Category Archives: Audition Preparation

Audition Etiquette: Do’s & Don’ts

Posted on August 5, 2016 by AMP Talent Group

How to execute the perfect audition? I’m sure this question has become exhausting to a lot of you, constantly being drilled with the correct way to go about the audition process. This is because without being awesome at auditioning, you will never be able to really show people how awesome you are at acting. So […]

How to execute the perfect audition? I’m sure this question has become exhausting to a lot of you, constantly being drilled with the correct way to go about the audition process. This is because without being awesome at auditioning, you will never be able to really show people how awesome you are at acting. So while it’s tedious and frustrating incessantly having it banged into your head like a broken record, it’s something that you will want to make sure you have down to a science.

This is why we’ve broken down the do’s and don’ts loud and clear, to make sure you know exactly how to kill it the next time you step into that audition room.

DO respond to all Agency Communication immediately. In this fast paced business, Actors must be on the ball with the best communication skills by responding quickly to confirm auditions, and all communication from the Agency. Response times by the actor within the hour of an email or phone call being sent is required, not hours or days later. Casting people are waiting to confirm or replace the actors for the auditions. Know there are many people involved in getting you the audition and timely response to auditions is key with respect to all and future auditions.

DO put your cell phone on silent. Vibrate won’t cut it, particularly if your leg starts shaking in the middle of your intense and dramatic monologue and it’s just your mom wondering if you’re going to be home for dinner or not.

DO be early for your audition. Ideally you will show up 20 minutes early, so you can sign-in, prepare yourself with whatever material you’re going to go off of, as well as ground yourself, relax, and de-sweat (if you were rushing) before going in for your audition.

DO be friendly and professional when you’re meeting everyone at the audition. Even though you’re promoting yourself as an actor, they will be more inclined to want to hire you if you show you are a respectable and professional human being.

DO turn up the charm before your audition begins. This is the time when you need to showcase your personality before you showcase your acting chops. Show them that you are ready, and would be a delight to work with, and not in an overbearing, front-row-of-the-classroom kind of way.

DO keep the conversation up-tempo and brief, letting the casting directors and people running the audition drive the conversation.

DO repeat the director or casting director’s name back to him or her when you’re introduced. It shows you’re listening to what they’re saying, instead of hammering out your audition strategy in your head like a nervous wreck while going through introductions.

DON’T shake anyone’s hand in the room unless they reach out to shake your hand first. You are just one of so many actors they have seen that day, you won’t make an impact by thrusting your sweaty palm into their hand.

DON’T wear cologne or perfume. If they meet you and are instantly over-taken by your intense aroma, then your audition is going to drop downhill very quickly.

DON’T wear heavy make-up. You’re there to show off your natural self as a performer and what you can do with whatever character you’re auditioning for. Too much make-up will just distract from your performance and focus the casting director’s attention on all the wrong things.

DON’T wear self-tanner. So you just got back from a vacation in Mexico and have a bit of colour. That does not mean you can compensate your skin by applying bronzer you bought at the drug store. You’ll end up orange and won’t book the part.

DON’T bring props or wear costume unless directed to by your agent. Sure you may think you’re taking your audition to the next level by going crazy with your outfit, but actually, it’s the opposite. Never bring a costume for your audition unless it’s something that was strictly outlined in the breakdown from your agent.

DON’T apologize for messing up your audition, or apologize for nailing it, thinking that you did poorly. Just perform your audition, say your thank yous, and be gone. Do not continue to beat a dead horse by apologizing all your way out the door.

DON’T disagree or argue with any direction that you’re given. You’re there performing something for them, so make sure you do what you’re asked.

DON’T bad mouth anyone. Of course after enough auditions, you will start to see the same casting directors again and again, and build up a bit of a rapport. This does not mean that you should ever start to gossip about someone else in the business that you may have a mutual disliking for. You should always be professional and business as usual.

DON’T ask the casting director for feedback. Feedback comes from acting classes, not auditions. Work with a coach prior to your audition and ask them for feedback. Come prepared with the material ready to give your best performance and don’t expect to get anything but a “Thank you for coming in” at the end. If you get more your lucky, but do not expect it. The casting director is looking to hire the best actor for the parts she or he is casting. It is not the casting directors job to give feedback to all the actors at auditions. It is the job of the actor to come in prepared with all the emotion ready to give the best performance.

DON’T overstay your welcome. So you killed your audition, the endorphins and energy is running full-throttle and you instantly want to be chatty, try not to. Just finish with your performance, share a final word or two, and then thank them for taking the time to see you, and off you go. No casting director is going to want to deal with a over-chatty actor at the end of a seriously long day of auditions.

Auditioning can become a very simple, and smooth running machine once you do enough of them and nail down the right way to go about it. There are just some important rules that you have to follow to make sure that you don’t stand out in a bad way. These do’s and don’t are simple guidelines for you to keep in mind the next time you step into the room in hopes of booking your next job!

Remember your auditioning for your career, not the job. Meaning that you do your best with each audition, come prepared, are on time, are well rehearsed, memorized, in character and ready to perform a killer performance!

Break a leg!

10 Personality Characteristics That Make Great Actors

Posted on June 22, 2016 by AMP Talent Group

What personal characteristics help make GREAT ACTORS? This is probably a question that will intrigue a lot of people. What is it about certain people who make them great performers? Or at least have the potential to be a great performer. I know this question intrigues many of you, so I did some reading to […]

What personal characteristics help make GREAT ACTORS?

This is probably a question that will intrigue a lot of people. What is it about certain people who make them great performers? Or at least have the potential to be a great performer. I know this question intrigues many of you, so I did some reading to investigate what qualities/personality types really translate into great performers.

Charisma: This is one of those real surface qualities that you would expect. Obviously a performer is going to be charming, expressive, and charismatic, right? They’re those real life-of-the-party type personalities that you aren’t surprised to hear they’re actors as well. This is because performing on stage, or on camera, requires a certain amount of expressive energy, so those individuals with high-octanes of energy and the ability to translate that energy on-screen should go without saying. While not every actor is going to be the most charismatic personality type in their actual life, having a natural charisma to you will always benefit and help you with your performing endeavours.

Hard Work & Commitment: This is another trait that should go without saying. Lazy people usually don’t make great actors — unless they’re so naturally talented and it comes easy to them. This is the case because acting is such a self-starter business and is going to require so much self-motivation, as well as endless amounts of your personal time in order to be successful. Also, with every job you get, you’re going to have to generously research for your role/character, as well as put in hours and hours of rehearsal time. Then once you start working on the job, the days are long and you’ll be drained at the end of them. If you don’t have the type of personality that is ready to grind and endure hard work, you will go nowhere. Commitment is also a huge one. You will have to commit your life to developing your craft, as well as bringing 100% percent of yourself to each role you play. Acting requires you to be present in the moment at every turn, which can be mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. People that can whole-heatedly commit themselves to something, even going overboard and becoming obsessive with their commitment, are the ones who will be successful as actors. (Just look at some of the greatest method actors in the business, as well as the great extremes that the best actors will go to in order to prepare for roles: weight loss, muscle-building, extensive research and character development, real-life situational training).

Confidence: This personality trait is another common one. It will help in a lot of areas in your performance career, particularly in the early stages of auditioning, as well as warding off criticism and rejection when times get tough. Understanding who you are as a person and being confident in who that is will serve you well in the business. You will be required to expose many facets of yourself (emotional, mental, and even sometimes physical) in front of people, so being confident in yourself and being able to surge into those vulnerable places without shriveling into a ball of anxiety is a huge component of an actor’s makeup. Thankfully confidence is something that can be improved on. The better you get at your craft, the more confident you’re going to get in your abilities and the less self-conscious you will be. They famously say, “tension is blocked talent”, and often anxiety and nerves will come from a lack of self-confidence and dread that you’re going to be horrible. Those nerves will lessen with practice and working on your craft, eventually leading to performances that come across brilliantly, with absolute ease. So finding a way to be confident in your self, as well as your skills as an actor is absolutely paramount.

Intelligence: If you listen to actors in interviews, you’re often blow away by how articulate and well spoken they are. They are smart and educated most of the time. But a good majority of actors out there are college drop-outs, that never even went to college, and a chunk of them never even finished high school. How come they seem so smart then? Well it’s for a couple of reasons. Firstly, their job requires them to do a ridiculous amount of reading and research on a wide-variety of topics that become school projects in their own way. So they’re well read and well schooled on important issues happening in the world because it often relates to the work they’re doing. Secondly, they’re actually really smart people. You have to be very smart to be a good actor. But often it’s the type of smart that doesn’t excel within confined institutions like high school and university or college. It’s the type of intelligence that you could define as emotional intelligence, self-awareness, or a real adept understanding and insight into human behaviour and what drives people. That’s because actors are constantly asking themselves these questions: what drives this character? What are their needs? What are their desires? Why do they act this way? It’s a constant evaluating and breaking down of the human psyche, which requires a large degree of intelligence. It’s just a very real-life understanding of human behaviour. So if you don’t find people fascinating, to the point that people watching is one of your favourite past-times and you’re feverously curious about all types of people, then the acting process may not be for you.

Highly Imaginative: This is obviously one of the biggest and most important traits that make great actors. Sure there is a large component of acting that will require you to take emotion and realities from your own life into your acting world, but you won’t always have those resources at your disposal. Sometimes you have to completely plant yourself in alternate realities that encompass absolutely nothing from the world you know. This is where your imagination will take over. Most actors have wild and vivid imaginations, and have a real fostered connection with their imaginations. We basically are trained to grow out of our imaginations as we grow up, which is why most actors are adult-children — never really leaving the psyche of that 10-year-old boy inside of them who would dress up as superheroes and saw the world as full of infinite possibilities. It’s crucial that actors are constantly finding ways to improve and get more in touch with their imaginations, as it’s a huge tool in your career. From the early stages of developing your character, as well as planting yourself in an authentic reality when you have several cameras, crew, and a very artificial world surrounding you on set. Harness the connection to your imagination and work on improving it whenever possible. It’s one of the useful tools for great performances.

Understanding of Human Behaviour: This section relates directly with intelligence, as this is where the actor’s intelligence will shine. The best actors have an exceptional understanding of human behaviour – what people want and need, universally, on the deepest level. This is what every single role they tackle will require from them — the ability to dig deep into the psyche behind their character and figure out their motives, which will determine their behaviour. They have the ability to read between the lines of scripts and offer their own insight into the world of their character and bring assets to the script that weren’t there before. This understanding of human behaviour, I believe, is something that the best actors will have naturally, but it’s also something they strengthen by continuous exercise. Every actor should have a completely engrossed interest in people and the way the act. The job of an actor is to emulate people who aren’t themselves, so it should go without saying that they love to observe people and watch what they do, and then try to figure out why they do the things they do.

Energy, Energy, Energy: When you take an acting class, the beginning of the class is often dedicated to exercising the body — both physically with movement and vocally through voice exercises. These exercises are designed to center the energy in your body and for you to be fully aware of where all the energy in your body is being stored. Yes, actors are required to exert a lot of energy, thus it’s beneficial if they’re naturally energetic people. But that energy will be chaotic and counter-productive for a good performance if it’s not used in the correct way. The best actors are exceptional at dispensing and controlling their energy. They know when to release bursts of energy, as well as when to bottle the energy up because their character is holding something back on the surface, but on the inside they’re exploding. So it’s so important that actors know how to move the energy in their body around to help guide and emphasis their performance. Also, it’s important to note that not all energy is going to be emotionally expressive. They’re forms of energy that are not emotional, and it’s important that actors have a handle on all energy types.

Introspective & Constantly Learning: One of the most important relationships an actor will ever have is the one they have with their self. It’s essential that actors are constantly learning about themselves and trying to understand more about who they are as a person. They will also go to great lengths to improve who they are as a person and get more in touch with their authentic self. This is necessary, as acting requires bringing a large amount of yourself to every character you play. You will to make the emotion in your performances feel authentic. If you don’t actually feel all the emotions and sensations that your character is going through, the camera or audience will pick up on it and it won’t be believable. The great actors are able to dig deep into themselves and pull out the good, bad, and ugly of who they are and put it on show for everyone to see. If you aren’t willing to live with that type of revelation and truth in front of audiences, then acting will be a tough job for you. You can’t be afraid, or unwilling to go to the dark and emotional places of yourself and become a great actor. Actors have to constantly be assessing themselves as people, trying to improve, as well as get closer to who they really are. Another way to get closer to this truth is by constant exercise through meditation, mentors, relaxation, visualization, and classes.

Eager to Explore: Most actors life out of a suitcase and are constantly on the road. A lot of them are feel best in the characters they portray. They’re whimsical spirits, with a yearning for a gypsy life. This obviously relates to the lifestyle of an actor — constantly going from project to project, place to place, changing where they’re working and whom they’re working with all the time. There’s absolutely no structure (unless you’re a regular on a show) and you’re constantly exploring, both a physical world and the emotional world you’re living in. It’s definitely important that an actor has a natural tendency to be drawn to this type of life, as opposed to a very structured and matter-of-fact world where most people live that work the 9-to-5 routine. Going deeper into it, acting is a constant exploration and is going to require a real commitment to a journey by the actor. You have to be prepared to take scenes in directions you weren’t expecting, or let things they’re feeling come across at unexpected moments. A lot of actors live within a very small bandwidth, but the best ones are completely free. They trust their instincts and enjoy the work the most when it turns out different from first expected. So the exploring nature of an actor is going to be both, tangible and intangible. This is must in the makeup of an actor!

Interest in Psychology and Humanity: This is not to say that a psychologist would make a great actor, or that an actor would make a great psychologist. But having an interest in the subject will go a long way in improving your performance. Again, understanding the psychology of humans and what drives people is essential in the acting discovery. So those people who are very intuitive and able to quickly conceptualize other’s behaviour and why they do certain things, is a natural skill that very good actors should possess. This also could be why you see so many actor humanitarians (also because they have so much money) but they have such a vested interest in humanity that they’re passionate about world issues, and really empathize with human suffering.

It’s not that you have to possess every single one of these qualities to be a good actor, but it just seems that in the makeup of actors, often you’ll see, at least some, of these qualities, interests, and personality types. While a lot of these qualities are essential to great performing, they can be improved. Great acting happens when both the inner and outer self are portrayed at the same time (sometimes conflicting one another). So get in touch with yourself, reach deep into your emotions, and continue to discover more about yourself and more about your character in the process.

6 Tips To Ace A Cold Read Audition

Posted on September 6, 2014 by AMP Talent Group

Ahhh the dreaded cold read. It’s something that a lot of actors fear. That’s because usually there is no opportunity for preparation. A script is thrown in front of you moments before you’re to appear on camera, and panic can set in. You worry that you’re going to deliver the lines completely flat, you aren’t going to figure out what’s going on in the scene fast enough to deliver a satisfactory performance, and it’s just going to be painful and you’re going to be terrible. Yes it might not be the most comfortable thing you’ll have to do, but it’s a big part of the audition process and something that you’re going to have to get a handle on if you want to book acting jobs.

At AMP Talent Group, we want our clients and talent to excel in every opportunity so we recommend you keep these tips in mind to help you improve your cold reading skills for audition purposes, we’ve highlighted 6 important keys to cold read success:

Arrive early for your audition: Sometimes if you arrive early you will have the opportunity to read over the sides and begin your preparation early. This way you can at least be familiar with what you’re going to be saying and doing. If you are able to get the material beforehand, spend less time on the actual lines that you are going to be delivering, instead focus on the story and situation, as well as try and get a feel for the character that you’re going to be reading. This way you can at least ground yourself in the world of the scene and you won’t require quite as much attention on the actual words, so you can feel yourself as the character in that environment.

Research the project you’re auditioning for: Even if you know you’re going in to do a cold read audition, you can still go online and find out some details about the audition. You can also ask your agent to provide you with some more information if possible as well. You should find out the type of project that you’re going out for (commercial, feature film, TV show), as well as the time period of the piece, and what the story is. While you might not be able to find a ton of information on the project, you will definitely be able to get some background information that will at least put you ahead of most of the actors who will be walking into the audition blind.

Be Flexible: When you’re going through your cold read, it might not be blatantly clear from the outset if you’re reading a comedy or a drama. I mean, hopefully it is, but there is a possibility that you won’t get the tone of the script right away. This is why you need to enter into your reading with complete flexibility. Go in with the mindset that they might ask you to read the script in a certain way that you weren’t expecting, or maybe you’ll even discover things in the middle of the reading that take it to a whole different place than you expected. Considering that this will be one of the first times you’ve read through this passage of the script in its entirety, you definitely can’t be opposed to figuring out certain things from the inside. So be loose, flexible, and ready to go in any direction.

Take risks and do more than just read: Even though it’s a cold read, you don’t want to sit there like a pile of concrete and just read the lines in a voice that will put the people holding the audition to sleep. You still want to be lively, take action with your body, and use your voice as an instrument to get yourself into character and convey emotion. Even though it’s just a cold read, that doesn’t mean you can’t make strong choices and go with them. In fact, you will standout more at your audition if you make a decision and try something out. Even if it’s wacky, there are no wrong artistic choices during a cold read. You want to show them that you were able to read over the script, and in just a couple of quick minutes, be able to make a strong artistic decision and do something with the character that nobody else has done. They want to see how you interpret the script, just as much as they want to gage your actual performance.

Look up at the reader: Unless this is the first time you’ve ever acted or been to an audition before, you will know that you must always look up at the reader when you deliver the lines. You should never read directly from the page, but be following along with your finger and make sure that you use the person reading with you as a reference to get yourself into the moment and be authentic. Try and look up and connect with the reader as often as possible. Just be sure that you keep your thumb on the page and follow along so you don’t lose your place during the read. The people running the audition understand that the material is completely new to you; therefore they don’t expect the audition to be perfect. Also, taking your few minutes before the audition starts to get a good grasp of the scene, story, and your character is going to be hugely instrumental in allowing you to go with the scene and connect with the reader, instead of having your eyes married to the page the whole time.

Practice your cold reads: If you want to take it one step further and work on your cold reading skills, then you should practice reading passages and memorizing as many of the words, as quickly as you can. At least learn to memorize important points, or key phrases that you can use and rely on so that you don’t have to be looking down at the page every two seconds during your audition. By practicing this technique, you will slowly start to improve your ability to retain words and dialogue very quickly so that you can be that little bit more off book when it comes time for your audition. By working on your cold reading skills on your own time, you will be miles ahead of the competition when it comes to stepping up and delivering a great cold read performance.

Cold reading only has to be a painful experience if you make it one. You can decide to ignore it and just do your best on the day of the audition, or you can take matters into your own hands and prepare yourself so that when a cold read audition comes your way, you’re ready to attack it and destroy it. Casting directors are testing you when they give you a cold read; they want to see how you handle it and what you do with it. So make sure you do everything in your power to show them that cold reads don’t faze you, in fact you look forward to them.

Remember, audition for your career, not for the job and you will feel more confident about your performance!

5 Ways To Prepare For Your Audition

Posted on September 3, 2014 by AMP Talent Group

The truth is that some people can be great actors but terrible at auditions. There’s the pressure, the nerves, and the last minute notice that can sometimes eat away at a person to the extent that they completely flub their audition. This can happen over and over again to talented actors, who have a hard time booking any roles, or even getting callbacks because they were so nervous and uptight on the day of their audition. Some big name actors even used to struggle with their audition process, to the point that they took years before they even started booking gigs regularly. Aaron Eckhart is one of them — he said that it took years before he started getting called back from auditions because he was so bad at them. He said that it took his friend casting him in a short film before he was really able to overcome his nerves and anxieties in the audition room. And he’s gone on to build a hugely successful career in Hollywood, so there’s still hope for you yet!

So how do you overcome this? How do you adequately prepare for your audition in a way that gives you the best chance to succeed once you get in the audition room?

Here are 5 things you should do to make sure that you’re not a nervous-wreck and can begin to get yourself prepared when you find out about an upcoming audition:

Memorize your lines, but don’t over memorize your performance: During an audition, it’s easy for actors to become stiff and calculated because they are so afraid of screwing up that they have the entire performance of the scene mapped out in their head. This leads to a lack of flexibility in the scene, openness to discover new things about the scene and your character, as well as dropping out of the scene because you’re completely in your own head instead of being present in the moment. That’s why you should make sure your lines are memorized, but act out the scene in a variety of different ways so that you can continually keep surprising yourself with your performance. That way the scene is constantly evolving and changing. The scene should never be the same each time. You need to move and speak in a way that feels the most authentic in that particular moment. Also, you want to be adaptable so if the casting director asks you to perform the scene a second time, but this time in a completely different way than before, you’re comfortable and ready for it.

Understand your character and the circumstances they’re in: The lines that you speak are important, but what’s even more important than that is the character you’re supposed to be playing and the particular circumstance they’re in. Once you begin to get a grasp on your character and the obstacles they’re facing (IE. what’s driving the scene and what’s your character’s motive?) then you’ll be much more comfortable playing with the lines once you get into the actual audition. You can start to play with the type of voice they use, the little nuances in which they deliver particular words, and unique mannerisms they may possess. Then the actual lines you’re speaking will take on more layers and be delivered with much more power and authenticity. Also, by having a handle on the deeper issues surrounding your scene, the more relaxed you’ll be, the more you’ll listen to what the person reading with you is saying, and the less focused you’ll be on the actual words that you’re supposed to deliver and the more focused you’ll be on the emotion behind the words.

Choose the appropriate wardrobe: This should go without saying, but don’t dress in a suit if you’re going to read for a role of a college student, or a slacker, or a stoner. On the flip side, don’t wear shrubby clothes if your character is supposed to be a Wall Street trader. If you’re given sides beforehand, there should be a breakdown of the character you’re playing at the top, or on a different page altogether. It’s absolutely essential that you read through that carefully and understand the type of person you’re going to be playing. Also, what you wear to your audition is going to show the casting director how you interpreted that particular character. It will show that you read through all the information you were given, took the time and prepared, as well as brought in your own ideas and interpreted the character in your own way. That’s exactly what they want. They want to see what your interpretation of this character is. They want to see something different than they’ve seen hundreds of times already today.

Don’t over-prepare: What’s interesting is that a lot of actors will tell you that they ended up booking big roles from auditions they thought went terribly. They only got the sides last minute, or didn’t have time to prepare, and so they went into the audition expecting nothing to come from it. And then, boom! They end up booking their biggest role yet. This is because they didn’t over-prepare. They allowed themselves to play around and be loose in the moment. They didn’t put that extra pressure on themselves to book the role because they knew they had a scapegoat to blame: they didn’t have enough time to practice! They were more relaxed than usual, and just allowed the result of the scene to be discovered within that performance. Meryl Streep has a famous quote:

“Sometimes under-preparation is very good because it instills fear and fear is galvanizing. It makes you break out of yourself. If you’re prepared, then you think you’re ready, and if you think you’re ready, then you’re not ready.”

We’re by no means advising you to forget about your preparation altogether, because it’s definitely important that you prepare, but there’s something to be said for not being so rehearsed that there’s no room for spontaneity.

Be ready to jump and forget your preparation when the scene starts: You can rehearse and practice all you want, but when that scene starts, you’re going to forget about everything you did to prepare for it. It’s just going to be about being present in that moment. This again, goes back to the point about understanding your character and the circumstances (obstacles) they’re facing. If you know those deeper facets of the scene and the script then you’ll have a better chance of staying in the moment and driving the scene in the direction that you’re expected to. Sure it’s going to be a little nerve-wracking, your heart is going to flutter like a butterfly, and your palms are going to turn into little pools of sweat, but that’s what acting is all about. You want to be excited, a little nervous, and be able to deliver an exciting and enthralling performance. You just have to trust your instincts, go for it, and don’t expect the perfect performance every single time.

Like with anything, often the lead up is the most nerve-wracking part. You build it all up in your head, play out worst-case scenarios and catastrophic results, until you’re exhausted and freaked out. You have to find a way to relax, and put the appropriate work in, but most importantly, understand that it’s not going to go perfectly every time. There’s times you’re not going to feel good about your audition but you can always take pride in the fact that you did your best to prepare your A-Game for audition day. Who knows, the auditions you didn’t think went very well will probably be the ones you end up booking anyways.

Top 10 Secrets To Success

Posted on July 15, 2014 by AMP Talent Group

So you want to succeed in the entertainment business? Here are 10 of the most important tips you’ll need to live by in order to find the success you’re looking for: 1. Love What You Do. The most important thing with any artistic pursuit is that you absolutely love it. It’s a hard road being […]

So you want to succeed in the entertainment business? Here are 10 of the most important tips you’ll need to live by in order to find the success you’re looking for:

1. Love What You Do.

The most important thing with any artistic pursuit is that you absolutely love it. It’s a hard road being an artist or a creator, but it’s also a very rewarding one if you’re in it for the right reasons. It’s important to ask yourself the question, “Is this something that I can live without?” If your answer is “no” then you know that you have to do it.

2. Be All In (Complete Commitment).

The people that choose to be actors, models or artists, have to be completely and utterly committed to it. The people that call themselves “part-time actors” are never going to be successful because they aren’t completely committed to it. Whether it’s fear of failure, or even a fear of admitting that they want to do this, holding yourself back and not putting it as the most important goal in your life is setting yourself up for failure. When you make the decision that you want to be an actor, that goal has to be the driving force in your life. If it isn’t, and it’s just slotted in as a “hobby”, then you don’t stand a chance of succeeding.

3. Always Be Working And Studying.

The simple truth is that those who are practicing are those who are working. The only time that you shouldn’t be studying and practicing is when you don’t have enough time because you’re working so much. No matter how talented, or experienced you are, there is always something for you to learn. The most successful actors understand the value of always staying a student. They understand that there will always be someone smarter than them, or more talented than them that they can learn from. A List, award winning actors such as Meryl Streep, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, and Anne Hathaway and countless others continue to study with coaches and master the craft of acting, even to this day. Remaining humble and working hard at learning the craft and studying is a key force in driving home your success.

4. Patience And Persistence

Being an actor requires an enormous amount of patience. Whether it’s waiting for the next audition, or waiting for the cameras to start rolling, actors are always waiting. It’s the name of the game and has to be something that they can handle. At the opposite end is persistence. So many careers are sprouted from stories of perseverance and sticking it out when the rough times came. It’s essential that you’re in for your career for the long haul and won’t jump ship when you can’t afford to pay your hydro bill or your sleeping on a friends couch, as well as have the endurance to continue to pound away on your craft even when the breaks aren’t coming your way.

5. Create Your Own Opportunities.

In order to get lucky, you have to work extremely hard and show initiative by creating your own opportunities. So in other words, don’t be lazy. Be proactive and create your own projects. This keeps your skills in top shape, as well as creates products that could be launching platforms for your talents. This also helps your Talent Agent to better market you for even bigger opportunities. Whether it’s to market yourself as an actor, writer, or filmmaker, creating your own projects sows initiative, and is how a lot of people get discovered. Remember Goodwill Hunting? Matt Damon started writing that script in a playwriting class at Harvard in his fifth year. Then with the blessing of his teacher, Damon dropped out of school and moved to LA to finish the script with his good buddy Ben Affleck. That movie launched both those actor’s careers into the stratosphere. If it wasn’t for them taking it upon themselves to create their own movie (vehicle) to market their acting talents, then the names Matt Damon and Ben Affleck might mean absolutely nothing to us now. Or how about Garden State? Zach Braff wrote and directed that little movie, which turned him into a household name overnight. The best example is probably HBO “Girls” creator, Lena Dunham, who quickly became the “talent of the moment” by continuously creating her own projects that showcased her writing, directing, and acting talents. She even created the show Girls, based loosely off her own life in New York. This just shows how important it is to create your own things. You can’t catch your breaks and get lucky without working hard and going after what you want with passion, initiative and good work ethic.

6. Find A Mentor.

A lot of very successful people (in and out of the entertainment industry) will tell you that it’s impossible to be successful without a mentor. That’s because a mentor helps you to steer the ship. They help to cut years off your road to success by making sure you’re doing the necessary things in the present to help you get to your end goal. Talent Agent, Anne Marie Perrault says “Finding a mentor is absolutely essential and can be a major a factor in ones career success. It is important to seek out professionals in the field as they are a wonderful source of career advice. The best ways to find one would be to find someone in the industry that you admire, whether it’s someone you meet on set, or a teacher who you really respect, in some cases it can even be your Agent or Manager”. Don’t be shy to ask someone if they’d be interested in mentoring you as well. They will take it as a compliment. You can meet regularly to talk about your career, or you can even just keep in touch through email or on Skype to ask questions, and check-in every now and again. Your mentor will be essential in helping you to answer those difficult questions, help lift you up when times are tough, and ultimately, help you strive to becoming a better performer and person.

7. Take Full Responsibility For Everything That Happens To Tou.

The first step to happiness and success is taking full responsibility for where you are in your life. The moment you stop pointing the blame on other people, or things, is the moment that you finally point yourself in the direction of success. So you didn’t get that audition? The director did not think you where right for it or had someone else in mind. You didn’t book the role? It’s nobody’s fault but your own for not delivering the way you needed to or maybe you just are not ready, or are having a bad day. Leave it at the door. Don’t beat yourself up for it. Use any shortcomings and failures as an opportunity to look at yourself in the mirror and figure out how you can be better. Learn from each experience. Your career and your life is completely up to you, you’re the one in control of your fate, so make sure you step up to the plate. The happiest and most successful people in life are those who feel they have complete control over their lives. This starts with accepting complete responsibility for where you are and understanding that you’re the one in control of your success or failure.

8. Set Goals

So you want to be the next big leading man or woman, do you? Yes that’s a lofty goal, but can you do it? You better believe you can! It’s definitely a big dream, so how do you make it seem more manageable, or achievable? You break your dream down into something smaller; you break it down into parts called goals. Then you break down the steps that you will need to complete (accomplish) in order to reach those specific individual goals. Once you do this, your wildest dreams will seem a little more in reach. You have to have a plan; you have to create a vision for your career. You do this by creating goals on paper, then continuously visualizing yourself successfully moving towards those goals. When Jim Carrey was a broke, struggling comic, he would drive up to Mulholland Drive a few nights a week and visualize himself making it big in Hollywood. He even wrote a check to himself for 10 million dollars and filled it out as “acting services rendered”. It was only a number of years later when he became one of the biggest stars on the planet; booking roles for the exact amount of money he said he would, 10 million dollars. Believe you can, believe you will, create a vision, put it down on paper!

9. Take Risks

Those that take risks get noticed. Most people will say that choosing to become an actor is a big risk in the first place. They may be right. Actors have to take risks on a regular basis. It’s part of what being an artist and a performer is all about! When you choose to pursue your passion as a profession, you have to face fear and walk down a road that offers very little security. This is the all-important first risk that you’re going to have to take. You then have to continue walking down that road fearlessly. You have to believe in the process, believe that the journey you are on will take you to where you want to go. You will also have to task risks regularly with new roles and parts that come your way. You’re going to need to venture out of your comfort zone and try new things, do roles that scare you and really go for it with complete disregard for failure. They say that success is a sum of thousands of failures, and they’re right. Failure is success’ most important pre-requisite, which is even truer when it comes to the performing arts. Take risks, overcome fear, and you will grow closer to success!

10. Be Confident And Believe In Yourself.

On your “Road to Success” you’re going to have to make a lot of big decisions. In order to do this, you’re going to have to be strong and be true to yourself. If you continue to do that, you will make decisions that are the most agreeable to who you are as a person and you will stay on the right path. You have to be confident in yourself and make sure you treat yourself the right way. On your path to success, a lot of people will tell you that you’re crazy and you won’t ever reach the big dreams you’ve set for yourself. You have to silence those voices, look inside and believe in that vision you have for yourself. Not everybody is going to see what you see, so you have to understand that and not dwell on the opinions and perceptions of others. Confidence and success is made by marching toward your goals and dreams with massive action, even in the face of adversity and fear of failure. This is an absolute must in achieving big success!

It’s a comforting feeling knowing that your success is completely up to you. You’re the one in control of the universe you create for yourself. Understanding and believing in this is definitely the starting point for every big dream or goal. Start living by this philosophy and your success will start to grow exponentially.

Now go out there and build the life you’ve always dreamed of!

Audition advice: Tips for Actors Models from Talent Agent Anne Marie Perrault

Posted on October 8, 2013 by AMP Talent Group

Audition Advice for Actors Models & Talent! In this post, top 5 tips to help you ace your next audition! Here is key advice and tips for actors and models when meeting a talent agent from long time Talent Agent Anne Marie Perrault of AMP Talent Group. At AMP Talent Group we want you, our talent to view […]

Audition Advice for Actors Models & Talent! In this post, top 5 tips to help you ace your next audition! Here is key advice and tips for actors and models when meeting a talent agent from long time Talent Agent Anne Marie Perrault of AMP Talent Group. At AMP Talent Group we want you, our talent to view every audition as an opportunity to showcase your very best work. Each audition is an opportunity to be seen by casting directors, producers, directors and clients. Even if you think you are not perfect for the role, it is still an opportunity to be seen! Casting work on many projects at once and are looking at you for all their projects. When attending audition, always have your 8×10 professional headshot and resume in your hand and be ready to go when you are called for each audition. Even when you don’t think they need one, you should still be prepared with one. This is your marketing tool! It shows you are serious about your work and are the professional. Unless you are a name actor, always bring your resume and headshot to every meeting and audition. When the door opens, be ready! Break a leg! For more insightful tips follow AMP on Twitter and subscribe to our channel on YouTube!

10 Audition Tips for Actors

Posted on June 25, 2013 by AMP Talent Group

10 Audition Tips for Actors Here are 10 audition tips to ace your audition and help you get the acting roles you want: Always bring a picture and resume. Don’t expect your agent to send it over. You’re the one that won’t be remembered if you don’t have one to give to casting at the audition. Staple your […]

10 Audition Tips for Actors

Here are 10 audition tips to ace your audition and help you get the acting roles you want:

Always bring a picture and resume. Don’t expect your agent to send it over. You’re the one that won’t be remembered if you don’t have one to give to casting at the audition. Staple your headshot and resume together with the photo and resume facing out. It is a good idea to bring 2-3 copies to audition callbacks as there are may be many decision makers in the room who request a photo and resume from you. Best to be prepared.
Make your first 20 seconds count. When you meet someone for the first time, do you make a lot of suppositions? So do producers, directors and casting directors. Be on time, smile and greet the people in the room by name (when you know them), say your name, introduce yourself. Look your best by dressing appropriately in clothes that flatter you. Women should be fresh light make up, hair styled, men clean shaven and neat. Talent should never be late for an audition appointment. Being punctual is important for casting directors who are considering you for the job as it is an indication to how your behavior will be on set.
Do your best and don’t make excuses. Casting directors don’t want to hear about your cold or the reasons why you are running late, or that your printer is broken. Always be professional.
When you are given sides always memorize them. If you have not, it is OK to hold the script and read from it. Better to read from the sides then to make it up as you go (and the writer may be present in the room). Stick to the script.
If you are given direction at an audition and are asked to make a choice, make one. When actors are asked at auditions to make a choice don’t reply, “What do YOU want?” Actors need to make clear strong choices when developing characters. Show confidence in the choices you make.
Don’t ask to start over. When you make a mistake in your read, fight through it. You may be asked to do another take, but fight through the first one and don’t apologize. Stay in character.
Be comfortable, charismatic and confident. Successful people are self assured and confident. Actors and actresses who make it in this industry work hard to be noticed. You have to be the most interesting person to capture and keep our attentions. Be that someone that producers, directors and casting directors want to get to know. If you are naturally this way as yourself, you’ll also be able to do that in a character.
Make sure your Agents contact information is on your resume. And keep your resume up to date and to one page.
Don’t take the last audition times of the day. After a long day of casting, the casting people are tired and ready to go home. Often times, the early actor gets the part. And, you don’t have the rest of the day of actors to be compared to.
Audition as much and as often as you can. The best way to master auditioning is like anything else. Repetition. Again and again. Don’t let nerves hold you back. You will overcome anxiety by doing it over and over, and deliver a stronger audition each time. Let your personality shine through and remember!