Are You Making the Most of Your Acting Income Potential?

Most people dreaming of acting success do themselves a big disservice on the road to it. The smart ones wake up and well, the rest get discouraged and even quit. 

When you have a goal in mind, especially when you’re just starting out and needing momentum, it’s important that you keep your eyes open for creative and less obvious opportunities. And in my experience - many of those opportunities are passed by not because they’re hard to get, but because people have too much pride getting in the way. 

Taking on other opportunities doesn’t make you a failure on your desired path. It makes you flexible, builds character, adds to experience, furthers your connections and increases your wealth. So are you willing to do new things? Learn new things and get farther down the road of success?  The big thing you may not have thought of?

Voice over acting. From children’s voice overs, to animations and commercials, your options are vast.  You can practice your knack at theatrical performance, comedy, drama, suspense, children’s adventure and so much more. Think Robin Williams - in the sound booth, with the chance to have fun making a fool of yourself, bringing your character to life without having to look a certain way.

You hooked yet? An acting gig where you can look tired and dress your way? Relief. And if you’ve already found your performance groove through stage, improve or classes, you’ve got the first steps covered. If not, it’s as simple as connecting with different classes and opportunities in your area. Many of the techniques you'll use are the same ones used on stage and screen especially when it comes to the training of your voice and shifting the personality of your voice with the character’s emotion, age and presence. You've got to be able to think on the spot, develop your character and the voice to go with it, while reading text perfectly and responding quickly to direction.  It's a lot but you can do it with ease and the right training.

Once you get some practice, you’ll want to create an audio portfolio of your voice samples. Record the various voices you’re so great and performing and be sure each track is clearly marked by gender, age, region etc.  The more variety you are able to provide, the better! Read scripts and be both parts of the conversation.Provide contrast in a single sketch by playing one character as a southern belle and one as a British gentleman or Viking.  Going from male to female with different accents while including emotion can really impress a casting director. But keep your tracks short. You want to grab them, hook them and bring them to the next track - wanting more. Too much, and you'll bore them.

Of course, most importantly, speak clearly and enunciate!  This, oddly enough has been a hard one for many.... but if you don’t master it, you’ll really limit your opportunities. Practice speaking slowly and articulately to make sure you’re never rushing or mumbling; of course unless that’s how your character speaks! 

In the end, this is a fantastic way for actors everywhere to expand their horizons and succeed.  And if you are ready to take your career further and get serious about acting, visit us at The Acting School for Film and Television.  We'd love to help you succeed!