24 Jan Professional Acting on the Cheap: Part 1
illustration via: monkeykatos.com
“Mo money mo problems.”
Said no actor ever.
Only a small percent of actors in Hollywood will work enough to pay the bills and an even smaller amount will actually be lucky enough to become a famous star. How does someone even approach the working level status of actor? Most pros in the industry agree that you have to train. Constantly.
You should be enrolled in scene study classes, be in improv groups, working with an acting coach…etc, etc. It’s a lot of work but it costs even more money. So how can you work on your craft without breaking the bank?
Here are some tips that’ll help you improve your professional acting skills without having to sacrifice next months rent.
Becoming an assistant to a casting director
As they say, “you learn by watching” and that’s the case when working with a casting director. If you go down this route, be sure to work your way into becoming the session director (or as most actors refer to them, the camera operator). Session runner Shaan Sharma, has a great new book out right now called “A Session Director’s Guide to Commercial Acting in L.A.” which maps the ins and outs of auditioning for commercials from the casting directors point of view. An actor himself, Sharma has done countless national commercials so if you’re going to get a ‘how-to-hollywood’ book, this is the one you want to get.
Working with a casting director in the room lets you watch hundreds of actors come in and auction. You can see what they do ‘right’ and what they do ‘wrong’. You’ll pick up on the thinking process of the ad agencies, directors, and producers as they pick the actor they want to use. You’ll be surprised at how many amazingly talented actors will be passed on because they’re “too good” (yes, it happens more than you think).
Watching auditioning tapes of successful actors
This is seriously one of the most under used resources out there. Matthew McConaughey’s audition tape for Dazed and Confused was recently released on Youtube but that’s only one. You can do a simple search on Youtube for your favorite actors audition tape and see their famous characters in it’s early embryonic stage.
Theatre and student films
I’m grouping these two together because this IS Hollywood and your main goal is to get on TV. But you just can’t beat the valuable experience that you can gain by doing live theatre. You’re just not going to get the opportunity to spend two or three months building a character from the ground up on film and TV…especially TV. Theatre and student films will give you the opportunity to make mistakes and learn on your feet.
Make your own shorts
Got a cool idea for a short film about a superhero with the ability to control the length of his arm hair using his mind? Awesome! Get out there and film it! Filming has never been cheaper as it is right now. You should be taking advantage of that. In a recent podcast, Justin Roiland (creator of the hit animated series “Rick and Morty”) said that when he first moved to Los Angeles he challenged himself to make a 5-minute short for Channel 101 every week. He did this for THREE YEARS before he took a week off. Doing this forced him to understand his audience, characters, and story structure. He was also able to make some amazing connections that helped catapult his career.
Take your character out into the real world
Do you find yourself getting called in for auditions for a certain kind of character but your not booking it? Then you may be lacking specificity. Try taking your character out into the real world and try to convince people that you really are that character. Note: Don’t dress up like a cop and pretend to be one in the real world. That’s dangerous and VERY illegal!
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