Performing for a full house of live theater enthusiasts is a dream for many aspiring actors. But although you might hope to put on an ovation-worthy performance that inspires every member of the audience to rise from their luxury theater seats and applaud, that generally doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen at all for the vast majority of actors. It takes an incredible amount of time, dedication, talent, and training to become a famous actor that audiences are eager to see. A beginning actor needs to first learn and master their trade as they work their way into the theaters and roles that best showcase their skills. This not only involves becoming educated about acting in the theater and different methods of acting, but it also requires access to the right resources.
The first step toward a career in theater is learning the basics. Ideally, you’ll do this by enrolling in courses through a recognized educational program, local workshops, and acting classes. You can learn the basics of acting in either personal, one-on-one sessions with an acting coach or in a group acting class. Acting games and exercises can help you with warming up, character, improvisation, and other techniques that will be useful as you prepare for roles. But it’s not strictly required for you to take acting classes to become an actor: If you live somewhere where you don’t have access to acting classes and opportunity to engage with other actors, you can learn a lot about things like building a character, memorizing lines efficiently, and other acting basics by using online resources. Videos, articles, and books can offer you tips and help teach you how to improve your acting skills.
Project from that the Audience Can Hear You From Their Theater Seat or Movie Room Couch
As an actor, your voice will be an important tool that needs to be properly trained and regularly exercised. You can find plenty of scripts and monologues online that you can use for practice, and recording yourself can help you get a better perspective on how you sound and how you move as you try to embody the character. When you’re acting, especially in a theater, you need to be able to speak clearly and project your voice so that the audience can hear what you’re saying from their theater seats or movie room sofa.
Dialect Learning for the Theater – Learning From Your Home Theater Loveseat
Learning a new dialect can be tricky, but knowing multiple dialects can come in handy, allowing you to win a greater variety of roles. An actor should never wing it when it comes to an accent or make it so strong that it becomes a distraction. For that reason, dialect coaches are invaluable for many actors who are preparing for characters with a foreign or even regional accent. In general, you should practice new dialects regularly, even if it’s just in the privacy of your own home theater loveseat, when you’re shopping, riding the bus, or otherwise going about your daily life.
Auditioning is arguably one of the most important things that an actor must master. Although it can be frightening, particularly for people who are new to acting, it’s something that you’ll need to do regularly if you want roles. When auditioning, always bring your acting résumé and a professional photo of yourself. Make sure to be punctual, honest, confident, and charismatic during the audition, taking care to make your first impression count. Preparation is key to having a good audition, to make sure to read the script ahead of time so you’re comfortable with it. And if you mess up something during your audition, just keep going, rather than starting over.
Getting Started
Games & Exercises
Shakespeare
- How to Audition for Shakespeare: Actors Demonstrate Tips
- Tips on Acting Shakespeare
- Do’s and Don’ts of Shakespeare Auditioning
- Working With Shakespeare: Acting Tips (PDF)
