#acting advice

[the-wanderer]

Ella Purnell & Walton Goggins in Fallout

[tina-armani]

Walton made his career on "humanazing" bad guys. He has said it before that whenever he's playing a "villain", he always tries to find why that person is like that, what made him this way, what is inside his heart. And more often than not he finds that pain and that struggle and it shines through during his performance. This is a lesson about how you make people root for the bad guys on screen 😄😄 👍

[anotherlesbiandied]

okay but you've been acting since you were 8 apparently so you have to have got SOME method - 👁️

you want my acting method? you're not gonna like it.

1: prep. this includes

learning all of your lines obsessively as quickly as possible. ideally before the first rehearsal

creating an intricate backstory for every single moment your character has ever lived up to the beginning of the play

writing fanfiction of what they're doing between scenes

treating your character like an oc you just made up and making playlists/character sheets/dumb alignment charts/pinterest boards. by the end of this process your character should be your favorite character in the show.

2: discussion and amendments. this includes

being the pain in the director's ass who won't stop asking meaningless questions about how they see your character

realizing that, in practice, your character details don't match the tone of the show. revising accordingly.

rambling to people you know (or tumblr) about the play until everything starts to click

3: performance. this includes

full sending every rehearsal no matter how dumb you look

practicing facial expressions in the mirror

and occasionally tapping into childhood trauma

[victusinveritas]

Reminder: if you're an actor, and you think your performance is bad, remember it will be hard to be worse than John Wayne as Genghis Khan in The Conqueror. The movie sucked so much it gave like 70% of the people who worked on it cancer.

Nuclear testing nearby might have had something to do with it, but I'm convinced it was largely the Duke just being ass at acting.

Also, if you are raising issues about someone being played by an actor of 'the wrong ethnicity' in any movie, but especially one where there are goddamn dragons, get bent.

[ciel-the-resident-weirdo]

hello, theatre side of tumblr!

i have a query

so, auditions for my local musical theatre company are happening soon-ish

and i require assistance with picking a song to sing

so if someone could please give suggestions on songs an alto can sing that’d be great!!

(preferably like epic the musical or starkid but honestly ill take any suggestions)

also if you have any general tips/advice for auditions that would be lovely :3

have a great day/night!!

💜

[drewstarky]

How would you suggest a new beginner to acting start?

This going to be a long post

The biggest advice I can give is to start, and don't give up if this is what you decide you really want.

To get started:

1. Do school/community theatre shows. This gained me so much knowledge and skills I didn’t have before, which lead to theatre school which then lead to professional shows.

1.b Student films and background work are also another great way of getting some experience.

2. Audition, audition, audition!!! This is so crucial.

Many times, you will be rejected for a project, and 99.9% of the time, it has nothing to do with your talent; it has everything to do with the fact that they can't fit you with casting because, for example:

a. they've already casted who they want opposite to you and the height difference doesn't work or a set peice is too tall, short etc.

b. It could be that you weren't the right fit for that project, but in the future, they'll keep you in mind for other shows and roles.

c. literally anything under the sun that has nothing to do with what you can do.

I believe this to be true; whether you're 1 - 100 years old, there is a role for you out there, it's just a matter of what they see works with what their vision is that they already have.

Tip: Join Facebook groups for auditions in the area, and look on any local casting sites. if you do a quick Google search or ask someone you've made friends with in your area who does auditions, see how they find them.

3. Don't spend money to audition, headshots or any of that yet. make sure you love this first, to the degree of a hobby -> professional or anywhere inbetween. take a test drive first.

4. Network, network, network!!!

Talk to people in the industry, learn from them, and most importantly, let them know the autehntic you.

Something I learnt in school was to not be afraid to ask or put yourself out there in a nice, non-spamming way. Send an email to the artistic director of a theatre company. Take that workshop with an industry professional and talk to them about something. Find a connection example: oh, you did The Glass Menagire? I got to be in that in high school, or I got to see your show, etc.

BE HONEST.

DON'T LIE on your resumé, or if you've seen a show, it will only hinder you in them wanting to work with you rather than open the door. You don't have to be impressive or impress them to start a working relationship with them. Just be yourself and show interest at minimum in who they are as a human. Most local artists and higher-ups just want to feel human, too.

You should never have to pay to audition or have an agent upfront.

you might have to for a student film buy somthing such as gas ot get there, or an outfit, but never to the people running it for anything weird.

Trust your gut; if it feels weird, don't do it.

Also don't spend money for character shoes, headshots or any of that yet. make sure you love this first, to the degree of a hobby -> professional or anywhere inbetween. take a test drive first. List below the things you need.

Things you need:

Resumé -> you need one for sure, even if it has minimal things on it. Just use Google Docs etc.

Headshot -> you can totally take one on your phone, Depending on camera quality, invest only in some if you're serious about this. this can range in price from $150-$500 dependsing on who, and how many edits. (I'd ask around your area of their experience/reviews of people)

Audition material -> for this I use alot of tools such as this backstage monolouge finder you can filter for to find age range and context a lot.

My best advice is to read plays, as many of them as you can, and find stuff that resonates with you. go to your local library if you can't afford to buy the play or even use internet archive. I even watch slime tutorials (bootlegs) or people doing monologues on YouTube to help find stuff.

Optional things to consider:

School/ training -> Something that helped me in the long run was post-secondary education for acting/theatre. It's super expensive but very worth it, in my opinion. It's not for everyone, and you can learn a lot from experience, but in the long run, I'd consider it. I specifically took Sanford Mesiner's acting in school, and I am going to take Lee Strasberg's Method soon to add to my training. traning is like tools in the tool belt, if it helps, great, if it doesn't don't use it.

Workshops/courses -> these are more short-term training, but can help alot. I took a voice acting workshop, and it helped so much. Workshops tend to be like 1-3 sessions over a period of time, and courses tend to be like one class once a week for 6 weeks.

Agent/manager -> you absolutely do not need one to begin with, or at all. however espically in film and Tv, it's easier to have an in this way.

Helpful links:

Resumé video

Headshot video

Headshot video 2

Headshot makeup ideas (if female identifying/presenting ) you can do normal makeup just slightly more enhanced but this helps give a guideline

Remember, they want to see you succeed. They want your authenticity. Don't give up even when it's tough, and just start now.

[gameo-archive]

for anyone wondering

"How did you get into acting? How did you know you that you wanted to be an actor? I've been thinking about it a lot recently and I know it can be hard but I thought I'd ask."

Another amazing one. :)

[altosys]

to all my aspiring actors that have not been on stage yet. i have some tales of times when i was on stage.

romeo and juliet (may 2024): -messed up like, a bunch of lines and stuttered a bit (as long as you play it off no one will notice anything wrong) -blocking was shit on one of the nights (made up for it via actions/dialogue clarity) -was kinda quiet (just be louder next time, that's all that matters) -couldn't find the vial for like half a minute and i was worried they didn't put it there (pretended to play it off as hesitating to give the vial) -had a paralyzing ptsd episode on one of the nights right before the doors opened (and i will not stress this enough: always rely on your fellow cast and production members. they are there for you.) -had a really upset stomach (just don't eat dairy or whatever you're intolerant to prior to performance night/day. or if you do make sure to take a pill or something to help with it, like a lactese/lactaid)

[will update]