Larry Garrison - Breaking into Acting For Dummies

Oh, and by the way, you may make a little money on the side from acting as well.

If your purpose for acting is to get rich, you should probably start a business, work for a Fortune 500 company or become a lawyer instead. Many different paths to riches are much more reliable than acting. If your purpose for acting is to get noticed, you don’t need to be onstage or in front of a camera. Go into acting because you want to become an actor. Any other reason for becoming an actor is ultimately pointless and self-defeating.

No matter what your age, your occupation, or your appearance, you can break into acting at anytime from anywhere. It all boils down to desire, drive, and persistence. Combine those traits with the information in this book, and you can discover how to blaze your own trail to success in the wonderfully wacky, weird, and slightly surreal world of acting.

Chapter 2

IN THIS CHAPTER

Figuring out the business of show business

Peeking behind-the-scenes at the creative process

Being an actor is just one part of show business. This chapter gives you a chance to peek behind the scenes of show business, so you can better understand how the entire process of creating a film, television show, commercial, or play works. You can also figure out how you, the actor, fit into the larger scheme of the world of entertainment.

First and foremost, show business must create, develop, and present shows that people want to see. Whenever the show business industry forgets this simple rule, it tends to produce bombs that flop and waste millions of dollars in the process (while also tainting the careers of everyone involved in the flop).

Paradoxically, although the show business industry has no problems lavishing millions of dollars on actors, producers, writers, and directors who have a history of working on blockbuster hits, these same show business executives are extremely reluctant to risk any money on unknown talent.

In the past, an unknown actor often had to struggle for years in low-budget productions that were more receptive to newcomers. Gradually, as the actor gained more experience, she could get the more visible and lucrative roles and, from the general public’s point of view, suddenly be “discovered.” But now with diversity coming into play, everyone has more opportunities that weren’t available before, which we discuss in greater detail in Chapter 10.

That’s why at times breaking into show business can seem so intimidating and difficult. Until you can make money for someone else, few people will be interested in you. Agents may turn you down, casting directors may tell you no, and even acting coaches (who you pay) may tell you that you’re lacking talent in some area or another. Given all this discouragement, does an aspiring actor have any hope to make it in show business?

Obviously, the answer is yes. Show business may like working with established stars who can (almost) guarantee them money, but the world of film, TV, and theater devours talent as quickly as talent scouts can find them. Every year, newcomers break into the ranks of show business, and every year, the public celebrates the new faces until the next new celebrity comes along.

You must accept rejection graciously in order to succeed.

Show business is a world of dreams. Before a theater can sell tickets, before an actor can audition for a role, and before anyone builds a set or designs costumes, someone somewhere has to have an idea first.

Ideas for TV shows or films are often ripped from the headlines — newspaper or magazine articles, or true-life stories based on current events. Other times ideas emerge from a poem, short story, novel, a writer’s dream, a cartoon, a song, or a play.

An idea by itself may be interesting, but it won’t be marketable or useful in any way. So the next step in creating a show is to turn a raw idea into a script.

When someone buys the rights to a story (such as a current-events, true-life story), they purchase the option to that story. An option guarantees that no one else can work with the people who sold you their story. Options typically last for a limited time period, such as one year. If the person holding an option to a story hasn’t produced the story within that time period, she can renew the option or let it expire, so someone else can buy it.

Everyone has an idea for a good story, but what really counts is the way the story is told and packaged with actors, directors, and other professionals. In the world of film, a writer writes a script and tries to market it. In the world of television, people usually create a treatment instead of a full script. The treatment includes a short description of the story and the characters involved, and typically ranges from one to six pages in length. If you have your own treatment, make sure you register it with the Writer’s Guild or copyright it with the U.S. government, and most importantly, when you submit it a company, do it in writing. While others may have the same idea at the same time, you must be able to prove that your project was submitted to a production company to protect your property.

Without proof of access to your project, anyone can steal it. Be careful who you verbally pitch your project to.

Sometimes, studios or production companies pay enormous amounts of money for a treatment — with no guarantee that the final script, based on that treatment, will be any good. Other times, a studio may pay a minimal amount of money for a treatment and wait for the entire script to be completed before spending any more money.

In many cases, several writers may work together to put words to an idea. Sometimes, writers may create a script in hopes that someone will buy and produce that script (called a spec script ), and other times, a production company may hire writers to create a script from a story idea that they already own.

If you can write or direct, you can increase your chances of breaking into show business. Many actors got their big break by writing their own script to star in, such as Sylvester Stallone with Rocky and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck with their film Good Will Hunting. If you’re an actress and you want to direct, Regina King first-time directed and produced One Night in Miami. Other actors have written one-man shows that they perform in theaters, which is an excellent way to showcase your talent for agents and casting directors. ( Chapter 7has more tips on how you can showcase your talents and get recognized in the business.)