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It’s the dream of many youngsters, but for some, the dream never goes away. The stage and screen are calling, and turning your back on it would be a travesty. But in such a competitive industry, how do you get an edge? The three most essential skills you need are experience, knowledge, and confidence. If acting is your calling in life, here’s how you can achieve your dreams.
Start young
The younger you start, the more time you have to become comfortable on stage and in front of an audience. If your school drama department puts on regular shows, be sure to be in the cast. Here you will learn the basics of what it means to act – performance, different schools of acting, screenwriting, and even stage and costume design. What you learn from high school drama classes is the basis of your experience when you start applying for
Seek out work experience
While your high school drama classes and shows are good experience, if you want to get an edge over the competition, seeking out more work experience is the way forward. Look for small playhouses and acting troupes in your area, and get involved. Even small roles are a great place to start, and with each new role, you’re building a new skill set.
Find your education
A formal
Keep on practicing
Auditions are probably the hardest part. Getting over the nervousness to pull out your best performance to wow the casting director is difficult, so practice makes perfect. Take any little role you can, just to build up your skillset and your confidence on stage. The more practice you have, the better you’ll be.
Build your resume
Practice also helps you to strengthen your image to potential employers. Your resume is the first thing about you that they’ll see, so having an impressive list of experiences is a great way to reassure casting directors that you know your stuff. Don’t typecast yourself though – build up experience in a variety of performances, including commercials, theater, television, and whatever else you can get your hands on. While you’re trying to get experience, there’s no time to turn your nose up at opportunities.
Once you’ve built up momentum, developed a great resume, and finally started to find regular work, it’s time to find an agent. They’re the key to finding more work, as they have all the contacts and they’ll help you to make decisions which will further your career, and find you some great casting call opportunities too. Becoming an actor is a lot of work, but when it’s your dream, putting the work in feels like a hobby, rather than a job.
Anyone who is thinking about pursuing an acting career needs to know that it’s not an easy journey. In fact, acting is one of the toughest businesses in the world to break into. It’s a journey of constant struggle, cut-throat competition and rejection - lots of rejection.
