Great in Front of The Camera? An Acting Career May Be In Your Future

By Kent Johnson



Are you a bit of a ham? Do you enjoy performing in front of the camera? Have you always wanted to be like the actors you see in films and in the theater? If so, an acting career might be right for you--although the odds of becoming a famous movie star are long indeed. 

Nature of the Work

Modern acting covers a broad area. Basically, actors express ideas and create images in theater, film, radio, television, and other performing arts media.

Actors interpret a writer’s script to entertain, inform, or instruct an audience. The most famous actors work in film, network television, or theater in New York or Los Angeles. Many more actors work in local or regional TV studios, theaters, or film production companies. Still more are engaged in advertising, public-relations, radio, or independent, small-scale movie productions. Actors also perform in cabarets, nightclubs, theme parks, commercials, and “industrial” films produced for training and educational purposes.

Be aware that most actors struggle to find steady work, especially outside the major markets of LA and New York. Still fewer ever achieve recognition as stars. Even some well-known, experienced performers may be cast in supporting roles. Others work as “extras,” with no lines to deliver, or make brief, cameo appearances, speaking only one or two lines. To support themselves, some actors do voiceover and narration work for advertisements, animated features, books on tape, and other electronic media. They also teach in high school or university drama departments, acting conservatories, or public programs.

Working Conditions

Be aware that acting is not all glitz and glamour. Actors work under constant pressure, and many face stress from the continual need to find their next job. They face rejection and stiff competition. To succeed, actors need patience and commitment to their craft. They need to strive to deliver flawless performances, often while working under harsh and unpleasant conditions

Acting assignments typically are short term—-ranging from 1
day to a few months—-which means that actors frequently experience long periods of unemployment between jobs. The uncertain nature of the work results in unpredictable earnings and intense competition for even the lowest-paid jobs. 

When performing, actors typically work long, irregular hours.
For example, stage actors may perform one show at night while
rehearsing another during the day. They also might travel with
a show when it tours the country. Movie actors may work on
location, sometimes under adverse weather conditions, and may
spend considerable time in their trailers or dressing rooms waiting to perform their scenes. Actors who perform in a television series often appear on camera with little preparation time, because scripts tend to be revised frequently or even written moments before taping.

Those who appear live or before a studio audience must be able to handle impromptu situations and calmly ad lib, or substitute, lines when necessary. Evening and weekend work is a regular part of a stage actor’s life.

Actors should be in good physical condition and have the
necessary stamina and coordination to move about theater stages and large movie and television studio lots. They also need to maneuver about complex technical sets while staying in character and projecting their voices. Actors must be fit to endure heat from strong stage or studio lights and the weight of heavy costumes.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

Actors should possess a passion for performing and enjoy entertaining others. Most aspiring actors participate in high school and college plays, work in college radio stations, or perform with local community theater groups. Local and regional theater experience and work in summer stock, in theme parks, or on cruise lines can help a young actor hone his or her skills and earn qualifying credits toward membership in one of the actors’ unions. Union membership and work experience in smaller communities may lead to work in larger cities, notably Los Angeles or New York.

Formal dramatic training, either through an acting conservatory
or a university program, generally is necessary; however,
some people successfully enter the field without it. Most people
studying for a bachelor’s degree take courses in radio and television broadcasting, communications, film, theater, drama, or
dramatic literature. Many continue their academic training and
receive a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. Advanced curricula
may include courses in stage speech and movement, directing,
playwriting, and design, as well as intensive acting workshops.

Actors, regardless of experience level, may pursue workshop
training through acting conservatories or by being mentored by
a drama coach. Actors also research roles so that they can grasp
concepts quickly during rehearsals and understand the story’s
setting and background. Sometimes actors learn a foreign language or train with a dialect coach to develop an accent to make their characters more realistic.

Actors need talent, creative ability, and training that will
enable them to portray different characters. Because competition for parts is fierce, versatility and a wide range of related performance skills, such as singing, dancing, skating, juggling, or miming are especially useful.

Experience in horseback riding, fencing, or stage combat also can lift some actors above the average and get them noticed by producers and directors. Actors must have poise, stage presence, the capability to affect an audience, and the ability to follow direction. Modeling experience also may be helpful. Physical appearance, such as possessing the right size, weight, or features, often is a deciding factor in being selected for particular roles.

Employment

In 2003, actors, producers, and directors held about 140,000
jobs, primarily in motion picture and video, performing arts,
and broadcast industries. Because many others were between
jobs, the total number of actors, producers, and directors available for work was higher.

Employment in the theater, and other performing arts companies, is cyclical—-higher in the fall and spring seasons-—and concentrated in New York and other major cities with large commercial houses for musicals and touring productions. Also, many cities support established professional regional theaters that operate on a seasonal or year-round basis. 

Actors may also find work in summer festivals, theme parks, and on cruise lines. Many smaller, nonprofit professional companies, such as repertory companies, dinner theaters, and theaters affiliated with drama schools, acting conservatories, and universities, provide employment opportunities for local amateur talent and professional entertainers.

Auditions typically are held in New York for many productions across the country and for shows that go on the road. Employment in motion pictures and in films for television is centered Hollywood and New York. But there are smaller studios located throughout the country. Many films are shot on location and may employ local professional and nonprofessional actors. In television, opportunities are concentrated in the network centers of New York and Los Angeles, but cable television services and local television stations around the country also employ many actors.

Finding Work

Many professional actors rely on agents or managers to find
work, negotiate contracts, and plan their careers. Agents generally earn a percentage of the pay specified in an actor’s contract. Other actors rely solely on attending open auditions for parts. Trade publications list the times, dates, and locations of these auditions.

To become a movie extra, one usually must be listed by a
casting agency, such as Central Casting, a no-fee agency that
supplies extras to the major movie studios in Hollywood. Applicants are accepted only when the number of persons of a
particular type on the list—for example, athletic young women,
old men, or small children—falls below the foreseeable need. In
recent years, only a very small proportion of applicants have
succeeded in being listed.

As the reputations and box-office draw of an actor grows, they might work on bigger budget productions, on network or syndicated broadcasts, or in more prestigious theaters. They may even advance to lead roles and receive star billing. A few actors move into other acting-related jobs, such as drama coaches or directors of stage, television, radio, or motion picture productions. Some teach drama privately or in colleges and universities.

Job Outlook

Employment of actors is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2012. Although a growing number of people will aspire to enter this profession, many will leave the field early because the work—when it is available—is hard, the hours are long, and the pay is sometimes low compared with other careers.

Competition for jobs will be stiff, in part because the
large number of highly trained and talented actors auditioning
for roles generally exceeds the number of parts that become
available. Only performers with the most stamina and talent will
find regular employment.

On the bright side, there should be increasing opportunities for actors in the expanding cable and satellite television industry. And the indepenent film industry continues to grow, as well as interactive media, such as direct-for-Web movies, Internet radio, and videos.

Venues for live entertainment, such as Broadway and Off-
Broadway theaters, touring productions and repertory theaters
in many major cities, theme parks, and resorts, are expected to offer many job opportunities. However, prospects in these areas are more variable, and they fluctuate with the seasons and overall economic conditions.

Earnings

In 2003, the median annual earnings of salaried actors was $23,470. Which means that the middle 50 percent earned between $15,320 and $53,320. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $13,330, and the highest 10 percent (the stars) earned more than $106,360.

Some well-known actors—ie the stars—earn well above the minimum; their salaries are many times the figures cited, creating the false impression that all actors are highly paid. For example, of the nearly 100,000 SAG members, only about 50 might be considered stars. The average income that SAG members earn from acting—less than $5,000 a year—is low because employment is erratic. Therefore, most actors must supplement their incomes by holding jobs in other occupations.

Unions and Trade Organizations 

Minimum salaries, hours of work, and other conditions of
employment are covered in collective bargaining agreements
between the producers and the unions representing workers.
The Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) represents stage actors;
the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) covers actors in motion pictures,
including television, commercials, and films; and the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) represents
television and radio studio performers. While these unions generally determine minimum salaries, any actor or director may negotiate for a salary higher than the minimum.

Related Occupations

People who work in performing arts occupations that may require acting skills include announcers; dancers and choreographers; and musicians, singers, and related workers. Others working in film- and theater-related occupations are makeup artists, theatrical and performance; fashion designers; set and exhibit designers; and writers and authors.

Conclusion

In conclusion, don’t let the long odds of becoming a big star scare you away from persuing a career in acting. After all, every successful actor in Hollywood faced the same odds themselves, and they flourished anyway. And many people persuing acting for the love of the art itself, not for fame and money. 
 

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