Handling rejection

How do you handle getting constantly told no? In the business of acting you will be turned down 97% of the time. The thing to keep in mind is that just because you were told no it doesn't mean you’re a bad actor it just means that you weren't exactly the person they had in mind for the role, so many factors play a part in getting a part, You could remind the director of a bully that made fun of him back in high school so that's why it’s better to not even think about why because there are too many possibilities to consider. The best thing you can do is just keep working and make goals for yourself and meet those goals by a certain date and that will give you inspiration to make new goals to feel like your accomplishing something even if there small just keep moving forward and get as much experience as you can. Here's a good read!!

Photo Postcards

Your photo postcard is sent along with your headshot/resume. This is basically your sales pitch, you want to use the photo that best typifies you as an actor and you will usually use your commercial shot for this. So let’s say you send one to an agent’s office, you want to state an interest for them representing you, any classes you’re currently taking and any new work you got. But you don't want to send it out to that agent only once or else it will be forgotten. So in about two or three weeks you want to write another one, this one will serve as sort of a progress report stating any new work you got or any new classes you started to take. Also always state any callbacks you got even if you didn't get the part for what you auditioned for and mention the director and CD that gave you the callback (A callback is when you audition and the CD likes it and calls you in again to audition for the director and producer to see if your right for the role) because the agent can base your talent if the director is reputable and will be more likely to call you in and audition. So don't stop following up. Because in the acting industry persistence isn't a bad thing.

Sample Resume

Name

Cell: 8906835130                                                                Height: 6’3”

E-mail: Janedoe@yahoo.com                                           Weight: 190

                                                                                                Hair: Blond

                                                                                                Eyes: Brown

                                                                                                            

Theater

Romeo and Juliet  -  Tybalt  -  Millbrook Theater

The Importance of Being Earnest  -  Jack  -   Lakeside playhouse

Film

Eye of the tiger  -  James(supporting)  -  Touchstone pictures

 Training

Speech- Larry king

Acting-Jane Edwards (2 years)

 Special Skills

Proficient Spanish, Guitar, snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, football, swimming, volleyball,

Your Resume

      OK so like any job resume your acting resume will be similar by showing what work you’ve done what kind of work whether it be theater film or television you’ve been involved in and it gives people an idea of your physical, stature. You also want to put on any info were you can be reached like your phone number, email address, and any website you may have displaying your acting talent. Also at the bottom you want to put any special talents you can do like a different language or any sports you’re good at. While there’s no clear cut way that a resume should look like, your best bet is having it looking clean easy to read, Professional and having it stand out. hundreds of resume are quickly scan and passed over every day in an agent’s office and/or casting directors so you want it to be easy to read, First you name should in larger text than the rest and centered on top then below that your contact info, number email etc.. Second list your height, weight, hair, and eye color. Never put your age, that should be left up to the agent or CD to decide. Under the office lights a resume on plain white paper will glare and we be difficult to read, so consider investing in off white paper or gray resume paper, it can make a difference. Also when making your resume keep in mind what area of acting you want to do if theater put the theater experience first. If you live in Los Angeles and are focusing toward film and television put those first. Lastly be truthful about what you put on your resume you don’t want to give your name a bad reputation.

Happy International Womans day!!!!

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

-Lucille Ball

Headshots

What is a headshot?? A headshot is a powerful tool for actors to use. It needs to be a high quality photo of you. It should display the type of actor you want to be. There are three types of shots you should get. The "legit shot" the "commercial shot" and the "soap shot". The legit shot should be used for Film and television and displays a natural relaxed look, but don't look expressionless either. The commercial shot can also be used in television and obviously for commercials and you should have a warm inviting look and be smiling. The soap shot is for daytime television and should show of any good features and good looks. Your headshots should be in color and should be sized 8*10 to fit to the back of your resume. . When deciding what to wear, you want something that compliments you characteristics whether it be your eyes hair or what not you want to wear something that looks good on you. Don’t wear bold patterns that distract people from you face, usually good colors would be lighter blue and other plain colors.Heres a link on how to find what colors go best with your skin tone. I hope this helps have a great weekend!!

The Producer

The producer is more on the business end of creating a film or play/musical and will often want to have a large number of contacts to be able to get the production going. They will read over scripts and if they like them will then send them to studios to see if they are interested and would finance the production. But sometimes they will use their own money for the beginning phases of a film. Producers are involved in all phases of creating a movie or show and these will be one of the people you would most likely see when auditioning. They are also the ones that hire the casting director and director.

The Casting director

So when you go to an audition you will most likely be performing in front of the casting director (CD) along with the director and producer. The main job of the casting director is to you guessed it to cast actors for different roles in film, television, and theater. The CD will meet with the director and director and producer and get an idea of what their looking for. Once this is determined they will begin auditions and once they narrow down to a few actors and will present these to the director and producer the actors will then get call-backs to audition again as many times as they need to get the right person

Free monologue websites

Finding monologues can be a daunting task. Here are a few websites with free monologues for men, women, teens and children.

>auditionpreparation.com

>www.ace-your-audition.com/free-monologues.htmlCached - Similar

>www.monologuearchive.com

>www.ispgroupinc.com/monologues/monologues_for_kids_and_teens

The Agent interview

when auditioning for an agent you will want to have memorized  3 monologues: A contemporary monologue, A classical monologue and depending on what direction you want to go in acting a comedic monologue these are also good to have because it can get the agent laughing and ease tension in the room. So what should I wear? I read recently that 1 in 4 people look good in black so it’s a good idea to wear colors that compliment your skin tone, hair, eye color, etc... I’ve read any color blue is good also don’t overdress, dress your age but also don’t dress sloppy. I have also read many different views on wear to look when reading your monologue, The whole idea when reading your monologue is for the agent to see how you express and read your monologue with facial expressions therefore you wouldn’t want to be reading sideways but neither would you want to be looking directly at the agent making him or even you uncomfortable when reading so let’s say it’s best to read toward the agent but look above his/her head to whatever is behind them and focus on that. Sometimes agents will ask the question and say so tell me a little about what’s happening in your life. This will catch some actors off guard and not know what to say so it’s a good idea to have a story already prepared focusing on how you’re improving your craft of acting and never talk about negative stuff happening in your life.

Industry Personnel: Talent agents

There are mainly 4 people you should know about-your agent, the Casting director, Producer and director. I’m going to go over each of them and tell you a little about what they do and how it affects you, starting with what every actor wants the talent agent.

             The Agent

    The main job of the agent is to basically find you acting work. Then he/she usually gets paid 10% of what you earn(Never pay an agent before getting a job this is usually a scam an agent only gets paid once he/she gets you work.)Some agents will handle all types of acting work while others may specialize in a particular area. There are agents who handle television and voice-overs or just film and television.

            How do you get an Agent?

A number of ways exist on how to get an agent,  you might even get invited to audition for them if they have seen your work in a movie/play/indie film, another way is a referral from a casting director. But the most common way is to find the agents offices in your city(if any) is to send them head shots, your resume, and cover letter (these things will be discussed in later blogs) but sometimes this might not work but be persistent this is a good thing and it shows them you are serious. You can do this by every few weeks send out a follow up what this does is show the agent your progress and any new work you get Ex. (dear (name of agent) I recently sent you my photo and resume a few weeks ago and I am still looking for representation I have had a callback from the play Les miserables by the director Jane doe unfortunately I wasn't cast but Jane said she loved my work. I am also now enrolled in John smiths scene study class. I'm looking forward for you representation and would like to meet at your convenience sincerely, Spencer Mill)   Notice how I mention the names of the director and my classes teacher when I only got a call back (but is important to say) the agent might know that director and be good friends with them and if they respect that person and think highly of their work it might say something about your talent. If and when you get asked to audition for a talent agent the important thing to know is your type what I mean by this is are you the athlete, the nerd, the super intelligent kid, a jock, the comedic type, a rapper, a lawyer? agents need to know this so they now what roles to cast you in. if you don't know ask your acting coach or you drama teacher and your friends and ask them what part In a movie or TV show they could see you  in and keep a tally of what genre and type of character comes up most often.  Ok so say you have an agent that doesn’t mean you can sit back and have them do all the work, you still need to be auditioning by yourself and if you get something tell your agent communication is key for a good actor agent relationship. So your agent will send you out to auditions with the location and time and type of film/play/commercial.

   
                    Freelancing

This is the difference between New York agents and Los Angeles Agents. What freelancing means is that an agent starts working with you but is not under contract with you, this is to mainly see if the two of you work well together and if he/she can get work for you. This is only in New York I haven't heard of any agent freelancing in LA. So in LA it’s immediately under contract.

Getting started

So you want to start your acting career Awesome!! First thing to know is fame doesn't come overnight, if you live in a larger city great, there will most likely be classes for you to take and many opportunities for acting experience. But I often get people saying they live in a small town and there’s no classes for acting, I often read you Have to go where the work is (NYC,LA) yeah but like me being a kid without a license and parents not willing to drive hours to a big city what are you to do? the best thing to do is get involved with any drama/acting classes at your school and any plays put on at your school it’s a great way to get started and you meet a lot of cool people with similar interest, Also another way is go and audition for play at a community theater most towns have them and that's where I started. the main point is do as much as you can to get involved with the acting community and get as much experience as you can and have fun! Until then check out this site for many other acting Qs

The Idea behind the Thespians Friend Blog

When I first decided I wanted to become an actor I had no idea where to begin, I first started researching through the Internet but in the end I ended up with nothing. I had no clue what a resume was supposed to look like let alone what an agent did. So know being much more experienced and knowledgeable I am blogging to help beginning actors get the info they need to succeed!