Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet
Being an actor or actress is not the easiest profession. Most parents would not encourage their children to try acting because of the low percentage in success rates. However, South Africa is a bit different. The industry is constantly looking for new talent – the new “it” girl or latest acting discovery to launch a new TV series or comedy. With the legislature for a minimum number of hours dedicated to South African shows, South African TV stations have to come up with local shows. The most popular of local shows that make money are soaps, comedies, and short films.
Here are some tips an aspiring actor or actress would need to know before venturing into the confusing and challenging world of acting.
Do You Have Talent?
It isn’t enough to be beautiful or handsome. You need to have a talent for acting. Your face will only take you so far in the business, and then the audience wises up. If you want a long-term career in the arts and acting, you need to start joining acting workshops or enrol in an acting school.
While beauty isn’t everything, it is important in some cases. And even if you’re not the most glamorous, you still have to make the most of what you have. This doesn’t mean altering your looks surgically but having a stylist enhance your best features. Schedule this before you have your photographs taken in a studio. It’s important to have your photos done by a professional since this is going to be the first impression anyone in the business will have of who you are. So you you do not need to go to the extent of making a blu ray dvd of your portfolio but some professional photographs will go a long way to showing that you are serious about your prospective career.
You will need someone to look out for you who is familiar with the inner workings of the film and TV industry. Your agent or manager will get a cut from contracts booked for you, so accept this and don’t negotiate after the fact. Your manager will make sure you are at the right place on the right time to bag the contract. He or she will also help prepare your portfolio and resume.
Pick a manager or agent who is connected to the local Screen Actors Guild. Keep in mind that it’s not that easy to get the nod of a high-ranked and respectable agent. They can turn you down so you have to be on your best behaviour at all times. These people see hundreds of gorgeous faces so you can say that they’re almost immune to the physical aspect of being an actor.
Do Your Best
Whether it’s an acting workshop, audition, commercial, film, or TV project, make sure you bring your best to the table all the time. Be on time and don’t take on a diva attitude even after you have achieved moderate success as an actor. Remember that you are only as good as your last project and so if you get a bad reputation, it can stick for a long time. Even worse, it will prevent you from possible new contracts and endorsements.
Behave
Finally, respect the industry and it will learn to respect you. This means no drugs or illegal substances. You won’t get the good contracts right away so keep going to auditions. It’s called “paying your dues.”