 Re: Acting classes in my area? | |
Hi futurebratxp,
Welcome to the forums! First off, if you are interested in acting for film or television, that means New York or Los Angeles. Being in Maryland, I imagine that New York would probably be the way you and your parents would head towards initially.
In reality, being 10-12 years old is probably the best age to start working as an actor in film and television. Most of the young twenty-something stars that you know today did (or have done) exactly that. Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Christian Bale...the list literally goes on and on.
Now, keep in mind that it's a TON of work and you need to be able to exhibit a very high level of professionalism that isn't very easy to come by. If you have an aptitude for memorizing things really well and being able to do boring, repetitive work for long hours, you're already on the right path. It's actually pretty difficult to find kids that can pull the job off and if you can act well on top of that, you're even rarer still.
The biggest thing you'll have to have is the full backing of one of your parents, or at least one parent that can devote their lives pretty much full-time to your career. That too, isn't always such an easy task.
As far as acting classes in your area go, it's going to be pretty tough to find anyone that will really know what you need to learn and more importantly, how to teach it to you. Whatever you do, don't spend money on anything other than a legitimate acting class!
Real talent agencies don't charge actors money...they make money through commissions they earn from booking their talent on jobs. Showcases, casting workshops and 'talent agencies' that charge a fee aren't going to do anything for you except drain your parents bank account. If they want money from you up front, it's probably not as cool as it sounds.
The exception here is going to be an acting school, but they should be advertising the fact that they are a school up front. The closest city that you're likely to find a legitimate acting school that trains young actors is going to be New York, although you may find a local acting coach that has done work in film and television.
Unfortunately for you, if at least one of your parents isn't able to get behind you and your acting career, you're not really going to be able to do this line of work until you are an adult and are able to make your own decisions about where you live and what you do with your time. That doesn't necessarily mean that you should abandon your quest however. Getting started now will still be a great benefit to you.
The best thing to do would be to start taking drama classes at your school and find some community theaters around town to start working with. Just be sure to have your parents involved! Be safe and make sure that your parents speak with the people that you want to work with and don't hide things from them. There are a lot of shady people that will prey on your inexperience and as much as you may or may not like it, your parents absolutely need to be involved here at all times.
I hope this helps, best of luck to you! |