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HOW
TO GET STARTED IN ACTING
by Anup Sugunan
[This
was originally a reply to a post from actingchat.com]
Acting
is tough enough as it was rated as the number one profession
everyone wanted to do on some TV show I was watching a while
back. It was even ahead of being a director or a rockstar or
athlete. Aside from taking acting classes, here are a few steps
you should consider doing to help keep the costs down when first
starting out.
1.
TAKE HEADSHOTS
Find a friend who has an SLR camera (not a point-and-shoot).
Find a location without bright sunlight ideally under a shady
tree. Have your photofriend (I'm sure you've got tons being
in advertising) zoom in all the way and just snap away (esp
if he's got a digital camera, make sure it's set on hi-resolution).
Initially
go for just a neutral expression - not smiling nor brooding.
Maybe have a glass of wine just before shooting to relax you.
I don't like getting headshots done, so what I do is pretend
that I'm acting and I'm in a scene. Just doing modeling work
gets me kind of nervous in front of the camera. But if I have
a character that I'm "playing" then I can take better
headshots.
2.
PRINT HEADSHOTS
Print an 8x10. Currently, I can get about 500 copies of lithographs
for about $150 here in LA. I'm sure the prices are similar.
This should be your most expensive part. You might be able to
get 100 copies for $40 or $50.
3.
MAKE A RESUME
You can find my sample/template
resume here. I don't have much stage experience, so you
can add that if you have more.
Initially,
your resume will only have a few lines of credits. Put down
even elementry school drama projects because that's some experience
acting. Put stupid short films that you screwed around with
just trying to make it sound legit. I'm not saying to lie on
it, but I'm saying to stretch the production value of the project.
Basically it says that you have some experience with a camera
or a script. Which is better than nothing.
4.
FIND CASTING CALLS
Look at all the local entertainment rags/newspaper which usually
comes out every wed or thu with club listings, etc. In the classified,
they should have a section on casting calls.
Talk
to the head of the film dept at all the colleges around you
and find out if you can put your headshot in their production
booklet. Most film schools have this.See if they have a casting
notice email list which you can be put on.
Put
up your headshot on the bulletin board in the hallway (a little
cheesy and I prefer to put up business cards with my picture
on it instead - still cheesy, but you gotta get some work initially).
Actually, I didn't have headshots for a couple of years. Instead,
I had a business card with my picture on it stapled to my resume.
I got funky looks from some CDs (Casting Directors), but I still
landed jobs based on my performance.
5.
AUDITION AUDITION AUDITION
Go out to as many auditions as possible. Don't worry about getting
it or not. As Al Pacino says, the audition IS the performance.
Enjoy it for what it is.
6.
MAKE YOUR OWN BREAKS/PRACTICE
In the meantime, get your friend at work who writes does copy-righting
for the ads to make some dialog driven commercials.
Get
a friend (ideally a someone who want to work on their cinematography
chops) to shoot you. Edit and learn from your mistakes. Or better
yet, instead of worrying about writing original material. Take
your favorite commerical that's dialog acting heavy and try
and duplicate it. Then compare your performance to the actual
actor's performance.
Just
keep working on these tiny 30 second commercials (keep putting
them on your resume) until you start to get to know yourself
as an actor. Initially, it's going to be like listening to your
own voice on tape: it sounds funky. Same goes for seeing yourself
act. I just got a student film I did back in spring and I'm
seeing all the mistakes and habits I'm doing. I'm trying to
tear it apart. Then I'll have my wife critique it. She has trained
for years at Lee Strasberg, so her opinion is very important
to me.
If
you don't have a camcorder, I'd recommend getting a $300 miniDV
(don't get Hi-8 or any other format). It's an excellent teacher.
Check out the other blog about
filmmakers needing to jam.
7.
WRITE WRITE WRITE
Writing
takes longer to get to a decent stage than acting. So, after
10 years of frustrated acting and not getting the roles you
want, you'll start writing. Then you'll wish you started writing
ten years earlier. So, start writing as soon as you start acting.
Sorry
I didn't proof read. I should be working on my script, but I'm
piddling here.
Anup
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