The Business of Acting

Good day to you all.. Wow, it's been a crazy last few months. A lot, surrounding the business side of things. A common question is derived from this.."What do you mean business side of things?" Well, that's just it. Acting is a business. Actors have to treat their job as a business. It's those actors who do treat their job as a business that have a one up on the rest.

There are many different ways in which you could increase your chances of being noticed as an actor. But the most important thing is dedication, passion, and also very importantly, INVESTING in yourself. A lot of actors do not invest in themselves, and it leaves the question to be answered.."How serious are you really about your career?" It's amazing to hear all the excuses and reasons and explanations behind why an actor can't invest in themselves. Sometimes it's actually quite funny actually.

It's the little things that make the HUGE difference. What do you do when you have had an audition? Do you follow up? A nice little touch would be to send the casting director a little note saying thank you. A postcard is usually the best way to go about it..Obviously with your picture on the back. What about if you book with a job. Do you thank the casting director? Send them a little gift to show your gratitude. These personal touches really make a difference. And trust me, you will definitely stand out from the rest. The whole point of marketing yourself is by keeping yourself in the casting directors mind.

Marketing materials are absolutely vital to an actor. Headshots, COLOUR ONLY!!! Forget the black and white nonsense. Make sure you tell your photographers that you only want colour before booking your session. A reel. Now this is the best topic for excuses. "I haven't got footage yet" "It didn't come out with very good quality" Here's the thing..Don't cheapen your brand constantly doing free work of very poor quality. The are new directors that just don't have the experience to really capture moments from you. Rather than putting together a compilation of free work you've done, actually film something specifically for you reel, or in fact, shoot a reel from start to finish. Get together with 3 or 4 actors and choose your scenes carefully showing as much diversity as possible. And have a good quality director shoot for you. It can be done in one day and doesn't necessarily need to cost too much. Of course if you have good quality footage from work you've done, it doesn't apply in this case.

Business cards are another essential marketing material you should have on you. Nice little colour picture on it with essential details. Name, telephone number and email address. And finally, as I mentioned earlier, postcards. All essential to an actors business. A lot of questions arise regarding websites. The best thing with websites is to keep it simple. Having spoken to a lot of casting directors and agents about this, the general response is to have your headshots and cv on there as well as a reel. No need to write essays about yourself and who you are etc. Just have on there the essentials that casting look for.

Well, that's enough from me this time. Feel free to add comments and ask questions regarding this post. I'll be happy to respond.

Have a great weekend all.

Actor Restrictions

This week has been a bit of a strange one. I tend to surround myself with as many industry folk as possible and there are always trending topics that come up. One that struck me this week was that of the restrictions faced by an actor trying to get themselves out there.

Now, we all know that acting is a business first, and art second. Those that don't understand that, should understand it and never forget it. You are a product that you need to promote, and without this, it's death to an actor. The first thing that everyone wants, is and agent. And yes, this is quite important, but the amount of agents out there that don't give actors a look in, is astonishing. It's that funny saying, "All the bad actors out there have agents, but the good ones are stuck in the bin."

How does the good actor grab the attention of that agent? Why are they not getting noticed? A lot of the time it's because they're not business savvy and aren't using the right tools to help themselves. Head shots (COLOUR, NOT BLACK AND WHITE), a reel, business cards, maybe even post cards. These are all essential for an actor, to send out to agents and even to casting directors. I'm a firm believer in that if you keep knocking, sooner or later, someone will open the door.

Yes, there are those that just refuse, but don't stop trying. Never give up. Get yourself into a good acting class, casting director workshops, somewhere where you will have the opportunity to be seen or noticed. Never think that you are good enough and should be working all the time. An actor improves everyday and should persist in choosing to do so rather than thinking it will come because they're good enough.

As difficult as it may seem, due to the fact a lot of casting directors refuse to stray away from what they know, ie. actors with names, or actors they've seen previously, continuing to pursue with what you believe in is essential. Sooner or later, you will get seen. Just make sure you're ready. And I mean ready by being properly trained. Knowing what producers/directors are looking for and showing them exactly that.

And if it comes down to it, film your own stuff..Get a team together that you can trust and make shorts or anything of that sort. Send them out to festivals. GET SEEN!!!

Well, it's time for me to say goodbye..Enjoy your weekend, and be sure to share this blog with your friends and loved ones!! Remember, you can subscribe here to the left of the screen, that way you don't miss out when a new post is up.

Happy New Year: It's 2012

Hey guys, I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year's Eve celebration and the head throbbing didn't last too much longer afterwards. Sorry I was MIA last week, but oh my what a bang 2012 has been so far. It's been busy busy.

I've been thinking since Christmas of what my New Year blog would be and couldn't for the life of me decide. There's so much to talk about. But only last night I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, not in the industry, that I've been to the theatre with quite a lot and we discussed all that we had seen.

There was a common topic we discussed. The acting level. Mostly within musicals. It's borderline terrible. I understand that with musicals, the actors have to be able to sing, but thats just it, "THE ACTORS" must be able to sing. Not the other way round. It seems as though these casting directors don't care about the acting but only the singing. The only musical I saw in 2011 that I thought was good acting wise and singing wise, was Wicked. Absolutely sensational performances from a thoroughly talented cast. But other musicals such as The 'Lion King' and most shockingly for me, 'Phantom of the Opera', the acting was so poor it was almost sickening to watch. Yes, ok, they could sing, but the poor acting performance most definitely overshadowed this.

This brings us to a much bigger issue here in London. Have those 'decision makers' lost it? Are they still stuck in the 60's and 70's? I mean the whole black and white headshot is a perfect example of the poor effort to move along with the times. We need colour head shots..simple!! Also, with casting directors. I mean they are the first point of call. If actors don't impress them by a 'photo', they have no chance of getting in to see them. And when you're asked for a reel, how can you give one if you haven't worked to get the tape in the first place..I mean, it is a vicious cycle..

All in all, the outlook is very bleak unless something drastic happens..It's up to the individual nowadays to make things happen..Let's see how far it goes!!

Feel free to add comments and share this blog with others..Bye for now.