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Mentorship March 25, 2020
Are you wondering how to get started in acting? You’ve come to the right place! Welcome to the wacky world of long hours, emotional rollercoaster rides, incredible friendships and endless dedication. The path to becoming an actor is unpredictable and scary, but it’s also filled with remarkable moments of self-discovery and personal growth. It can be chaotic getting started, but ENTITY has plenty of steps you can take in order to kick-start your life as an actor.
Anything you can get your hands on—plays, scripts, books on technique—read it all! This will expose you to different styles of writing and, subsequently, different styles of acting. Plus, it’s great to have lots of material under your belt because you never know what characters you’ll tackle in the future. Never try to take on a character from a play or script that you’ve never looked at! You need to know all the context surrounding your character in order to accurately understand their behavior. So, read!
What better way to become an actor than to learn how to act, right? So, sign up for an acting class. This will familiarize you with the language, techniques and practitioners of acting. Plus, it will help you get used to performing in front of and alongside others! You may think you’re a great actor when you perform a song in your shower, but everything changes once you put your work up on its feet in front of an audience.
When you started wondering how to get started in acting, you probably never considered jumping jacks or planks. You may be surprised to learn that exercise is a crucial part of becoming an actor. As an actor, your body is your instrument, so you must take good care of it and understand it. Also, actors must be able to move effectively and safely. You may be expected to embrace movement patterns that vary from your own. Being a fit and confident mover is necessary in order to approach characters that move through life differently than you.
Though it is true that not all actors are also singers, vocal training is an imperative part of your actor training. Acting requires a lot of vocal energy and support, and it can be exhausting on the voice. Learn how to properly warm up, preserve vocal energy, and handle vocal violence such as screaming, crying, shouting, etc. You may not win a Grammy, but you will be thankful you have the proper vocal technique to support your acting career!
Being an actor is not for the faint of heart. It can be very vulnerable and scary to bare your soul in front of others, and that becomes especially terrifying when you are critiqued for it. You will pour your heart into monologues and scenes in an acting class, but no matter the work you put into it, you will always be in process. Acting class is about process, not product. So, it is best not to get defensive about your work. You are there to get better, and in order to get better, you need to embrace criticisms and notes from your teacher.
It’s important to know the types of characters you can believably play. If you are 20 years old, don’t continuously chase after roles for 55-year-old women. Know your strengths and what you can play. Knowing yourself is a key component of how to get started in acting. If you look young, keep in mind that you might be playing high school or college-aged roles longer than some of your peers. Stay aware of who you are and let this inform the characters you pursue. That being said, type isn’t everything! It is important to encounter diverse material and a wide array of characters. Playing a variety of characters will make you a stronger actor!
You need to always be finding new material! Never get complacent. Acting is a process and you will always be developing and learning. Build up your own book so you have a lot of material to showcase in the audition room. Also, keep searching for material so that you always have something to work on! The more work you put in, the more growth you will see.
Don’t sell yourself short and don’t be afraid to try it all! There are so many schools of thought in acting and so many styles of performance to consider. Study any of those and keep searching for what works best for you! Don’t tell yourself you can’t do something because then you’re less likely to ever try. Dabble in all sorts of elements of performance and find where you shine.
A big part of being an actor is auditioning. You will constantly be auditioning, so start getting comfortable with that. Seek out opportunities because they won’t just land in your lap.
While there is tons of material out there and you should definitely explore it, you should be creating your own content too! Write monologues, plays, screenplays, music, poetry, any kind of content you would want to be noticed for, and then record yourself. Make short movies, film yourself doing pieces and generate a portfolio. You can never have too much to show for yourself.
Art is messy. Perfection is boring. Respect yourself and your peers as they explore their craft. Don’t judge yourself or those around you. Negativity will destroy your work and interrupt your learning process. Approach everything with an open mind and let every moment be a chance to learn something new.
Though acting can be exhausting and require a lot of emotional energy, it should also be fun. Acting is playing. It is a chance to take off your social mask and live in the imaginary world. It’s beautiful and should not be taken for granted. Acting gives you a chance to live fearlessly, so make big choices and find the joy in your work.
While there is no tried and true way to break into the show business world, there are definitely ways to take control of your own destiny and work hard for what you want to accomplish. There are many roads for how to get started in acting, though each path requires immense dedication. Most people don’t become actors overnight and no one should rely on such luck. Being an actor takes commitment, rehearsal, perseverance, and introspection. The best performers are ones who are in touch with their bodies and can live truthfully in a role. To my aspiring actors, I wish I had a perfect formula to tell you how to get started in acting, but truthfully, you just have to dive in head-first. It may be scary, but you are not alone! Work hard, ask for help and never stop loving what you do.
