Monday, 18 January 2016

Learn 6 Ways of Smart Actors to Market Career FREE


A cut-throat competition in actor's market for Bollywood and TV serials
A cut-throat competition in actor's market for Bollywood and TV serials

How to Market yourself as an actor FREE
How to Market yourself as an actor FREE


Yes, they are Smart and Successful Actors! Why? 


A. Because they listened 
B. They focused on a single factor; "how to get chances" rather than dreaming foolishly to be an actor and running from pillar to post without a solid strategy
C. They realized apart from an excellence in acting craft,  the success of this factor depends on their marketing strategies and promotion being acting a "Business"
D. They knew they didn't have lots of money and time enough and wait till eternity.

To be an actor is a business and any actor who doesn't realize this, irrespective of an excellence in the acting craft, will surely fail!

So, smart actors, when think about marketing, they usually see a most important sign 

Rupee sign
Or rather how to save it!

Sure, an essential tool like your headshots can be expensive, but once you have them, there’s plenty of ways to improve your actor marketing without spending a dime.
Actor marketing is defining who you are, building relationships with people interested in you, and convincing them you are the one they need.
If you’re dreaming and desperately want to be a Bollywood or a TV serial actor, and short of money, here are some inexpensive ways you can work on your actor marketing!

1. Be sure your portfolio photos are working for you, not against you.
Cost: Rs.0 to Rs. 5000 for 10


Many of aspiring actors spend a lot of money on headshots (Portfolio) where unfortunately though they look glamorous but not what truly they are. The result is obvious- they are selected for an initial audition based on the headshot, they are rejected because when they enter into the audition room, the casting director finds a different person than what he/she had seen in the photograph. It may be your face, hair style, profile, looks which probably had been altered in your headshot by a photographer to give you a glamorous look. The cost of such portfolio could be around Rs. 10,000. This is a waste of your money and definitely works against you
The solution: Get your pictures clicked to look what you exactly are-neat and simple and of good quality. Don’t give a shock to a casting director by looking different than your headshots. You even use your own cell phone which has a good camera.
Choosing your best looking shot is great if you want to get a date but, if you want to get a role in a film, choose a shot that reflects the roles you’re most castable as.


2.  Your résumé (Online and others)
Cost: Rs.0


Your résumé works for you to show people whether you have experience, do you have other talents like swimming, dancing, singing, martial arts, languages, accents etc. and whether you will fit into to be auditioned role.If your résumé looks sloppy and unprofessional… so do you! Check for typing errors, have a friend proofread it for you! Be sure to update your hard copy for auditions, the PDF on your website, and any casting sites you’re on!

3. Start a website!
Cost: Rs.0


Actors need a website that shows their marketing materials and links to all of their social media accounts. Don’t put off building your website because you can’t afford one.

You can set up a free on the following sites right NOW:



4. Market and promote yourself on social media accounts.
Cost: Rs.0


Do you have social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, about.me  and looks professional?
Do they feature one headshot you chose to consistently promote your brand across platforms?
Do you have professional social media headers?
A compelling bio with keywords?
These things cost nothing and are necessary to effectively use social media to advance your career.
(Warning for Facebook: Don’t get fooled by “likes” by your friends. They are not casting people. You may get wrong signals and may get addicted to wasting your precious time on chatting and get foolishly self-elated. Instead a "profile", start a business “page”)


5. Build and Track your relationships.
Cost: Rs.0 (Except travel)


Remember, marketing is about building and nurturing relationships!

  • Identifying production houses, TV channels like sonny, star plus, casting directors, cinematographers and others related to the industry and running after them to submit your resume and headshots is a MUST. Read relevant posts on this subject from this blog
  • A follow up with a thank you mail, card, birthday or anniversary wish is always welcomed and help people to remember you among the countless crowd of aspiring actors. For email, it’s necessary that your email page is properly designed with your headshot and a great header which should remain constant.  You don’t need relationships with thousands of people for your career take off. Focus your marketing efforts of these people!


6. Expand your network of contacts.
Cost: Rs.0


Get off the couch or gossip corner and find a group of actor’s, casting directors, director’s hang out places in Mumbai or in your town and gate crash to network with! Become extrovert and aggressive if you want to be an actor! Read this post at: hangout places in Mumbai
Do you require lots of money for the above? NO
So, that money is no longer an excuse, get started!

Still confused?


(Author; Had been a marketing wizard for 30 years apart from an award winning actor, an acting coach and a short film maker)
Inspired by


Sunday, 10 January 2016

Why "Continuity" is No 1 Acting for Camera Learning Skill

Mira Nair directs an actor in a scene
Mira Nair directs an actor in a scene pointing a mismatch

Unlike in Theater Learning “Continuity” is Must in Acting for Camera 


When shooting on set, do you ever wonder what the editor needs to keep you in the film? Or if you are unintentionally causing problems for the director or for an editor? You’re not alone.

Who is an editor?


Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking in which an editor selects shots and puts them in an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent sequence. Film editing is often referred to as the "invisible art" because when it is well-practiced by an editor, the viewer can become so engaged that he or she is not even aware of the editor's work. Thus an editor’s work becomes a key factor in a film’s success.

What’s the difference between a SHOT and a TAKE?


SHOT
The section of unedited film from the time the camera starts to the time it stops.

TAKE 
In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot. “Takes” of each shot are generally numbered starting with "take one" and the number of each successive take is increased (with the director calling for "take two" or "take eighteen") until the filming of the shot is completed
From an editor’s viewpoint, one of the most important technical skills for an actor to master is continuity.

Irrelevant in theater, but critical to on-camera acting, continuity means performing the same physical actions identically in every take. This may happen when multiple takes are taken (filmed) of the same shot. For example: It’s which point in the dialogue you turn around to face someone, which hand you use to pass your scene partner a folder, when you lean back in your chair or touch your face.
Continuity is when you move, how you move, when you stop moving, and matching that action in every take.

If you reached for your water before saying, “Bahut pyas lagi hai” (“I’m thirsty”) in “take one”, then you have to match this movement and action in every other take for a shot. You must always do it in the same order because an editor is editing the scene together using multiple angles and takes, and the action in all of them needs to match. You can’t change the sequence of events in “take three” by reaching for the water after saying, “Bahut pyas lagi hai” That’s not going to cut together with your other "takes" or your scene partner’s "takes". The other actors are reacting to your actions, so if you move at the wrong time, their eyes will be looking in the wrong place. It’s extremely important to be consistent and doing the same and same, whether the camera is on you or on someone else. Then an editor always has the option to keep your good work in the scene.

Sometimes it’s human not to notice mismatching movements and actors are no different, so editors work hard to avoid them. The directors or editors don’t want the audience to become distracted by an actor’s wrong movement or looks. For the illusion of a film’s fictional world, you need to maintain continuity.

Here’s an example of bad continuity

Two characters are talking at a diner. The Drinker has a coffee cup in his left hand. In his coverage, he says his line and then drinks the coffee. But what if he doesn’t maintain continuity when the camera moves behind him to get coverage of the Listener?

Correct continuity:

The correct continuity by an actor while filming
 The correct continuity by an actor while filming. See the arrow on the right holding cup in his left hand in both the pictures (Picture courtesy http://www.backstage.com)


Incorrect continuity:

The incorrect continuity by an actor while filming
The incorrect continuity by an actor. On the left, holding  the cup in his left hand Now, see the arrow on the right where the man is holding the cup in his right hand (Picture courtesy http://www.backstage.com)


See how his coffee cup jumped his own hands? So did the audience.
The woman performed exceptionally well in this shot, but for a bungling of a mismatch by her co-star Therefore hoping that she would perform well again, the director had to go for another “take” to correct the mismatch in “continuity”. Unfortunately, the female actor in the next “take” didn’t do that well.

An editor speaks:

"I want to cut every scene for the best performances, but when there are continuity problems, I’ll have to use inferior takes just to hide the physical mismatch. So your worst performance might wind up on screen because that was the only "take" where continuity matched. Or I might have to cut away from you entirely until the mismatching action is over. That’s how you end up on the cutting room floor".

Now, is it clear to you how important is “continuity” for an actor?


Criticism


Some actors complain that continuity is a too rigid thing; that it prevents them from being in a character’s moment and thus produces an unreal performance. “I can’t be in the character if I’m worrying about whether my glass is up or down!”


My answer


It is simply that you have to learn this skill and make it part of your acting craft. If you give the most incredible performance, but your continuity is a disaster, an editor probably can’t use it. So the performance will be useless after all. Keeping your continuity consistent lets the audience focus on the important things.
The greatest actors have the ability to portray rich emotional moments on demand, but even in the midst of those moments, there’s a still a part of their brain that can focus on technical things like continuity without diminishing their emotional performance. The examples of such Bollywood actors are many. I find that truly incredible.

How to learn continuity?



  1. Be aware of what you are doing in each “take”
  2. Keep a small diary with you and as you sit down (If possible), note down every movement, gestures, looks etc. If there is an immediate next take with no time to sit, run in your mind what you did earlier.
  3. However, remain in the character. Don’t chat with co-stars in between a take or a shot or till it’s a “ pack up” or “wrap up” call
  4. Practice continuously “switch on and off’’ between a “character” and ‘yourself” becoming aware of the technical requirements of an acting for camera. 
  5. Remember, it's a balance between your mind and imagination


I’m confident you can learn this too.
Based on

Or join us to learn


Sunday, 3 January 2016

4 Red Flag Warning in Selecting Acting Schools

Red flag warning issued for acting schools


Choosing to engage in a relationship with an acting class/coach is like dating a girl or a boy. You’re entering into a potential long-term (few months to years) relationship that must be mutually beneficial, healthy, and free of mental and emotional trauma.
The No. 1 factor when considering joining is the results of a school / coach's work: launched careers (even in short films), helping in booking roles etc.
The following are basic assessments I encourage all actors to employ when selecting an acting class.


Red flag while selecting an acting school

Red Flag #1


Too many students

In addition to the teacher not know about you like your strengths, weaknesses and even not remembering your name, you will be lost in a group of students, forced to work with a scene partner, either for better or too poor compared to you, and may only be able to practice scenes or emotions  once every 2 or 3 weeks... if you’re lucky! I describe my classes as “private coaching in a class setting.” Because our classes are small either one on one or in a small group of or 2 or 3 students.
I would recommend an acting school with a class of not more than 7 to 10 students


Red flag while selecting an acting school

Red Flag #2


Teachers who hate some actors in a class

Unfortunately, I see many actors who arrive at my private coaching program very damaged. They have been completely flattened by a sarcastic teacher/class who due to some whimsical reasons hates them. They may not be abusive, but behave negatively with a particular student.

How to spot such demotivating teachers? 


  • These teachers who bully or are sarcastic to the students; allow ask some of their favorite students to directly comment on the performance of others actors they don’t like (may be due his/ her face, language or accent, body language etc.) or require more time to learn an emotion/ attitude. I remember one of my coaching students telling me that her teacher uses to ridicule her because she was poor in English. She got terribly upset as the teacher deliberately will encourage other students in a session to comment on her performance or talk to her in English, embarrassing her as she could not reply in a fluent English back.
  • A good practice to be followed by a teacher in a class should be that all comments from students should be directed to the teacher only, as actors should never criticize their fellow actors, both in a class or even on a film set.



Red flag while selecting an acting school

Red Flag # 3.


Whether you have learned or not, there is no time for training individually.

Suppose an actor can’t display a particular emotion or attitude like crying or laughing instantly or failing to develop ‘improvisation’ in a scene, they don’t wait for you. Why? The reason is simple-how can they hold a class of 20 for maybe an hour or more only because of you? They don’t.
This is a no-win situation for you as an actor. The biggest problem with these types of teachers is that though many of them are good there are limitations of time and may be their own reasons as a paid employee of a school with a fixed syllabus which defeats the basic objective of an acting class.
The “acting” is a delicate art and a fine craft. It cannot be taught as a subject of chemistry or history to 40 to 50 students with few practical in a lab.
However, few lucky ones who get attention and favor may be because of ‘like’ grab more benefit in a class though large. Thus, all craft development gets cast aside and the entire class’s focus diverts and revolves around fun and networking with co-actors.
This is a major red flag.


Red flag while selecting an acting school

Red Flag #4: 


No results in sight.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints and fixed schedules of the subsequent classes, post training help is limited.
After training is over, most of the students do not know what to do, where to, whom to meet and how they can get roles in films, TV seials, commercial ads and print. Even in a class, sufficient time may not be devoted to how to be successful in auditions. This may not be deliberate or due to neglect, but again, may be due to time factor as a major time may be devoted for like ‘acting techniques’, ‘improvisation’ and ‘ scene enacting’
However, from an aspiring actor’s point of view who has paid a fee of few Lakhs of rupees, it may be a frustrating experience of not getting a job and to get lost in this ruthless cine industry after passing out a successful training.

How to find the red signals?


Before you decide to join an acting school or an acting coach, visit personally and find out: 

  • Who are the teachers?
  • Are they actors, directors, or from other cine stream?  What is their background-pictures released, work done etc. (Some of the existing actors may be teachers who join acting classes as teachers due to financial reasons, but are they good teachers?)
  • Check their references on the internet
  • What is the duration of each class eg 60 minutes or more or less?
  • How many students are in each batch?
  • Names and details (contact no, address, email) of the ex-students who got a break in films, TV serials or in commercial ads? You must make an extra-ordinary effort to contact them and seek their opinion.
  • Also, try to contact other ex-students randomly on the phone even if they didn’t book any roles to seek their opinion of their school
  • Remember, listen but do not believe what they say. Some of their talks may be their marketing gimmick.
  • Does a school accept a fee in installments? If yes, then be cautious. Sometimes, their main objective may be financial benefits rather than an excellence in quality of training and would welcome students by paying full fees or a part of a total fee.
  • Finally, most important-don’t fall to big industry names behind a school. The big names behind running a school seldom get sufficient time to devote to teaching to students and usually have employee teachers to do the job and big name, job get confined to ‘inauguration’, once a while 'pep-up' talks and prize/ certificate distribution ceremonies.

Just check the above red flags and points before you decide. Also, if already joined, never walk into a class with your tail tucked between your legs. Don’t be afraid to ask for results. It’s your right and responsibility. Raise your hand and inquire what sort of roles his/her students have acquired of late, or in the last year. Any reputable teacher or a school should be able to handle this question with aplomb and with hard numbers.
Acting class is also about creating offering predictable results for their students. Defensive or vague answers should give you a glimpse into this person’s or school’s soul. No reputable teacher/ coach or a school should feel good about taking hard-earned money from aspiring actors unless he/she knew they were getting the best guns they need to fight forward in their careers.

Special author's note:

However, please note that there are exceptions to what I have mentioned above. Some of the schools in Mumbai at least, are really good and their efforts in developing students into a good actor are commendable, indeed! There are teachers in these schools who truly love teaching and can’t help but inspire their students with their own energy and passion. This is a true spirit. Teachers and coaches should be pushing their students forward with respect and helping them succeed along their career path. Encouraged by




Monday, 28 December 2015

How to Act for Camera Nobody Tells You About

 How to Act for Camera


I’ll bet most of you as actors out there are actual human beings. And most people think that the easiest thing in the world is to just be just memorize lines and play the character when the camera comes on. Wrong! I find that most people have the toughest problem, not with the techniques, but with just looking and feeling like an actual living, breathing human being once the camera is running. And, let’s face it, a good acting scene should never look like a good acting scene. It should look like "a reality show" that is so natural and real that we forget it is an acting scene.

Here are the top five tips I use in my classes now to get students to feel and look like real human beings in a scene:

1. Start by relaxing and your body to "just let go.” 


You need to get out of your mind and nervousness and focus on your body. It’s important to physically loosen your body and to unfreeze it so that natural life energy and subconscious reactions are set free to happen.

A simple relaxation technique of breathing 

Easy steps
While sitting on a chair

A. Step 1
Position:
-One hand on chest
-The other hand on stomach

B. Steps 2

  • Exhale fully emptying your lungs
  • Inhale deeply, pressing your stomach slightly. No pressing of your chest with the other hand.
  • Hold your breath for 5 to 7 seconds and while you are holding your breath.
  • Auto suggest silently to you, like-“I‘ll be relaxed”, “I’ll feel good”, I’ll give a great audition”, “I’ll give good performance”…
  • Exhale very slowly in 7 to 10 seconds, releasing the pressure of your hand, the one which is on the stomach and pressing your chest slightly with the hand which is on the chest
  • Repeat this exercise 10 times or till you can continue, depending upon time available with you in an audition room or the set before the shoot.

Finally, auto suggest yourself- “I’m feeling relaxed. Really good. Yes, I’m ready to go…”


2. Free yourself as though you are alone and no one is watching you. 


Create a wall in front of you and block everything-casting director, assistants, camera, reader (who reads the other part of your co-actor). Set yourself free. Based on the analysis of the script and the character you are portraying, do the things you would do if you were alone.   For example-scratch, get the hair out of your face. Be creative and set free natural nuances to happen so that you are working as a real “living human being”. Allow yourself to feel ugly, imperfect, even boring. Everyone actually looks better in a relaxed mode, as your face and body gets a beautiful, natural glow and flow. It will look like you are doing nothing, but remember, tiny nuances by you looks great in the camera.

3. Give yourself something to do! 


Anything that is real looks amazing on camera. So really read the book; really listen to the other person; really try to get the piece of lint off of your clothes; really give a soft smile; adjust your clothes. Really observe the other person in the scene. Feel the breeze on your face. Clean your finger nails. Touch someone with love. Stare so hard into the eyes.

4. Eyelines


Why an actor should care about Eyeline?
An actor should care about Eyelines because where and how an actor looks on screen gives viewers information about his character.
Though basically "Eyelines" is a subject of film making, direction and cinematography as to where to place the camera, especially in 2 shot filming, it could be a great opportunity for actors to showcase their talents through eye expressions
In a cine industry of Bollywood or TV serial market in India, where there is a cut throat competition,
it's  absolutely essential for actors how to position themselves suitably in a shot or at the audition to give a memorable performance.
There will be a separate post in detail on how actors should use their eyeline for the camera

5. Use props


It may be a Rs 20 ring you are giving to your love, but feeling that it’s a diamond ring and so should be felt by her. Sipping a coke, but feeling it’s a great scotch in a finest cut glass.
Feeling and just  feeling. A camera loves,  "feelings"! Yes, that’s the way you should use your props
(Prop: A property, commonly shortened to prop (plural: props), is an object used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a film set like pan, umbrella, coffee mug or anything but not a scenery, costumes and electrical equipment etc.)
Based on

Wednesday, 23 December 2015

India's Only 'One on One" Your Professional Acting Course

India's only "One on One" acting coaching program

A PERSONALIZED ACTING COACHING SYLLABUS 


32 Steps of designing coaching program, especially suited to you


Introduction and Initial Step

Your audition is taken followed by interviews, not for selection in classes, but to know the level of talent in you, your dreams, why you want to be an actor, your determination, ability to struggle for a considerable period, financial resources to support you for a long period, your persistence and perseverance + more
Then we do your SWOT (your 'Strength', 'Weaknesses', 'Opportunities' for you, and finally 'Threats' to you)

Based on the above, we design a learning program, particularly suited to you.

Key points while designing Syllabus for you:


  1. What is an actor?
  2. What is your acting instrument?
  3. How to improve your acting instrument
  4. Body & mind
  5. Improving all your 6 senses
  6. How to really Listen and react normally
  7. Why develop guaranteed and quick  relaxation techniques
  8. How to fight tension on auditions and in a shoot
  9. How to build confidence
  10. How to improve your voice and diction
  11. How to build a killer hot body
  12. Two key factors in learning success- "Observation" and “Imagination”: Techniques
  13. How to create a story after "observation" and importance of building up your sense-memory
  14. How to play different emotions and 20 attitudes you see around you
  15. Acting Technique: You are taught a special acting technique suited to you and are encouraged to develop your own technique after training you in Konstantin Stanislavsky method acting, Meisner technique and Stella Adler Acting Method.
  16. How to win auditions
  17. Why and how to do script analysis
  18. How to do a character analysis of the role
  19. Top tricks for quick memorization for auditions and large number of pages for film / theater
  20. How to prepare a monologue and give a top performance
  21. What is and how to enact 'improvisation"
  22. Which are different acting techniques and which one suits you the best-create your own
  23. What is camera acting and how best to play for the camera
  24. Camera loves ‘eyes’-how to use them (use of your Eyeline)
  25. How to work and get roles for the commercial ads
  26. Why acting is a business and how to be a successful business actor
  27. How to market and promote yourself, website making, monologue and show reel filming
  28. Public relation secrets for actors
  29. Life and career 'Goal Setting'
  30. Casting directors and coordinators in India
  31. Production houses and TV channels in India
  32. Writing a script for your monologue and shooting a 2 minute video-film for promotion

+ More...

Get Coaching details here: Click


Tuesday, 22 December 2015

6 Audition Steps You Don't Know and Failed Again


Failing repeatedly in auditions


6 Steps Everyone Should Know About Auditions


An acting career is a strange thing. You spend more appearing for auditions than for getting roles in a TV serial or films. I don’t think there are any other occupations like that. Looking back at my life as an actor and an acting coach, the average to number of auditions to actually getting the role (job) is 10:1, and a working actor probably had hundreds of auditions during his/her career.
This is why you have to learn how to handle an audition. Sadly, there are a lot of talented actors out there who never had a career because they couldn’t deal with the auditioning process.


  1. The first thing you have to understand is that auditions aren’t about winning a role.. You can’t do good work inside an audition room with at kind of pressure hanging over your head of “getting a role is a MUST”. 
  2. If the casting director says to me as his/her coach that my student did a great job, but he/she was too young or too old or too tall or too short, then I say to my guy you’re on solid ground. That means you’ll get repeat audition calls or even better, may select you directly without an audition for some future project. 
  3. Look at it this way: Auditions are an opportunity to create a terrific, memorable impressions and fans in the casting world. And if you can get into the good books of casting directors, you will have a successful career.
  4. Another thing you want to keep in mind is that nothing a casting director does is personal. Remember, these people are under a lot of pressure. They have to get their job done while facing calls from their producers, the director, the studio, the channel etc. So if the casting director is eating lunch during your audition, it means he’s hungry. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you. 
  5. That’s why it’s a mistake to read into every little moment that occurs before, during, and after your audition? This road leads to madness. And if you are oversensitive about this, nine out of 10 times, you’ll be totally wrong.
  6. If you want to become a successful actor, you’re going to spend a large part of your life auditioning for the acting roles you’re never going to get. So learn to enjoy the process. See every audition as a chance to perform, and don’t worry about the outcome. 

My advice


“All you guys want to do is to win an acting assignment, and you are thrilled because you finally get an audition. All anyone is asking you to do is to  focus and act in those two to four minutes, because that’s about how long an audition is gonna last 
And what you do? You jump into your own freaking conclusions and wonder if they’re paying attention. Do they like it? What are they thinking? Did I make mistakes? ... Think I got the role... No?
Forget it. Just perform”
Based on

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Monday, 14 December 2015

A Key to10 Secret Tips to be 100% a Bollywood Star


Key to clues for an actor's success
Key to clues for an actor's success

Here are Vital Tips from My Secret Chamber to Put You at The Top of Acting Game



1.  Watch Great International Actors


To become a better actor you must not only continue learning the craft of acting (which is a lifelong process), but observe celebrity actors known for memorable and award winning performance. Go to the theatre, watch films/TV programs that have your favorite actors in. Observe how they execute their craft. What can you learn from them? What are they doing that makes them an outstanding actor?
Warning: Don’t become a viewer getting involved in the story, but observe films as a critic and as a learner. One of the great ways is to switch off the volume and then observe their acting


2.  Give Your Best in Rehearsals


Bring as much to the rehearsal (If there is one) as you can including strong character choices, clear character intentions, ideas, and your prep work/research. This will help you hugely when in the rehearsal space and creating the world of the character with your fellow actors. If there are no rehearsals, then seek some time before a shoot with the director and show him/her.
Remember, anything you do repeatedly become a natural habit, good or bad!


3.  Have a Mentor or a Coach


Had lots of failures and are struggling to see how to find the success you desire? Having a mentor (acting coach) can really help you see outside your “pre-conceived idea” and find other ways to climb up the acting ladder of success. It doesn’t need to be someone who is a three time Filmfare or Oscar winner, but someone you believe and admire. You can seek solutions from such a coach before an audition or before a shoot (May be by paying a small fee), fix an appointment, practice and then go for your kill! Having a mentor can do wonders for your confidence and your career.

4.  Develop Your Observation and Imagination


As an actor, drawing upon our life experience is part and parcel of connecting to a role and injecting truth into it. It is ESSENTIAL you live a full life to do this. Take walks in the parks, stations, zoo, visit as many people as possible regularly and observe keenly everything about them. Try new experiences, visit new places, hear different genres of music… Be an imaginative actor and create new lives. Use your imagination and dream and create stories from your observations of people, animals, birds, nature etc.

5.  Improve Mental Health


Alongside working on honing your craft and audition technique, you also need to work on your mind. This is of utmost importance. Do you understand the limitations your mind places on situations? Do you understand why? How can you overcome this? Once you have cracked this (Ask your coach), you will free yourself, lose inhibitions and find you begin taking more risks and making clearer choices with your work. Even work on your mind, your mentor (coach) can help you.

6.  Analyze Script and Character


Very carefully read your script, perhaps many a times. Analyze the objective, changes and how it achieves the objective. Analyze your “character”. This contains all the clues you will ever need in creating your character. Go through it with a fine tooth comb to pull out all those gems the script writer has loaded it with.

7.  Build Contacts


As well as having talent and consistently honing your acting craft, you need to have a good, solid list of contacts and continue to build upon this. You can build up your network/contacts by really working on social networking sites like Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Attending film festivals, theater groups, workshops, meeting industry people will definitely expand your contacts and help to broaden your visibility to casting directors and others who matter to you.


8.  Read Books


If you say you’re an actor, be an actor. Read books on acting to hone your acting craft and read fictions which have conflict, suspense and intense emotions. Don’t just read, imagine scenes while reading and be a character in the story.

9.  Then Discover Who You Are


Write down your physical, mental, social and cultural profile. The best would be to seek help from your coach. Identify your flexible traits, emotions, attitudes, which you can easily change, matching that of a character. Then forget what you cannot. Just bring the character into you rather than trying desperately to be a character.

10.  Create your Character-Write Down


Do you document (Write down) your character while analyzing the script and character? This is a great way to stay on top of all the choices you make for your character. Of course, you have to create not one but maybe 2 or 3 choices of creating different profiles of your character. Just grab an A4 size paper, write anything that inspires you in the development of your character, this can include a back story, photos of their street, house etc.
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