We’ve put together some things you can bring to your repertoire to enhance your acting profile and put yourself a step above your competition.
Acting is a wonderful skill to have and can lead to some incredible careers as well as assisting in developing confidence and self-esteem. However, when considering a career as an actor or an actress, just being able to act isn’t always enough.
Bring your other skills into your acting
It’s always good to be able to have a range of skills on your resume. Sometimes the casting brief might call for someone who can horse ride, scuba dive, play guitar or even yodel. So keep up any interests or skills you have outside of acting – you never know when they might be called upon for a role.
Be a Triple Threat
The ability to sing and dance can be extremely beneficial when looking to break into the acting industry. It opens you up to a bigger range of roles. Acting for Stage and Screen Alumni Nicholas told us how he ‘had all the tools I would need at my disposal, like how to pick a song which would best show my talents & be within my vocal range, warm up exercises (physical & vocal) & basic understanding of dance & singing terms/techniques’.
Singing and dancing skills however have a wide crossover and can be useful for a variety of roles. Dancing can help you improve your stage choreography, moving around the stage with ease and developing confidence in your character.
Voice Acting
Although another branch of acting, voice acting can be a key skill that is often missed in some theatre schools. At AFTT, our Tier 4 actors spend time in the sound recording studio, learning the craft of voice-over and voice acting. But it is the core skills of the voice that connect the actor to their work as well as developing techniques for projection that are enough to fill a large theatre space.
Learn behind the scenes
Know the roles of the people around you and some basic knowledge of what they are doing. This can not only help you during your performance knowing where you should be standing and why, but can help you to help the stage managers and make everyone’s jobs easier and the production smoother if you don’t get in the way!
Confidence is Key
Confidence in any job is important, especially as an actor or actress. While you have to portray confidence in your role on stage, confidence needs to shine through at every phase of the process. In your audition you need to have confidence in your abilities and strength enough to speak clearly and self-assuredly to the casters.
Head of Acting at AFTT Glen Hamilton says that "Performing in front of people isn’t a natural thing for people to do. Performing is a risk – you risk, getting it wrong, embarrassing yourself, being judged, or being ridiculed etc. The 'Eric Morris System' of actor training, which is embedded in our unique Advanced Diploma of Stage and Screen Acting course here at AFTT deals directly with the blocks that every actor has to deal with. Confidence is something you LEARN. Anyone can LEARN to be confident as performers’ and it can completely change the success of your character and role. "
Creativity
Creativity and imagination is key to the actor. Bringing a creative aspect to roles and your performance choices means a Director has a rich tapestry to work with. Creativity allows actors to bring the character to life through thinking outside of the box about their actions and reactions. Creativity for the actor is about trusting your instincts and first impulses – not thinking about it too much, just jumping in and having a go.
Adapting
Being able to adapt to different mediums within acting from Stage to Screen is vital in gaining employment in the contemporary performing arts industry. At AFTT, Film craft is taught from day 1, differentiating the needs of performing for BOTH film and theatre. Projects and productions are set up at milestone points throughout the course which give you the opportunity to apply YOUR “acting instrument” to performances and film projects. Having a robust and reliable process that can be applied in any medium of the performing arts is the best way you can prepare for a sustainable and successful career
Here at AFTT, we teach you more than just how to act, but how to develop an array of skills that will help you succeed in your career as an actor or actress including how to gain roles after finishing our course.
To find out more about studying Acting for Stage and Screen, enquire here.