Acting Profile

Yesterday I talked about what being an extra entailed today I’m going to tell you how you can become an extra. First of all you need to apply to an acting agency with your details and a decent picture of yourself. The agent will contact you if they need you and feel that you are suitable for the work. Below are two agencies you might like to apply for.www.studioextras.co.uk

www.pm-global-services.com

Both of these agencies cost to join, but you have to pay most agencies a small fee. Just be careful with paying too much to agencies because there are a lot of scams out there as well as the good ones. You might have to wait a while utnil you are offered work, but at least you have an agent. Here are some more agents.

www.rayknight.co.uk
www.castingcollective.co.uk
www.leescasting.co.uk
www.2020casting.co.uk
www.screenliteagency.co.uk

The pay for an extra is not great you may only get £50 for a full day of waiting around and standing for long periods at a time. Don’t be fooled into thinking that being an extra is glamorous as it is not. It is hard work and for little pay.

You might have heard of the term extra well being an extra is probably one of the easiest ways to get your foot in the door. If you want to be an extra you must remember that it doesn’t involve the skills it would take to carry out an ordinary acting role. You will be in the background of the televised production and you will receive a decent wage packet. Playing an extra won’t involve any large speaking parts although some extras do get one or two line speaking parts.Extras are the roles that you see in films like The Titanic where passengers mingle with one another in the background. The extras are there to make the scene seem more realistic because if there were no extras then the scene would seem unnatural. Imagine a pub without any people at the bar drinking drinks or a train station without any passengers in it.

It would seem wrong and unrealistic where the desired effect is for the scene to be as realistic as possible. So even though extras don’t play the same role as a bigger character they are nonetheless as important because without them the scene would not be a good representation of real life.

Acting in the theatre not only gives an actor the opportunity to perform, but it is also a good training ground. Any acting that you do helps to give the experience that you need to use later down the line. It is good to have a natural ability to act, but you also need to learn skills that will enhance your performance. That is why training to be an actor in a drama school or college can be very beneficial. Not only will it teach what you need to know it can also help you make contacts with people in the media.

When I trained to do Btec National Diploma in Performing Arts I worked along side certain professionals. Whilst I don’t want to disclose who these professionals were they helped me on my way to attain the high standard I have today. However even though I am at a high standard of acting ability there is still a lot that I can learn.

It is a dangerous place to be if you think you know it all and cannot learn anything else. There is always room for improvement and you can always learn from people more and sometimes less experienced than yourself. When you become arrogant and big headed it is a sure sign of danger. You start to block out advice from others and the constructive criticism that can help you to progress. Never reject constructive criticism but, see it for what it is and think about how you can change and progress. Only by accepting constructive criticism will you ever advance in the acting profession.

Being in front of the camera frightens me even though I want to act I am quite camera shy. When I get into the character of the role all that fear disappears, but until I am completely in character the camera scares me. I think it is just the thought of it like stage fright.

I have experienced the thrill of walking off stage after a production and having the adrenaline pumping through your body and that is a wonderful feeling. Knowing that you have performed your best and that the audience is happy with your performance.

When I played a 90 year old once I scared my friends dad in the audience because I was so realistic. My friends dad really believed that I was a 90 year old and that is the biggest compliment I have ever got. I love acting and was born to act. I have had some people say I am a natural and I know I have the ability to act well. I wish I could sing though as that is something I have always wanted to do. Unfortunately I wasn’t born with a natural gift for singing, but I am trying to learn how to sing better. I know that one day I will have to be filmed if I ever get famous, but the thought of appearing to so many people does have an element of fear in it. My friend told me a good way of looking at fear and I have never forgotten.

F false

E expectation

A appears

R real

I’ve always wanted to be able to sing, but it’s something I have always been put down for in my life. My parents constantly told me I was not good enough and my brother used to tell me to shut up when I sang.

So I learned not to sing in front of anyone even though it was desperately something I desired.

Acting was always my first love and something that came natural to me. However singing was different because from a young age it was something I learned that I couldn’t do and therefore never received singing lessons and didn’t have any confidence in my voice.

I got told from a few people that I had a nice, clear speaking voice, but singing was something I didn’t do.

I dreamed of it and every time I went to see a musical I would watch the singers perform and wish it was me.

It was heart breaking for me at a young age to watch my dreams die without a chance of achieving them. Had I had singing lessons when I was younger I’d probably be quite good now. However even when it came to auditioning for the choir at school I was rejected. I just didn’t have the confidence to hold a tune and so the teacher rejected me. It was programmed in my head to believe I couldn’t sing.

Recently I have been taking lessons and find my voice is getting better and I can now hold tunes quite well. Plus my voice is strengthening. I just regret that I wasn’t given more of a chance when I was younger.

If you want to learn to sing there are some good singing lesson videos on Youtube.com and one particular man named Seth Rigg is particularly good. Anyone can learn to sing better, but not everybody is encouraged. If you really want to be able to sing even if you are not quite good enough to sing professionally then you should sing as a hobby. You never know when that hobby might just land you a professional position.

Tonight in class we looked at a film of the making of Miss Saigon. It was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Looking at Miss Saigon behind the scenes showed me in context what actually happens in a production. Cameron Mackintosh was involved with the making and it showed him as he worked with the rest of the cast. Most people who watch a show live in the West End don’t realise what it takes to get there and the work that goes into it. Voice training is intensive as well as other more physical skills such as dancing.

Miss Saigon is a tragic love story and the war is the end of a vision for America. Some of the setting takes place in a bar whilst the girls talk to the guys. The director tells the cast what to do and where they should be standing. There are engineers who have to make sure the production goes smoothly.

Each individual has a role of making sure the production is successful. The structure of the theatre company is there for a reason and each person has to work together. Front of house is needed for ticket sales and the people who serve drinks are even important assets in the production of the show.

Costume is essential, sound, music and lighting must all work in unison for the benefit of the show. The show needs set design and a stage manager.

The set can be potentially dangerous and even life threatening if it is not put together right and checked before use. Therefore technical theatre rehearsals are needed before the opening night to check that everything is safe. These rehearsals can be boring and tedious but, are all part of the success of the show.

Acting is my passion and my life. It is one of the things that I was born to do and also what I love and am passionate about. Getting into a really deep character is not only challenging, but also deeply rewarding. Knowing you have the capability to read behind the lines on a script and intepret what the scrript writer wanted to portray is a wonderful  privilege.

Some people are under the wrong impression that acting is all glamour, but it is far from that. At least, whilst you are just beginning and sometimes even the bigger names have to face difficult working conditions. Waking up early in the morning when you have been partying the night before and then finding out that you have to work in conditions that are freezing cold. The weather plays a huge factor when you have to work on an outside setting. Sometimes your clothes might be very thin and not provide much warmth. There are many conditions that can make acting seem not the dream job you thought at first.

If you have been blessed with the gift of acting and have the passion inside to be an actor then you know there is no other job for you. Acting is a passion and if you have that passion then you will know there is no other job for you.

Getting a break is very difficult because there are so many people all wanting to do the same thing and you get a lot of knock backs and rejections. If you cannot cope with the rejections then maybe you ought to consider a different career because rejection is something that most actors have to cope with along the way. In fact, you will probably find that you are out of work more than in work so finding a part time job whilst searching for opportunities is the best way to move forward.

 Hello world well this is my first post. I have just started a college course for performing arts and although it is below the qualification that I already have Btec National Diploma in Performing Arts it will still benefit me greatly.

I am mainly interested in acting although the course that I am doing is in Musical Theatre. It entails a dance class, technical theatre, music, singing and acting. I am a good character actress and love making people laugh. I usually get the funnier roles although I also love the serious roles. I find that when you perform comedy you also have to take it seriously. The thing is if you cannot take your part seriously and really believe in the character then nobody else will believe in the character and that will make the role not funny. You have to take comedy serious and every acting role you get should be performed with a professional mind.

There are too many actor’s today that are honestly not that good. They look good and that’s about it. Of course, amongst those there are still the greats. There will always be those less talented than others, but if you take each role seriously and professionally then you shouldn’t go far wrong. Don’t become one of those stars that think everybody should bow down to them. Nobody likes arrogance and when you first start out in acting you need to consider taking on every role you get offered.