actor's auditions/classes...more help...PART 2...

as i said in another post, acting classes are very necessary for the actor to stay on the top of their game...but if your child is very young, they probably are outgoing and don't need them...they just have to be themselves...but as they get older and more self-conscious, then they are needed, and many times, on an ongoing basis...

many audition classes teach on-camera technique which, for anyone pursuing a film/tv career, is a very good class to take b/c it teaches the young actor never to break through the imaginary fourth wall and stare into the camera and right at the audience...

also, the classes will teach about emotional release during close-ups, how to cheat towards the camera and how to block your movements...many times, these classes are coupled with improvisation classes which are used to free the actor and be able to think on their feet and create more dialogue on their own for their character...

looking good on camera is very important...many times it's not the child actor or adult actor who auditions the best, but who "pops" when they're on camera and looks very good doing the scene...but then again, there are always those exceptions...(so what else is new?)...take a look at dustin hoffman on camera...eewwww...would you have cast him? LOL...so, as i always say, "what's meant to be is meant to be"... :-)

another great way to prepare for auditions is with a scene study class...before an audition, you usually get a copy of sides which are a few pages of the script that are being used for audition purposes...the actor studies these ahead of time and the casting people see how well the script was interpreted...

so learning how to study a scene can help the actor understand the possible motives behind a character, what is in the subtext (what is not being said, but implied)that the character is trying to communicate and learning to stay 'real' while portraying a character in a scene...all of these are very important for the child actor to learn...

lastly, (at least of those classes that i'm going to discuss), there is the class that helps the actor prepare a monologue which is basically a long speech spoken by one character...sometimes, an agent or casting person will ask for the actor to perform a monologue to get a general idea of how they can act...and although monologues are still used, it seems that they are not used nearly as much as years ago...so although it's important to have a couple in your child actor's 'bag of tricks', i wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about this...also, in my list of resources, there is a website that you can go to for acting monologues...

there are so many other skills that an actor needs...classes are definitely on the top of the list, especially as your child actor gets older and loses that innocent, child-like quality...keeping their acting instrument honed is very important to being successful in this business...

and yes, acting classes also cost money...y'know what? i think tomorrow i'll talk about all the money that is spent on acting...and what about pilot season? how much money is spent there? oh boy...HUGE topic...

have a happy day...smell a flower...hug a tree :-)
hugs and out~