Breaking into Acting For Dummies. Larry Garrison

can find out how to choose a photographer, what to wear during your photography session, and how to look your absolute best, so that your head shot highlights your unique personality.

      A five-star acting resume

      While your head shot projects your physical characteristics, a resume lists the acting experience and unique skills behind your attractive face. After seeing an actor’s head shot, casting directors often study an actor’s resume to see whether that actor has the ability to perform in a particular role.

A good acting resume answers any questions a casting director may have about an actor’s ability to play a certain role and supplies enough evidence to convince a casting director to choose you. The resume is then secondary to the actual audition. Chapter 5 discusses ways to create an award-winning resume, whether you’re a complete novice, a seasoned veteran, or someone in-between. (Psst, Chapter 5 also shows you what to put on your resume and what to leave off to increase your chances of making a great first impression.) By knowing how to create and present your acting experience and skills in the best light possible, you can use your resume to help you land roles again and again.

      Polished talent

      Everyone has some talent for acting (think of the last time you called in to work and pretended to be sick so that you could take the day off). Even if you have astounding natural acting talent, you should still want lessons or coaching to nurture and further develop that talent (see Chapter 6 for more information on improving your acting skills with training). Here are some of the different ways to polish your acting talent:

       Majoring in drama in school

       Attending an acting class or workshop

       Working with an acting coach

       Learning on the job

       Finding out how to film a professional audition tape

      If you’re serious about becoming an actor and you’re already in school, you can’t get any better training than performing in your high school or college drama department. Not only does such exposure give you an idea how much fun (and how much of a pain in the neck) acting can be, but it can also teach you all the technical details necessary to put on a play, ranging from creating backdrops and building sets to sewing costumes and marketing the show.

      If you’ve already graduated or just want to jump right into the world of acting as soon as possible, you can choose from plenty of acting workshops, classes, and coaches available for varying prices. Once again, some acting teachers have better reputations than others, and some charge outrageous amounts of money while others are more reasonable. Chapter 6 gives you tips on how to pick a workshop or acting coach that’s right for you.

      

The best way to develop your acting skills is to keep looking for acting roles wherever you can find them, whether they’re lead roles in small plays or bit roles in larger productions. The Internet now plays a major role in giving you the ability to see what producers and casting directors are looking for in upcoming projects. The more experience and knowledge you can gain by acting in a real role and watching others perform, the more you’ll discover about the world of acting that no class or coach can ever duplicate. A famous acting coach, Lee Strasberg, taught me (Larry) to go out and study individuals in my environment that I may replicate in future roles.

Taking Your First Steps in Show Business

      How did big stars like Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Gabrielle Union, Al Pacino, Octavia Spencer, Ben Affleck, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, and Angelina Jolie break into show business? They all started as beginners. So as an aspiring actor, you too can follow in the footsteps of the most successful actors in the world if you figure out what to do first and how to get started. Who knows? Within a few years, people may be clamoring for your autograph. The following sections help you get started.

      Marketing yourself

      Some people just happen to be in the right place at the right time when some Hollywood or Broadway producer spots them and suddenly decides to turn them into a star. Then again, some people win a million bucks in the lottery, too, so you don’t want to base your future on blind luck.

      Unless you happen to become an overnight success (ignoring the fact that most overnight successes actually take ten years or more to happen), you’ll find that succeeding in acting requires persistence, dedication, and perseverance.

      Perseverance means overcoming every obstacle that threatens to get in your way and blazing your own trail to success. Because you can never rely on blind luck or fate to bring you success, you have to actively hunt out success yourself. Chapter 7 lists different ways that you can promote yourself in the world of show business and jump-start your career right now — wherever you happen to be.

      David Grannis, Associate Professor, Director, Film, and Television at California Lutheran University said, “Undergraduate college and university acting students who study the Meisner technique, method acting, the history of theater, and set building also need to learn about the business of acting, which is essential if you want to work as an actor in the constantly evolving industry of film, television, and theater.”

      Finding your first ally: An agent

Although you certainly can work as an actor for years without an agent by joining different online sites and submitting your resume, head shot, and stats, an agent can be more crucial in finding obscure roles that you may never hear about otherwise. We reference the different Internet sites in Chapter 7. An agent can also introduce you to casting directors who may be looking for someone just like you (if they only knew where to find you) and handle the business end of your acting, such as making sure that you get paid on time and making sure that you get paid as much as possible for your work.

      Because an agent can help your acting career enormously, Chapter 8 explains how to find an agent who may have relationships that you can benefit you. The agent can also negotiate big contracts and be there for your protection.

      Showcasing your talent: Auditioning

      The process of looking for an agent can teach you negotiating and cold-calling skills. Auditioning can teach you how to think and react quickly in unfamiliar environments and situations.

      Because an audition (like a first date) can be your first (and sometimes only) chance to showcase yourself, Chapter 9 explains how to maximize your chance of creating the best impression possible during every audition you attend. Chapter 9 includes tips for what types of clothes to wear, how to prepare for any audition, how to behave during an audition, and what to expect during an audition. We also address how some of these various preparations will work with self-recorded auditioning at home.

Discovering the Many Ways to Make Money as an Actor

      Starring in the next Broadway hit, Hollywood blockbuster, or Netflix series can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams, but what many actors don’t know is that you can make money as an actor in a variety of other ways as well, some of which can