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!