Lately, I've gotten in my head that I (F19) want to be an actor. The thing is, I don't *want* to want to be an actor. I've loved stories and story telling for as long as I can remember, the idea of being part of that storytelling process and becoming a character is extremely compelling to me, it's hard to even put it into words. The idea started around my sophomore year of high school but I brushed it off as a fleeting interest. But, the idea has only festered since then and now I can't stop thinking about how much I might regret not pursuing it in the future. I've started doing research about what it might take to get started in acting, but the more I look into the less sure I feel about my current path of study. I'm currently in my second year of community college and transfer to a four year university to complete my bachelors degree. After this I plan to attend law school. While my parents are supportive of this plan, and are paying for my school, I'm almost one hundred percent sure that they won't support me if I tell them I want to be an actor. The truth is, they don't even know I'm interested in acting at all. There are a couple reasons why I'm not sure if I want to be an actor enough, the first is that I've essentially been alone for the past year and the whole passion for acting might actually be me getting to invested in my day dreaming. Because of COVID, my dad lost his job and moved the family to a city in a different state. I grew up in a smaller town my entire life, and still take classes from my hometowns college because they're all online. My parents are pretty paranoid about being in a city, so they don't want me to go out by myself. It's been pretty isolating, but I don't know how to tell my parents that I feel this way (a recurring theme). Because of the isolation, I've been watching a lot of "classic" movies and tv interviews just to make the time go by over winter break. I'm worried that these things are overly influencing my newfound interest in acting. Second, I've never had any experience in acting. I've been to local theaters and shows, but I've never participated in one myself. I know the obvious answer would be to go sit in at a local class, but again I'm not allowed to go out by myself since my parents are worried. To be fair to them, the city we moved to does have a pretty significant crime rate and homeless population. Third, I'm worried it won't pay. Yeah, maybe it's shallow and maybe artists should suffer for their art and if it were just me I might be for it. As I mentioned earlier, my parents pay for my school and will be co-signing my student loans for the next two years of university. I've always been a "what ever it takes" kind of person, and am on track to transfer to a top 100 university where I'll hopefully graduate from and eventually enter the Big Law arena. Obviously becoming a successful lawyer is no guarantee, but I'll bet the stats are a whole lot better than me lucking out and becoming a successful actor. My parents don't have a retirement plan, they've invested everything that have into my siblings and I. Despite all this, I can't help but feel like I'm hurtling towards a life of discontent if I don't at least let myself give it a try. I've missed out on a lot of life experience because of COVID and moving, I don't want all of my regrets to stack up. I'm a pretty easy going person, I understand that my family isn't rich and we sacrifice certain aspects of life in order to survive. My love for story telling is something I can feel deep in my bones, the idea of being without it makes my being ache, but I also don't trust myself enough to just jump and commit when I have people relying on my future. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Hi So non actor here who's experience doesnt surpass that I dressed up as a rat in a Pipe Piper school play once and did an open mic night at a comedy club and was meh. I watch movies, I watch TV and have a few acting friends(one had a role in a pirates of the Caribbean movie and then back to struggle town) and my question is this. I apologise if they are dumb but I always wondered ​ 1) - While there are some very good actors my uneducated brain seems to notice a bunch of people who kinda are average but just look the part and get a role. In a "someone good looking enough who could hold a conversation/wasnt a complete horror could probably do a year of acting classes and do that role" - Im aware of the old adage of "If they make it look easy they are good" but even so. ​ 2) what are the odds of making it as a career i..e. you make enough money from being on TV or movies and not going into other aspects of it like production etc ​ 2B) Is it like an athlete that if you aren't a name by a certain age you are kinda out of luck (I feel this could be more something female actors face with the main character a lot of the time being an under 30's girl) ​ 3) - how likely is a rocky / always sunny situation where you are unknown and write something and basically become huge. ​ finally - how important is social media and having followings on YouTube etc to be selected as I see more and more Social media / YouTubers making name for themselves. ​ final final - unrelated but I always wanted to be an extra in a movie, thought it would be a cool experience. Any suggestions on how I could do that (im aware it is 100% different to acting) just thought it would be cool ​ Thanks for taking the time
We are starting auditions this week for actors/ actress for our company. Must be 18+ this is 100% remotely work.
I'm currently a beginner in voice acting so I'm not very familiar of what typical voice actors do to get them warned up. I usually just warm up my voice just like how I would when I sing, and then I do tongue twisters and that's about it. Are there any other things I should do to make me feel more ready? Maybe it's because I'm a beginner but I still feel after I warm up I can't seem to express my emotions through my voice and I feel like that could be fixed with better warm ups?
How do you guys think actors feel from being the main role from one production to a supporting role from another production. E.g. Wentworth Miller from prison break to Legends of Tomorrow
Hey all! I’m an actor who has just begun a streaming hobby, and I’m loving it so far. I want to link up my Twitch activity with my acting Instagram, because I feel they’ll go hand in hand, but my Instagram is aligned with my real name for actor branding. I do want to make sure I’m staying safe as possible when I do this, and that I don’t expose myself to being swatted or doxxed. I’m going online and erasing accounts I have that are connected to my address and previous workplaces, but are there any other precautions I can take before I make my real name accessible to my streaming audience? Thanks for any input!
I just got a short film script of mine accepted by a producer! We estimate about $25k for expenses and film festival submission fees - of that, I am on the hook for $5k and the production company will take care of the rest. I'd receive top billing as an actor, as well as Written By and Story By as well as a 50% cut of revenues. I'll attach a blacked-out (blued out?) image of the contract with more details: [https://imgur.com/a/xI7CgQV](https://imgur.com/a/xI7CgQV) Overall, I think it's more than fair, but I just wanted some people familiar with the industry to sanity check it for me! Love you all <3
Does anyone know if central casting is accepting new background actors at the moment? Or maybe the website isn't working? I've checked multiple times a day for the past week to try and register an appointment, but the the calendar is always greyed out and the time under "checking times ..." never shows a time where they will post more dates. Any help appreciated!
Hi everyone! Sorry if this isn’t allowed - Please inform me and we’ll take the post down. Our agency is looking for a few talented content creators interested in creating content on a repeat basis at a rate of $10 / video, with each project usually including at least 5 videos, to upwards to 20+ ($50-$200). To elaborate, you’d usually be recording yourself while seated or in selfie mode reciting a script for short form ads. Brief example given here; “So I just downloaded {insert brand here} and ive been obsessed. I get the best offers sent right to my phone, so im not browsing endlessly anymore. Plus its free this week so ya’ll gotta go check it out, I already saved $300!” A read of this script would pay $10, and each project would include various scripts. We usually assign 3-4 projects a month! If you’re interested in working with large brands on a variety of products please shoot me a message and include your reel or any social media / previous work. Further requirements: - High definition visual recording capability (iPhone X+ or professional camera) - High quality audio recording capability - Lighting setup / ability to record with optimal lighting. *Please note this is contract work, and not an full / part time employee position. Looking forward to hearing from everyone!
This happened to me A LOT when I first started out. I’d be in the middle of a scene and just completely freeze out of nowhere, despite analyzing my character and memorizing like my life depended on it. I started to get really down on myself about it to the point where I considered giving up acting all together. If you chronically struggle with this I suggest that you consider whether you suffer from trauma and if you do, how do you cope with it? I personally had an extremely traumatic childhood and I learned early on to “check out” as a way to cope with distressing situations. Well that worked when I was a child but it didn’t help so much with the other areas of my life, including acting. I realized I was going blank during performances because my body was responding to the stakes/tension/conflict of the scene as if I, the actor, were in actual danger. I was essentially dissociating on stage. No amount of intellectual analysis or memorization could prevent this from happening so knew I had to readjust my approach and focus heavily on my body. Here are some tips I’ve learned over the years to stay grounded in performance: 1. If you are able, see a therapist who specializes in trauma so you can begin to process your unique responses to trauma with a safe person. IFS therapy, in my opinion is great for actors because it explores the different facets of the psyche. EMDR is also great. Both are trauma focused. 2. Ground yourself into the present moment throughout the day. Literally imagine your feet have roots that are connected to the core of the earth. 3. I know it’s cliche but practice meditation, yoga, breath work, etc. It will help you develop more awareness of your surroundings as well as build your tolerance for uncomfortable thoughts, sensations and feelings in your body. I swear by the box breathing method. 4. Take care of your body through proper sleep, rest, nutrition, hydration and exercise. You are more likely to dissociate when your body is feeling depleted. 5. Notice when/if you check out or go blank throughout your day and practice bringing your attention back to your surroundings or your breath. This will prepare you to respond in the same way if it happens during an actual performance. 6. This one is huge: DO NOT study with anyone who makes you feel unsafe. We all know the type of coaches I’m talking about…the ones who belittle, humiliate, dismiss or otherwise harm their actors. They are seriously not worth a second of your time and if you have a history of trauma you are at a high risk of getting retraumatized. Find someone you feel safe with, it may take time but you deserve a supportive coach. 7. Have a pre and post performance ritual for yourself. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it. It could be as simple as privately repeating a mantra to yourself. The idea is that the rituals will act as book ends to contain your performance and help you step in and out of character. 8. Find ways to calm your nervous system. Some examples are dance, singing, humming, yoga and cold showers. 9. Record and track your triggers in a journal so you can become aware of possible ways to approach and cope with them in the future. 10. Remind yourself that you are on stage/set to have fun! Acting is not therapy but one of the reasons it can be therapeutic is because it is playful. Put your attention on your scene partner(s) and allow yourself freedom to play. This ended up being way longer than I expected! It might not resonate with everyone but I hope it helps someone out there! A lot of acting training covers some of the stuff I mentioned but I think it might be useful to look at it from a different angle. Edit: forgot to mention to try to avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and drugs as these can make anxiety worse.
Hi guys! Hope you’re all doing well. I’m 20, in my second year of four at university in the UK, studying engineering. I’ve always been passionate about drama (got experience with school theatre as well as short films), and have for a long time wanted to make it my profession. Thing is, I know how hard it is to succeed in the industry, so I pursued my academic strengths and put acting to one side. The plan (agreed to by my supportive parents) was to get a degree leading to a good industry, and then take a year out straight after uni to try acting full time. If it didn’t work, I had a strong backup. I should say I do love the area I’m studying, and am not opposed to working in it later on. I’m just far more interested in acting on screen. My problem is that I’m finding a lot of family members being less encouraging about the plan as I get closer to enacting it (no pun intended). My mum and uncle recently tried to persuade me to go straight into engineering, and leave acting for when I’m 30 or so. My uncle’s slightly contradictory argument was that he once wanted to be a musician, went into law for 20 years, and then tried music, but didn’t make it and found he wasn’t actually very good. Or talked about my other uncle, who wanted to be a fashion designer, was doing well and was then encouraged by them to go into law. He’s now a slightly sad Goth who can’t let go of his youth. Tbf he does have a nightclub. Ended up just reminding me of the Going Out Of Business shop in You Don’t Mess With The Zohan. I’m just worried that if I listen to them, I’ll get to 30 and probably decide that my career isn’t worth giving up for a dream I had when I was a kid. Or if I do, I’ll have missed the boat. I don’t want to be another old man who had a dream but wasted his life lmao. I’m currently waiting for auditions to a uni play to open. Can’t hurt to make absolutely sure I’m actually a good actor and not just delusional
Hello, I hope you are all doing well! I live in NYC and I have been wanting to be an actress for a long time. I have taken acting classes for 4 years but I feel like I am falling behind because I do not have an agent, headshots, and reel etc. I feel like doing backstage can help me get me a reel and towards an agent. But I am having a lot of doubts if it's worth it. I was considering Actors Access but most of them want headshots and reels which I obviously do not have. I don't want to be too late at this, I feel like I stalled so much for this :/ I'm losing hope in a way but any advice to help me get me started and if I should start with backstage to get me started with everything would mean a lot :)
I’m doing everything I can to learn before I start a career and lean into my artistry inside but whilst doing so I’ve heard that fivver actors get black listed or are looked down upon. Anyone with experience have anything to say on this and how truthful it may be?
$35/month and they supposedly submit your profile to agents and managers. This would be for Los Angeles in my case. Like anything, I've heard good and bad. Obviously, it's going to depend in part at least, on the quality of your profile but I'd love to hear anyone's experiences. $35 ain't steep and you can cancel anytime so I'm probably going to give it a go for at least a month.
Kristen gained major fame from her roles as Louise Belcher, Mabel Pines, and Sarah Lynn and Kate went from small roles and side characters in shows like Ben 10: Omniverse and Steven Universe to main characters like Velma, Webby Vanderquack, and Dr. Fox in the span of a few years.
hey actors! I wanted to know how acting in Chicago has been for anyone in this Reddit? Like what has your journey been like, best advice? It would be extremely helpful to hear any feedback or tips. Thanks!
I have a friend who is absolutely amazing at doing different voices, accents and tones and they're incredible. He wants to be a professional voice actor but has no idea where to even start or how to find anyone willing to hire a 16 year old voice, I really want to help him here :( Does anyone have any advice on what he should do to put him myself out there or where to look first?
I'm writing a script atm about a black actor who seems to find himself pigeonholed into certain types of characters. But I've got better experience writing than I do acting, so it got me wondering about a few things. How often do you get casted as a criminal? Do you often feel like POC stories aren't actually written by POC? Have you ever read a line for a POC role that made you cringe? Bad Audition Stories?
I haven't legally changed my name to my stage name but it's what I want to go by as an actor. Same applies to screenplays I write. Just curious how that's handled.
I’m an actor in Chicago. I’m 20. I have no credits besides films that I’ve made myself and I want to start acting in other peoples stuff. I hear student films are a good way to start but does anyone here have advice on how to find those roles other than through word of mouth?
Heyo! So I was just wondering how people are able to balance a regular 9 to 5 (or whatever hours) with acting. I’ve wanted to start working an actual job but, I don’t want to keep requesting time off or quit just incase a role or show. Comes up for me. Is there jobs that are extremely flexible with beginning actors or actors in general that understand what acting is about and how the hours could possibly be for a gig. I also think having a job along with acting can help all the financial needs for acting like headshots/acting classes/voice lessons. But would you say that in an interview like “hey I’m an actor and I just need this job to boost me financially” or do you not bring it up? Any advice can help :)
I've decided this year I'm going to start a side hustle doing some voice over/acting work. I've got a mic and am working on a home recording setup. Once I'm all setup, though, I'm not sure where to go from there. Should I have a website with my voice demos? Is there a voice actors website where people can post their voices for potential buyers to browse? I guess what I'm saying is I have no idea how to start to get my voice out there and go about looking for work. I'd appreciate any advice anyone's willing to give! (I'm in Canada, looking looking to do stuff like commercials and audio books more than acting for an animated show or something, if that matters at all.)
Im not an actor, but I was diagnosed with autism a month or so ago. My inability to socialize suddenly made a lot more sense, and I was wondering if acting would help me mask myself better. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Im sorry if this isnt that relevant to the sub
Doing my research before sending out submissions and for some agencies it'd *really* help to be able to see how many actors they have that are *at least* in my age range. I've generally been scrolling through the first 100 clients and just noting how many are similar to me to have a general idea of how "rare" I'd be on their roster (although any agency with 50+ clients has at least several with my look, so I'm not naive about it). But with agencies that have 300+ clients, they could have 100+ clients similar to me and I wouldn't know it.
Hello, I'm looking for a woman to play the role of a young girl by the name of "Megan" for my newest project entitled "Humanoid Divergent 2" The story is mostly about human authority trying to destroy the lives of androids who were built by a cyber company and the story is taking place from a humans perspective Megan who is trying to help rescue the androids by anyway that she can. The story goes deeper since this is my second installment, I can always send you the link to my previous installment (It's on my YouTube channel) so I'll be happy to share it with you so you can get a good feel for the story all together. If you're a woman with a deep or maybe high pitched sounding then that's what I'll be looking for..As long as you have experience prior to this then I'll be happy to work with you and coach you along the way so we can create this to perfection. On a side note, I am also looking for male professional actors to play a few side characters and villains along the way as well but it'll of course be for a lower budget. I'm always willing to work with the best actors in the world so if you're interested, leave or shoot me an email sbj.tv@yahoo.com and I'll be respond to you as soon as I can. Don't get discouraged if I don't because I'm sure I'll get a shit ton of emails either way so just hang in there and I'll do my best to respond. Thank you and stay safe! -Sylvron
During these uncertain times and array of negativity in the world, it's one thing to have a few hard days when auditioning. Though it's easy to lose sight of what you're trying to accomplish when trying to win over the room, the director, the producer, the creative team, the casting director etc. are all trying to be on the same page and when they see someone with a bad attitude or grumpy face looking at them in a zoom call or in person, I'm going to say that 99% of the time, if not always, it's going to effect them in a negative way and not only ruin your chances of getting auditions in the future but throw off some of the other auditions making it a little harder to focus and presumably derail a potential good day of auditions which in turn they will all remember this. This is why, coming from an Actor with nothing but positive vibes for you, you need to remember to throw those negative vibes and moments right out the door before you enter that audition room or self tape that you're about to send. There's been too many times in my life before where I've let things get to me whether it's a break up, too many rejections, not booking anything and literally wanting to give up. Then it sort of dawned on me that maybe part of the problem was not living in the moment as much as I'm supposed to. Practicing self care before an audition, venting to a friend, writing down what's bothering you and letting it out, doing anything to try and put yourself in a better mood when doing an audition. The way your body language, the cadence and tone on your voice, all needs to be relaxed and ready for what's to come and is it ever harder to do that when you have so much riding on your shoulders. So for all of you actors out there I hope you remember to put a smile on your face and hopefully that genuine positive energy will spill onto the next person, maybe even brighten someone's day, creating a more memorable experience for everyone.
I'll start by saying, it's a low budget movie. Barebones, really. So, this will be a non-paying gig. I'm looking for enthusiastic people who are looking for experience. No experience needed. Anyone is welcome to apply. The movie is set in the south. It's a sci-fi/dark comedy We will need young and old actors and a few kids. Boys and Girls. The movie will be shot in Kentucky, so if you're not from around here, you must be able to travel here on your own and make your own arrangements as far as hotel rooms goes. There is no money in our budget for transportation or hotels. It's a razor thin budget people, but we believe in the project. If anyone is interested, please send me your youtube acting reels or tik tok pages, or anything you've done, acting-wise. A sense of humor is important for this project, so send us your comedic work for sure. Email Me at: [willsloneart@gmail.com](mailto:willsloneart@gmail.com) ​ Also, if this is not the right page to do casting calls, someone please point me in the right direction. Thank you.
So the question is , when you log in and go to your own resume at the bottom it gives you the option to make a professional biography. Is there a real point to making one? Like will it up my chances on getting auditions or even casted or no?
Hi everyone! My name is Erik Peabody, and I'm an audio engineer and voice actor based in Rochester, NY. I see a lot of posts here about setting up recording areas and how to get a better sound from your recordings, and wanted to chime in to offer some advice. Below is a post that I shared about a year ago, but seeing new "rate my booth" photos made me think it might be useful for newer folks. Along those lines, for anyone posting "rate my booth" photos, include a recording of the audio you're getting with that setup! That helps the rest of us provide actual feedback. For the audio you post, don't clean it up or anything, just let us hear how the actual raw audio sounds. Okay, onto the main post. I spend a LOT of my time mixing audio for clients that have recorded in sub-optimal recording environments, and I also see a LOT of products marketed as "sound absorption" and "acoustic insulation" that have no business being sold as such. Keep in mind that everything I'm about to say doesn't matter IF YOU'RE HAPPY WITH HOW YOUR RECORDINGS SOUND. Every room is different, and you can sometimes stumble into great results in a situation that shouldn't sound nearly as good as it does! So, take everything here I say with a grain of salt. MAKE SURE YOU'RE LISTENING PROPERLY: Before we talk about anything else, you need to make sure that you're listening to your finished recordings properly before you can really diagnose what you should change with your recording setup. If you're only listening over desktop speakers in a reflective room, you won't really be able to hear your recording properly, and can't tell if you need to dampen your recording environment more. If you're listening on casual-listening headphones, you likely won't be getting a full representation of your bottom end, and there could be noise or rumble down there that you'll never know about. In a perfect world, you would have flat(ish) response monitor speakers in an acoustically-treated environment, but that's out of the price range for a lot of folks. My best advice is to invest in a good set of headphones. I use a set of Beyer Dynamic DT-880 open-back phones and love them. Good representation across the EQ spectrum, I get a decent idea of the low end, and they're comfortable to wear. That being said, it's always good practice to high-pass your recordings at a certain point (specifics depends on your voice) to make sure that you're removing any rumble that your headphones might not pick up. Keep in mind that open-back headphones tend to be better for critical listening, but are not good for use during VO recording, as there can be sound bleed out of the open backs and into the mic. FOAM DOES BASICALLY NOTHING: The "acoustic" foam that's widely marketed and that I see a lot on here doesn't do much at all. The goal of acoustic treatment is to absorb the sound and prevent it from bouncing around your room, which will result in an inability to properly hear frequencies during mixing, and will also create echo and reflections during voice recording. To absorb the full spectrum of your voice (or any sound,) any absorption material needs MASS. Foam does practically nothing, since it weighs practically nothing, and is so porous that most sound will cut right through it. You will likely get *some* change in sound if you put up a lot of foam, but it will mostly dampen the high frequencies, which require less mass. If anything, this will make your recordings sound boomier, since the low and mid frequencies are still bouncing around. You can spend a ton of money of proper absorption setup if you want, but there are some budget routes that work remarkably well. Booth Junkie (who frequents these subreddits) has a great video on building a budget acoustic panel, and shows you how much of a difference it can really make. I recommend you check out his video (and many of his videos) to help learn more about the acoustics of your room during voice recordings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ApIWbjvcA To those of you that say, "but I put up a bunch of foam and now my recordings sounds way better," I respond, "do they really?" I would suspect that a great many of you that feel that way are actually lacking the proper listening setup to be able to determine if it really sounds better, or just sounds different. Remember, if you record in an echoing room and then listen back in the same room, how can you tell? Even if you can't tell, you might not be getting gigs because the people deciding who to hire CAN tell. PICK THE BEST AREA TO RECORD IN: Having a super small space (like a closet) will likely give you trouble even if you toss a ton of good absorption material in there. Every space is different, but I'd caution you to be VERY critical when listening to your first recordings, as low-end bass reflections are notorious in closet setups. If you have the option to try a few different areas, it's worth your time to setup your acoustic panels wherever you can and see which room sounds best. Sometimes, a larger room will work better if you're smart about placing the panels. WORK ON BETTER PRACTICES BEFORE BUYING NEW GEAR: Not happy with how your final masters sound? Outside of setting up better acoustic treatment, make sure to learn as much as you can about your software before you decide you need a new mic, preamp, AD converter, or anything else. I did the first year of my VO career with a Behringer B1, which cost less than $100. Proper EQ, compression, etc will have a huge impact on how your final recordings sound. It is much more worth your time to practice using these tools than it is to just go out and upgrade gear. Along those lines, find a professional voice over site that will let you download a demo from another VO artist. Toss that into your recording software alongside your own recording and do everything you can to make your recording sound like the demo recording. With some practice (and a proper listening environment!) you'll be surprised at how much closer you can get it without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on new gear. Keep in mind that mixing and mastering are totally separate disciplines that people spend years developing, so don't expect miracles, but you will likely get more mileage from this than purchasing new equipment. DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET HELP: There is frequent advice about hiring voice coaches or acting coaches, but I'm not here to talk about that. If you're not happy with how your recordings sound, don't be afraid to reach out to a mixing engineer for help. There are tons of people online (myself included) that offer professional services to VO artists and are happy to work for a reasonable cost. Additionally, I've had a number of situations where I've helped clients setup their room to work better for them. If you're doing this for fun or for little CCC gigs, do NOT spend any more that you don't need to. However, if you're frustrated with your progress and want some help in getting better recordings, there's nothing wrong with reaching out to a professional instead of wading through the dozens of charlatan blog posts and youtube vids online. That's it! I hope that this helps you setup a better recording environment and avoid spending money on foam and other things that you don't need to. I'm happy to answer any questions here, and you can also email me at viking.guitar.productions@gmail.com.
So I recently used the Talent Link service from Actors’ Access and got a response from a management company and I have a meeting scheduled with them. Just curious what you all usually ask when in these intro meetings. Like the most important/imperative things you must know before you feel you can make an informed decision on whether or not to sign. Very interested to hear all of your thoughts!
Seasoned and experienced actor here: I’ve been seeing a lot of questions and confusion about “paying” representation to get more auditions etc. Actors don’t pay representation for their services. However, rep will take a percentage from your earnings. If an agent or manager is asking you to pay for them/their service, walk, don’t sign with them, it’s a scam and it’s even illegal in California. If you are non-union: you pay your agent 20% (You make $100, they get $200) If you are union (this means that you are SAG, not SAG-eligible, but SAG): you pay your agent 10% (You make $100, they get $10) Your manager gets 15% of the work you do. (You make $100, they get $15) IF you have an agent and a manager, you have to pay them both. Example: Let’s assume you are non-union. You make $100 on a commercial, you pay your agent $20 and your manager $15. You get to keep $65 for yourself. At the end of the day, you have to do all the hard work. Don’t rely on your manager or agent to do the hard work for you. You have to self submit, you have to network, you have to show up with a good attitude no matter of what happened moments before. Take classes, learn how to tape an audition at home, read script, analyze movies, it’s not going to be “easier” once you have representation. They represent you, they don’t do the work for you. I’ve booked some of my best and biggest work without representation, you don’t need representation to act, especially not if you are just starting out. Best of luck and break a leg, and be kind and humble. The race is long, sometimes you are ahead, sometimes you are behind, but in the end, it’s only with yourself.
I’ve always wanted to be an actor. And I regret not getting into it in high school, even though I wanted. Still haven’t tried it. Anyways, my question is, those of you who have roles in movies, theater plays during the day etc. how do you get off work? I can’t imagine a manager letting you leave earlier because you have a play, or maybe I’m wrong? Just something I have been wondering. Thanks and I hope you all succeed!
When a cartoon character burps do the voice actors really burp or is it just sound effects and if you want to become a voice actor do you really have to learn to burp is it hard or simple to burp by yourself
Little backstory: Ever since I was a kid, all I wanted was to be an actor. My dad got me a few opportunities to pursue that dream when I was a kid but my mom always shot it down because she didn’t want me to grow up in that lifestyle. Everyone in my life, except my dad (who is no longer around), told me I would never make it and that it wasn’t logical. So I’ve gone through life trying to find my passion and here I am at almost 25 and I still can’t find a single thing that makes me feel fulfilled even slightly. I know 25 is still young. I just have this constant feeling that I was meant to be an actor. Movies have always been my distraction from life and always help me through dark times. I want to be able to do that for other people too. The dilemma: The thing I’m down about, is that I’ve gone and gotten lots of tattoos. 1 partially finished full arm sleeve and one partially finished lower half sleeve on the other arm. I know this will severely diminish my opportunities at making it as an actor and I can’t afford to remove them. Not really sure that makeup would fully cover all of them though none of them are color. I’m also a 5’4” guy. Just looking for any advise that anyone is willing to offer. Should I pursue acting? Are my chances good? Should I keep searching for some other passion?
So I'm not getting auditions (dramatic/serious/sad etc. kind of roles), life itself is getting more and more frustrating (covid,living expenses, just waiting/looking for auditions) BUT, recently I thought, why not try comedy...like actual stand up comedy, there are open mic nights all over even with covid restrictions in place. I know I may be able to do comedic scenes on film/tv, but I feel that stand up comedy is in a sense for a "different type of person"...Also once you get noticed in comedy, good luck getting any dramatic roles (in other words, once you start comedy,there is almost no switching back)...I know theres Adam Sandler,Tina Fey,Dan Aykroyd and a list of others who became succeful after stand up. But also, comedy is not what it used to be, there are too much stuff you can NOT mention/joke about in 2021/2022...I think thats whats really making me question trying/starting stand up... **I'm sorry for this confusing rambling...but are there any other actors on here that had this same thought, if so, how did it work for you? or what are your thoughts on it ?** **OR, should i simply just do background work (extra) instead?**
I was rewatching Dexter season 7 when this crossed my mind.. Ok so I get early in his career he was a teen/young heartthrob and was a part of some pretty sore projects,... every actor is. .., but in the past decade or two a lot of his roles especially on Dexter, Bosch, Murder One, and Luck were awesome. I've been waiting for him to get a bigger, main role at this new stage in his career where he can play the warm, charming handsome father all the way to the dark, scary, creepy villain and anywhere in between. He definitely deserves it, being in the industry for 40 years I think its time he gets his biggest role yet!!! I sure hope so, I can feel it coming.. Anyone else ever thought of this?
I applied for a role online. I was selected for the next round of auditions! Now the director wants me to submit a self-tape audition. He sent me a script to read. **Question: the script has dialog with other people. In my self-tape, do I just pause as if other people were speaking, or do I enlist the help of family members to read with me?** Family are not actors. That could be a train wreck.
In a stage play I'm doing, I've got a bit of a tricky fall to do and am struggling to coordinate it without hurting myself. In the context of the scene, the "ship" crash lands and us actors are propelled off our seats towards the front of the stage. I leap forward off my stool and am supposed to clip my right shoulder on a set piece in front of me, then land on my left side. I keep landing on my left hip which is now quite sore
I did an email blast of new materials and one of the agents that reached out to me is Affinity Artists Agency. I'm not familiar with them, but I also realize I'm not at a stage in my career where Abrams or CAA are gonna be fighting over me. I have a meeting with them today, and I cant tell if they are legit. They are bicostal with 270 clients on IMDBPro, which seems high but maybe not if they are bicostal. They seem to not have any big names but it looks like some of their people are working a lot (its hard to tell when an actor has a manager and an agent, who is helping them the most tho). The only thing that gives me pause,. is their website is pretty badly made and seems like they use models a lot which always makes me think a place isnt a real agency. Im probably over thinking this, but if anyone can give me any tips on how to determine is an agency is legit? I'm an early career actor, so Im also wondering if any agency is better than nothing at this stage.
Hello everyone, i am an high school student and i am in my last year ,which means i have to choose where i want to go professionally but here is my problem ; i cant figure out what i wanna do later .Acting has always been present in my head, but I always told myself that it was impossible for me to manage to make a profession of it. I know that I want to do a job in the artistic field, and cinema has connected me a lot lately (several months).And btw i'm in my highschool drama club,i did theater shows for like 4 years in school.I'm totally lost because i would like to be an actress,but i don't know if i'm good enough for this job. I have a shy personality in front of people,but when i'm alone in my room at 3 am,i'm able to show and play emotions.Actually,i'm quite ashamed to show it in front of people because i'm scared of their reaction,and i don't know in the moment if i'm doing it right.I have a passion for british cinema and it could be a problem to fit in it too,because i'm french .My english is not too bad i guess,so i'm not really scared of that,i'am just worried about the fact that i'm french and it would be a brake for it.The french cinema is not attracting me as much as the british one. my theater teacher told me that i have a "presence" when i play ,but i'm not confident enough to express more emotions,and i'm really frustrated. Whatever,if some of you have advice or could just help me ,it would be really nice and helpful of you . You're basically my last hope lol. Thank you for taking the time to read it and sorry for spelling mistakes :)
Have been working on shooting my own, just wanting to gauge different people’s results, etc
Hello! I’m a voice actor who’s wondering how to do a certain style, in my script a character gets their wisdom teeth removed and Is very loopy, so I was was wondering how do I get that sound of being woozy thank you! (P.S should I put gauze or cotton balls in my mouth for the sound?)
Just curious :) TIA
DGA director here currently casting 8 roles for a 3-spot comedy campaign. All the initial casting submissions I review to make a callback list are self-tapes now because of covid, so I'm evaluating probably 150 clips from different actors. Probably 5 will only do an intro and not even tape the scene (?). A couple will use a terrible background filter that will be distracting (just use a white wall or solid backdrop). Many of them will only do one reading of the scene. I assume they've rehearsed, made their choice, and taped it. I think this is a mistake. For this to work, they've got to have just the right look to nail the role (something no one can control, it's just luck and being typecast). For 95% of actors out there, that's not you. Sometimes you're just starting out, or you've only worked with shit directors, or you don't totally understand the role, or you get nervous, you've got diarrhea, whatever. Everyone has bad auditions. Acting is fucking hard. This advice is for those of you who don't fit the typecast look of the generic dad, brother, prom date, girlfriend, etc. That's good. I hate typecast, generic, forgettable shit. I want people who are believable in that role, but feel fresh, unexpected, and memorable. But agencies don't have a director's vision and clients don't have a creative hair on their bodies, so you've got to win over a hell of a lot of people with a great performance. One thing I'd suggest is to send 2 takes, maybe even 3 if you see fit. If you think the director could possibly want more energy in the scene, do another one with a little more energy. But both times, make sure you connect with the material. If it's comedy, you figure out what the joke is and why it's funny (or supposed to be. Most scripts are as funny as colon cancer). For that and all other genres, make sure you really connect with whomever your scene partner is during the taping, especially if it's imaginary. If it were me, I would literally take a stand and tape someone's face to it and use that instead of staring off into your kitchen. If it's your spouse, tell him/her to get into the character, give you something to play off of. Direct them to help you give your best. (I can hear the wives and husbands in the background just reading the script flatly.) For example, let's say I'm casting a comedy scene that takes place during a crime in progress. The joke is two actors are arguing about something mundane while they're being shot at. The vast majority of tapes I get will have actors playing the scene urgently with their imaginary scene partner, but they'll be so focused on the lines that it's not funny because the comedy hinges on them being in danger, not them effectively arguing about the mundane topic. Now imagine you only send me one take of that and I don't think you've got the look the agency is going for, and I've got one take of you not understanding the scene as well as you could. I'd have to pass on you. Now, if you sent me two takes and in the second one you pushed it just a little further, you played up the danger of the scene and made it feel more like a movie scene than a commercial, you've got my attention. You're willing to try things. I can work with you on set to craft a great performance. To be clear, I'm not talking about submitting something radically different because your initial instincts were hopefully pretty good. I'm not talking about "going big" and hamming it up. I'm just talking about going a little further to make the scene and performance more believable and give you more than one chance to woo people. I've never taken an audition workshop with a casting director so I've got no idea what you've been told. I don't know what your agents tell you to do. And let's be honest, this self-taping thing is relatively new and is here to stay, so who really knows anything yet. People are making shit up. Perhaps they tell you how to stand out to casting directors more, and I'm sure much of it is great advice. I'm only telling you what I like to see when the casting director emails me the self-tapes. Hopefully this can help some of you book more work, or at least get a callback. If you've got any questions I'll try to answer them over the weekend.
I moved to Los Angeles from chicago in august. To chase the dream of being an actor. At the ripe young age of 37. I have trained extensively in chicago with little luck of grabbing an agent worth a damn. When I say this she would just send me voiceover auditions. Automated ones. I also have a decent resume from the background work and theater I have done. I currently send hard copy submissions to LA agents while also doing cold email submissions from agents I believe are a good fit for me. It’s so frustrating. I don’t know if I just needed to write this to vent. Or I’m just asking for any help of people in my Demographic with success. I get no response. I have gotten 2 auditions off actors access since August. I also have and will continue to take classes I believe will help my craft in LA. I’m not ready to give up. As I feel I haven’t even had an opportunity to try. It’s like joining a baseball team and they never let you in the batters box. I don’t believe I have done anything to move forward as I haven’t had an opportunity to fail. What are the best steps to get an agent who can actually care about you? What are the options to move in the right direction? I ask all you, my fellow actors for any advice. I would just like an opportunity to know if I’m good enough to make a career out of this. No, I don’t believe I’m the next James Dean. P.S. I am very familiar with the Industry. As I have worked as an electrician for the past 10 years. So I’m aware this doesn’t happen over night. Thank you all. And best wishes.
I’m a filmmaker starting a series for TikTok. I need a narrative voice actor. We don’t really have a big budget. Just looking for an eager voice actor that wants to collaborate on the project and see where it goes. If anyone follows Stefan Johnson on TikTok that’s the kind of voice we are looking for. We can pay $10 per video. The videos are short 30-60 seconds. Average 75-100 words per video.
Hi, so I know this is probably a silly question but… before Christmas, I applied for a talent agency by sending my details/a photo as asked, thinking nothing would come of it. Shortly after, they asked me to do an audition for them, and the audition is tomorrow morning. They sent me a short little piece to learn (it’s only five lines and it’s someone taking to themselves/voices in their head). They’re a super small agency in London, 1st Talent Agency. However, I haven’t done any proper drama work since I completed my drama degree in 2019, although I’ve been practicing monologues etc in my spare time. I’m not very body confident because I’m plus sized and also I don’t particularly like how I look, and I’m hoping in the new year to lose some weight etc. I don’t know if the anxiety and sickness I’m currently feeling is just normal pre audition jitters or something else. Part of me is debating cancelling the audition because I lack experience, and maybe I can apply again/to other agencies once I’ve done some local theatre/classes/short films etc. There’s a local amateur dramatics club that’s holding auditions for their show next month, which I’m definitely going to try out for. But also I’m worried that by cancelling I’m not putting myself forwards and I’ll miss any remote chance I have, if that makes sense. Like I feel like if I quit then I’m taking the coward’s way out, and I really do want to be an actor badly. So I guess I just want some advice because I’m not sure what to do?
Based in Ontario. Hi. I’m a grade 10 student with a question regarding a career choice. I really want to pursue acting when I grow up because I have so much fun whenever I do it, and I’m not into it because of money. I just want to do it but my parents told me countless times that they ARE NOT OKAY with it and I HAVE to go to a college/university and pursue a normal 9-5 job but I don’t want to do that although it’ll be good to have a backup plan. We’re not the wealthiest either but not the poorest either and they don’t want me to take any acting courses or to at least be a background actor or try out student films. Honestly, I have no idea what else I’d like to do, I don’t want to waste their money on tuition either. Also, I’ve been trying to become better on my own by reading books (Respect for Acting), practicing, and watching movies so I’m really determined to do it but not having my parents to back me up kinda hurts. Any advices on what to do? Should I start reading some investing books? I’m lost.
What are the chances of a Korean female actress breaking into the Hollywood industry? Should I go for it? yolo?! If yes, should I go to New York or Los Angeles? How do I start getting my feet wet? Any best strategies let me know!
I made my first post here back in mid 2020. I was a senior in high school back then with a burning desire to act, even though I didn't know where I belonged in the community or what acting even was. It's been almost 2 years since "acting professionally" first emerged as an idea in my head. I know I still have a long way to go, but taking stock of my progress from the days of "do I have to cry on cue to be an actor" to who I am today, I am absolutely awestruck by just how much I've grown from day one. I now know that I have an equal passion for musical theatre and film/TV acting, and with careful planning of my career tracks and training, I can navigate and cross over both sides of the industry. Since 2020, I have: * Read hundreds of books related to acting * Taken a foundational acting class * Taken a musical theatre class * Started with my BA Theatre Studies major at my state college * Begun applying to transfer into a drama school or conservatory where I can take my craft further * Attended countless workshops on acting and voice * Learned how to do a proper selftape with a professional tripod and lighting * Auditioned for all kinds of productions, from youth theatre companies to TV commercials * Become absolutely comfortable with moving, speaking and singing on camera and in front of an audience * Developed a daily routine of vocal warmups, dance conditioning and acting exercises I completely understand that setting goals like "be a lead in a feature film" and "get into RADA or Juilliard" won't do me any favors because those are very much out of my control. Instead, in 2022, I hope to achieve the following: * Structure my daily routine so that I have a clear progressive curriculum and goals that I can work towards * Document my progress by writing down what worked and what didn't work in my daily routine and when I work on auditions * Go for more open call auditions * Update my resume more frequently * Get professional headshots by the end of the year * Develop a clearer and better-enunciated speaking/singing voice * Learn enough dance basics for college musical theatre auditions * Become more specific in my acting choices, and truer to the given circumstances * Take more classes and continue to develop my performing arts technique in every aspect of my craft All the best fellow actors! Let's make 2022 our year.
Weeee, you found me!
I'm your buddy Bottie, I was hiding behind the scenes, but now that you've found me I'd be happy to tell you what I'm doing.
I just wrote a few fun facts about Web For Actors
Would you like to take a look?
Click here to check them out. I hope it will cause involuntary audible response.
