Networking for Success

Many aspiring actors give up because they believe that only the people with connections can succeed, that if you don't know the right people you cannot become an actor. Well, what I say is that it is not who you know; rather, it is who knows you. Becoming known in the business is how one really sets him or her self up for success. And an actor gets known by networking. Networking in acting is a little different than it is for other businesses, but not much. And it is much different than most aspiring actors think it is. Brian O'Neil, author of the industry standard, Acting as a Business, calls it infiltrating the business rather than networking. When you read Cohen's Acting Professionally, and learn how close knit and small the acting profession really is, you realize that the only way to succeed is to infiltrate that small group of people who actually make money at acting. Most of us call the process networking, and it is an on-going 24 hour a day job for all aspiring actors. Networking is getting yourself out there, so you will be seen and known. It involves a bit of chutzpah, bold nerve, as well as great organization and planning. You have to be able to go up to people, famous people, whom you have never met and introduce yourself, say something nice about their work and express your interest in working with them. You have to leave them your business card and get theirs if possible. Then you have to leave them alone. You never come on as though you are begging for a job. Just make contact, and get on with the rest of the room or event or day. Will they remember you? Maybe. Industry professionals are remarkable for remembering everyone they meet. If you are going to succeed in the industry, you, too, will have to become superb at remembering everyone you meet. Details on how to network are discussed in Rock and Riddle's How to Be a Magnet for Hollywood Success and in my book The Tao of Acting. Beginning actors have to spend much more time networking than acting to get ahead in the business. You have to be known if you are to succeed.

Agents

Ah, agents! You gotta have one to be a professional actor. But when do you get one? Most youngsters believe that if they can just get an agent, they will magically become the next lead in the Twilight series or on Disney. Not so of course. When preparing for an acting career, getting an agent is pretty far down the list. First you have to have lots of acting experience. Amateur plays are a great place to get that. And then a couple of indie films and/or extra jobs is a good idea. Then you need some training. I don't think a talented actor needs to do two or three or four years at a conservatory or a college, but it is a good idea to have a few acting classes on your resume, including at least one from a highly respected studio, But you still are not quite ready for an agent. You still need a great head shot. You can make your own, but it will have to be pretty darned good. Then you need business cards and personal post cards so you can start networking, because networking is one way to get an agent. Well, you are just about ready for the agent now. But go at it in a sensible way. You have to live withing an hour or two travel time from the agency so you can get there for auditions. Your agent should be SAG or AEA or AFTRA franchised and a member ot ATA (The Association of Talent Agents). Then,. following the advice of Brian O'Neil in Acting as a Business, you can start working on getting a talent agent.
This whole process probably will take a couple of years or so. But you don't want to get in a big hurry to be an actor, because that is how people get scammed. Acting is a tough business, you have to go about it corectly to even have a chance. Take your time. Get ready for an agent before you try to get one. Then when the agent gets you an audition there is a chance you may get the part.

You have to be prepared

I just read the story of an English actress, thirty years old, who quit acting and joined the Royal Navy! She had starred in a teen series in the UK and in the American version as well as several other UK series. But just after three years in LA, which she called "demoralizing" she decided the chuck it and do something else.

This story just emphasizes how terribly difficult it is to maintain a career as an actor. The problem, of course, is that we are so inundated by unemployed actors that even a seasoned, talented actor cannot find work.

What is an aspiring actor to do? First, I recommend making sure you are ready to pursue acting as a career. You have to underatand the business and how it works. And I recommend staying away from LA unless you have a contract to work there. There are plenty of other cities to pursue being an actor. Finally, the aspiring actor needs to understand that it is most likely that they will not ever make a living at acting. Acting will have to be a sideline and the actor will have to support him or her self by other means while pursuing acting jobs.

The Play's the Thing

I am forever seeing questions by youngsters asking, "what part shall I tryout for?" or "do I have a chance for the lead?" Then others are asking, "how do I become a famous actor?" And even experienced actors are saying what role they want in the next audition they are attending. Finally, I get questions from actors in plays in which they want to know how to deal with personality clashes amongst the cast or how to deal with some cast member who is difficult or who is incompetent.

All of these questions are egocentric and should not be the concern of the person asking them. If a person is going to audition for a play, he or she should do so with the intent of helping the show be a success. It is the director's job to determine how that can be done. If you will be most helpful as the lead, swell. If you can do that by being in the chorus, great! be the best chorus member ever and make the show terrific. If all you are concerned about is being famous, you have no business trying to be an actor. Fame is not such a good deal anyway -- with papparazzi following you everywhere sticking cameras in your face, with people writing fake stories about your supposed abnormalities of taste and behavior, and generally your not haveing any sort of private life at all, having to hire body guards, etc. Can't be any fun.

I write in my book, The Tao of Acting, about actors being the worst judge of what roles they can play. Take it to heart. It is only an ego thing to think you can be great as any role. The proof is in the doing, not in the thinking. It is the director's job to cast the show,not yours. It is also the director's job to prevent conflicts amongst cast members, to make sure that someone is not undermining the play with gossip and back biting, and to make sure that every actor in the show can give an effective performance. These things may worry you as an actor, and if they are not resolved by the director before the performance of the show, you might want to reconsider before working with the offending actor or the director again.

It all boils down to ego. We want to look good when we are in a show. We want to be seen as worthy and competent. We always will run into difficult situations and difficult people as we continue to work in the theatre and cinema. It comes with the territory. The best thing you can do is not be a difficult person and do your job well.

Hints for aspiring actors

First you need to act. A lot.--as much as you can while you are in High School at school and in the community.

Do not get in a hurry, it takes a lifetime to become an actor.

Watch out for scams. The scammers prey on the over eager.

Learn about the business of acting. It is just like going into any other business; it takes money, experience and a good product which is you as an actor. It must be promoted properly to be a success.

What you see on the tv and film screen is not the acting, that is not what the actors do all day. Mostly they sit around and wait, Film acting is not that exciting. Everything is rehearsed and done over and over until it is right, then a small clip of it is edited into the film with sound and music to create the illusion that these things are happening to the characters.

Learn to be humble. The business does not like strong egos.

Experience is more important than training.

People who succeed are not necesarily the best actors, they may be the best self promoters, or the best personalities, but they must have enough talent to do the job or they wouldn't get it.

Don't try to do anything professional while in High School, plan to start working on being a professinal after you graduate, unless your parents make something happen for you.

Until you are 18 you cannot sign a contract or do anything professional without one of your parents being there. Your parent has to get you an agent if you are to have one before you are 18,

Read and study my free book. Reread it and study it some more. Learn all that is in it and put it to use.

To really succeed at acting takes LUCK more than any other thing.

Scams

Every budding actor faces the threat of being scammed. The scammers know that wannbe actors are so enthralled with the idea of being a professional that they are very easy to cheat. Therefore, the ocean is full of sharks. If it weren't for the fact that there are so many wannabes, the "acting business" would have more scams per possible sucker than any other area. If you look on the web, and I don't really advise doing so until you know what you are looking for, you will find perhaps hundreds of Casting Agents who for a small fee will get you in the movies! Except they really won't. Or they will send you notices of films you can audition for. Except they turn out to be in LA and you are in Kansas or somewhere. There are even places that say they will make you a star just by signing up and paying their fee. Never happens. The worst are those who say they are holding auditions for Disney and Nick, but really are just trying to sell suckers acting classes at exhorbitant prices. The best are the talent fair showcasese for actors, singers and models. For an enormous amout of money, they will put you in front of the leading talent agents and casting directors in the business. Well, they do that(sort of because the very top people often do not make up the panel of judges), but unless you are very very very talented and very very very photogenic and very very rich, AND unless you live in the city where the agents and casting directors are from, mostly LA or NYC, there really is not point. How are you to take advantage of an opportunity on the coast when you live inland a thousand miles? So be careful, for heaven's sake, and do not fall prey to these scams. To be sure, you can always ask me about something before you put any money down.

Read, read, read

So you wanna be an actor? Films only? No matter. Every aspiring actor needs three monologues and should have them prepared and ready to go at all time. Where do you find a monologue? Simple. In a published play. A monologue is a long speech. Shakespeare is full of them. So are lots of other plays, but you really need to read a lot of plays to find your monologues. You see, they must fit you exactly. Be your age and your type and something you could logically be cast as. There for it is pointless to ask on a site like Yahoo Answers what monologue should you do or where can you find one or does any one have one with these qualifications? You alone know, sort of, what age and type you are and only by reading lots and lots of plays will you ever find roles that are suited to you to a T. So start reading. Go to the library and get with it. If you are in a school that offers a dramatic literature class, take it. But go, get started. it's gonna take some time. If you are going to be a successful actor you are going to have to be a good self starter and a tireless worker. This is just an intermediate step.