We have found 19,306 posts across 4 actor forums:
I want to be a voice actor so bad. by beesyrup29 • last post Aug 19th
I’m 22 5’11 but can make my voice surprisingly high pitched and cute. If anyone needs anything let me know.
Method Acting Tips by Lucius_Discipulus • last post Aug 19th
Hello everyone, I'm trying to learn Strasberg's method acting, and I'm having a rather difficult time. I've been practicing sense memory for a few weeks, and I think I'm understanding it, but in sense memory, I'm having difficulty with vision. My sense of touch in sense memory is on par with how it is in real life, and taste and smell are almost there too, and my hearing is ok. I'm having trouble with affective memory too. In some instances when I've practised it, I might have felt some emotion, but not enough emotion to be useful in an actual scene. I'd like to ask any well-practiced method actors out there, do you think that my problem is because of a lack of practise in sense memory or if the problem might be caused by something else? Also in sense memory, should vision be as clear as in real life? My vision in sense memory can picture objects that I am familiar with (and only if they are not far away) but I cannot picture a full room. I've lately been attemping to picture the front cover of this book (see above) and can't replicate the color patterns in my mind.
Social media? Dun dun done?! by WilliamAB2122 • last post Aug 19th
The main questions: Has anyone really won or lost a job because of the number of followers you have? And what format, FB, IG, YT? And, is it worth all the screen time? Spending all that time liking, commenting and collecting friends. This question comes from an amazing interview with Bill Duke(link below) on Film Courage, where he said, “If two actors are up for the same job, and one has 5M followers, if 10% go see the film, that’s 500k tickets sold... They get the job.” A while back I had the Amy Jo Berman influenced social media setup, where I’d post once and it would show up everywhere, but that got me free work with friends who expected me to share their crowd funding link. It got frustrating and I quit everything. I also quit because FB was always in the news and it was never good. I started a FB again today and noticed it’s as dead as MySpace. Even celebrity friends post something, and they get like 5 likes. Is it worth it? Has it helped you? Bill Duke interview... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=odpGdFLT8dQ Amy Jo Berman... https://m.youtube.com/user/TipsOnActing
Comparative study of empathy and emotion regulation: Actors vs Non-actors by dancemonkey_xo • last post Aug 19th
Helu peeps! I'm a final year student pursuing Masters in Clinical psychology from Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. For my dissertation project, I'm doing a comparitive study between professional actors and non-actors on their the empathy and emotion regulation levels. For that, I need 50 professional actors from India to fill in my questionnaire. The criteria for someone being a professional actor in this research is anyone who's been regularly working in plays, TV shows, Web-series, Videos or Movies. I'll be very very very very grateful if you could take out time to fill in my questionnaire if you fulfil the aforementioned criteria. I'm hoping to draw conclusions from this research that might be the first step towards developing some interventions based on acting for empathy and emotion regulation development. If you know someone else who also fulfils the criteria, sharing the link with them too will be a big help! Thank you so much for your time, guys! PS. All your information will be kept completely confidential and will only be used for this research. The link to the questionnaire- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1g0aR0uLPP0Lw4q2qZuiyTlqEAs005eoa7TVakNDBh6o/edit
Actingggg by Californiagirl223 • last post Aug 19th
I reallyyyy wanna be an actress but i honestly don’t know where to start can you guys help me
Any help for disabled actors/actresses by The_Glam_Reaper • last post Aug 19th
I have cerebral palsy, and fetal alcohol syndrome. For many years people told me I could not do acting because of this. But I saw Breaking bad. I also looked up all the actors and actresses that have fetal alcohol syndrome. I did not realize that Jim Carey had it as well. This has made me realize that what I was told is not true. I used to take drama. I even started taking acting classes. What I want to know is if there are any programs in Washington state for disabled people who want to act? I Have been doing a lot of improv mostly. But I have also been on stage dancing, and singing. I love it. But I really want to be on tv. My dream is to be on The walking dead, or some other Horror style tv show. I know it is not easy. But I have already put in a lot of hard work going to classes, and being in shows. I am not the type of person to give up on my dreams.
So I’ve never tried acting before but it’s something I want to get into. What are the best resources for me and things I should do to get into the industry? by BewareTheScare • last post Aug 19th
I currently make YouTube videos about horror movies with 50k subscribers and on twitter I’m followed by different horror actors and directors. I’d love to be in a horror movie one day but like I said, I’ve never done it before. My dream gig would be like a serial killer who never talks (Jason, Michael, etc.) I’m 6’2 250lbs so I think I fit the height and weight category, but I’m not sure, maybe I need to be a little taller. What do you think are my best options to start this journey?
To all my fellow actors who have to go against the will of their parents/friends/society by AlenACNL • last post Aug 19th
A reminder: This is your life. You only have one life. Keep your responsibilities in check and dont worry about them too much. Show them (=whoever doubts you or stops you in your way) that you are moving towards your goal and your happyness. Show them that you are doing what makes you happy. Show them YOUR vision of YOUR life. And what you were meant to be in YOUR book. You only have one life, dont ever give up your dreams because someone expects you to be a certain way. Prove everyone wrong, not just by succeeding but just, simply, by being happy. Because every person that truly loves you just wants you to be happy. I I know that not all parents are the same. Some situations are troubling, some terrible. But if you are in one of those situations where you feel like you have to swim upwards towards a waterfall - Remember: You are not alone, and you are not a bad/lazy/stupid/whatever person just because you follow your ambitions. We in this together. Keep up the fight and flee forward actors. All the love, Alen
Perceptions of bald actors by SaintShaffer • last post Aug 19th
Hi there! I know this isn't exactly straightforward as there's a wide variety of bald actors, but I'm curious to know how people generally feel when they see a shiny dome on the big screen. I think this post is also a way to organize and articulate my thoughts, so if you're reading this I hope you find it interesting, or can at least skip over it and share your thoughts. To begin, I have a full head of hair but something changed and I can't stand it. I don't know what happened but I just feel like I need to shave it off. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot and ruin my chances of being cast in something, but at the same time I live in Portland, OR and with the 'rona and protests and riots, contained as they may be... well I'm pretty sure I'll have time to grow it back before I actually have to worry about booking anything. That being said, I'm going to start taking classes at the Rooney/Totman Studio soon and especially as a large and fairly muscular white guy I don't want to give off the wrong impression (you know, because sometimes the worst kind of people shave their heads). I don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable and I especially never want anybody to feel unsafe around me. I think I'm still going to take the plunge and see how it goes, but I'd really like to know everyone's thoughts and feels.
Super-Objectives and Through-Lines of Action by a_humble_player • last post Aug 19th
>!(The difference between a Super-Objective and a Through-Line (or Spine) was asked about in the "There Are No Stupid Questions" thread for this week. My answer got really long so I figured I'd post it separately. Not everybody checks that thread, after all, and I know my friends and I have had some difficulties figuring out what these two terms meant over the years. Hopefully, this will help some folks out with another perspective!) !< # The What Now? The terms **super-objective** and **through-line** get tossed around in acting classes but can be a little tricky to define. Is a **super-objective** just a bigger version of a character's scenic objective? Is the **through-line** synonymous with a **character arc**? Let's go briefly to Stan- "the man" -islavsky who came up with these terms. In his book, *Creating a Role,* Stanislavsky wrote: >The **super-objective** is the **quintessence** of the play. The **through-line of action** is the **leitmotif** which runs through the entire work. Together they guide the creativeness and strivings of the actor. Thanks, Kostya, but that only really helps us if we know what the heck "**quintessence**" and "**leitmotif**" mean! Let's dig in, shall we? # Quintessence and the Super-Objective Something's **quintessence** is the most perfect, fundamental example of its nature. When you strip away everything extraneous, that which remains is the thing's **quintessence**. Thus, the **super-objective** of a story comes from the main concepts that the story, *as a whole*, is focused on exploring. It's the subject and ideas the story seeks to communicate to the audience as a **piece of art**. Because the **super-objective** is the **quintessence** of the story itself, it is *shared in common* by all the characters in a given story. This is because every character does not exist separately from that story; they all somehow exist in relation to it and support its telling in some way. We usually say **super-objective** (singular) because it assumes that every story *ideally* has one pure artistic thing it wants to communicate to the audience. In reality, however, it's pretty tough to take that one artistic conceit and reduce it to a single word. Good stories are often complicated and involve mixing several concepts together and seeing what happens when they interact. This makes for a more interesting and complex story for the audience to enjoy. So when I mention the **super-objective** (singular), it's in reference to that (difficult-to-articulate) **core artistic intent of the story**. When I say **super-objectives** (plural), it's the shorthand way for me to say the phrase "the ideas and concepts that play off of each other in order to formulate the artistic **super-objective** that is being presented to the audience by the story". 'Cause that's- y'know- clunky to type out. So, for example, it's hard for me to say concretely what the **super-objective** (as the distilled **quintessence**) of *Romeo and Juliet* is. As the zen saying goes, "One word of explanation misses the mark." However, I *can* say that some of the **super-objectives** in *Romeo and Juliet* involve exploring the concepts of ***love*** and ***feuding***. But those concepts aren't as prominent in, say, *Hamlet*. Instead, some of the **super-objectives** in *Hamlet* are (***in)action***, ***(dis)honor***, and ***(un)certainty***. I'll use these examples more in a moment. But first, let's talk about **leitmotifs.** # Leitmotif and the Through-Line of Action In music, a **leitmotif** is what we might more commonly call a "character theme" in the orchestration of films, melodramas, operas, videogames, et cetera. **Leitmotifs** are musical phrases associated with people, places, things, or concepts. They are musical cues in the orchestration to draw your attention to a moment in the story that's deeply representative of whatever it is that the **leitmotif** is associated with. When a **leitmotif** plays, it's as if it's trying to say, "Remember this thing? It's important to the story right now!" What's great about **leitmotifs** is that composers are able to play with them by using different instruments, changing musical keys, or harmonizing with other **leitmotifs** in order to show how they change, develop, or interact over the course of the story- just like the characters they represent! If you want to get a better understanding of **leitmotifs** and how they work (with audio examples), you might check out these videos:[Lord of the Rings: How Music Elevates a Story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7BkmF8CJpQ)[Theme vs. Leitmotif](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVlsIhbQ2qM) (cw: language) So when Stanislavsky called a character's **through-line of action** a **leitmotif**, it suggests that- like the musical phrase associated with a character- there is a group of related *actions* and *objectives* which get associated with a particular character throughout a given story. That is, those certain related *actions* and *objectives* will tend to be done by the same character throughout the story and establishes that character's **through-line**. This is important because if the **leitmotif** never actually repeated itself in a recognizable way, we would never think to associate it with the character! Likewise, if a *character* in a story doesn't behave in a consistent or recognizable way, it's harder for us to get an idea of- well- their characteristics! When we're watching stories, it's useful to be able to have reactions like, "Uh-oh, here comes the trouble-maker!" or "Ugh! They're so wishy-washy!" This also means that other characters in the same story will tend to use *different* sets of *actions* and *objectives*. This helps all the characters feel distinct and separate from one another, just like those recognizable musical phrases. It also helps the audience understand what that character represents and signifies in the context of the overall story. Each character's unique **through-line of action** becomes associated with a *specific part* of the *greater*, *common* **super-objective** that the story works to artistically achieve. If characters experience character growth or character development over the course of the story, you'll notice that the *actions* and *objectives* they tend to use will change as they experience those critical moments that redefine who they are. This makes the "line" of the character's **through-line of action** turn into the "arc" of a **character arc**. But remember that not all characters change their actions or objectives in this radical way. The main character(s) usually will, but it can be less common or significant for supporting characters. That's okay! Don't worry if your character's **through-line** is as straight as an arrow instead of as bendy as a bobsled course. You'll still have one, no matter how small or large your part. It's a good starting point to assume that every time a character takes focus in a story, it's because the playwright wants to explore something that character is associated with in relation to a certain aspect of the **super-objective**. That character is going to do, say, or react in a unique way that the other characters *wouldn't*. And *that's* why the playwright wrote them into a given scene. But let's get on to some examples of how the **super-objectives** and **through-lines of action** work together. I promised you I'd use the ones I suggested for *Romeo and Juliet* along with *Hamlet*, so here we go! # Shakespeare Examples When Tybalt shows up in *Romeo and Juliet*, you know he's going to try to start a fight. It's what Tybalt *does,* and that's what makes up his **through-line of action.** All of his scenic objectives relate back to the behavioral **leitmotif** we associate with Tybalt: provoking some kind of fight with the Montagues. Tybalt, as a character, shows up in scenes to explore the aspect of the **super-objective** related to ***feuding.*** He helps push the story forward by complicating it with violence and conflict that the other characters have to attempt to resolve. Tybalt responds predictably and consistently. His objectives are all related and understandable based on what we come to expect from his character. When he sees Benvolio in the middle of a brawl in the public square between four servants, he joins the fight! When he realizes a bunch of Montagues have crashed his party, he wants to fight. Since his Uncle stops him from fighting at the party the night before, he sends a letter of challenge to Romeo's house. When Romeo doesn't answer his letter, he hits the streets to confront Romeo directly. When Romeo refuses to duel but Mercutio steps up instead, he fights! When Romeo is ready to go for the second round, he fights again! How other characters respond to Tybalt's goading also helps define *their* characters and **through-lines**: Lord Capulet is the only one who can actually stop him from fighting; Mercutio is ready and willing to duel; Benvolio plays the well-intentioned (but ineffective) peacemaker; and Romeo initially refuses the challenge but eventually ends up killing Tybalt in passionate revenge of Mercutio's death. ***Feuding***, ***feuding***, and more ***feuding***. It's what Tybalt brings to the play, and without him, the story would go very differently. Importantly, all that ***feuding*** gives something for the concept of ***love*** to play against throughout the story. In *Hamlet,* Hamlet and Laertes have **through-lines** that almost mirror each other in relation to the play's **super-objectives**. Consider the **super-objectives** of ***(in)action***, ***(dis)honor***, and ***(un)certainty***: Hamlet, the character, primarily explores the ideas of ***inaction***, ***dishonor***, and ***uncertainty***. Hamlet's father has been murdered. He feels a deep sense of shame in the ***dishonor*** of failing to revenge his father, but his ***uncertainty*** about Claudius's guilt causes him to wrestle with the consequences of ***inaction*** for five whole acts. The longer he stalls, the worse things seem to get. And even when Hamlet *does* take ***action***, it ends in tragedy: he distresses everyone around him who cares for him; he mistakenly kills Polonius instead of Claudius, which- on top of all the other things he does to Ophelia in order to pretend his "madness"- eventually drives her to suicide; and then he forges a letter which causes his old schoolmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to be executed in England. He manages to rack up quite the body count for someone who spends so much time debating reasons *not* to kill his uncle. In contrast to Hamlet, Laertes explores ***action***, ***honor***, and ***certainty***. Just like Hamlet, Laertes's father is *also* murdered. But the moment Laertes learns *his* father has been killed, he throws caution to the wind and launches into ***action*** to defend his ***honor***. He travels from France back to Denmark, raises an angry mob, storms the palace, and demands Claudius serve justice for his father's murder (or die). Laertes's unwavering ***certainty*** in holding someone responsible for his father's death means that he quickly latches on when Claudius blames Hamlet. Claudius then uses this aspect of Laertes's character to convince him to kill the Prince of Denmark. Laertes only comes to a conclusion of Claudius' responsibility for the misfortunes of the court at the very end of the play. At this moment, Laertes invokes ***certainty***, claiming publicly and decisively that "The King's to blame!". This *finally* gives Hamlet the ***certainty*** he has lacked for the entire play. He quickly takes the ***action*** we've all been waiting for (poisoning *and* stabbing Claudius) and reclaims his ***honor*** by revenging his father's murder. Without Laertes, Claudius might have made it out alive. # So What? Ultimately what I'm trying to get at are these two points: * The **super-objective** is comprised of the *core thematic ideas* of the story as a whole; it is held *in common* by every character; and every character is working, in some way, to explore some of those *core thematic ideas*. * The **through-line of action** is what's unique to each character. It is not so much, "What does my character ultimately want?" It's more like, *"Which aspects of the story's core concepts does my character explore and contribute to? What types of actions and objectives does my character usually pursue in order to influence the story?"* But why do we care? How do we use these things as actors? Well, the theory goes something like this: the better you, as the actor, can identify how your character fits into and contributes to the *whole of the story* (as represented by the ideas contained in the **super-objective**) the easier it will be for you to identify what *actions* and *objectives* you should work with onstage as an actor (to create your character's **through-line of action**). This helps you focus on fulfilling your role as part of a team of actors trying to tell a single story. It also helps the individual parts of the story your character is responsible for seem clear and distinct. The theory of the **super-objective** and the **through-line of action** encourages you to think about your character not as a random individual who *happens* to be in the story, but as a deliberate creation of the writer who *needed* them to make up one *part* *of a whole*. Unless you're doing a one-person show, no character- even the main one- is the entirety of the story. Each has a specific role that *contributes* to helping the bigger story work. That's why we call them *parts* and *roles,* after all! It encourages you to ask why your character's presence is needed in any given scene, even if they don't say anything: Do they need to be introduced so we know who they are later? Do they need to overhear something? Deliver an important piece of news? What do they do to make the story happen and propel it forward? It also encourages you, while you're at it, to check out what the *other* characters are up to in the story. What part of the whole do they make up? How does your character fit together and work with them to achieve your common, narrative goal? What do they do that your character doesn't? This helps you get a better feel for what your fellow actors are contributing so you understand how your characters are supposed to support each other. By knowing that, you can better understand how to sharpen the contrast between those characters and the one your playing. This can especially help if you're cast in multiple roles in the same show! I hope that helps some. Yours humbly!
A couple questions? by lovemoontea • last post Aug 19th
I am a senior psychology student, but for years I’ve thought of pursuing acting. I am planning to finish up my last two semesters of my psychology degree, graduate, and then go back to take courses and finish a second BA or BFA in theater. I am curious about a couple things. I’m sorry if these have been asked/answered before! Would my psychology degree be helpful/useful in a career as an actor? What are the main differences between a BA and a BFA? Is one degree path (BA or BFA) better than the other? What are the differences between a theater education at a state school vs drama school? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!
Is it all a gamble??Please give me some help and time to reply. by Puzzlehead07 • last post Aug 19th
I have been quite studios till high school and was heading for a conventional good job good life typical goal of my country India, around that time I saw The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger's performance led me to read and go deeper into What good acting is and how much of work and effort goes into it and how intricate and hard the whole process is,of learning this art and becoming a great actor. I became keen to explore this after my whole general notion of acting changed and I got to know it is something to learn and practice like we do other stuff and that gave me a sense that if I am dedicated in learning I will become a great actor. But since that time (approx last 2 years) I have been studying and have not acted due to many reasons related to family and society.
Why is inauthentic acting sometimes really effective? by nevernotmad • last post Aug 19th
Non-actor here. How to explain? There is a lot of bad acting and hokiness on Buffy the Vampire Slayer for example; but it works. I’m still buying into the premise of demons and a teenage girl who fights them with her best pals. Is the campy vibe a choice made by the director? The actors? The script-writers? Is there a big meeting?
Lots of voice TALENT, but where do I find voice ACTORS? by resetplz • last post Aug 19th
Did some research this morning looking for a voice actor. No surprise that most gigs are either selling something or announcing something; not too much acting demos. Where might I find voice ACTORS? Another question: One VO person I found was listed as union but suggested that this isn't ironclad and that they can still do non-union work "under certain conditions". Is this true? I'm self-funding so I've had to avoid union talent. \- - - - **UPDATE** with more details: This is an unusual project because it's neither film/TV/radio nor corporate/industrial. It might best be described as a series of "short stories"—effectively monologues. I guess the closest relative would be audiobook narration. There are several "mini-scripts" underway, generally between 1-4 pages of dialog, that call for different voices. I've found a couple of promising ones so far but one or two are proving more difficult (and I'll be needing others in the weeks ahead). \[removed talent-specific info\]
I'm looking by TotallynotReimu96 • last post Aug 19th
I am looking to audition some voice actors for short crime videos. The style of the video will be similar to FBI Files/48 Hours. The accents can be either British or American (native). ​ I'm looking for a normal pitched voice (I don't want a voice you can't sustain, so preferably your own pitch). It's a YouTube channel based on Crime Cases and Serial Killers (almost 500.000 subscribers now) and the scripts are between 800 and 1200 words long, most of the time. The work should be delivered in 48 hours from the moment you receive the script and the payment method will be PayPal. I am willing to pay $40 for 1000 words script (I know it's less than you expected, but I just got monetized this month and I can't afford to pay more) This will be a commitment of at least 30 episodes. ​ If anyone is interested, please pick a short passage from Wikipedia/ Murderpedia serial killer case of your choice and show it to me (maximum 200 words). ​ I will pick fluency over pitch and pronunciation over sound quality (sound quality can be improved with money). It can be male or female. The commercial rights belong to me.
Where oh where can we post about voice acting courses? by SARAAAAAH777 • last post Aug 19th
Hellooooo I am a voice actor and teacher and am stating up a foundation voice acting course specifically for folks wanting to do indie audio fiction / audio drama. I have had a good browse and I am stumped! Where can I pop the links to the course without admins getting cross with me?
How do people get jobs as voice actors on TV adverts/TV shows? by nikolasmaduro • last post Aug 19th
I'm wondering. I don't know if any of you know David Wartnaby but he's a pretty good English V/A artist that does many things on CNN International, Sky, Crime and Investigation UK. ​ Is it a hard marketplace to crack into? I've heard that only 2% of voice artists make it professionally
Looking to try out acting, anyone know of any groups doing acting classes over Zoom? by lemursrcool • last post Aug 18th
I work a full-time office job and went to film school, and man, I miss being on sets. I'm curious if there are any classes out there or just groups of actors looking to practice over Zoom. I'd love to get involved and test the waters.
A Question on Professionalism and Script Typos by TheGentlemanK • last post Aug 18th
I’ve recently been foisted into a position in my company where I am reviewing a lot of voice work, and I’ve noticed a pattern with the voice overs. The voice actors, whom are all native English speakers (or very good at faking it) will read *exactly* what it says on the paper. Even if there are egregious grammar issues or typos (our script writers are not native speakers). Yesterday I listened to three takes of the line “*We are winner*” said without an ounce of humour. Obviously, it’s not a voice actor’s responsibility to proofread their scripts. But when I’ve done my own voice work I usually did an extra take correcting any typos I found and annotated my submission. So while the bulk of my frustration is at my colleagues once again tossing out whatever without proofreading or QA. I admit I’m a bit frustrated with our voice actors as well, I feel like they should know better than to record three separate takes of obvious typos and poor grammar. But then I figured it would make a good point of discussion for here. Mostly I’m venting because I had to fight with my boss to get them to pay to redo these lines. As professionals and semi-professionals what do you do when you encounter these errors in your scripts? Do you fix them in your recordings?