Get your terminology right first.
There are talent agencies and casting directors and then there are casting websites where you can get work.
If you want good jobs, you need two things: experience and an agent. The jobs you see posted on a website are what's left over once the producers and directors have submitted their breakdowns of the roles they need to talent agencies. For real important roles, they almost never go to casting websites, unless they are looking for something that is really difficult to cast.
Now back to you. If you are not getting any response, it could be what you suspect; that the casting website isn't any good or not legit. It could be their fault.
It could also be your fault that you are not getting a response. Did you ever think about that? Are you trained? What do you have on your résumé? Where did you go to school? What do you have on your reel? What do your headshots look like? How did you fill out your profile on the casting website? Did you utilize all the tools they gave you to be successful?
If something isn't working for you, you need to be able to analyze the situation and fix it as quickly as possible.
Go have a look at ActingCareerStartUp.com. It really is made to help you.
What I can tell you though is to start here: http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/nycastings.html
Have a look at the teen acting page as well.
Lastly, talent agencies don't cost you money. They take out 10% of what you earn AFTER you actually do the job and not before.
Good luck in your search!
Tony
p.s. Go to school and really learn how to act and once you find a good school, stay there and keep on training. You'll be glad you did. Then, learn the business and see how things magically start to happen.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Question: I'm trying to become an actor. My dad knows a guy who knows a Hollywood director. Should I try to work that contact and get introduced?
Build your base first.
It's important.Are you trained? Have you taken any classes? Do you know what it's like to work as an actor? Do you know what it's like to have to look for work, day after day? Do you think that by meeting Cillian Murphy, that you will be set for life as an actor? Are you counting on this being your big break?Build your base first! Has your dad's friend ever seen you act? If not, why should he introduce you? Why would he? If you knew someone famous or important in the industry, would you introduce them to someone whose work you've never seen, especially in a world where everyone and his brother wants to be an actor?
I wouldn't. Because that's my credibility that's at risk. I would want to be sure that when I introduce someone to a person of that calliber, that my introduction will make a strong, positive impact.
Now, having said all that, if you are well-trained and ready to be introduced to such a person, then by all means, go for it. If on the other hand, you haven't even taken a class yet, then do that first! Get your training. Trust me. You will be glad you did. You will feel so much more confident. You will be so much better.
If the introduction is set up as a casual meeting that probably could have, would have happened anyway, then sure, go meet the guy. But I wouldn't go having an expectation set up that you will audition for the guy if you're not trained.
For more information about what you need to do to get started, have a look at this page link with 21 helpful tips for starting your acting career.
It's important.Are you trained? Have you taken any classes? Do you know what it's like to work as an actor? Do you know what it's like to have to look for work, day after day? Do you think that by meeting Cillian Murphy, that you will be set for life as an actor? Are you counting on this being your big break?Build your base first! Has your dad's friend ever seen you act? If not, why should he introduce you? Why would he? If you knew someone famous or important in the industry, would you introduce them to someone whose work you've never seen, especially in a world where everyone and his brother wants to be an actor?
I wouldn't. Because that's my credibility that's at risk. I would want to be sure that when I introduce someone to a person of that calliber, that my introduction will make a strong, positive impact.
Now, having said all that, if you are well-trained and ready to be introduced to such a person, then by all means, go for it. If on the other hand, you haven't even taken a class yet, then do that first! Get your training. Trust me. You will be glad you did. You will feel so much more confident. You will be so much better.
If the introduction is set up as a casual meeting that probably could have, would have happened anyway, then sure, go meet the guy. But I wouldn't go having an expectation set up that you will audition for the guy if you're not trained.
For more information about what you need to do to get started, have a look at this page link with 21 helpful tips for starting your acting career.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Question: How Can I Become Famous?
Fame is not a goal, it is the consequence of hard work, sacrifice, drive, determination, motivation, perseverance, ability to overcome the effect that continuous rejection can have, ability to sell yourself and make contacts in the industry and last but not least, the level of motivation you have to become the best possible actor that you can be. Becoming a good actor, studying hard to do that and to stay sharp should be your number one priority.
What's the one thing that will push you to do all those things above? Your LOVE for acting.
Without that, you won't enjoy it. You won't have much fun and you will become just another statistic; another person who had a dream of becoming FAMOUS first and who puts everything else second. You'll be just another drop-out in the world of acting, another youngster, with big eyes, who SAID that he wanted to be a famous actor without really realizing what being an actor, day to day really means, without realizing what you must go through just to get to be a WORKING actor, much less famous. Most of the time, what happens is that after they find out what it really means, for a while when asked they keep on saying that they are an actor or that they are pursuing acting. After a time of that, they devote their lives to something else, because they are not willing to go the distance and do what's necessary. It's too difficult.
Am I trying to paint a dismal picture? No. If I could, I would conduct a big academy for all the youngsters who say what you said and I would take you all through the whole process of what it means. I would have industry experts for you to talk to as well as actors of all types and experiences. When you would leave that academy, you would know what it really means to work as an actor. In the meantime I have created a couple of resources to understand better. Have a look at this link to see some of the issues that actors face just to get work, much less to become famous: www.actingcareerstartup.com and watch the video.
Fame and money are consequences, not goals.So now the question back to you?
What is it that you really want?
Tony
What's the one thing that will push you to do all those things above? Your LOVE for acting.
Without that, you won't enjoy it. You won't have much fun and you will become just another statistic; another person who had a dream of becoming FAMOUS first and who puts everything else second. You'll be just another drop-out in the world of acting, another youngster, with big eyes, who SAID that he wanted to be a famous actor without really realizing what being an actor, day to day really means, without realizing what you must go through just to get to be a WORKING actor, much less famous. Most of the time, what happens is that after they find out what it really means, for a while when asked they keep on saying that they are an actor or that they are pursuing acting. After a time of that, they devote their lives to something else, because they are not willing to go the distance and do what's necessary. It's too difficult.
Am I trying to paint a dismal picture? No. If I could, I would conduct a big academy for all the youngsters who say what you said and I would take you all through the whole process of what it means. I would have industry experts for you to talk to as well as actors of all types and experiences. When you would leave that academy, you would know what it really means to work as an actor. In the meantime I have created a couple of resources to understand better. Have a look at this link to see some of the issues that actors face just to get work, much less to become famous: www.actingcareerstartup.com and watch the video.
Fame and money are consequences, not goals.So now the question back to you?
What is it that you really want?
Tony
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Question: What Do I Need To Know About Getting An Agent?
You want an agent? Ok. Now work backwards.
What do you need to get an agent? Talent, communication, headshot, résumé, cover letter, labels/mailing list. If the agent already knows you, you would have an advantage.
The most important thing in that list is a résumé, because it shows what you have done without you actually being present to tell the story.
So how do you create a résumé that's going to be interesting enough to get you an agent? By getting some interesting work to put on the résumé and by working on reputable projects with reputable directors in reputable production companies.
What can help you get work? Or rather what will make casting directors want to hire you? If they see that you are well-trained and can take on the roles for which they are casting AND if you are right for the parts AND if you are better than the other candidates or have something to offer that is different or more interesting than your competition.
What will help you be seen as a well-trained actor who is the right actor for roles and who is better than the other actors they see? Training with a good school and a good teacher.
If you have not been training, I think your time will be better spent building a base of SKILL first before looking for an agent. Remember that casting directors and agents eyes are trained and experienced and they can see when an actor is trained or not.
Now that we have gone through that, here is a way that you can use to get an agent: Get an agent.
Tony
What do you need to get an agent? Talent, communication, headshot, résumé, cover letter, labels/mailing list. If the agent already knows you, you would have an advantage.
The most important thing in that list is a résumé, because it shows what you have done without you actually being present to tell the story.
So how do you create a résumé that's going to be interesting enough to get you an agent? By getting some interesting work to put on the résumé and by working on reputable projects with reputable directors in reputable production companies.
What can help you get work? Or rather what will make casting directors want to hire you? If they see that you are well-trained and can take on the roles for which they are casting AND if you are right for the parts AND if you are better than the other candidates or have something to offer that is different or more interesting than your competition.
What will help you be seen as a well-trained actor who is the right actor for roles and who is better than the other actors they see? Training with a good school and a good teacher.
If you have not been training, I think your time will be better spent building a base of SKILL first before looking for an agent. Remember that casting directors and agents eyes are trained and experienced and they can see when an actor is trained or not.
Now that we have gone through that, here is a way that you can use to get an agent: Get an agent.
Tony
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Question: How Long Do I Have To Take Acting Classes?
Recently, a young, aspiring actor asked me, "How long will I have to take classes to become a good actor?" Here below is the answer I gave him.
_____
You will want to find a good school, a good teacher and stick with them. When you are an actor, even when you become pretty good, you will want to continue to study. As you continue, will get to know yourself better and you will get to know your strengths and weaknesses and thus, what you need to improve on.
I would venture to say, that the fact that you ask that question means that you need to continue. When you are able to answer that question for yourself, after having worked a lot, after having a feeling for how you are doing as an actor, you probably will never feel like you should stop.
The other thing to consider is, what kind of classes are you taking now? Technique is one thing, but then there is scene study, voice, movement, text breakdown, audition, on-camera, commercial, stage combat. All of these could represent areas in which you might need to sharpen your craft.
The answer to your question? First of all it depends on you, how fast of a learner you are, how well you take direction, how well and how quickly you can grasp concepts and assimilate them, how humble you are and how much raw talent you are blessed with.
But the real answer is, whether you stop taking classes or not depends on how good you really want to be.
Here are some things to consider about choosing an acting school or class:
www.actingcareerstartup.com/acting_classes.html
I hope this helps!
Good luck!
Tony
_____
You will want to find a good school, a good teacher and stick with them. When you are an actor, even when you become pretty good, you will want to continue to study. As you continue, will get to know yourself better and you will get to know your strengths and weaknesses and thus, what you need to improve on.
I would venture to say, that the fact that you ask that question means that you need to continue. When you are able to answer that question for yourself, after having worked a lot, after having a feeling for how you are doing as an actor, you probably will never feel like you should stop.
The other thing to consider is, what kind of classes are you taking now? Technique is one thing, but then there is scene study, voice, movement, text breakdown, audition, on-camera, commercial, stage combat. All of these could represent areas in which you might need to sharpen your craft.
The answer to your question? First of all it depends on you, how fast of a learner you are, how well you take direction, how well and how quickly you can grasp concepts and assimilate them, how humble you are and how much raw talent you are blessed with.
But the real answer is, whether you stop taking classes or not depends on how good you really want to be.
Here are some things to consider about choosing an acting school or class:
www.actingcareerstartup.com/acting_classes.html
I hope this helps!
Good luck!
Tony
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Positive Side Of The Writers' Strike
While I totally sympathize with the writers, who are under paid and somewhat taken advantage of, I try to find the positive side of everything.
In this case, I hope that the writers get what they want and what they truely deserve for the great work they do.
In addition, I think that this strike represents an opportunity for us actors.
This is a great time during the work slow down to take that class you've been wanting to take, get those new headshots, get that reel done or basically just catch up on the things ou've been needing to do for your business. Remember, it is a business that you are running!
Are you treating your acting career like a business or are you just taking whatever work comes along? Are you continuing to do background work, because it's been easy to get? Because it's comfortable? Because the background casting agency knows you and calls you in all the time? Or are you going for the gusto and going after roles that you are perfectly capable of performing? You're not?
Would you like to know how to do that and how to take control of your career instead of letting someone else control it for you?
On the site you can find 10 of the 21 business skills that are in my book Acting Career Start-Up.
Another link you might find interesting is this one: 29 ways to promote yourself in your acting career.
Stay in touch!
Tony
In this case, I hope that the writers get what they want and what they truely deserve for the great work they do.
In addition, I think that this strike represents an opportunity for us actors.
This is a great time during the work slow down to take that class you've been wanting to take, get those new headshots, get that reel done or basically just catch up on the things ou've been needing to do for your business. Remember, it is a business that you are running!
Are you treating your acting career like a business or are you just taking whatever work comes along? Are you continuing to do background work, because it's been easy to get? Because it's comfortable? Because the background casting agency knows you and calls you in all the time? Or are you going for the gusto and going after roles that you are perfectly capable of performing? You're not?
Would you like to know how to do that and how to take control of your career instead of letting someone else control it for you?
On the site you can find 10 of the 21 business skills that are in my book Acting Career Start-Up.
Another link you might find interesting is this one: 29 ways to promote yourself in your acting career.
Stay in touch!
Tony
Saturday, November 17, 2007
How can I get castings without any acting skills?
Recently a young girl came to ActingCareerStartUp.com and asked me that very question. This is what I told her:
Don't illude yourself.
Abraham Lincoln once said, "If I have three hours to cut down a tree, I would spend the first hour to sharpen the axe."
Sharpen your axe first before you start! What's the hurry? Don't know if you ever thought about this, but, not all actors who get jobs are able to keep them. Sometimes even actors get fired. Why? Because they maybe auditioned well and were liked during the audition process, but when it came down to actually working on set, it was discovered that they really didn't have the talent to keep the job or they simply just couldn't keep up with the director's demands, they couldn't take direction, because they didn't have a solid base of acting skill.
So, my advice would be for you to get your training first, be the best you can be and then go to castings. At least start learning some kind of technique first and go to castings while you are studying.
Here is a list of 17 things you can do today to get started in your career.
Good luck!
Don't illude yourself.
Abraham Lincoln once said, "If I have three hours to cut down a tree, I would spend the first hour to sharpen the axe."
Sharpen your axe first before you start! What's the hurry? Don't know if you ever thought about this, but, not all actors who get jobs are able to keep them. Sometimes even actors get fired. Why? Because they maybe auditioned well and were liked during the audition process, but when it came down to actually working on set, it was discovered that they really didn't have the talent to keep the job or they simply just couldn't keep up with the director's demands, they couldn't take direction, because they didn't have a solid base of acting skill.
So, my advice would be for you to get your training first, be the best you can be and then go to castings. At least start learning some kind of technique first and go to castings while you are studying.
Here is a list of 17 things you can do today to get started in your career.
Good luck!
Monday, November 12, 2007
How To Start An Acting Career?
How To Start Acting
“How to start acting?” Aspiring actors want to know what some concrete steps they can take if they are at the very beginning of their acting careers.
I discussed this the other day with best-selling author Brian O’Neil (Acting As A Business: Strategies For Success) and this is his list of 5 things you can easily do to start your acting career.
1. Get some good, solid training in acting technique (i.e. Meisner, Method, etc.) as well as specialty training, i.e. on-camera commercial training, acting for film, how to audition, etc.
2. Put together some monologues for your auditions. It will do you little justice if you get a meeting with an agent or get an audition and you don’t have anything prepared.
3.Contact your local (reputable ones!) theatres in your area to attend staged readings of plays, participate as a reader, read stage directions or usher. This will put you in close proximity to the people you want to meet (people who cast the plays, directors, artistic directors, other actors: all sources of contact and information for you.
Participating as a reader in staged readings with reputable theatres, extra work and soap work along with your training, training, training are great ways to start to build a résumé, especially if you have nothing to put on it.
4.Contact agencies that cast for background work. Extra or background work provides a great education to see how actors really work on set. You get to see it all up close. It’s great experience at the beginning of your career.
5.Find out who the people are who cast for soap operas (especially if you are in New York or Los Angeles). Getting work on soaps is very accessible even if you don’t have an agent. It’s relatively easy to get cast in small roles for these programs and there are a lot of opportunities every day as soaps are shot 5 days per week, 52 weeks per year.
Brian told me about a client of his who was able to book 12 days on a soap in New York and he did it without an agent. He told of another who booked three days, all speaking roles; once again without an agent.
Participating as a reader in staged readings with reputable theatres, extra work and soap work along with your training, training, training are great ways to start to build a résumé, especially if you have nothing to put on it.
6.In addition, finding an agent for on-camera commercials and commercial print and/or voice-over work, are other opportunities you could pursue in the meantime. You must take into consideration, however, that those areas also require certain skill sets. For example, there are specialized classes for on-camera commercials and also improvisation is a great help to prepare for that kind of work as well.
If you want some more tips on how to start acting, click here where you’ll find lots of all-around information on starting an acting career.
“How to start acting?” Aspiring actors want to know what some concrete steps they can take if they are at the very beginning of their acting careers.
I discussed this the other day with best-selling author Brian O’Neil (Acting As A Business: Strategies For Success) and this is his list of 5 things you can easily do to start your acting career.
1. Get some good, solid training in acting technique (i.e. Meisner, Method, etc.) as well as specialty training, i.e. on-camera commercial training, acting for film, how to audition, etc.
2. Put together some monologues for your auditions. It will do you little justice if you get a meeting with an agent or get an audition and you don’t have anything prepared.
3.Contact your local (reputable ones!) theatres in your area to attend staged readings of plays, participate as a reader, read stage directions or usher. This will put you in close proximity to the people you want to meet (people who cast the plays, directors, artistic directors, other actors: all sources of contact and information for you.
Participating as a reader in staged readings with reputable theatres, extra work and soap work along with your training, training, training are great ways to start to build a résumé, especially if you have nothing to put on it.
4.Contact agencies that cast for background work. Extra or background work provides a great education to see how actors really work on set. You get to see it all up close. It’s great experience at the beginning of your career.
5.Find out who the people are who cast for soap operas (especially if you are in New York or Los Angeles). Getting work on soaps is very accessible even if you don’t have an agent. It’s relatively easy to get cast in small roles for these programs and there are a lot of opportunities every day as soaps are shot 5 days per week, 52 weeks per year.
Brian told me about a client of his who was able to book 12 days on a soap in New York and he did it without an agent. He told of another who booked three days, all speaking roles; once again without an agent.
Participating as a reader in staged readings with reputable theatres, extra work and soap work along with your training, training, training are great ways to start to build a résumé, especially if you have nothing to put on it.
6.In addition, finding an agent for on-camera commercials and commercial print and/or voice-over work, are other opportunities you could pursue in the meantime. You must take into consideration, however, that those areas also require certain skill sets. For example, there are specialized classes for on-camera commercials and also improvisation is a great help to prepare for that kind of work as well.
If you want some more tips on how to start acting, click here where you’ll find lots of all-around information on starting an acting career.
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