Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This is week 6 in the series relating to the psychology of the business, particularly as it relates to auditions and booking work and we will be exploring Being “Discovered”

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

You’ve heard the stories

Everyone has heard the stories of some iconic actors who were suddenly “discovered”.  Johnny Depp was selling pens over the phone and wanted to be a rock star…Wes Craven noticed him and suggested he audition for Nightmare on Elm Street.  He got the part and that was that!  Harrison Ford was a Hollywood carpenter and aspiring actor.  He was hired to build a door for Lucas Movie Studio and George asked him to audition for Han Solo.  The rest is history.  What about Ted Williams, a homeless man who was featured in a short video by a 20-year news veteran that went viral, and he was suddenly getting national VO jobs?  True?  Not sure, but it sure makes for a great story.

We love these stories

We love to hear these stories because they are like people winning the lottery.  We like to think that these folks were just minding their own business going about their day to day lives when BAM…they were “discovered”.  We like them because it makes it feel like it could happen to us.  That’s also why we buy those lottery tickets. And it could.  But it probably won’t.

I can’t find data

I’d like to be able to tell exactly what your odds are of being discovered, but search as I may, I am unable to find any real data to back it up.  Based on previous numbers where we explored the odds of becoming rich and famous as an actor, I’d say the odds are pretty slim.  Truth is, very… VERY…few people get discovered who aren’t trying to get discovered.  Like, so close to zero it is not measurable.

Here’s the thing

The thing is, if you think you can put together a killer demo reel, or get signed by a big agency, or your uncle is Martin Scorsese and you’ll just “get discovered” …think again.  Well, OK, it’s a lot more likely if your uncle is Martin Scorsese…but he’s probably not.  However, there ARE ways you can get discovered.  It just takes a lot of work!

I hate to be a buzzkill

OK, maybe I don’t hate it as much as I think I do.  The simple truth is, even if you do suddenly get discovered in acting or VO, you have to have the talent to maintain it.  Sure, you could book a job that goes viral and become an overnight sensation…and then what?  Ever heard the term “One Hit Wonder”?  Yep, almost everyone can name a band that had ONE hit song and then sunk into oblivion.  You have to be able to follow through and maintain your “celebrity”.

Positioning

If you really want to be discovered, there are some things you can do to make your odds better.  Some of you may not want to hear this, but the truth is it is going to take a lot of work, determination, and intention.  Fact is, if you want to be discovered you need to position yourself in the industry to GET discovered.  And how do you do that?  Well…read on!

Location

I know, we love to hear about someone who gets discovered sitting in a diner in some Podunk town in Idaho.  I suppose it could happen, but what are the odds?  You are FAR more likely to be discovered if you live and work in an area where there is a concentration of industry professionals in the industry you are trying to be discovered in.  Remember, Harrison Ford was building a door for George Lucas in Hollywood…not Cleveland, OH when he was discovered.  Live where there are people looking to discover talent, and your odds are much better.

Work…HARD

These discovery stories all sound like lucky random happenings.  And some of them may be…but most are not.  You can’t discount the role luck plays in being discovered; what most people DO discount is the role hard work plays.  Believe it or not, almost everyone who gets discovered, does so while working.

What kind of work?

Yeah, Harrison Ford was a carpenter, but that was just his survival gig.  He was also a hard-working actor too.  He was lucky to be doing carpentry for George Lucas, but he ALSO had to audition for the role of Han Solo and do a good job.  As an actor, no matter what your survival job is, you need to be taking classes and applying for (and booking) as many jobs as you can.  You are far more likely to be noticed on set than in a diner.

Be professional

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: This industry is built on a foundation of relationships.  Build a good reputation as a reliable and consistent professional and those relationships will come.  Be the person everyone loves to work with because you are always on time, always prepared and always pleasant to be around. If casting agents, directors and producers get to know your name and think of you positively…you will eventually get discovered.

Apply to Casting Agencies

You want to work as much as possible.  The more you work, the more you are recognized in the industry and the more likely someone important will take notice.  Casting agencies (not talent agencies, these are different) are, many times, the gatekeepers to the lucrative work.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but the more “name recognition” you have with a casting agency, the more likely you are to get a booking from them.  It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill gaining mass and momentum as it goes.

Training

I know I sort of harp on training but hear me out.  Let’s say you land an audition for your dream job. AWESOME, right!?  Right!  If you are not prepared, the audition is where it ends (which is really the most common outcome anyway).  However, if you have the training you need, your odds of booking are increased tremendously!  You HAVE to be able to perform, and the way to be able to do that consistently is to get the training you need.  NEVER STOP TRAINING – no matter how “good” you are.

Networking/Marketing

Finally, make sure you are surrounding yourself with people who are in the industry and who are successful in it.  Networking and marketing are basic business skills and make no mistake acting is a business.  One caveat:  You are not doing these things to see what you can get from people, but what you can GIVE to them instead.  You want to be the solution to a problem they have.  That problem may just be a role they are having a tough time filling and it COULD include recommending another actor friend to them.  Remember: Networking and marketing is not about you – it’s about them.

At the end of the day

When all is said and done you are simply not going to be magically discovered and have a meteoric rise to fame and fortune.  The simple truth is getting discovered will take a lot of hard work on your part and it has to be intentional and directed toward getting discovered.  Be in the right place, with the right training and know the right people and your odds improve dramatically.  Getting discovered is up to YOU!

And yet…

Even if you do all the right things, you may STILL not get discovered.  That’s OK, because remember that we do this work because we love it, not because it’s a path to wealth or fame.  And remember: Even after you get discovered odds are You’re not getting the f*&^ing job anyway!

Tune in next week

When we’ll discuss “Desperation”.

 If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

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Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This is week 5 in the series relating to the psychology of the business, particularly as it relates to auditions and booking work and we will be exploring booking jobs By the Numbers

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

I mentioned it before

I did mention this before, but it bears repeating: The odds of you becoming a famous uber wealthy actor are very slim.  About .01% to be exact (after rounding up).  So, I’ll just say this again for those people in the back (or who haven’t read the earlier post):  If you are an actor because you want to be rich and famous you are doing it for the wrong reason.  So, with that reminder in mind, let’s take a look at some of the numbers.

Union (SAG)

At present, there are roughly 63,000 union actors and just 56 of them are famous.  That’s where I came up with the .01% number. For those of you good at math, you’ll notice that the ACTUAL number is (56/63,000 X 100) .08888889%…you can see why I rounded up.  Since the actual number of available SAG actors and famous people fluctuates, it’s a good representation…and even if not TOTALLY accurate, it illustrates the point.

Non-Union

Of course, there are a LOT more actors out there than the ones in the Union.  Tens (if not hundreds) of thousands.  Odds are, you are one of them. The thing is, no one is tracking how many of you there are, and the pool is probably a bit more fluid (see what I did there?  Pool/fluid) than union actors.  Suffice it to say that in reality your odds are MUCH smaller than .01%.

That sets the stage (I did it again “Acting/Stage”)

So, the previous two paragraphs are just to set the stage, and manage expectations, about an acting career.  It really is something you need to love doing, because it’s not a real path to wealth, unless you are both talented and very lucky.  And by the way – nearly all of the famous actors you know of will tell you that their fame is in large part due to luck.

But it’s not all about fame

In reality, a reasonable goal is not to be famous, but to work enough to support yourself.  That goal is completely reachable if you are willing to put in the work.  Between training/coaching, auditioning and actually working…it is a LOT of work.  This career is not for people who don’t want to put in a lot of effort.

On to the numbers!

I know, it took me a while to get here, but now let’s take a look at the numbers.  I’m going to cite screen and stage acting numbers here, mainly because I can find those numbers; they are similar for voice acting.

How many open roles are there?

What I can’t find, are numbers for the average number of open roles on any given day, however one online casting site, backstage.com, advertises around 12,500 open roles.  To be clear, this one site does not list every available acting job across the US (I am concentrating on US numbers, but the proportions will be similar no matter where you are), so there are a LOT more actually.  We know there are more than 12,500, but just to make the numbers easier let’s assume there are ~25,000 open roles on a given day.  With hundreds of thousands of actors, that would seem to make the numbers pretty good!

Consider this…

A given actor is going to be submitting for multiples of those roles, so it is not a one-for-one sort of thing.  It is estimated that for any given role a casting director can expect to receive anywhere from 200-2500 submissions!  Let’s take a nice round number and assume, on average, there are 1000 submissions for each role. Generally, there are about 20 audition “slots” (if you will) so only 20 of the 1000 submissions will be asked to audition.  That’s 2%.  You have a 98% chance of not getting cast before you ever audition!

It gets worse…

Of the 20 actors auditioning, how many get the role?  ONE. Makes sense, right!?  That’s an 80% chance of not booking the role after the audition!  Truth is, 1 person out of 1000 is getting the job.  That’s .1% chance of booking at ALL.  No wonder there is .01% chance of getting famous!

And it might be even WORSE…

I know I said luck was a big factor, and it is – you have to be in the right place at the right time with the right role on a production that becomes very popular.  The truth is, though, you also have to have talent.  Now, the thing is;  talent is a subjective quality, so “Talent is in the eyes of the beholder” and all that.  NEWSFLASH – Not everyone who submits, or auditions has talent.  Sorry, it’s just a fact.  But then, the most talented actor doesn’t always get the job either, so there IS that.

On top of that…

It’s possible you have a lot of talent, but just aren’t “right” for a given role.  I had the good fortune to be a reader for virtual auditions on a local production.  So I was the person reading across from the person auditioning. I saw a lot of really talented actors but many of them, even though they fit the SPEC, just didn’t fit the role for one reason or another.  It was eye opening! There are way more reasons why you may NOT be cast, then there are why you MAY be cast.

DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED

All of this paints a pretty glum picture of an acting career, but it is not meant to be discouraging.  Actually, it’s pretty ENcouraging.  With numbers like these, it’s no WONDER you Aren’t Getting the F*&^ing Job!  Odds are, it has nothing to do with your talent, level of commitment, performance, or personality.  Most of casting decisions are based on things completely out of the actor’s control.  So, relax, and keep on moving forward.

Booking ratio

I wouldn’t pay TOO much attention to this, but it is something you should be aware of.  A booking ratio is the ratio between auditions and bookings.  You can track the ration of submissions to auditions as well, but in my opinion, it is a waste of time.  Agents and managers use your booking ratio to determine whether to continue representing you, and you should be aware of yours.  If you book (on average) 1 out of every 10 auditions, your booking ratio is 1:10 (which, BTW, is an absolutely astoundingly good ratio!).  For you as the actor, knowing your booking ratio should help you decide what training you need and what you need to work on. Maybe you just need help with auditioning!  Auditioning is, in many way, different than the actual job.  Training, and honing your craft, is the one thing that is IN your control, so control it!

And here is the rub

As you can see just by the numbers, You’re Not Getting the F*&^ing Job.  The vast majority of casting decisions are based on things completely out of the actor’s control, so you just can’t obsess over why you didn’t book a job.  It could be as mundane as you have the wrong eye color.  You’ll never know.

Remembering that is freeing

It’s liberating to understand that, going in, your odds of booking a given role are small (and it’s probably not due to something you can control).  Knowing this allows you to relax and just worry about doing your very best to portray the character, to make bold choices and be as creative as you can when you audition.  The knowledge releases the anxiety about auditioning and stops you from obsessing over every un-booked gig.

And the big reveal?

The big reveal is this:  When you relax, stop going into auditions to get a job and start going into auditions to realistically portray a character (even understanding this may be the only chance you ever have to play that character) and to have FUN…you actually improve your chances of getting booked.  Ironic, right?

So, relax…

Relax, have fun, submit/audition and then move on.  Auditioning IS the job…and sometimes people give us money.  Send it and forget it.  And remember: You’re not getting the f*&^ing job anyway, so enjoy yourself!

Tune in next week

When we’ll discuss booking work “Being Discovered”.

 If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over But Didn’t Know Who to Ask!

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This is week 3 in the series relating to the psychology of the business, particularly as it relates to auditions and booking work and we will be exploring Naysayers.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

You have a dream

You dream of becoming a working actor, but people around you tell you to “get a real job” (You MAY have to do this to support your dream, BTW) and to stop chasing shadows.  If you harken back to the last two posts in this series, particularly as they relate to “fame and fortune”, you might see why.  These folks will be quick to point out that your odds of becoming an uber wealthy famous actor are small.  To them, that makes this profession not worth pursuing at all.  These are the naysayers in your life.

And they’d KINDA be right

Your odds of becoming rich and famous ARE small…but your odds of becoming a working actor who can support themselves with their acting are MUCH better.  So go back here and explore one more time why you want to do this work.  If your goal (not your dream, your goal!) is to be famous and wealthy, then perhaps you SHOULD reconsider.  However, if you love acting and have reasonable expectations, then you must be able to overcome the negativity of naysayers!

So, what is a naysayer?

Merriam-Webster defines a naysayer as:

one who denies, refuses, opposes, or is skeptical or cynical about something

“There are always naysayers who say it can’t be done.”

No matter what you are doing, there is always someone who will tell you why it is impossible to do it.  Do you think Thomas Edison didn’t have people who told him, for his own good of course, that he’d never create a commercially viable electric light bulb?  Think again!  As a matter of fact, many of the things we use regularly today were thought foolish by “respected people” while they were being developed.  When someone says it can’t be done…they mean by THEM! What the inventors all had in common: Persistence in the face of naysayers!

Who are they?

Naysayers…we all have them…maybe it’s your parents, your kids, your friends or (God forbid!) your spouse/SO. They are the people in your life (and some who aren’t EVEN in your life) who are quick to let you know why chasing your dream is a bad idea.  They are generally well meaning, but cynical.  Perhaps they at one time pursued a dream and it didn’t work out.  Perhaps they have witnessed others fail and suffer for it.  It’s likely, assuming they naysayer is close to you, that they really mean you no harm and just don’t want to see you fail.  So don’t listen to them, but cut them a little slack.

But don’t let them stop you, either

Keep this in mind: Every famous actor you know, whether on stage, behind a microphone or in front of a camera has had people tell them they were never going to “make it”.  Every. One. Of. Them.  On top of that, every NON-famous actor who works regularly and makes a decent living from their craft has as well.  So if you have people trying to tell you that what you are pursuing is not possible, or at least so unlikely it’s not worth trying, then you are part of a pretty illustrious crowd!

So what if people say it’ll never work?

Look, people crapping on your dreams can’t keep you from being successful.  The problem is that listening to naysayers can create doubt in your own mind.  “What if they’re right?”  “Maybe I SHOULD seek a more traditional path”.  Self-doubt is a killer.  Doubting yourself saps your confidence and it will show in your performances, particularly auditions, and ultimately becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Impostor syndrome, or doubting that you deserve your success, is bad enough.  It’s similar to what I call self-doubt, but subtly different.

Self-doubt -VS- Impostor syndrome

To clarify the difference (in my mind at least) between self-doubt and impostor syndrome: I would suggest that self-doubt occurs prior to success and keeps you from achieving it.  Impostor syndrome occurs AFTER you have achieved some level of success but don’t believe you deserve it; it is just a matter of time before you are exposed as a fraud. My focus in this post is on self-doubt NOT impostor syndrome.  Naysayers create self-doubt…or CAN if you let them.

How do you deal with naysayers?

There are some strategies you can employ to deal with the naysayers, dream crushers, cynics, and habitually negative people in your life. Before we go much further, I want to point out that if you are serious about pursuing your dreams and goals, you will HAVE to figure out a way to deal with them.

Don’t share

One of the easiest ways to deal with these folks is simply to not share your dreams with them.  This strategy works well with people who are on the periphery of your life.  Distant relatives, colleagues, and acquaintances.  If you don’t share your dreams, they can’t tell you why they’re unrealistic.  Start by being selective who you share with!

Consider the source

I used to tell my kids: “Consider the source, then ignore them” when people were critical of them.  One good way to weed out naysayers is to look at them and decide if their counsel is even worth anything.  Are they successful actors?  Are they living the life you want to live? Do they even have expertise in the area they are commenting on?  If the answer to any of these is “NO”, then their opinion is not valid or worth your consideration.  Remember: “Never take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.” (Original author unknown).

Speaking of opinions

Keep in mind that the naysayer’s negativity is just their opinion.  And we know that opinions are like butt-holes.  Everyone has them, and they all stink.  I’m not suggesting you should not seek the counsel of other people who are successful in acting, or you should reject the critique of your teachers and directors.  You just should not pay attention to your crazy uncle who tried to act once and didn’t become an overnight sensation.

Ignore them

This is probably one of the hardest things to do.  We are artists, and as such can be pretty sensitive people.  It stings when people, especially people we love or respect, squash our dreams.  It’s tough not to “get into your head” about what they say which ultimately effects how we perform.  But, if you have shared your dreams, can’t outright discount what they say and value their opinion it is imperative, if you are passionate about pursuing this career, that you ignore them.  Use any constructive feedback you receive to improve your performance, but don’t let their opinion, no matter how much you respect it, stop you from pursuing your dream!

Eject them from your life

This is a drastic step, to be sure, but you deserve to NOT have people around you who constantly criticize your choice of pursuits.  Granted, sometimes ejecting them is impractical such as a parent, child or significant other. In that case, eject them from your dreams.  Refuse to share with them and just decide not to engage with them regarding your acting career.  Basically, let them tell you how wrong you are, smile, nod and then forget what they said and charge ahead anyway.

Remember your vision

When it gets to be too much, step back and remember the vision you have for your career.  Take stock of where you began and where you are now.  Odds are you have made significant strides toward achieving your dreams, but you don’t see them because they are incremental, and you don’t notice the improvement.  Step back.  Take a breath and honestly assess where you are in comparison to where you started.  Recognizing how far you’ve come, and remembering it takes a LONG time to become an overnight success, will help you ignore your naysayers

Surround yourself with encouragers

The simplest and most effective way to overcome naysayers is to surround yourself with people who both understand what you are trying to achieve and who are encouraging. I’m not suggesting you simply associate only with people who tell you how great you are, but people who will honestly tell you what is good and what needs improvement; in a way that encourages you to not only improve, but more importantly to keep trying.

Never give up

Here is the main message in this week’s post: Never give up.  Keep pushing forward toward achieving your dreams.  In the immortal words of Winston Churchill: “…never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”  Don’t let naysayers make you give up.

Tune in next week

When we’ll discuss self-taped auditions.

 If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over But Didn’t Know Who to Ask!

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  Think you’re too old, too young, too fat, too skinny, too SOMEthing to become a successful actor?  Think again!  There’s a role for everyone!

And let’s be clear

Voice acting IS acting, regardless of how some people may think.  I hate it when someone says something like: “Oh, they’re just a voice actor, they are not a real actor”.  HOGWASH!  True, stage and screen acting are not exactly like voice acting, they encompass movement and form that people can see.  Voice acting relies on those movements and forms to affect your voice and how you sound.  So, this discussion is about acting, and as such it INCLUDES voice actors.

Can anyone act?

Sure…of course!  Honestly LIFE is acting if you think about it, and acting is about portraying life, so it makes sense.  Do you behave differently at work than you do at home? With your kids? With you friends?  Of course, we all (or nearly all) do.  So yes, anyone can be an actor…because we all already are.

Can everyone be a good actor?

DUH…no!  But everyone can become a good (if not great) actor with patience and a LOT of practice.  Learning the mechanics of acting is fairly easy and straightforward.  There are a lot of drama and acting schools scattered across the country, and there is surely one near wherever you live.  You no longer have to live in NYC or LA to find a good acting school.  Acting is a skill that can be developed and improved over time.

Do I need to be a good actor to find work as an actor?

The short answer is no.  As a matter of fact, most actors start out their careers as mediocre actors at best.  Now, the odds of being able to support yourself as an actor at first are slim.  Ever heard the term “starving artist”?  It’s a real thing, and what drives some actors to quit.  But you can work, and earn some money, early in your career.  I watched a documentary not long ago where they interviewed John Voight (You’ve heard of him, right?) where he talked about one of his first roles and how badly he performed.  But he kept learning, and practicing and now he’s…well, he’s John Voight!

The truth is…

The real truth of acting, though, is this:  You have never heard of most professional actors who ARE supporting themselves with acting.  The VAST majority of actors are NOT famous.  Take a close look at your favorite movies or TV shows or cartoons.  How many of the actors can you name…maybe 2-3, right?  Now go back and look at how MANY actors there actually are (and remember every person you see or hear is an actor…they really don’t just record random people…ever).

But I’m too…

You have to fill in the blank for you, but here are some I’ve heard: I’m too fat. I’m too skinny.  I’m too old.  I’m too tall.  My voice is too high.  My voice is too unusual.  Balderdash!  None of these are true, and even if they are they will not keep you from becoming an actor, or a SUCCESFUL actor.  Ever heard Gilbert Godfrey speak?  His voice is too something for sure, yet he not only was a successful actor and comedian, he also voiced numerous roles for TV and movies.

Watch and listen with a different perspective

Next time you are watching a movie or show, pay attention to what characters are being portrayed.  Pay particular attention to the non-main characters.  Are they all thin and attractive? OK, so everyone is attractive to some degree and definitely to someone…but you know what I mean.  The answer is no…the characters are portraying “real” people (even when they are fictional).  You see people of all shapes, sizes, ethnicity, and gender.  You hear people with voices that include every pitch, octave, and accent (and yeah, everyone has an accent…but you only notice when it’s different than yours).

Odds are

If you watch/listen from this perspective, odds are you are going to find actors that have the same “I’m too” that you do. If they can do it, why can’t you? Too short?  Check out Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones fame.  Too fat?  Check out Kevin James.  Too old?  Have you heard of Betty White? I could keep going.  Productions portray the reality of the world around us (for the most part), even while they show us fictional worlds and situations.

Suspension of disbelief

Here’s the trick:  In order to enjoy a movie, podcast, audiobook, or TV show it is required that the viewer or listener suspend their disbelief.  In order to accomplish that, everything surrounding the fantastic fictional elements has to appear or sound like reality.  If not, it pulls you out of the entertainment and causes you to stop the suspension of disbelief.  So, if you are a real person, you are already represented in the things you watch and listen to…you might as be the one representing you!

So how do you get started?

Your first step is to find classes either near you or available virtually.  Personally, I prefer the in-person classes now that we are able to have them because it gives you the chance to interact with other actors in class in the same physical space.  I think it is better, but you may think otherwise…you gotta do you.  A good acting or voice over teacher/coach will start by having you perform something and will assess where you are and what help you need.  And we ALL need help, but that’s another topic for another time.

Get an agent

NOPE!  Wrong! BIG RED X (ala Family Feud).  You actually don’t even need and agent to be successful, but certainly not at the start.  The next thing to do is to ACT in something.  Find a local community theater group (they usually struggle to find actors, so it is “easier” to get cast in them) if you are interested in stage.  Or look for independent or student films looking to cast in your area and submit for roles.  Get on ACX and audition for small books to get your feet wet. And then DO it…if nothing else you’ll learn whether or not you even like acting!

It’s not how you think it is

The truth is, while anyone CAN be an actor, not everyone should.  And I’m not talking about talent here.  The truth of being an actor is a lot less glamorous than it seem from the outside.  Acting means long days and a LOT of work.  Voice acting means closing yourself up in your closet sized booth for hours on end and talking to yourself – then learning audio engineering so you can produce it yourself.  It’s not glamorous, but for me (and most of the people I talk to who do this for a living) it is FUN.  If you aren’t having fun, you should not be an actor.

Here’s an example

I was actually on a film set a couple hours from home yesterday. Here’s how it went.  Call time was 12:30 PM, I showed up at 12:15 because, well…Navy.  Checked in with the producer, then headed to wardrobe to get my costume.  After dressing out, off to hair and makeup (HMU) to take care of my wholly uncooperative hair and cover up the three blemishes from where I cut myself shaving (Why does that always happen when I am headed to set?).  Once finished with HMU, headed over to the holding area to meet and chat with the other actors I’d be working with that day.  An hour later (still chatting) lunch was delivered, and we all ate.  THREE AND A HALF HOURS after that, we moved to a remote location to shoot “my” scene.  That took about an hour and a half.  Then we wrapped, changed, said goodbye and headed home. Total elapsed time: seven hours. Total work time one and a half hours.

And…

First, I’m not complaining, just being real. I am an extrovert, so I truly enjoyed meeting and talking to a bunch of new people for roughly 6 hours.  But here’s the other part:  It was HOT, and I was in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.  I was semi-uncomfortable, but I had a GREAT time anyway.  Plus, the piece was set in the 1930’s so there were some AWESOME vehicles to check out, and I actually got to ride in one…so yeah, a long day for a little work but a great day nonetheless.

Anyway…

My point here is this:  In my mind, if you want to be a professional actor, the ONLY thing that should keep you from pursuing it is the fact that it is not enjoyable…for you…personally.  Let go of all the negative self-image stuff that might be holding you back and go for it.  Remember: There is a role for everyone.

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