MENTORING
Why do we feel qualified to Mentor and give advice? We at The Actors Company LA, have combined experience of around 40+ years across various areas of the industry including, acting, background extra work, modelling, promotions, make up artistry, editing, event promotions, music production, vocals and the list goes on…
DO’s
GET TRAINING: Get training at a reputable school, regardless of who old you are when you make the decision to become an actor. You will often hear it said that it’s unnecessary or expensive or this movie star didn’t have it or need it, etc. The bottom line is that you are up against literally 1,000’s of people who have trained and they are more often than not the people that the bigger agents and the more prolific, established casting directors will go to.
REEK OF PROFESSIONALISM: Attitude, appearance, punctuality, manners, time keeping. All of the old fashion things make a difference.
When you go to castings, auditions or workshops give the right impression. Make sure you’ve made an effort, be early, be ready, turn your phone off…
TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Get a dedicated e-mail address, a website too if you can afford it (or make it?), have separate social media accounts. Why? Because if you want to go out for a big night or a mad holiday that doesn’t need to be shown on your professional page.
Shows like Hollyoaks have people dedicated to checking social media backgrounds of potential actors on their shows so that there are no unpleasant surprises further down the line. Therefore it could be a deal breaker on a life changing job.
COMMON SENSE: If you are going to a casting/go see/audition and something doesn’t ‘feel’ right, it probably isn’t. If an agency has sent you, and you aren’t familiar with the casting people, call your agency to check the validity.
If you have found the audition yourself, especially if you are female NEVER go anywhere too private or unknown with a strange. Regardless of whom they say they are and what they offer, there could be a catch. Insist that you meet in a public place and let someone know where you are and when to expect to hear from you.
Don’t pay agencies for registration fees, a good agency will take only commission from you AFTER the job. Scammers are alive and well and working as you read this and will do what they can to convince you with promises of fake jobs, travel, money and stardom in order to con you out of cash.
PHOTOGRAPHS: It is possible that you will need photographs if you do not already have some professional ones. This IS worth the investment but be guided by your agency and/or your peers as to who the best person to go to is.
SPOTLIGHT: Many agencies will insist on your membership of this, it is an annual expense that some actors cannot afford – the decision on whether you apply for registration is yours. Spotlight do have a criteria, check with them to see what the latest advice is.
ONLINE CASTING SITES: Do some research, if you focus just on the testimonials on their websites you may not be seeing the bigger picture. Check their Twitter feeds, their followers, what else do they do? Again, scamming is not unheard of. Sadly, many of the posts you will see to lure you in are not real, just used as hooks.
REJECTION: Keep in mind that at any one time only 2% of the acting population is in work…You WILL receive continual rejection, it is part of the job. There will be times when you go for auditions, even those through reputable agencies, and you never hear another word (just in case you are wondering, neither does your agent) and again this is just part of the world of acting.
Imagine being a casting director and seeing in some cases 3,000 actors then try to jot down or remember why they were not right for the role AND feed that back to their agents…Not realistic is it? They have a tough enough job keeping notes on the performers they want to recall and offer to.
DON’T
- Be late
- Rude
- Lazy
- Arrogant
- Entitled
- Argumentative
- Over the top
If you have any concerns we are happy to advise/guide you info@theactorscompanyla.co.uk
And as they say in the trade…Break a leg!