We have found 19,369 posts across 4 actor forums:
2023 - are you stepping it up? by DanielBrea-pga • last post Jan 8th
This post will hit you like a brick to the face. But it's ok. There's good news at the end. 2023 is around the corner and everyone is thinking about getting their plan together for the new year. All the acting gurus are hyping you up for "pilot season", telling you to \- get your headshots ready \- your reel ready \- and your outreach strategy laid out for the next "actor's run of the bulls" as I call it. (Thousands of actors mass submitting to a handful of mediocre roles they have almost no chance of booking..a necessary evil perhaps, but ouch. What a harsh reality.) Your new year's goals are probably: \- Get my brand together \- Get my assets together \- Get a better (or any) agent \- Audition more \- Network more. Guess what, that's what everybody is doing. Those are the basics of "the business of acting". That was new in 2013...It's 2023 now. You gotta step it up. Every single coach, guru and program is regurgitating the same fluff out there... But how many successful people do you know (in any industry) that got to the top by doing the same as everyone else? See, the gatekeepers in this industry want you to keep auditioning and sending in self-tapes so they have options. Makes their life easier. Hell, it makes my life easier. I can't even blame them for it. You're a commodity to them. Replaceable, disposable, just one of a million. They don't appreciate your position, talents and unique abilities. Why? They don't have to. There's enough actors out there. Don't get me started on casting directors (some of the most confused and pretentious people in Hollywood). They sit in their little home offices and expect you to nail a self-tape audition in 3 hours without any time to prepare, ask questions or get feedback. Then they get frustrated and complain when they get 500 submissions and have to watch a bunch of tapes that don't perfectly portray the character that even they have no clue who it is, until some random tape jumps out at them and they say "oh, that might make sense for this...let's see what the director thinks about that..." A puppet (Casting Director) looking for puppets (dependent actors) for a puppet master (director) who's controlled by a bigger puppet master (producer) who's controlled by the ultimate puppet masters (Studio or Financiers). Great - everyone's playing craps with your time. And you? You're there working your posterior of for these "safe-gamblers" who cast a wide net, but expect you to be perfectly branded and hope something good comes back quickly. Then they have an assistant spend 2 minutes looking and clicking through submissions and eventually pass on a short list of relatively safe bets to the director. (they always take the safest, most vanilla approach / bet so they don't lose their jobs. That's why nobody takes chances on new talent or directions) Oh and agents... gotta love them. They will solve all your problems right? Well, they are supposed to. But they don't. That's just the bottom line. 90% of agents have no value to you other than taking 10% of the money you make from gigs you book yourself. (I'm not saying all agents are bad...just almost all of them). Agents want you to already be making money before they even consider taking you on... Developing talent is dead. Nobody does it anymore. The only ones who do it are either brand new agents with no real connections because they are building up their own career, or massively successful agents, but only because they discover some diamond in the rough, randomly. The serendipitous decision to develop an artist out of seeing dollar signs comes from them. Not from someone asking them for help. Like how Charlize Theron was discovered in a bank while she was screaming at the teller...it's true...look it up. She was a failed dancer and a failed actor until then. It had nothing to do with her auditioning. So what does all this mean? It means that the people who's job it is to find and develop new talent don't want to and are not doing their jobs. How did we get to this point? We let them! They say, actors, you want the gig? This is what we require. Don't want it? Fine, don't do it! And actors do it... Thanks mr. second assistant to the casting director of the Utah division of a tiny cable show... You must feel really good up there on your high horse, dangling one-line co-star roles in front of talented artists as if they are lead roles on Marvel films. Oh and SAG-AFTRA, the union that's supposed to protect you, they don't do anything about this either. Well, they don't do much for you at all actually. Doesn't that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside too? So who really are your allies as an actor? If Agents are useless, Casting directors pretentious and inaccessible, and the union that's supposed to support you, doesn't really... Are you not tired of this ridiculous approach to a career ? The only ally you have is yourself. Sad, but true. Let's be real for a second. Let's stop pretending like nepotism isn't a thing in Hollywood. I'm guilty of it myself as a producer. Secret (that you may have noticed by now)... The good roles are not put up on actors access. The good roles are offered to actors that the filmmakers know or want directly, often before casting even starts. Larry David knew Julia Louis-Dreyfuss from their work at SNL together and he called her in for Seinfeld directly. We all know Johnny Depp made some calls for Amber Heard to be put in Aquaman. Adam Sandler loves working almost exclusively with his buddies. We can keep going all day here. Even I personally always think of who may be a good fit for my lead roles while developing a project. And almost all my friends who produce films call me and ask if I know a good "This, that or the other" actor. We don't really want to hire casting directors or post breakdowns if we don't have to and often hold off until we've exhausted all our options. No wonder 98%of actors don't earn a living with acting alone, even though there are more projects being produced than ever before in history. It's just the same handful of plugged-in actors being circulated amongst friends. And it's very hard to enter the circulation, even if you're relatively established. You're known as what you're known for. It's on you to break the mold. You should be getting much bigger pieces of that pie. But the solutions the gurus have for you out there are "Audition more!", "Get new headshots!", "Get an Agent"..."Network!" And while all that is - duh - obvious and the bare basics that you and every actor under the sun are and should be doing, it doesn't give you any real control over your future or your life and it does not create consistency or job security at all. But there's a lot that you CAN do about this. It's just not stuff that Hollywood insiders are helping you do because it would give you too much power. Well, they can go eat a stinky fish. Take the power. They've had it long enough. Warning, it's not for timid introverts who cringe if they need to step into public. This stuff is for the fewest of the few, actual apex predators out there. It's for adventurous, intuitive and inventive actors who are tired of living by other peoples rules and regulations. For explorers who want to do the work to set themselves free. To discover themselves and their full potential on their own terms. People who are not looking for tips, tricks and hacks, but to become true masters of the industry like Matt Damon, Eva Longoria, Tyler Perry, Kerry Washington and Sly Stallone. People who want to be on set a lot, playing roles they want to play, lead roles, important roles. Fulfilling roles and expanding careers beyond just acting alone. For you, there's a solution. It's called producing your own films. Make this the year that you take your power back. Daniel
I got casted as Roxie Hart in my high schools production of Chicago but I’ve never even had my first kiss by ReflectionSoft6148 • last post Jan 7th
I got casted as Roxie Hart in my high school’s production of Chicago. Roxie Hart is one of the most notorious femme fatales in musical theatre history. She’s sultry, seductive, and a master manipulator. My director is a huge believer in how real life experiences effect your acting ability. Yet, I have never even had my first kiss. I act very confident and I’m also 18 so a lot of people probably assume otherwise about me. I’m very embarrassed about how inexperienced I am. I was able to get through auditions because I’m a talented singer and dancer. Although I know I am bound to have to talk about sex in some capacity at rehearsals and have to kiss and be intimate with the Fred Casely actor. I also am just fearful of “acting like a virgin”…whatever that means. I haven’t even figured out if I am attracted to men at all so I don’t want to look visibly uncomfortable when the actors touch me or vice versa. Roxie is literally my dream role and I want to give her everything i can. I can put on a pretty good sultry persona when i’m displaying Roxie’s narcissistic behavior, but the second I have to touch a man I SWEAR TO GOD. so here are my questions: How do I act like I have had sex before when I haven’t? First kiss is a stage kiss? (really like how do i navigate that) How can I become more comfortable when touching and flirting with my male cast mates during scenes? Also just general advice about playing Roxie and preparing for the role
Aspiring actress! by TheGayJaz • last post Jan 7th
Hi, my name is Jazmin. For about 2 years I've been really into acting/theatre. I've been taking theatre classes for 2 years now, including this year. I've been in one school play and I'm going to be in another at the end of this year. Sadly, this is my last year in high school so I'm pretty stuck. I don't have much experience but I'm willing to do anything to climb myself up. My local theaters are really expensive for me and acting classes are too. I live in south FL and there isn't much here. I just want to know how to put myself out there for gigs and roles. I need advice on how to get started. Backstage and Actors Access costs money that I don't have and so I have no clue on where to go to get started. Any help is much appreciated!
Actors with PTSD by swearimwerkingrn • last post Jan 7th
Are you a working actor with diagnosed PTSD? Do you know of working actors with PTSD? How do you support yourself through triggering scenes? Recently watched The Twelve with Brooke Satchwell playing an abused wife, when she suffered domestic abuse personally in the past. I wondered at how she looked after herself through the process of the work. She’s an incredible actor. I ask cause I have PTSD and I had it under control. I was able to do intense scenes and access what I needed to for the work and then tuck it away. I’ve just had a second child and motherhood has heightened the triggers. I have my team of professionals for support but right now I don’t know how I could get back into the work without it affecting my home life. This is a conversation I’ve never seen, so I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Anyone want to help me decide where I should apply for classes? by iconicalien • last post Jan 7th
I am of course going to do my own research, but it would be really helpful to hear the insights from this community! I'm based in Sydney, Australia. Mosly interested in pursuing screen acting but I am also a singer. I'm tossing up these 4 places: Sydney Actors School [https://www.sydneyactorsschool.edu.au/](https://www.sydneyactorsschool.edu.au/) TAFTA The Australian Film & Television Academy [https://www.tafta.com.au/](https://www.tafta.com.au/) PAC Parramatta Actors Centre [https://parramattaactorscentre.com.au/](https://parramattaactorscentre.com.au/) AFTT Academy of Film, Theatre & Television [https://www.aftt.edu.au/](https://www.aftt.edu.au/)
I’m planning to drop my agent. Here’s the letter I want to send. by MCKtheMan • last post Jan 7th
TLDR at the end “Hello [REDACTED]. I'm writing to inform you that I am terminating our contract effective immediately and will not be needing your services anymore. I've been thinking a lot about your obsession with the IMDb StarMeter. I don't know who or what is telling you that it's important to focus on, but since it appears that no one else is telling you this, I want to be the first to tell you that it's not important at all and you dedicating so much time to making sure all your talent has a good score is not only sabotaging your business, but also sabotaging your talent, especially those you took off your client list on IMDb Pro because of their low scores, like you did with me. Setting aside how easily manipulatable all of it is (which I'm sure you're aware of given that you always ask me to move pictures around on my account), I've spoken to many professionals in the industry, including professional actors, talent agents, casting directors, producers, and directors (some of whom you got me auditions with) and the overwhelming consensus was that they don't look at it, nor do they find it important. I even sought advice from those who work in the thick of the Hollywood industry. They don't care about it, so why should we? I even checked the pages of AM&T, the People Store, Alexander White, and Houghton Talent (arguably the four biggest agencies in the Southeast) and all of them have talent with scores well in the millions, some as low as 12,000,000 and my score never got that low. Yet they're all still represented by their respective agencies. Same goes for the even bigger agencies based in L.A. like A3, Creative Artists, and Gersh. And the amount of work they book is in no way impacted by some score on a website. Even if you use the excuse of them not booking 'as much work as those with a higher score,' just the fact that they still have secured representation despite it and their agents don't feel so ashamed they're willing to hide that by removing them from their client list, tells you all you need to know about the Star Meter's role in this industry, at least on our level. Also, I will remind you when my score was at its lowest (around 11,000,000) I booked the [REDACTED] commercial that I did over the summer last year. If my rating was truly important, wouldn't it have made more sense to go with someone more 'popular?' On the other side, the highest my score has been was a little below 100,000. During that time (around May/June 2021), I didn't book anything, despite self-submitting to several different projects. I'm not implying that I do best when my score is low, but I am trying to point out that there's no correlation between my score and my ability to book work and make money. And if you're still not convinced, I actually did some research on this and discovered that in 2013, an actress named Shannon Guess held the #1 spot for over a week. Wanna know what her greatest work was? Sending ricin-laced letters to the president and trying to frame her husband for it. Plus, when the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trials were going on, they were both in the top 3, and I would argue that (especially for Amber Heard) it wasn't for good reasons. And one last nail in the coffin: a week after our phone call when you informed me you took me off your client list on IMDb Pro, my score shot up to 200,000. And I didn't move a single picture. It's arbitrary. All of it. Now, this is not the only reason I'm ending our contract. For another, I'm wanting to do theatre again and I know you don't really want talent doing theatre. You even had me back out of a play in [REDACTED] that cast me, which wouldn't have paid much but given that they wrote a role specifically for me, it still kinda stings and I may never be able to do work with them again because of your decision. I get it from a business perspective. Film, TV, and commercials are where the money's at, but I just can't, in good faith, leave theatre behind, especially since I plan to start a theatre company in the future. I don't want to limit myself to one art form. Now, I don't tell you all this out of anger or bitterness or with any ill intention, I only tell you all this out of concern, so that you can get better as an agency (might even help you get SAG-AFTRA franchised since I recently discovered you are not, which is another reason for my departure, but that's just speculation, haven't a clue how it works). Of course, you have the right to run your business however you want, as do I, but I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't speak up on this. Thank you once again for all you've done. I will forever be grateful for you taking a chance on me and getting me all the opportunities you have and most importantly, for being my first agent. I will always appreciate what you did. I wish you and [REDACTED] nothing but continued success.” I probably shouldn’t and won’t send this since I wanna leave things cordial but hypothetically speaking if I did send this, what do you think her reaction would be? TLDR- the IMDb score isn’t important, I wanna do theatre, and you’re not SAF-AFTRA franchised
Need Suggestions for NYC Studio / Class Space by FiremanTodd • last post Jan 7th
If you know of a space in New York City that is conducive for class work - capable of holding about 20 people and has props that actors can use -- please let me know.
Cold Emails: Tips from the Other, Angry, Side by corduroyovershirt • last post Jan 7th
Hello! I’m a producer at a production company. My email is easy to deduce, I’m sure most folks get it by cruising LinkedIn. Multiple times a week I get a cold email from a voice actor offering their services. 100% of the time I read the first few sentences. 100% of the time I block the sender. When I was starting out as a production assistant, I got my first gigs cold emailing, so I have an incredibly soft spot for folks who put themselves out there like that. So I give every email a chance. So why do I do what nearly everyone else does when they get a cold email— why do I forever send them to the trash? Because every cold email wants ME TO DO THE WORK. Every email is the same cookie cutter garbage, with no research as to who I am or what I do, that tasks me with figuring out why I need you. My career is the product of cold emailing and I these emails make me want to pull my hair out, so PLEASE take this advice as gospel: 1. Do your research. Start with knowing my name and the name of the company I work for. Know what type of work we DO (you’d quickly learn I rarely need voice actors and save yourself some trouble, but I digress) and figure out why I would ever need to hire a voice actor. This is the most important. 2. Make a good case. This is not “I’m a good voice actor, you’d be stupid not to hire me”. This is “In the last month you’ve made a dozen videos about football for TikTok and I used to be the stadium announcer at UCLA who hyped up our fans during the game. I think your videos could not only benefit from voiceover, but I could bring a whole new level of excitement that should turn into new levels of engagement”. You can’t make a case without research, you can’t convince someone without making a strong argument. And your case should be about ADDED value. You’re experienced in this department. 3. Don’t make me do ANY WORK. If you’ve done 1 and 2, you have just saved me so much time and effort. I don’t have to do any thinking about why I need you, you have told me. I don’t have to search for any info about your relevant experience, you have just told me the ONLY thing I need to know about you. You have already proven why you’re a pro— you are being additive. The only work I need to do is listen to the sample (if you can’t guess what this sample is, good luck to you) and respond. As you write this email have in your mind constantly: “who is being asked to do the work?” If you do all 3 of these things, you are attempting to do something for me. If you don’t do ALL of these you are asking me to do something for you. If the example in #2 was the actual situation, I would save your contact at the very least. Maybe there isn’t a job right now, but if I ever needed VA, your case would be top of mind. But isn’t this a lot of work? Multiplied by 1000 emails, wouldn’t this take forever?! Anybody who wants to hire you from a cold email that sucks and is clearly cut and paste— AND doesn’t know any other voice actors in Los Angeles— isn’t someone you want to work for anyway. They aren’t going to help you get the next job that makes you never have to cold email again. You only get good clients from good emails. And lastly, as a twist, to prove why research is paramount: if you looked me up at all, you’d find out that not only am I a producer at this company… but I also do all their in-house VO. Is there still a case to be made for you?
How to not over-act when stakes are high by Abstract_Corduroy74 • last post Jan 7th
I am really stumped over stakes in acting. I've always been. I always hear / read that actors should make the stakes over what they're fighting for in each and every scene as high as they can; "life or death". I know that doesn't actually mean that if their character doesn't get what they want, they're going to die. It seems like high stakes would give way to over-the-top acting. Yet they never seem to. It seems like a huge contradictory paradox. My question is, how do I refrain from acting over-the-top when the stakes are high for my character in a scene?
Some food for thought about voice-over rates for "beginners" by Joes_SpeakEasy • last post Jan 7th
My grandfather often said, "The art of selling by cutting price is not 'Salesmanship', but 'SalesmanSH\*T'. Sell your service, not your price". Voice acting requires a high level of skill and training. It takes time and practice to develop the ability to effectively convey emotion and meaning through the voice, as well as the technical skills necessary to produce clear and consistent audio recordings. Additionally, voice-over work requires a significant amount of time and effort to prepare and record. This includes researching the project, rehearsing lines, and potentially multiple takes to get the perfect recording. It is important for beginners to set fair and reasonable rates for your work, based on the time and effort required to complete a project. This helps to establish your value as a professional and ensures that you are fairly compensated for your work. By discounting your rates, beginners may not be accurately reflecting the value of their skills and the time and effort you put into your work. This can lead to undervaluing your work and potentially being taken advantage of by clients. And when you build your business on a foundation of lower paying clients, you create TWICE as much work for yourself, having to REBUILD your business with clients who pay industry standard rates. Those bottom dwellers aren't going to raise the rates they've been paying you simply because you've had a change of heart. The key is NOT to begin your voice-over business until you can compete with professionally trained voice actors who have professional quality equipment. Your impatience to get started you will only make it TWICE as hard on yourself in the long run. In other words, don't start until you're ready. Good luck!
Actor wanting to move to LA by Alahs • last post Jan 7th
I am a 24 year old male who wants to move to LA to pursue acting, is there anyone in this subreddit that wants to move there with me? If so, DM me here and we can talk further. Thanks!
Do I have a shot? How to get a professional position? by MoshiMacaroon • last post Jan 7th
Hello! My name is Sarah. I am 16 years old. My ultimate dream is to become a voice actress, it's what I truly want to do in the future. I'm in plenty of projects (which I am SO grateful for btw!!), but none of them are professional, most are volunteer. I am ALWAYS trying to improve my work. I really desperately want to do this. I dream all the time about voice acting for cartoons, animes, and video games. Do you guys think I have a shot? How can I improve? How can I get into the professional field?? I also sometimes fear that I am inconsistent with my skill level. Help pls! Latest Work: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI\_f5eDBnAI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI_f5eDBnAI) All Work: [https://msha.ke/moshimacaroon/#top-picks-1](https://msha.ke/moshimacaroon/#top-picks-1)
Just need a little help by leighthelatte • last post Jan 7th
so i'm starting to work on becoming a voice actor, and i need a bit of help figuring out my setup so i live with my parents and my sister, and it gets kinda noisy, but i should still be able to work around that but my computer is a pretty hefty gaming desktop, but it so far isn't bad for recording audio, especially since my mic is pretty nice and i do all my work from my decently sized bedroom, and i would do work in my closet, but it's almost too small, full of clothes and clutter, and i don't have a laptop and i obviously can't lug my giant pc in there i also am broke as a rock and can't afford too much fancy equipment (yet) so my current setup is just my desk in an open room, a mic with a pop filter, a hefty pc desktop, and thats all. so i could use some advice for just some devices i could get in the near future to aid in audio quality, and where i should do my work efficiently the laptop thing is my biggest barrier, because i do have places i can do my work if my computer was portable i also have an ipad with a keyboard and trackpad set up if thats helpful at all i appreciate any advice, i am starting from the bottom in terms of the career part, i have acting/ theatre experience that definitely aids in my favor, that i'm not too worried about, but its just my concerning setup that i'm hung up on, if a photo is needed i can add one thanks for listening :)
Want to act and direct, but I don’t know if I’m on the right path by BackgroundTop7827 • last post Jan 7th
I’m M18. Always loved movies my whole life. I am currently going to a community college in San Francisco majoring in Film,tv, and broadcasting. I don’t actually start my film classes till next month so Im hoping for the best. I have little to none acting experience. In my high school we had a video production class, I happened to be in it, and even got in the honors program. It was coolio I loved it, and we made little skits and segments for the school and I would always play a character and be in front of the camera. It was mostly improv, but there were few occasions I had to memorize tiny lines. I did in fact narrated a school assembly, i missed my queue for the last scene but it was overall good. I don’t know I just want to create and help create and maybe act as a superhero one day. I currently have actors access but I haven’t paid for the version I can submit. I’m not even sure if actors access is the right site to look. I know for me to “make it on the big screens” i need a agent. Where do I find one? Is there any other acting sites that can help me find calls or agents near me?
Tips for nailing Actors Connection/One on One Showcases? by Actingchick1234 • last post Jan 6th
Hello! I did my first Actors Connection showcase yesterday for agents. I did the last page of a 6-page comedic scene, which I have been working on in my acting program. The scene has typically had the whole class laughing. I started the scene at the climax, right when I tell the guy I hooked up with that he got me pregnant. Now skip to the showcase: The agents didn't seem to get that the scene was comedic because the reader I was working off of didn't seem to get it, and the context of the scene is depressing (particularly the fact that the guy vehemently denies that he is the one who got me pregnant). Everyone I coached with said to pick up the pace because it's a back-and-forth (duh, comedy!) and also because the showcase only gives you 2 minutes per scene. The agents told me that I should have shortened the scene and raised the stakes because it didn't seem like I had enough time to really take in the gravity of the news I received in the scene and they wanted me to be even more impacted. I get it, but this was really frustrating to hear because 1) I already chopped the scene down so much 2) without the context of the whole play and a comedic reader to work off of, they seemed to have thought I should have been sobbing my eyes out by the end of the scene because of "how devastating it is that this guy won't admit he's the father." From knowing the whole play, this is not how she feels. She's more irritated and disgusted than anything and it's supposed to be funny because he's such a dumbass as a character, and 3) I WANTED to take the time to "behave" more and show the news affecting me but I had TWO MINUTES, so I didn't want to waste time pausing. The other thing is, I know that I could have gotten there emotionally if I wanted to, but I was making a choice that the character ended the scene by feeling defeated and resigned rather than irate or devastated based on the context of the play. I guess maybe I should have gone for the stronger choice because out of context it doesn't matter? I also didn't want to play the same note the entire time. I got angry in the middle of the scene, and then ended with resignation. Anyway, I am just confused about how I am supposed to really live out a fully fleshed scene in such a short amount of time. How short are the scenes you usually pick? Do you go for extremely strong emotions in a showcase? I am used to doing short sides for auditions, but at least the person watching the audition has some context and they aren't sticking a clock in my face. Maybe I need to pick a better scene that doesn't require any context? Or maybe I need to pick a really short scene so that I have time to live it out emotionally? **What strategies have worked for you?** I don't want to come off as bitter, but it's hard when you feel like you could have delivered what they wanted if you just understood what was expected of you in the first place. I am sure I also need to take some responsibility for my choices not landing. Either way, how can I prevent this from happening again?
my scenes are SUPER boring by Tiusday_ • last post Jan 6th
hello! so i am a theatre actor and we have a play in 8 days. my acting partners told me that one scene we have is pretty boring and it's not ready yet. but the reason that it is boring is because of the other actress i am playing with. they are supposed to be playing a very active and funny character but because they have anxiety it's hard for them to get into that character. so my worry is that i play a very bland character that is either sad or angry. they are not enogh to lighten up those scenes in my opinion. and my question is, if they can't get into character when we are in the scene what can i do so viewers don't get bored. i am open for any help and advice. thanks in advance!
Is This Realistic by actress_writer101 • last post Jan 6th
I plan on starting my professional career as an actress and screenwriter after college (so around 22 years old). I'm aware that acting is an unpredictable career and I'm fine with that, I've never been a huge fan of strict routines anyways. But I'm hoping my career can be at least 35 years, definitely would like a bit more than that, but is this realistic to hope for? I have a lot of creative goals I want to achieve and I need time, this is not a short term thing for me, it's a career. I've seen lots of non-famous actors achieve it. I'm not looking for fame or money, I love my craft and I don't even have to make a living off of acting the whole time, but I do hope to someday, but even if I have to have a day job most of the time I don't mind. I also worked on developing thick skin for all the rejection over the past few years and have gotten really good, and have learned to love auditioning and self-taping and I treat it as a chance to act and put on a mini show/film, and the idea of doing more auditions than gigs in my lifetime doesn't even bother me (although of course I hope for many gigs), on the contrary I am excited because I think of how many scripts, material and roles I will get exposed to. Same for screenwriting, I learned that not everyone will like my screenplays, but there will be many actors and producers out there who would love to bring them to life.
Is there such a thing as a good agent contract? Please tell me there is. by ActingHopes • last post Jan 6th
Long story short, I got offered my first ever agent contract. Upon review, it was very one-sided and maybe even a bit exploitative. There were definitely parts that made me nervous from a legal, financial, and career standpoint. Discussion with a lawyer friend confirmed my concerns, as well as brought up new ones. I made edits to the contract and sent them back to the agency for review. The agency came back to me and said that they would not consider any edits. Period. My questions are: Is this common? As an actor, do you just kind of have to accept that you have to eat shit and take on legal and financial risk from an agency so you can get signed? Or is this agency in particular just not great, and I have to keep looking? I'm trying to figure out how to proceed. Thanks.
Virtual casting call etiquette questions from a first time director by CrazyVegetable3187 • last post Jan 6th
I'm going to be shooting my first feature length film this summer and will be posting a virtual casting call in local Facebook groups and also sending to local university theatre programs + acting schools. I want to make sure I don't do anything considered rude or unprofessional. Here are my questions: 1. Is it frowned upon to ask for an audition tape right off the bat? I have heard several people say you should ask for headshots first. I personally don't see why it would be harmful to ask for an audition right off the bat to get the ball rolling, but if this is considered rude in some way I won't. EDIT: Also how long is too long to request an audition for? I.e. is it acceptable to ask for two different scenes across five pages? Or what is a good guideline? . 2. How descriptions is too descriptive in character descriptions? What should be my sentence limit? I have character descriptions written out but they're all very long - as long as 11 sentences for one of the leads. I feel like this may be too much. . 3. Is it unprofessional to give examples of similar movie characters in the character description? For example, this isn't related to my film but if I said this character most closely resembles Rob Riggle's, specifically in the Hangover and We're The Millers. Is this bad? . 4. It's an R rated film and I want to be as up front as possible. There are two characters that are seen post-sex, would writing something along the lines of "must be comfortable laying in bed with character x, no sex scene/stimulated sex, but there is implied after sex" be acceptable? There are also a couple of characters that smoke in the film, and so I was going to put in their description "must be comfortable smoking fake joints," does this seem fine? Lastly, there is one character that has simulated sex in a comedic way - would it be fine to write something like "has a simulated sex scene, but no nudity is required; however must be comfortable shirtless and with the scene"? . 5. I'm looking to have two virtual rehearsals and one on person rehearsal before filming. Every role besides background actors will be paid. Would it be unprofessional to ask for these two virtual rehearsals to be uncompensated and that the in person one gas will be reimbursed and there will be dinner, but no further compensation? I don't feel great about it, but I'm very limited from a budget perspective. . 6. Is there anything else you think I should know? Thanks so much in advance, I really appreciate your time!
How do I know if my 4/5 year old is a natural actress? by notabot780 • last post Jan 6th
My daughter is almost 5 and I have a hunch I should get her into acting. She has a very vivid imagination always going on for 10 minutes of directing/writing a detailed script before we play pretend/scene. I don’t have much to compare to, but she seems good at memorizing lines and when we play pretend her acting skills are pretty convincing. She absolutely loves attention, dress up, and playing pretend. She does (and loves) ballet and singing classes but I can’t say if she’s especially good or not. I don’t know anything about acting or the industry, but I would guess that it would be easier to get a shoe in the door when she is younger and might have less competition. So my questions to you are how do I know if she has some natural talent or if all kids are like this? Am I wrong to think that time is of the essence because the older she gets, the more competition she’ll have? Thanks in advance, I hope this post isn’t annoying!