My 5 year old daughter was cast in a traveling production of a Broadway play. She will be paid well for her work and has been told she has the option to apply for the local actors union. At her age are there benefits for drawbacks to being in a union? Should we hire her an agent? She has been in a performing art preschool for 3 years and LOVES being in stage, I see this as something she will choose to pursue in her future. As a proud/nervous parent I want to be as bet prepared as we can. What do I do now?
For example, can a SAG-AFTRA actor work on other union films, or does it have to be completely under SAG? Also, what union is in charge of movies such as disney? This really confuses me. Keep in mind I am very new to all of this show business stuff which further leads to my confusion. Any answers would help. Thank you so much!
A few months ago, I sent my stuff to a few agencies, and my number one said that they're not taking any people on right now. I already submitted to them once before that like a year ago, and they said they already had someone in my look and age range. If I submit a third time, will it look desperate? Needy? Will they just delete my submission? Will they even remember me?
Been wanting to be an actor my whole life, didn’t actually put my dreams into action til I was about 10. I’m now 17, and a senior in high school. I’ve been in multiple school plays, church plays, one student film for school, and a few skits for the broadcast club at school. I’ve been to one casting call, my first real audition. My age was sort of why I never really looked out into an agency before. but now I’m old enough for my own decisions about my career. I want to do this for life. I know acting is a job, trust me I do. But that’s not all I want out of it. I love the lifelong friendships and one of a kind experiences you make on set. Even me just being in plays for the city, got me a few friends I wouldn’t trade anything for. Acting is a passion, being able to step into a much bigger world. Living in these various characters worlds and their lives is always a blast. I do have a few connections in the industry, some close friends that are actors. One of my uncles is also a cameraman for a studio in California. I know I may be too old to pursue a career, but I’m gonna try anyway. I won’t be able to be the kid actor I always wanted to be, but nonetheless the same mindset applies. Anybody got any advice for me as I start to reach into the much bigger world? I have my resume typed out, cover letter, and headshots available. Do I need anything else ? Thanks in advance .
I was asked to teach a class through a local theater in my community and they asked for me to provide a bio. Specifically, they asked that I mention how I worked on a major feature film even though I only worked as extra and the film itself will not be released until next year (the production company is still using the working title and everything). Now I am a working actor so I would never put it on my resume but would it be okay to put it in my bio? I'm assuming it's because they want me to sound as qualified as possible but I'm also concerned that because the film is still using its working title and I signed an NDA that it could be a conflict in the future. I'm totally fine with telling them no but I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were? Thanks.
I'm reading Dee Canon's "In-Depth Acting", and in one of the chapters she keeps stating blatantly her opinion that rote memorization is bad for the actor, and does not allow for changing inflections if and when the director calls for so. She says, that once you have chosen an active/transitive verb for your beat, you should read the text and try to focus on affecting/saying the text in a way that you execute your verb (i.e "To entice"), and this will get your text into your head. I know that opinions on this matter differ... What is your opinion? How do you memorize your text, rote or this way?
How do you balance it? Did acting finally take off and you didn’t have to keep the day job? Luckily I’ve worked to a level where I have some flex...most of my friends are servers / bartenders ...
I’m a long time lurker here but in the last few days I’ve seen a few people talking about how you either ‘have the gift’ or don’t. I always thought it sounded kinda pretentious, no one comes out of the womb reciting Shakespearian monologues. and most actors will improve with practice. But I’ve been seeing this more and more so am I the one missing something? Can someone explain the thinking behind those kinda statements? Thanks in advance for any responses!
Long story short: I'm currently in the casting process for a short film which I intend to shoot soon. While browsing casting sites, I found a girl that really fit the image I had in mind for one of the characters. She had long blonde hair. I contacted her, gave her details about the whole thing, told her the pay, and she seemed thrilled with the idea, replied back with her resume and everything. And her resume was not light, at all. It also had scattered headshots in it here and there, I liked them, it just validated my thoughts that she looked right for the character. I ended up sending her a draft of the script, and she was supposed to send me a tape with a monologue that was in it. Yesterday she sent it. Well, surprise! She got a haircut. No, she didn't trim her hair a bit, she didn't get it shoulder length, she cut her sides to the scalp, and left it a bit long on the top. She now looks completely different from her headshots. She did not even mention her total look change in the e-mail, like it was nothing. I did not open the video because the whole situation made me cringe so hard I closed the mail. So please, don't do that. Or if you do, at least tell the person who is casting you, so they don't have the "what the hell?" reaction I had.
Hey everyone, I'm a filmmaking student looking to gain a little bit of insight from the newcomer actors in this thread to help me with a little assignment I've need to finish. Essentially, I have to write a short essay on the roadblocks facing the beginner screen actor in 2018. I would love if you took a few minutes to fill out this short survey to help me out! Thanks so much! r/[https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q2HD6WF](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q2HD6WF) EDIT: For the anti-survey ppl here: 1. What's been the hardest thing about kickstarting your acting career? 2. With one example, highlight what was difficult about it 3. Have you tried anything in order to solve that problem? 4. What wasn't so great about that solution(s)
I just came back from out of state working on this feature, and holy butts guys. This guy was such a douche, and what made it worse was the fact it was a Romance drama requiring my character to fall in love with his. I could hardly be in the same room with him! He was constantly belittling me, and condescending to me. And honestly, just a fucking dick. Some snippets of said douchery: After our first **dry** table read, he asked me if I've ever taken acting classes, then he proceeded to tell me all about the acting method he does and he wants me to do for this script. Rehearsals are basically him just telling me how he thinks I should play it, every single day, for a month before shooting. When I pick him up from the airport to drive to location, he asked if I've ever worked on a feature before and demanded I list him my credits like he didn't believe me. Total Dick move. He asks that my characters dialog pause in unnatural places so he can cut in yelling improve lines to see if he can get a reaction and "make it bigger". But it is out of place in the scene entirely. To make it all way worse, he was directing the crew, he was directing me, and he was directing the director! Yelling at the crew, telling the director he had the wrong angle, or frame, or camera lens. He jumped in at some point during the shoot and asked the director/writer to **re-write and reshoot the ending** because he felt he was upstaged and wanted his character to have a bigger "crescendo ending." *(The hilarious twist on our stupid reshoot was that he totally Tommy Wiseau'd it. He dropped to his knees and started oddly grunting and pounding his fists on the pavement. All I could think was "STEEEEEELLLLAAAAAAA!!!!" hah. )* And I was stuck on location in an airbnb with this dude for the last 5 days. With no cell service. TLDR; Fuck my co-star, because he is a dick. **Now, your turn please! I'd love to hear all the douchery you have experienced on set.**
I just landed my first ever principal role in a TV show, but I'm not quite sure what the differences in experience will be. I've done some one line actor roles, but this will be my first full scene. Are there any differences?
30, chill, been doing this for a few years. couple agents, sag. would love to meet up with some actors on my level, or a rung above. network, learn more about the scene in LA, shoot some scenes together, etc. i write little shorts and have shot a few, trying to take it to the next level with better equipment. hit me up if you're interested and wanna grab a beer or something
For those seasoned cats out there - how do you deal with the fakeness? I’ve met some really shallow folks as I’ve pursued this Ex. One girl completely ignores me in class when she sees me in a commercial she’s like omgggg!!!!! I saw you!!!! And her eyes get all glazed and she’s like who’s your agent?!!!!!!! Ex. Guy I know from auditions tries to grill me with 20 questions about my accomplishments and Fb posts/bookings/shows Ex. Hearing another guy say to a girl she should get more parts Bc she’s the hottest making sure on purpose I could overhear Ex. CD being really hot/cold and then emailing me asking me for a connection with a friend that’s now aa household name I’m not anyone of consequence yet but how do you deal with so many fake people? Do you just go off and meditate or find a quiet place on set to zone out? Thanks!!!
Hey everyone ! Im sure this question is asked a lot but I just moved to Los Angeles ( the valley if it matters) and I want to be an actor. I have little to no experience i took a few classes in college but had strict parents and couldn't do anything I wanted which ended up to me dropping out of college and leaving home. Where does a beginner start? My goal in the long run is to be an on screen actor. Im 23 another question I have is ,Im I too old to even try at this point ?
Hey, guys! So I'm currently on my summer break from theatre school and have feeling a little bit uninspired... I've been wanting to "work on my craft" but I just don't know how. So my question is, how do you work on your craft on a hiatus like this? My school doesn't really tackle improv too much and I do feel that it is my weakest point acting wise, and so I've been wondering if any of you also know how I could improve on that specifically. I live in Toronto if that opens up any options.
Hey everyone. I applied for about 20 roles on backstage two nights ago and now I have about 4 auditions coming up. I know I wont get all of them and maybe none but it's important to put myself out there and get some experience in somehow! I know almost nothing about how to audition. I have been searching the net but would love some clarification and tips. What is a "side"? If sent a script to tape an audition, do I read everyone's line off the script as I am auditioning on tape including my character's? What are common noob mistakes I should avoid? Thanks, Sami!
I've been pondering the thought of starting up a coaching business for actors (strictly film actors) since it's something that I've done through the majority of my teens and early 20s. But I'm getting a case of imposter syndrome because I'm afraid no one will take me seriously because of my lack of big credits (I was in small tv parts, indie films, student shorts before I stopped). My career got cut short because of some extreme health conditions that make "becoming an actor" a little complicated (A three year stint with anorexia as a guy + other mental health complications). Before that, I was actively involved in classes for 5 years, did trial and error on every technique I could possibly read up on, ran a weekly meetup group for actors that I lead sessions for, went to New York to study for a few months (Canadian actor here), and have had some pretty good agents & big auditions along the way. From someone on the outside: How's it look to you for someone with little actual success in the industry telling you how to act? I personally believe I have a lot of value and insight on where I went wrong in my career & a deeper understanding/skillset than your average actor BUT I also realize that that kind of stuff means \*\*\*\* all without the one thing that actually matters: RESULTS AND BOOKINGS. Do I stand a chance? I really can't see myself acting personally on-camera again because of my personal health but I still love acting and would love to guide people in developing a healthier acting craft for their budding careers (would really like to integrate a holistic approach since it really follows how I've come to this point in my artistic life).