HOW TO BECOME AN ACTOR

Link With Us

Sponsors

HOW TO BECOME AN ACTOR IN FILM, TV AND ACTING ON STAGE

"Acting is living your life, then using those experiences to enable the audience to experience their lives and emotions," quotes acting coach Judy Kerr in her book Acting is Everything. Acting is everything you do, you are, and you have been or hope to be in your life. Actors perform in front of the cameras rather than behind the scenes, but it's important to know about the jobs that actors do-especially, as some very famous ones have become writers, producers, directors, and combinations thereof. It is in fact becoming commonplace for actors to take on multiple roles in a film, both behind and in front of the camera.

Acting magic happens when an actor goes all out abandoning their inner personality to take on that of the characters' ... metamorphoses

Actors entertain and communicate with the audience through their interpretation of dramatic or comedic roles. Only a small number achieve a tremendous amount of recognition in motion pictures. Some start out as extras with no lines to deliver, while others are cast in supporting roles or as walk-ons. A feature extra may be used for the same film over and over again, with no lines but a lot of camera time. Stunt people take on the more dangerous work, performing such stunts as driving cars in chase scenes, falling from buildings and other high places, or for fighting scenes, in place of the principle actors.

"People think that acting is walking and talking and so they say 'hey, I could do that!'" acting teacher Nina Foch laughs. "But acting is very difficult. The best succeed precisely because they make it look so easy. Maybe if you're an actor your whole life long, you might do one or two scenes completely well."

Actors work with their emotions, their experiences, traumas, feelings, and memories

Acting begins with vulnerability. For actors to do their best work, they must be willing to be totally open, to experiment and allow all that is inside to be exposed. To accomplish this at the highest levels requires tremendous discipline. Actors work with their emotions, their experiences, traumas, feelings, and memories. Bodies and voices become finely tuned instruments that express and convey the character. Since the actor is the instrument, he or she is in a very different position from the film's other collaborators.

The writer projects an inner life onto a piece of paper, the composer uses notes, the producer has contracts, the director a vision. But the actors stand alone. It's not about the work but about them, and it's very personal. If your dream is to live your life as a professional actor, your first tool is your basic acting craft. Good training helps you discover the power, control and confidence to act. Once you have confidence and know how to interpret a script and develop character, then the business side of acting begins. It takes desire, guts, preparation, discipline, talent and luck to have an acting career.

an actor's job is not to feel things, it is to make the audience feel them

According to actor Richard Dreyfuss (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), "an actors job is not to feel things, it is to make the audience feel them." William H. Macy (Fargo) told Backstage West, "I think an actors task is to read the script, figure out the action-the objective- and do that and let everything else go hang. We can never forget that acting is a big fat trick that we play on the audience.

You're standing is a set. It's not real, but it's real enough, and the audience is willing enough to suspend disbelief that there you are in the setting and you're wearing somebody else's clothes that have been designed. So it's the actors job to figure out what his character wants and to do something that's similar to that so that it looks like you're making it up as you go along. The emotions will follow; they will be there as you need them."

Acting Classes and Acting School: Actors Learning the Acting Technique

There are hundreds of colleges and universities that offer a major in Film/Cinema studies. Some schools offer a broad look into acting, while others focus on specific techniques and skills needed to be successful in the business. What many actors have found is that the need for coaches and teachers to help develop the craft is critical. William A. Ward once said, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

" Most actors do not rely on one specific teacher to show them all the skills needed to be successful. It takes numerous teachers throughout a career to develop as an actor. Like any profession, there is not one single person who can know all the ins and outs of a business. For example, while one teacher may be an expert on visualization, another may be more helpful in reaction techniques.

For those starting out in the business, it is important to know that choosing an acting coach is important, but it is not a matter of life or death whether your first coach is the best or not. It takes time to determine what is beneficial, and therefore it is important to allow time to decide whether you are gaining beneficial knowledge or if time is just being wasted.

*The FilmMakers Film Fund will finance the production of all future film projects. The projects will be made up of undiscovered Emerging artists in film including: screenwriters, directors, producers, actors, cinematographers, music composers, first assistant directors (AD), art directors, costume designers, production managers (PM), etc.

Support our Youth by making a donation to the FilmMakers Film Fund.