Jan 17 2012
Every Young Actor Should Be Seen as Often as Possible
Many young actors may not know where to begin when it comes to realizing their dreams to be seen on the big screen or maybe even the small screen. If you are not lucky enough to live in Hollywood or a major city such as Chicago, St. Louis or New York, you’ll have to find other places to hone your craft before deciding if moving to a bigger city is right for you.
Everyone has to begin somewhere; it is rare that someone is found through a YouTube video or by entering in contests on Facebook. Many young actors start out auditioning and acting in their school plays. School plays are an opportunity to practice your acting skills and to be seen in front of a live audience. There are also times, in some of the slightly larger cities, that directors from a community theater may attend a school production looking for new talent.
Many community theaters use new talent in small roles and some have children’s acting groups which perform a few times a year. There are also several independent directors and filmmakers all over the country who use regional theater actors or hold different types of contests on Facebook for winners to be part of their productions.
Another great place for new talent to find auditions is a nearby college or university. They may be performing a production of something that requires teenagers or younger actors. You will want to check the schools website for audition schedules. There are also playwriting and directing classes that often need readers and actors for simple staged readings. These readings are held so the students can hear their work before putting the final touches on it. Sometimes the film classes will be involved and place their work online as participants in contests on Facebook.
Working with college students may not be as exciting as acting in a full production, but it can be fun and could be a way of getting discovered. If you do a good job, the playwright may talk to the director about casting you in the full production.
A lot of young actors are getting discovered for television commercials and print ads by calling their local television station to inquire about local ads they might have seen. These ads could be for anything from Spas to Used Car Dealerships.
So if you want to make a name for yourself, be seen in school plays, audition for regional or community theater and look into local commercial work. Getting discovered takes work, and a little bit of luck.
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