Acting In The Real World
by D.L. White
Every year thousands of hopefuls move to Los Angeles with stars in their eyes, hoping for a shot at the ‘big time.’
And, to a man (or woman) they usually don’t have the foggiest idea of what it means to be an actor. Most will quit acting or move on to something else within the first year or so. However, many will keep plugging away, spending their time, money and effort chasing after their ‘dream’ of becoming an actor.
And, most of them won’t make it either.
That is the reality of acting in Hollywood. Make no mistake when you embark on this journey that you are entering the toughest business on the planet. Seriously. But, in that lies the beauty of it, because the rewards of success in this industry are incredible and they go far beyond the fame and fortune, I assure you.
Acting as a profession is not for the faint of heart, it’s going to take work and lots of it. Make no mistake here, if you are serious about acting, you are going to do that work no matter what…there is no way around it. But, at least work in the right direction with the right information at your disposal.
Like I said, this is the toughest industry on the planet, and the rewards are commensurate for success, but that success doesn’t just happen. There is no shortage of people that book acting work in this town…but there is a huge shortage of people that know how to continue booking it. The difference is in the practical experience that comes from working knowledge and that experience and knowledge takes years to come by.
If you truly want to make acting a career, you will have to learn a lot more than you might think. Acting classes are just the beginning. You then must learn the marketing skills, the navigation of the industry and THEN you actually need to learn how to do the job. Make no mistake; there is a VERY big difference between knowing how to act EMOTIONALLY and how to perform the JOB of a professional actor.
That's where most of the books and classes are unfortunately going to leave you high and dry. The problem is that you need to BE experienced to GET experience, and without it you won't keep working, I promise you! The question is, are you willing to spend the next ten years to get it, because that's most likely what it will take.
If you want to learn more about how to get started in acting for film or tv, be sure to check out Acting For Film And Television.
As always, if you have any questions or thoughts, or would just like to share some of your successes, please feel free to drop me a line. I actually answer them.
Best of Luck out there and remember, you can't fail if you don't quit.
D.L. White