ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

9 years, 7 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

CCP is a good bet for you. The competition is tough, certainly, and you'll need to be ready to reply quickly to job postings, but focus on your other skills as a part of your package - there might be a role out there that's perfect for you (like Mr Turner!) or where you can at least get an audition.

I say respond fast for castings as your peers do. If I post a paid acting role (particularly for young women, but men aren't far behind) on CCP, I'll get responses back within 2 minutes from people who pounce on everything. Within an hour I'll have dozens more, and I've had to close postings early just because sorting through hundreds of applicants is time consuming.

Don't worry too much about a carefully tailored reply to a CCP post, your cover letter may only get read properly if your headshots work for the role and everything else stacks up. And a cover letter needn't be long, certainly not a repeat of info in your profile with more verbiage dressing it up - maybe just a mention of your unique points in a short paragraph!

Get a few paid jobs and you can start looking for an agent, I have mixed opinions about them, see other posts in this forum. Better still might be getting together with other keen actors and watching out for each other. You can spot listings they might be good for, and vice versa.

9 years, 7 months ago - Alève Mine

Olivier I'm in a quite similar situation, so I'll be following this thread carefully.

9 years, 7 months ago - O Rou

Hello Paddy,

Thanks for your reply. I don't think I can join CCP without any approved training, it seems I can't leave that area blank.

I'll see if I can film with my fellow artists to add to my showreel.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Olivier.

9 years, 7 months ago - Franz von Habsburg FBKS MSc

Now don't turn your nose up, but I recommend AmDrams. There are lots around and always need men. They are also FREE and you'll have fun and make friends. Stagecraft is most important. Roman Polanski never casts people who have not trod the boards as, he says, they have no respect for the script.

9 years, 7 months ago - Franz von Habsburg FBKS MSc

Yes Alève. After asking Ronnie Harwood to write The Pianist he always wanted Ronnie on set for consultation. In the ghetto scene when one character says "The quality of mercy..." They both agree that another character does NOT say "Oh, so now you're quoting ..." As Ronnie told me, if Americans don't know the quote, that's their problem! AND Ronan also wanted Ronnie to sit in on the edit!!! That's respect for the writer!

9 years, 7 months ago - Franz von Habsburg FBKS MSc

PS Alève - Ronnie HAD trod the boards. He'd been to RADA, became an actor, was dresser to Sir Donald Wolfitt, wrote The Dresser and the rest is history!

9 years, 7 months ago - Richard Connew

We have trained actors for many years now with my wife having done it for over 30 years. Many of those we have taught have gone on to get decent parts on TV and a handful parts in really big films. It is quite simply a tough world and getting a break can be more often down to luck than anything else. We are also an agent and as such over the years have built up many contacts that we frequently send clips of film to of promising actors and that more than anything for those without experience is what gets them seen. We started Platform2c.com five years ago with its purpose to make decent footage of actors as opposed to just simply putting them up against a wall and shooting them which sadly is what so many drama schools do! One actor now has a regular role in Coronation Street and quite a few of the others have now had worth while parts as well but it's probably fair to say it's a combination of our contacts and the filming that has achieved that. For an actor individually its very difficult no doubt about it, more so as the main difference between what we do in Platform2c.com is that we will and do sacrifice the shot to make the actor look better. One actor currently holds the record for 63 takes just to get one line right for which he was awarded the wooden spoon in our recent Christmas awards. Low budget films, student films etc are often motivated more by the shot than the acting and that often results in some very bad acting indeed just because they wanted the shot to look good first and foremost. That is why we are very careful about what we advise our students to do. Directors particularly with children and newbies think they are not capable of better acting because they are children or new to acting; but that's not true because there are some outstanding kids and newbie actors out there but you just need to know what good acting is and that is something so many directors today don't seem able to recognise.
So what you need is a part in a film where the Director does know what they are doing and is genuinely prepared to work with you plus some decent contacts or better still an agent. Star Now etc are all low grade web casting systems you really want to get your self on Spotlight if you possibly can, but for that you need decent experience and that unfortunately is the catch 22 you face.

9 years, 7 months ago - Franz von Habsburg FBKS MSc

Yes Alève - acting and writing are essential in my opinion. I went to drama college back in the last century and now, having run the whole gamut of film, write. For the writer the most important dramatic discipline is improvisation because (for me) I have to BECOME each character in order to create action and dialogue but just happen to be typing at the same time.

9 years, 7 months ago - Allan (Mac) McKenna

Can I chip in here Franz and Aleve (how do you do the accented 'e' by the way?). I was recently pushed into a new way of thinking by (reluctantly) joining our local U3A 'creative writing' group. They throw one or two words, or a phrase or even a photo and say 'OK give us up to 1000 words on that'. It scared the crap out of me at first but proved extraordinarily therapeutic in the event. I'm getting a bit of a rep in the group for my 'empathy' especially with people dissimilar to myself e.g. 11 year old girls. adolescent boys etc and I suppose - as when I'm acting - I, like you Franz, 'become' them although I don't like the phrase for reasons I'm not too sure about. And like you, I suspect, you have to be 'doing' it to make it happen. Going for a walk and thinking about it doesn't do it for me. Sit in front of your p.c. and just DO IT.

9 years, 7 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

è - hold down the ALT key (bet you wondered what it was for), and at same time on NUMERIC KEYPAD type 0232. ALT+0232 is è. Alt+0200 is È :-)

More permutations here... http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html#accent