Let’s talk acting school
Do you like chekhov plays or shakespeare plays?
So a few years back I thought I would go to acting school. I don’t have a degree in acting or a BFA or anything like that, I just did some part time classes for a little over a year. That was when I was really focused and serious about becoming an actor. I wanted to be one of those really great actors in their 30’s. Now, looking back I’m not really sure what to think of it all. I mean, whether it was a waste of time or not. I did learn a lot but what I don’t miss were the times that I became flat broke. I tend to look at things from a different angle now.
An Acting Career can be expensive
*how much does it cost to become an actor?
In some ways, I think it was for the best that I stopped acting. At the time I was really comitted to it and at a certain time in my life that’s all I wanted to do. Along the way as I was auditioning, I thought things through a little bit more as time went by. I started to notice that a good amount of people in the city wanted to be actors too, and there was a lot of competition. But, that’s not why I stopped.
I started to think about it even more and I realized that I didn’t want to be famous! I mean, I always knew that about myself since the beginning and I think that’s part of the battle that I have today. Now let’s talk expenses.
Along the way you will have to pay for ongoing classes, keep updating your headshots and pay to put your profile (your headshot, list of credits or film experience and skills) on casting websites to put your face out there and get auditions. Mandy.com used to be free but I don’t think it is free anymore. And then there are the casting director workshops that cost if you want to get yourself involved with those. And lastly, there are the union dues that you’ll have to pay if you become a part of the union. Yes. all this just to keep yourself going as an actor. The last two you don’t really need but, they can definitely help.
What did I learn in Acting Class?
I learned how to memorize lines, how to be in the moment and how to read and understand scripts. I also learned about method acting exercises. I would recommend watching this video How to analyze a script for an audition to give you a better idea about script reading.
Do you have any acting abilities or skills?
Basically, are you able to act? That is an interesting question, right? I always found it a little bit strange that while I was taking some classes at The Second City when I would show up on sets for a call to do extra work, some people that I got to know there were asking me for advice. I basically told them to take a class and that you will never know unless you try.
Some of my television appearances
So, in the beginning when I started to get involved in the acting world I basically just got a few roles in student films from auditions. Then, over time through meeting people either from being an extra or just sometimes being remembered from one project to the next I found out about other roles. And sometimes I was referred or just at the right place and the right time.
2007
One such example was when I was working as an extra for a new tv show (at the time) called MOB STORIES II. I think I worked on that show probably at the most three days, and one of those days I was given lines. This is how it can happen people. So, what ended up happening was that in a way I had built up a relationship with a couple of people from the production crew without thinking anything of it. In the mornings, the very early mornings I would just say something like “hey how’s it going?” to almost anyone that I saw that day while I was heading over to the craft table to grab a coffee. Because that’s just how I was naturally.
Sometime later on one of the crew members told me that they needed to find someone to play a cop for a scene in the show. I almost immediately said something like “Oh really, I can do it!” “I can improvise.” Then, next thing I knew they asked me my shoe size or jacket size I think and gave me the cop uniform to put on and mic’ed me. There you go, I was in one scene of a tv show with two lines. Things can happen all of a sudden and out of nowhere. Just like that.
2006
My first bit of work on television came about in a similar way because of someone I knew. I ended up meeting a woman while I was doing background work that was looking for some people to be jurors on the show Style By Jury. So basically I told her that I’m interested and that’s how I ended up on the show.
That ended up being the easiest and highest paying role on a television show that I have ever had. The first time it was just one episode at fifty dollars per day I believe. Then they asked me to work on four episodes on a weekend and that paid two hundred dollars. Then they asked me to come back for another weekend so ofcourse I said yes. What made it even better was that these were short five hour work days.
I have also appeared on a couple of paranormal shows with no lines and more recently (in 2017) I was on a cooking show with 2 lines.
Looking back on what I have done and what I have accomplished, it is pretty cool even though these were just small roles. For anyone that is in the business or wants to be in the business, just know that you’re going to have to work really hard to get somewhere and it’s gonna take some time.
Hey if you’ve made it this far than you are a champion reader!
Feel free to look around some more and thanks for visiting my site
-Steve
