Acting Tips: Being Professional
Answers to various acting questions I get from aspiring actors and actresses.
Q: Hello, I have a fair amount of experience acting in high school theater and I'm planning on moving to Hollywood to pursue acting, but I'm still a little confused about the world of show business in Los Angeles. I read all of your articles, but I still have some questions.
What ways can I be profesisonal when auditioning for agents, managers or even films and TV shows? What should I do when I get there?
A: Thanks for the email. It's a bit tough to explain in an email how best to approach a life long career choice, especially one as tough as acting. I would recommend that you read the full version of my book Acting for Film and Television as it will explain a lot of what you need to have going for you, at least professionally speaking and it's only like 8 or 9 bucks.
A small investment for a lifetime pursuit I'd say but, if you don't want to do that. then preparation and work are the easiest answers I can give you in the short term. You have to work very diligently on your craft and act as often as possible. When you're acting, you have to always be finding ways to try and make your acting better. After that, if you want to act for film and television, you have to work very diligently on understanding THAT part of the job.
So, with that in mind, read everything you can about acting, film making, lighting, set design, auditioning, directing, cinematography and all of that stuff. It's an incredibly competitive field, and you'll be going up against people that have recognizable names and have been acting on film or tv for years. If you want a real shot at coming across as a professional during an audition, then you have to BE professional when you go in for your audition. Make sense?
It's simple stuff, but it takes a lot of work to get right. If you really want to work in this business, then the responsibility for learning how to do it falls completely on your shoulders. The more you learn, research, develop your skills and knowledge and practice your craft, the more likely you will work. The less you do, the less you will. Pretty simple really.
So, to answer your question, the way you can be more professional when you audition is to do exactly what the pros do. Professionals research, they learn, they question, they challenge, they try new things, they fail, they pick themselves up, they practice, they network...basically, they live, breathe and sleep acting. These jobs are not easy and they never will be, so if you're not spending the majority of your waking hours working at your craft, learning about film making and learning about the entertainment business, you simply won't be competitive.
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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