Casting

So by no means am I an expert on casting. Although, I would like to believe I have a bit more knowledge than most aspiring actors thanks to people like DanceJuJuDance, the Cinnabon Monster, and the lovely ladies at LG Casting. That being said, to all you aspiring actors, please make sure you're actually receiving advice from people who actually KNOW the industry.

Where is this rant coming from? Well, I came to Panera early yesterday to get a bit of work in before my "lunch meeting" and I couldn't help but overhear some guy give advice about how this young girl should research and get connected in the industry. As I continued to sit here, I couldn't help but shake my head at each point this guy would bring up and how this naive girl was happily taking it at face value.

Here are some things he said that are only partial truths:
1. Research
2. Get to know Casting Directors
3. Train
4. Know what you want.

At face value this all seems absolutely true and to a certain extent it is BUT these are things anyone who wants to be successful at anything should do... this gives you no help when it comes to actually trying to be an actor. If anything, this is the advice I would give to someone who wants to enter the dog-eat-dog world called acting.

1. Research by going out to networking events and actually seeing and listening to see who is actually a somebody who can give you REAL mentorship.

2. Get to know Casting Directors by going to casting workshops BUT not ONLY them, get to know their associates and their assistants. More often than not, the bigger casting directors have their assistants sort out through the tons of headshots that come into their offices.

3. Train BUT train correctly. Make sure you're going to credible places. If you do your research right, you'll hear from others, who are actually getting booked, where they train and quite often, you'll see that many of them have been taking classes at the same locations.

4. Know what you want and give yourself a time limit. There's a saying I live by, "Ten years hungry, ten years full. Twenty years hungry, twenty years full." For the most part this is true for many aspiring talent out there. You have to pay your dues before you get to call the shots and this is true for any role in the industry.

I know that even this is a partial list. There's so much one can do to prepare and train in order to be considered "successful" but as of now, this is what I have found to be true. Who knows, I might (and probably will) change the list as time continues to go on but take it for what it is, a starting point, and fight on!!