You Oughta Be In Pictures!

I meet with about 10 prospective students a week here at the Conservatory who are visiting to learn more about training to be a professional actor - people with a dream. For many, what they really want is to be a star - in the movies and on the red carpet! Don't we all! And I frequently get these questions: "Why should I spend so much time training - I know of an on-camera class that is only a few weeks long?" and "Why should I spend time training for theatre if what I really want is to do film?"

I'm so excited that the Conservatory's new blog has given me a reason to finally sit down and answer this question in writing so it will be codified for all time!

It's an important question - especially to those people who are looking for sound advice about how to get started on a path toward their dream. And the answer is pretty simple. Acting is acting no matter what your chosen media: stage, film, television, voice work, the list goes on. Each of these jobs takes the same amount and type of preparation, character development and practice. The differences between working on stage versus non-live media are technical and they can be learned in a short amount of time IF – you first know how to act. If you learn the technical aspects of working on camera but haven’t learned to act - the camera will know.

Training for and working on the stage makes you a better film actor because working on the stage is more demanding. There is no cut, no take two, when the audience is there. Actors on the stage know how to maintain character for an entire play, and how to think on their feet and deal with missed cues, botched lines, technical snafus and stay in character all the while. I have been involved in more than a handful of stage productions where I've been in the house and watched brilliant actors save the show when something has gone wrong. And the best part is seeing that the audience is absorbed - completely unaware that Jane just dropped a line -which Joe then rescued so the audience wouldn't miss important information. This is a form of improvisation, a learned skill highly valued by film directors, and it takes practice.

This is the reason folks who cast for non-live media LOVE to cast actors who have theatre training and theatre credits - they know that those people know how to do their JOB.

It’s one of the best jobs in the world but at the end of the day acting is a business like any other, and time is money. When casting I'm looking for an artist/employee who knows how to do her job, can do it efficiently in the amount of time allotted and who can solve problems on the spot. This is true in every business - and just as true in the entertainment industry. In film - although we can do another take - every additional take costs money. I need an actor who can do it in one.

If you really want to do film – train on the stage and do theatre! Break legs all!

You Ought to be in Pictures
Music by Dana Suesse Lyrics by Edward Heyman
You oughta be in pictures, You're wonderful to see, You oughta be in pictures, Oh what a hit you would be! Your voice would thrill a nation, Your face would be adored.