[NEohioPAL]Breaking in the business...

Tue Sep 27 19:48:33 PDT 2005

<html><div style='background-color:'>I don't know if you need or if you'll even heed my following advice, but I thought I’d give it a shot.  Here goes.  <A href="mailto:RAVEKIDCLE420 at aol.com">RAVEKIDCLE420 at aol.com</A> inquired about breaking into the business at 26…  You said you don't feel confident, so I’ll give you the best piece of advice that I consider this industry to offer: challenge yourself, dive in, and go for the things that intimidate you because you'll surprise yourself.  I know you have no experience but if you audition for a small community theater, chances are you're not the only one with little or no experience.  Sometimes you'll meet 
these “actors” that have an extended resume but they're not very well endowed to say the least.  Others have done one or two things, and just seem to be naturals.  For one reason or another you obviously felt the calling, so it must be in your soul if you had an epiphany at 26 to go after the art.  If you take it from me; any production you do from here on out be it theater, or independent film, is practice.  Who cares if it pays, because at this point in your career you just need to build experiences.  You can take courses but if you want to challenge yourself and save money, audition for something.  It's like a free acting course because you will learn from your director and the others around you.  Start small and build up.  It's good to fine tune your skills but to 
start somewhere, anywhere is all you need to do.  Intimidation is a game we all play with each other but if one thing is for sure: it's all an illusion.  Don’t be intimidated!  It’s the name f the game.  People are full of it most of the time.  You have to jump in!  Be bold and daring.  Go to an audition, even if you feel you'll get rejected.  Do it just for the experience and I guarantee you will not be surprised to find that you are not far behind the others.  Even if there is a lot of talent, then you will learn something new.  You also need to get used to rejection, because it comes with the territory.  You will need courage the most because this is unfortunately a business in which only the strong survive, so unless you plan to do it only as a hobby, 
then try to understand that you need to be careless of what others think.  You probably already knew this stuff since it’s mostly common sense to some, but I’m doing what I can; offering you some basic tips I learned along the way.  If you can realize that nobody is better than you, and that it’s never too late for anybody, then you can do it. There are tons of great acting classes being advertised on NEohioPAL all the time.  Try the Cleveland Improv Institute.  They are great for beginners.   Let's face it, everyone has to start somewhere and not everyone has been blessed enough to have a doting mommy and daddy hold their hand since they were 5 and lead them down the path to stardom.  Trial and error, rejection and victory, you will 
learn the sooner you jump in.  Go for it!  Isn't life short?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
 Good luck!  I’m on your side.<o:p></o:p> 
<DIV>Bernadette Mahar<IMG height=19 src="http://graphics.hotmail.com/i.p.emlove.gif" width=19></DIV></div> <hr> <a href="http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2743??PS=47575" target="_top">3 FREE months of MSN Dial-up Internet service. Click for full details and to sign-up now!</a> </html>