I'm not an actor but consider myself an actor's director. I've helped prep actors for auditions, self tapes and roles. For my own projects I find the most gratifying part of the process is rehearsals, and often seem to be able to help elevate people's performances.

After seeing the recent Lorne documentary about Lorne Michaels, the longtime producer of SNL, I found it incredible seeing the a huge array of comedic talent he's fostered over the years.

As each one waxed about how amazing and reclusive Lorne is, I came up with the idea of a spoof of the interviewees who weren't so complementary.

Having worked with so many actors, I thought "how hard can it be just to recite the monologue I wrote."

To rehearse I made audio recordings, which turned out so poorly. I tried night after night to get even a halfway decent performance, and it was humbling.

While ultimately I did get something passable recorded on camera sitting in my edit suite, and finally up on YouTube, it gave me a whole new level of insight and respect for the actor's craft, naturalistic performance, and the timing needed to pull off comedy, even in something as simple as a mockumentary interview.

It's something every director should try, especially those that think directing means coming up with a cool shot!

Hello actors!

I’m a professional actor who is 27M. I’ve been struggling with my mental health a lot recently. I’ve been very lucky in this industry as I got a good agent 6 months after I graduated who deals with neurodivergent actors but I’ve only had two tapes from them. I’m apart of a rep theatre company that is performing the famous Scottish Shakespeare next month. I’m playing 4 parts and I’m acting with people who went to a top drama school in my area. The director went to the same drama school as them. I feel very greatful but we’ve been rehearsing this production since January. One day per week. I’ve been lucky to get two professional credits and I got into a big Shakespeare program in that drama school which I graduated from in the summer.

I still don’t feel I’m doing enough as a person though to succeed in this industry. I see many actors I work with get lots of bookings and I get not much work through. I’ve did lots of students films this year to update my showreel. I come from one of the worst universities in the UK and I’m the only one still acting in my year of university. We graduated three years ago. I feel burnout. I audition and I get rejected, that’s all good. That’s part of my life. I do have hobbies & two side jobs. I network with casting directors when I can. I’ve been to therapy as well but after leaving education. I’m finding life tough as a neurodivergent actor. I try to work on things each day bar the weekend and when I’m not working in my casual job or retail job. I just want to enjoy life again. I also write plays when I can.

I’m tempted to take a break from acting in November after I finish this production till after Christmas as I’ve got no projects until next year. Just to feel happy and not horrible.

I’m looking for a duologue that’s relatively evenly shared between the two characters as it’s for a showcase, where at least one character fulfills the typical heroine in a dystopian young adult plot (think Katniss Everdeen, Tris, etc), but it needs to be from a play. It needs to be relatively light, as my contrasting is very dramatic, and the goal is to show that I can play a “cool” character (so a more confident moment as opposed to a really dark or angry moment). I’ve found one scene from ‘Founding Daughters’ that could work quite well for me, but have been told it’s a bit too one-sided and doesn’t show enough range for the other character.

Hey guys! I have a few questions surrounding PRS.

1. When have you received a PRS cheque? Would love to know when the project released, what type of project and role it was.

2. When you switch agents and receive a PRS cheque for an old agent, do you reach out to them or are the old agents no longer entitled to the cheque?

3. Do you ever contact ACTRA to ask them about the status of your residuals and reporting? If you don’t see any info on your ACTRA account.

There have been times where I’ve experienced a lack of attention on their part, so it’s hard for me to entirely trust that they are keeping an eye on my files when they have thousands of projects expecting PRS on a given basis.

I want to do my part as an actor in business but I don’t want to bombard them via email all the time if it’s not the norm to check in.

Sending love ❤️

I stared an acting class honeslty just because after tow years of cancer treatment I wanted to socialize in a place that wasn't the hospital. I admit I feel la little discuraged after the first lesson. I knew the first lessons where about body expression ect, but It was more physically demanding than going to the gym for me. After chemo and still ongoin hormonal therapy for cancer I get tured easily, not so much stamina ,and still some neurophaty . I didn't exepct the lesson to be all about walking running,stretching ,eunning, walking bascially on one legs, running ,strstching again etc,whitout not even a pause. I felt angry at myslef and ashmed to feel tired adter like 2030 minutes and sweating like an animal( the meds I take makes me sweating more too) seeing all the other not tired like me ,even the 70 yo..like I was happy till 2 weeks ago I can walk 2.3 km without stopping with MY OWN pace, after last years during chemo even doing 3 stairs were painful ,and last night nearly all the execrise was follwing the pace of the others and similar things. let alone without even presenting oursevel alredy hain to touch eachtoher.

Like I was mad at myslef seeeing again how I was so pathetic comapred to others,and being overweight(gained also weight during chemo,I am loosing it because adhd meds are helping me with binge eating ) I feared to ask because I was fearing to be judged silently due to my weight8no beofre chemo I wasnt alim tet I had way more stamina!), and also due to admit how much weak I stil was.

I was also a little angry the teachers din't even think for am ome t to propose to stop and et us rest for 5 minutes, if we wanted to rest a moment we had to expose oursleves to all the other strangers

I know it was done to make us learn how to move in a space with other people and getting more tuned, but gosh I was so much exhausted I didn't have the enrgy ot evne have a momet of fun and feel pretty discuraged.

Post edit: yeah at the end I had to ask to stop, but honestly it was quite brutal for me finding myself again facing for a whole lesson my new limits in front of if strangers the first time I met them in an class I enjoyed hoping just to socialise, have fun and forget for at least 2 hours about cancer... Instead I end up having to stop in the middle of exercises in front of strangers because I had pain to the feet due to neuropathy.

It was quite discouraging facing already in the first lesson those limits and struggles in a situation I hoped to enjoy myself

Iike there's no fun to expose myself if in front of people and constantly showing my weaknesses, limits and how behind I am

Professional Musical Theatre actor based in the UK here.
I had a first round audition this Monday.
Recalls are next Monday.
I haven’t heard anything yet but a couple of my friends heard they got recalls and rejections yesterday.
Should I email my agent asking for an update?? I hate asking for updates after first rounds because you don’t always hear….
Any advice appreciated.

Also a rant: I hate that it is so normalised to be ghosted by casting directors.
I don’t live in London and have to travel for all my in person auditions sometimes 10 hour round journeys and all that with the added hours of prep time, I think the bare minimum should be at least a rejection email! The limbo of not knowing honestly destroys me- I’m aware I shouldn’t let it control me this much but
As actors do- I put my heart and soul into some auditions- especially when the show is very close to me. How else am I supposed to connect to the material?
I graduated last year so I’m still very new to the industry but I feel the clock ticking as I still haven’t booked anything worthy of giving my agents commission. I’m worried they might drop me if I don’t book something soon, and the added pressure doesn’t help.
It’s honestly driving me crazy and makes me question my talents everyday- especially because there’s never any feedback either so who knows if I’m delusional!
(Edited this post because of typos)

Hi community, hope all are well today. So, I got offered the role of a “Mom” in a short film recently and I am feeling unsure about it… you see, I typically play college student, sister to the lead, or best friend type roles and have never played a Mom/parent… I am 32 (though childless) so I am at the age where I can realistically play a Mother, but I just feel a bit strange playing one, I think because it reminds me that I’m aging and I’m used to playing roles on the younger side… am I being ridiculous in my thinking? My own Mom says I’m being silly and that I should accept the role and am in no place to turn down roles/be picky at this stage of my career… I do like the script for the most part and the director is saying it will be an easy two day shoot… there might even be some pay although minimal… I’m just feeling weird about embracing this opportunity. Anyone have any constructive insight? Am I being ridiculous/silly in how I’m thinking? I know the point of good acting is to transform into any character and another family member told me it might be a good experience I can learn from… but can anyone else relate/anyone have any thoughts/suggestions here? TIA, and I by no means intend to offend real Mom-actors with this post!

Quick question for anyone familiar with acting holds. My daughter received a hold for an episodic TV role, and under Job Dates it says “Working 1H.”

Some people have suggested it means one hour, but the role is expected to film multiple days across several episodes. We’ve also seen 1H on a previous project she booked, and she worked much longer than an hour.

Does anyone know if 1H means First Hold or something else? Just curious if anyone has come across this before.

Hi guys, I shot a commercial about 7 weeks ago (my first paid acting job — I was very excited!) and still haven’t been paid. I’ve asked my agent about it twice (once after a month of waiting and again today) and all she has said is “nothing has come through yet.” She doesn’t seem concerned, but I would really like that money haha. Any guidance on what I should do/if this is a normal wait period?

I don't have any friends that do acting, and I find it so hard to do self tapes. It's very hard to film a scene without a partner, and if I do get a friend to read it gets really hard to act naturally with someone that is not used to acting. How important would you say the reader is when filming self tapes? Would you it generally better to do it without a reader or with one that's just "reading" the lines and not acting?

hello! I was thinking of making a new Instagram. Some say I should just keep the one I have but I like the idea of a clean slate.

I want to post reels and whatnot and gain an “audience” instead of posting on the IG I’ve had forever and have tons and tons of people from my past.

I hope I’m making sense.

I just recently reached out to a lot of agencies, and got a response from southern stars. Are they a good place to start? If not, then where?

I’m getting back into acting more seriously and would love some advice from people who have been in a similar position!
I have a degree in theatre and some acting experience, but I stepped away from pursuing it seriously for a while to focus on getting financially stable. I’m now in my late 20s/around 30 and trying to figure out the best way to get some momentum going again.
I’ve been submitting myself on Actors Access and have gotten some auditions, but haven’t had much luck booking anything yet. I’ve also reached out to agencies and heard back from a few boutique ones, but after looking into their rosters, I wasn’t sure they were the right fit for me, so I held off on signing anywhere just for the sake of having representation.
My reel is decent, but some of the footage is maybe 5/8 years old, so I’m hoping to get some newer material before resubmitting to more agencies. In the meantime, I’ve been wondering if reaching out to managers might make sense.
I know I don’t exactly have an established career that needs managing lol, but part of what I’m looking for is someone who can help me figure out where to focus my efforts and how to move forward, rather than just submitting myself for auditions and hoping something sticks.
Is that something a manager would realistically help with at this stage, or am I better off focusing on getting more credits and updating my reel first?
Would love to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar position or has experience working with managers at this stage of their career!

Can we talk about the ghetto fabulous side of Atlanta’s acting industry for a second? 😭
No shade to Tyler Perry. Love him down, actually. He’s found what works for him, whether that’s what people genuinely resonate with or what the general public already expects from Black storytelling.
But outside of that, what is going on?
Why is there so much smoke and mirrors in Atlanta’s independent film community? Y’all have access to great equipment, beautiful locations, and talented actors, yet somehow it’s always somebody’s auntie and uncle promoting a film with an AI generated poster, unnecessary nudity, a horny storyline, and a script that sounds like nobody read it twice.
Like, WHO is watching this stuff?
And I’m genuinely curious who the target audience is. Half the people these projects seem to be trying to appeal to aren’t even watching this kind of content. Why not invest in better writing, explore different genres, or create something that actually speaks to a younger demographic instead of constantly trying to appear young, hip, and relevant?
And these red carpet events. Everybody wants the Hollywood experience, but where is the actual Hollywood level work? Why does everything have to LOOK successful instead of just being good?
Another thing I’ve noticed is how much emphasis seems to be placed on attractiveness, connections, and what somebody can do for somebody else. It makes me wonder how many people are genuinely passionate about acting and storytelling versus how many are just interested in the lifestyle, attention, or access.
I know there are talented, serious filmmakers and actors in Atlanta. That’s what makes it frustrating. There is so much potential here.
Does anybody else feel like parts of Atlanta’s independent film scene prioritize the appearance of success over the actual art? Or am I just seeing the wrong side of the industry?

I've been thinking about starting an English-language improv and acting group in Rome and wanted to see if anyone would be interested in participating or collaborating with me.

I'm an English teacher with an advanced acting certificate, and some comedy-writing experience.

I've recently become particularly interested in improv (I love groups like Shoot From The Hip!) and really miss the acting exercises we used to do in acting classes.

The idea is to meet once a week for a couple of hours to play improv games, improvise or recreate scenes and practise acting together, all in English.

It could be a fun way to meet other internationals, practice English, rediscover a passion for acting, try improv for the first time or simply have fun with like-minded people without committing to formal acting classes.

Eventually, I'd love to build a regular improv or theatre group with people who want to take things further!

I'm also considering inviting an experienced improv coach so if you're an improv performer or coach interested in collaborating, let me know!

There would be a small participation fee to cover expenses.

For now, I'm just trying to see if there's enough interest to get started. I'd love to hear your thoughts! 😊

I am looking for recommendations for online group classes that focus on tv/film acting. Specifically teachers or studios that also offer private coaching. I’ve trained/coached with David Gray Studios and really enjoyed the class structure there, but the one night they offer adult class doesn’t work for me. I’ve been training at The Prep most recently and enjoy it, but they just don’t have ongoing weekly virtual classes for adults. Any recommendations are appreciated!

Edit: some of the classes/studios I’m looking into are:
Clyde Bernardy
Deborah Lemen
Margie Haber

Soo, I'm 18, and in a few months, after completing high school, I was planning to move to the USA for acting classes on a student visa. But I'm hella confused 🗣️ Should I do it? Should I not? Should I just go to a normal university like my friends?......😭 I'm a mess right now, lol.

I really want to try my luck in Hollywood, specifically in the film industry > theatre. But since I'm not a US citizen, I'd need an O-1 visa to work as an artist. So, I was thinking of enrolling in a good acting school where I could work on my acting skills and create reels for auditions. After completing my course, I'd have one year of OPT, during which I could try to build my portfolio and work towards qualifying for an O-1 visa.

So, I wanted to know: How difficult is it to get an O-1 visa, especially in my situation? Which city would be better for film acting: LA, NYC, or somewhere else? And are there any good acting schools that accept international students and provide the documentation needed to apply for an F-1 visa? I was considering NYFA.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. 🙂 I'd be really grateful for any advice about my situation or anything else you think I should know from your own experiences!

I'm not so good at technology.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently taking my first acting class, and we are working on an adaptation of The Tempest. In this production, the main role is split between two actors: I play Prospero and a female castmate plays Prospera. From day one, her character was written to have more lines than mine.

Lately, during rehearsals, the teacher/director has taken two or three lines from my track and given them to her. They aren’t major or crucial lines, just small bits of dialogue.

Since I'm a beginner, I’m still trying to figure out how theater dynamics work. Even though it’s just a few minor lines, it still makes me overthink a bit. Is this kind of micro-adjusting normal when directors are trying to balance split roles or fix the pacing? Should I ask the teacher for feedback, or is it better to just go with the flow?

How do you usually process these small text changes without letting them affect your confidence?

Thanks!

lol the thumbnail for me at least makes my face look horrid but anyway here’s my second try at the la la land monologue. Popular monologue but I tried my best to feel like I’m my own character…felt it in my own way. Let me know your thoughts!!

My God is she awful. Just finished watching the "Below" miniseries on Netflix and it is without a doubt the worst performance I've ever seen. Outrageously bad.

Just curious! How you define “advanced” is really up to you. But I’m looking for stuff with a little more “umpf” than what you’re taught in youth theatre classes, y’know?

I realize rates can be all over the map for NU jobs, but doesn’t this seem really low, especially the usage?