Welcome Aboard! You have chosen the best flight to reach your destination of “How to become an actor”, Under this article, you will get the complete information of becoming an actor from beginner to advanced.
With the help of acting industry experts and research did by our The Poor School team, we have found the below steps. If you dream of becoming a professional actor, it’s our advice, then acknowledge the below steps seriously.
Six magical steps to becoming an actor
Step 1 – Small Encyclopaedia for Actor
Before starting as an actor, you must know all the information related to your career, including what type of work you have to perform, variances, future prospects and many more.
What does an actor do?
An actor is a person who articulates character in such a form that it looks like reality to a real audience. In specific projects, to evolve in character, actors transform their lifestyle to perform naturally.
To perform the character of “Travis Bickre” in the movie Taxi Driver, Robert DeNiro works as a taxi driver for several days.
Types of Actors
For your convenience, we have listed different types of the actor along with the platforms they perform –
- Screen actors: Films, television, commercials, web series
- Stage actors: On-Broadway and off-Broadway, musical theater
- Voice actors: Animation, radio ads, podcasts, video games, audiobooks
Salary of Actor
In the field of acting, earnings are not specified; it depends on various factors, including experience, geographic locations, and roles.
For your help, we have mentioned below the hourly salary of actors with states.
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In the initial stage of an acting career, you should focus on getting more work and grooming your skills rather than acquiring a good salary.
Future Scope of An Actor
Future of acting is good, as with the launch of new streaming platforms, and giving more opportunity to less popular actors to work in projects, if we talk about the statistics, as per the reports of BLS, 24 percent growth rate is found in acting between 2020 – 2029. so, you have a good chance to grab the opportunity.
Step 2 – Develop Skills an Actor Should Have
After acknowledging all the information related to your career, in the second stage of the journey towards becoming an actor, we will make you know regarding some of the skills which an actor should have,
1. Memorization Skills
You will get the scripts to learn before your performance, and it’s essential to speak the exact lines written in the script. If you already have good memorization skills, then no problem; otherwise, practice memorizing.
2. Speaking Skills
Actors are known for their voices. Our recommendation is to speak clearly so that your listener can engage with you and feel interested. You can practice speaking standing in front of a mirror and see your facial expression.
3. Creativity
Acting is an art; if you are always trying to do better and be different from others, then with experience, you will have this ability.You can also check the videos of your mentors for thought process exploration.
4. Reading Skills
Good reading ability will admire you for reading long scripts of the writers and engaging with the character’s persona in the script. If you do not like reading, start with books you love and don’t try to read the whole book in one day, schedule to read one chapter of a book each day.
5. Physical Retention
If you want to be an actor, then you should have good physique strength, as the shooting took long working hours, so you have to remain active until the shooting ends, sometimes you will get the costumes which have a good amount of weight, with good physical strength you can handle easily.
As per the experts, incurring the above skills is the best way to start acting career, as it will help you in the audition of acting school admission or if you are not joining the acting school and directly giving audition in theatre. The casting director will test the above skills in you, so it is necessary for every actor to have the above skills.
Step 3 – Education of Acting
I want to clarify that getting into acting is not a random task; only based on your looks and passion cannot make you an actor. You need to have proper learning, which includes multiple things acting styles, voice training, and many more,
If you are finding a shortcut to become a successful actor, then getting acting education is one of the best shortcuts for you,
Nowadays, there are multiple options available to learn acting, which includes
- Take admission in acting schools (internal link)
- Take admission in the acting conservatory (internal link)
- Take online acting classes (internal link)
What acting school or acting conservatory provides you
1. You will learn styles of acting
There is a specified style which each actor in Hollywood opts for while performing their role. In acting school or conservatory, you will get to know different styles of acting, apart from this you will also get the opportunity to make new connections.
Styles can be incurred through experience, but it will take time to acknowledge; you should join the acting school, as it will help to lay the foundation of your career.
List of Styles of Acting
- Classical Acting
- The Chekhov Acting Technique
- Method Acting
- Meisner Acting Technique
- Practical Aesthetics Acting Technique
2. Voice Training
Acting School provides the technique to produce a good voice with instruction of vocal tendencies. As the session moves on, you will learn about voiceover acting and methods for using voice in different ways.
3. Movement Training
Under this training, you will learn to emerge your emotion and gesture of body as per the script. Various activities will be involved where you will perform with a scene partner and make moment-to-moment communication.
4. Critical Thinking
It’s not necessary to use the techniques which you have learned. College faculties make students confident to explore more and implement self-made techniques in their performances.
You will be engaging in the project where you will understand the director and actor relationship, the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience. Most importantly, colleges invite casting directors and agents to showcase their student’s talent; it’s a great opportunity for students.
5. Insight of Acting Business Standards
Acting Schools have separate modules that teach how the acting industry business works, including audition preparation, marketing case studies. This module helps students plan their acting careers.
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In Acting School, you will meet many talented students, and it will be the place for you to network with them.
Acting Degrees You Can Pursue –
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting
- Master of Fine Arts in Acting
- Bachelors of Arts in Theatre
- Associate Certification
- PhD in Theatre and Performing Arts
I know you will meet different people related to the industry who will suggest you join the theatre and learn with the experience, as acting schools are expensive,
See, when you get the properly structured acting training, you will perform better. If you have financial problems, get training online or in nearby small institutes, but learn the acting basics before the audition.
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Acting Degree does not make much impact on your selection, but compared to other candidates who don’t have any training, and if you have professional training, so your chance of selection will raise
Step 4- Make Preparation for Launching
I always say take your acting profession like a business, for example, In business, we have to showcase the good product to our consumer with catalogs, the same situation is with actors also, but the terminology varies,
Here, the product will be you, and the resume will be your catalog. For your help, we listed the entities which you should prepare before going for an audition –
1. Headshots
It’s the first thing the casting director will notice to make the call for an audition, So you should have a good headshot from a professional photographer. Yeah, the cost of a headshot from a good photographer will be high. Still, consider it as an investment for your acting career.
Consider these checkpoints before submission of a headshot
- Submit the current headshot, not two-year-old headshot
- Most important, don’t do much makeup and avoid photoshop as much as possible.
2. Resume
An actor’s resume has a different framework from other professions. Being a newbie actor, you might be facing difficulty framing out the content in your resume.
For your convenience, we have listed some of the points you can consider while framing your resume –
- Outline the skills in which you are proficient.
- Write down about your special talent, such as dance, which is correlated to your acting career.
- Do not hesitate to add your volunteer participation in activities of the theatre.
- Highlight your small role as an actor in a drama.
- Put your social media username
- Mention your website
3. Make Website
Don’t overreact, nowadays making a website is easy, it will act as one-stop for casting director to check your work, you should upload all the videos of your performance, headshots and most important take the domain of website of your name, for example, www.johnwick.com, segregate your website into following pages – home page, about, contact, performance videos.
4. Social Media Presence
Creating your content as an actor and posting on social media will help to create a small fan base for your work. We all know social media is the best platform for artists to showcase their talent. Your good online presence and updated social media profile help the casting director and acting agents authenticate you, and might your creativity help you cast as an actor.
And remember, while applying to the casting website, mention your social media links.
5. Learn Monologues
Step 5 – Apply for Acting Roles
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It’s been found some regions have there specified casting websites, such as LA have LA casting, most casting directors of LA hires talent from particular website only,
1. Get a Good Casting Agent
Getting a good casting agent is one of the achievements for newbie actors, as they are the one who represents you before the casting directors and call for the auditions which match your capabilities. It’s our recommendation you should update casting agents with your recent projects.
2. Network
The network plays a vital role in acting career for getting projects, making good connections with industry-connected people at all levels. Their recommendation might highlight your name for getting auditioned, and you can make connections from attending workshops, events, etc.
3. Join Actor Union
Actors Union acts as one of the best stoppages for actors to get work and facilitates health benefits. We recommend starting with small unions such as ACTRA, AGVA, AGMA, and AEA. After getting experience, you can easily join a big union such as SAG – AFTRA.
Internal Link – how to prepare for an audition
Step 6 – Relocation to Big City
Yes, Los Angeles and New York are the best places to live for an acting career, but relocation to the big city in the early stage of your career is not a good decision, you should first get enough experience, make some good connection with the industry people of the big city and most important collect some money before you move on,
As these things will help you benefited in getting work and manage expenses in the big city.
Our team has listed all the best ways to become an actor; now it’s your responsibility to follow and share your experience with our team, and if you have any add on, kindly suggest us.
