How Do I Become An Actor/actress?

Although it seems a little obvious, the answer is Act! Act in amateur dramatics, act in school, college or university, Act in youth drama or evening or adult education classes.

However, if you are serious about becoming a professional actor or actress, the answer is simple, you must train in a validated and approved training institution. These are called drama or theatre schools and sometimes people use the fancy name 'conservatoire or conservatory'. These are usually three (four in the US) year programmes that allow actors to train in voice, movement, acting technique, radio, television and film, alongside some of the business skills that they will need in the real world.

UK Drama Schools can be found at www.drama.ac.uk

The qualities of a good actor, are the qualities of a good human being, reliable, committed, open, generous, friendly, thoughtful, creative. One of the key qualities is resilience, because acting like many artistic professions requires the ability to deal with all shades of rejection. A thick skin will help, a lot.

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Acting, like all pursuits, requires lots of practice. Starting on a small scale is a great way to get experience. Many film stars fondly remember their days of acting in school plays. Amateur productions are a great training ground. Consider your local amateur theatre, school and university productions, even your local radio station, where you could get good experience in speech and delivery. There may be local drama classes that you could take.

You might want to consider talent agents also. Be very judicious though before you become involved with an agency. They don't always have your best interests in mind. Get references for the agency and get to know its reputation. You should never have to pay money to be a part.

As you get experience, you will develop an actor's resume that lists all the productions you've appeared in. The more experience you get, the more you can expand your scope - and aim higher! Everyone has to start somewhere. After all, George Clooney appeared in "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" and Johnny Depp's first acting experience was as a pen salesman!

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