Acting Lessons and Audition Tips for Teenagers
My name is Jessika and I am a teenager and an aspiring young actress.
I, for instance, need only enough to pay for all of my acting classes and then get a medium quality photo - a headshot. Although when I first started my headshots were school pictures (I'm currently in grade 10), I didn't need amazing quality headshots when I was first starting because chances are there was better talent than me somewhere out there. Now that I have completed my three levels of acting I have gotten better quality headshots because I have more use for them now, they still aren't great but they get me to auditions. Some people will get sent to different auditions because actually getting called to one depends on if you have the look that they are aiming for, after you've been called then it all depends on your talent.
I am currently going to auditions whenever I get called, which isn't very often being as I am a teenager and I don't live in Hollywood or anything but it is often enough that I don't miss to many school days for auditions. There are sometimes when I get auditions on days that I really would rather just be with my friends because we maybe had some special event planned and that makes me see why people that are making it big want to get out of it before long. It really takes a lot of hard work just to get the auditions and then if you land a part you have tons of hard work to do that probably includes you moving away from your friends and family anywhere from weeks to months depending on the size of your part and budget of the movie.
Being An Extra In Movies
So far in my career I have been extras in a few productions which I think is fun because then I get to meet a bunch of other aspiring actors or retired actors who just want to do some easy money making things. Being an extra means you are the background people, the crowds in the busy street, or the people with no lines in a coffe shop, all the actors with no lines that add life to a scene apart from the main actors. Extra work really is quite fun except for there are often long hours (not unlike the actors doing the scenes) with oddly placed meal breaks and a lot of waiting.
One film I was an extra in the movie was a The 12 Days of Christmas, a Christmas movie that was being filmed in the summer 2004 in Edmonton Alberta, so we had to wear our winter coats, toques, mitts, scarves, you name it and it was about 25 degrees celcius, that was hot! I have also done tons of auditions, at the beginning I was scared spit less of them but now I'm getting to know the main casting director for my area and I don't get as nervous anymore. Finally I have also landed 2 separate parts, 1 in a commercial and 1 in a film. For the commercial I had to cry over my dying mom which might sound hard but if I get myself in the right mindset I can usually convince myself to cry. The film was just a simple 4 lined part with me filling a car radiator. None of the stuff I do is going to get me to Hollywood but everyone has to start somewhere and I love what I'm doing.
Another film I was an extra in was The Assassination of Jesse James, with such famous actors as Brad Pitt, Robert Duvall and Mary-Louise Parker. It is being filmed in the fall of 2005 in Edmonton and Calgary. My mother is also an extra in this movie. My family of course are of course hoping they get to see me and my mom in the final movie, but we don't know yet if we indeed will. We'll find out when we go to theatre once the film is out.
I've recently gone to the most AMAZING drama camp in the world called Arts Trek, in Red Deer Alberta. It is for theatre and we based what we did that week on the play Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It was a musical and before I went to the camp I didn't know I'd be singing all week so when I found out that's what I'd be doing I was kind of put off but after finishing it, I now want to start taking singing lessons and learn as much as I can about plays so that I can also further a theatrical career. I met the most amazing people at this Arts Trek camp and a healthy tip is to do whatever you can to get into theatre or acting of any kind because it all helps and you'll probably make some really cool friends. I know I sure did, I mean at a drama camp your all crazy and in love with drama so there are no freaky losers. It was just really awesome and I am definitely going back again!
In short if you want to act go for it but don't do it for fame because that's got to be one of the lesser points, I want to act because I love the thrill of being onstage or in front of a camera. If acting just isn't your thing find something else you love it'll pay off better than doing something you hate. Unless you're just a teenager forced to work at McDonald's to make money for a movie go and do something fun, a saying that always inspires me when I have the energy to be inspired is to 'live like there's no tomorrow'!
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