How to Break Into the Acting Business

Video Transcript

"If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended. That you have but slumbered here, while these visions did appear. That's Puck, from Midsummers Nights Dream. I'm Janice Creneti, director of the Girlstories Theater Project with Power Stories Inc. in Tampa, Florida. I've been acting for about twenty-five years. But a lot of people want to know, how do you break into the acting business. Well first of all, you have to ask yourself, am I looking to do this just for fun, or am I looking to do it professionally. Because there's plenty of acting opportunities around, even if you just want to do it as recreation. Community theaters exist in just about every city. And if you're still in school, chances are your school is probably doing a number of productions. And you can join in. But there's some basic things that you want to know, especially if you're thinking about breaking into acting as a career. FIrst of all, rule number one for an actor is be prepared. Be prepared for that audition. You never know when it's going to come around the corner. Somebody might need to replace an actor at the last minute, or might all of a sudden find that they're given the go ahead to perform that show. So if you're looking to break into the acting business, you want to be prepared with audition material. You want to make sure that you have a monologue ready, usually it's good to have contrasting monologues. Which means, if you have one that's really funny, maybe you have one that's serious. Maybe you have a Shakespeare monologue, and maybe you have a more contemporary piece. Versatility, you want to show that as much as possible in any audition. So make sure that you're prepared to audition whenever that audition arises. The other thing that you need to do is audition a lot. Find out who the different organizations are that put on theater in your area. Children's theater can be a great way to break into the professional world, where you can get paid for performing. Lots of children's theaters travel from where they're based to areas maybe in state, maybe even out of state. So one of the things you need to ask yourself when you're thinking about an acting career is, am I willing to travel? So, find out what's in your area. Dinner theater, regional theater, and then just go audition. Audition, audition, audition. Get to know the people in your network. Get to know the people who are doing the casting. They may think of you when the next time a role comes up. So be prepared, audition a lot, and that's the best way for you to break into the acting biz. I'm Janice Creneti. Thanks."