few misconceptions about how the casting process works. The best way to illustrate this is with a hypothetical example giving a fictional show.

Let’s say the producers of a daytime soap called “Sullivan Street” have just gotten a script for one of next month’s episodes. In this episode there is a new character by the name of “Tara.” She is a real schemer who is going to seduce the show’s star.

The first thing the producers do is call the casting director they have used for many years and describe the character, Tara, to him. Immediately the casting director will already have several people in mind who he has worked with in the past but he will still submit a description to Breakdown Services. This is a company that serves as a link between casting directors and agents.

The next morning all the agents read the “breakdown” sheets to see what parts are being cast. The agent will then look through his files to see if he has anyone who fits the description. He’ll select several photos and send them to the casting director.

The casting director then receives all these envelopes from all these agents, and there are tons of them. A casting director will have to go through hundreds, maybe even thousands of photos looking for “Tara.” And then even if the photo looks great the casting director will look at the attached resume to see what body of work the actress has done. Finally the casting director will narrow these hundreds of photos down to about 30 or so and will call these agents up for auditions.

The agents will then call their clients up and tell them about the audition, the time and place. He may send them sample scripts or have them come to his office to pick them up.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 9th, 2010 by admin

This can be quite a frightening question. Somebody is asking about you and you’re confronted with such a broad and general opening line. How on Earth do you reply?

When you finally get that all important interview with an agent, you want to be as prepared as you possibly can be. You’ve probably brought copies of your best headshot along with your resumé. Maybe you’ve even brought a couple of monologues with you in case the agent wants to hear you read something by asking you to “show him what you can do.” But before it even gets to that, the first part of the interview is usually very awkward. The truth is, the agent at this time has probably already seen your headshot and resumé and has probably even seen you in some production, maybe a local play. But at this time the agent wants to get to know you personally. Hw wants to know how you present yourself to people in a business setting. Since you will be working with the agent in getting you work, he wants to make sure that you handle yourself professionally in a such a setting.

So the agent asks you to tell him something about yourself. What do you say to him? Actually, you should prepare ahead of time for this question. You don’t want to be taken off guard. Just as you have prepared everything else, your headshots, resumé, and monologue, you want to prepare for this question. This is the opportunity to get some experience as a writer. Here you will create the exact monologue that you want to describe yourself. You should memorize it and practice it just as you would a movie script until you have complete confidence in reciting it.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 7th, 2010 by admin

Many people think that acting is all about glamour and living the good life. Maybe you get some fancy limo and a ton of other perks and that’s all there is to it. Unfortunately, the real work of being an actor is not glamorous. There’s actual work involved. Here is a typical day on the set of a major motion picture.

You’re up at about 5:30 in the morning. Why? Because most likely you have a call time of 7 AM and the shoot is in Pasadena. You’re on your own as far as getting there so you have to shower and shave early and hop in your own car and drive to the shoot. Traffic in LA is awful so you better get an early start. After you arrive and park your own car, a teamster shuffles you off to the film set. At the set you check in with the second director and then get in line at the food truck for a quick breakfast. No fancy meals.

Before you even get a chance to finish your bagel, a girl from wardrobe comes over to you and says they need to measure you for a new jacket that they picked out for your scene. After you get fitted they then ship you off to makeup. After about an hour of having your face tortured you’re out of the makeup trailer with toilet paper stuck to your collar in order to keep makeup off your clothes. It’s now time to head to the set.

The director and the whole crew, lighting, cameras, etc., are already all there setting up the scene. At this point the director will have a brief chat with you to inform you of the change in your lines that you spent half the night studying and memorizing. At this time you’ll rehearse the new lines a couple of times on the set. Then they finish setting up the lights and whatever else is needed for the scene. This gives you some extra time to memorize your new lines. So you go to your trailer to do this. Yes, you actually get your own trailer. It’s also the size of a walk in closet.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 6th, 2010 by admin

The art of method acting was made popular by Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio and the Group Theatre in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was actually derived from the Stanislavski System who pioneered similar ideas in his teachings, writings, and acting at the Moscow Art Theatre which was formed in 1897.

Some of Strasberg’s students included some very famous actors such as Paul Newman, Al Pacino, James Dean and a ton of others. The list is endless.

Method acting is considered the most difficult to teach and to learn. Its main characteristic is that it lacks any specific or technical approach to acting. It is what the supporters of this type of acting refer to as the alternative to the clichéd, unrealistic, and so-called rubber-stamp acting. In other words, it is based in realism and realistic emotions.

Because there are many versions of method acting the exact approach depends on the particular version, which can include such practices as substitution acting or what is called emotional memory.

Sanford Meisner, who was another Group Theatre pioneer, taught a closely related form of method acting. He differed from Strasberg’s emotional memory theory and taught one that revolved around “fully immersing oneself in the moment of a character, and experiencing all sensations as the character would.”

Stella Adler had another approach to method acting. Her technique is based on the idea that an actor must not use memories from their own past to bring up emotion, but instead use circumstances from their own imagination. She also taught that action was very important. It wasn’t so much what we said but what we did while we said it.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 5th, 2010 by admin

Acting is a big industry. There are actors everywhere from the theatre to films, from TV to radio, and even on the street in the form of mime. Yet acting is not easy – in fact, like playing music, it is almost impossible to master.

To be a good actor, you have to be able to get inside a character and literally live as them – to convince your audience, and, for a moment, even yourself, that the character is who you are. Given that all you will probably have to work with is a few written words, perhaps costumes and a set, and your imagination, it’s a difficult undertaking.

The range of skills that an actor must have to be effective is very wide. You need to have a mastery of your body for movement that can include fighting, dancing, or evocative expressions. Your voice, too, must be clear enough to be understood from a distance, and you might also need some talent in singing or putting on accents. The most difficult aspect by far, though, is the emotional one, as you must be able to assume different emotions at will – crying on demand, for example, or being able to give an effective illusion of happiness or excitement.
Read the rest of this entry »

July 1st, 2010 by admin

Well, here you are. You met with your agent, got the audition, got the part, made your first movie in a lead role, the movie is a huge success and you’re an overnight success. Yes, it’s unlikely, but it does happen. Just look at the cast of “Harry Potter.”

So, you’re a star. What next?

Unfortunately, not everyone can handle stardom. This has been sadly chronicled in the lives of such people as Freddie Prinze who took his life because he just couldn’t handle the pressures of being a big star. So what can you do in order to avoid being a casualty of the movie, TV or stage business?

Everyone has their own theories of how to handle stardom. In this article we’re just going to cover some generic ground as every person is different and ultimately what will work for one person may not work for another. For example, some people will really enjoy all the attention from fans and rag mags that they’re going to get, good or bad. Others will shun it like the plague. But there are some things that seem to be the Achilles heel of most people who have made it big.
Read the rest of this entry »

June 30th, 2010 by admin

If you want to be an actor the first thing you have to understand is that everyone and their grandmother thinks they can act and wants to be an actor. The competition you will face will be monumental. With that in mind, here are some tips on what to do if you want to have a career as an actor.

For starters, you must understand that there is no one way to become a successful actor. Some very famous actors were discovered while doing other jobs and just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Yes, there is a lot of luck involved in this business. In addition to that luck you’ll need connections and a lot of determination. Here are a few ways to get your foot in the door.

Just about every town in the world has a small theater where they put on local amateur performances. Take advantage of this even if you’re really only interested in film or television. The truth is, acting is acting and it doesn’t change much just because you’re on a stage instead of in a film or television studio. Any practice that you get is only going to improve your chances of getting the gig that you’re looking for. Also, many agents and casting directors go to these small theaters looking for talent. There’s always the chance that they’re going to spot you.

Next there’s student films. If there is a college in your hometown, most likely they have a performing arts program with students involved in doing their own films. Film students are always on the lookout for talented actors to appear in their films. You could very well be just what they’re looking for. They probably won’t be able to pay you anything and the film itself will probably be pretty bad but it will be good experience for you. Just make sure you get a video tape of your performance and keep in touch with the student director. You never know where this might lead.
Read the rest of this entry »