Actors And Actresses Need Talent example essay topic

Actors and Actress Actors and Actresses are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Each day, actors / actress face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get 'real' jobs, and their own fear that they " ll never work again. Every day they have to ignore the possibility that the vision to which they have dedicated their lives is a pipe dream. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life-the car, the family, and the house. Though to become an actor or actress one must follow a certain guideline (an education) as any other career does.

To begin with, to become an actor or an actress a person must start with their education young. In High School a student should put their minds in the fields of Performing Arts in other words Drama (Crafton 32). There they would learn the basic terms and history of Acting. There are two clear avenues to turn to while becoming a professional actor. One is just as trivial and nearly futile as the other, but someone who truly wants to pursue the field will tolerate the hardships.

The first path is, logically enough, is go to drama school. Formal training is not a must, but it helps if one wants to be a professional actor (Harrop 147). If you have studied the craft it gives you a leg up over anyone else looking for the same job. To enter a school solely for acting, not just the drama department of a larger university, SAT scores and high school record aren't always looked at. For some drama schools, a complete high school education isn't even needed. However, the more prestigious the school, the higher the standards are.

If you were to try to get into the Performing Arts College at, say, Columbia University in New York, the requirements are much higher at the testing level. At any school, no matter Ivy League or community college, to enter the performing arts department one has to audition. In continuance, some drama students may sometimes require a singing audition as well as monologues. After all, the most popular form of stage drama is the musical. Naturally, entrance essays are needed as well as recommendation letters. Interviews are recommended after auditions.

Generally, you need a bachelor's degree before you even audition. This is because the fickle nature of the career. One needs something to fall back on in the likely event that you can't get cast in a role. People are assumed to study acting after they get a sound backing in the other areas of study needed to obtain any decent job. In the case of the graduate school, there are many times grade requirements.

For example, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana requires a 2.75 GPA to enter its fine arts department. There are higher odds of getting cast if you enter a school in a major cultural area. New York is a favorite for students on this side of the country. Los Angeles and Hollywood open the windows of film opportunity. At times talent scouts are hanging around schools looking for the next new face, and it helps if the school is a large cultural center where deals are made on the minute (Haase 16). The other path to try is simply go into auditions blindly and hopes for the best.

Open auditions are plentiful and if directors like what they see then you may easily get accepted into the acting circle. However this is like trying to run for president when one has no political background. In theory it's possible, however highly unlikely. Your odds are significantly cut if you formally train for your trade, as in any career.

If this is the path you want to take, then you should at least hire an acting coach. They will get a prospective actor familiar about how things run, from the audition process to how to get the role over a professionally trained thespian. It would also help considerably if you took drama classes previously, in high school as an example. A strong backing in English is needed, unless it is your second language. Literacy is a must, obviously, as one needs to read the audition material. Whether getting formal training or not, every professional actor needs to get accepted into a union if they want to make a living as a thespian (Haase 27).

According to the Occupational Handbook, which is a reference that backs all the research made on Acting says Persons who become actors, producers, and directors follow many paths. Employers generally look for people with the creative instincts, innate talent, and intellectual capacity to perform. Actors should possess a passion for performing and enjoy entertaining others. Most aspiring actors participate in high school and college plays, work in college radio stations, or perform with local community theater groups. Local and regional theater experience and work in summer stock, on cruise lines, or in theme parks helps many young actors hone their skills and earn qualifying credits toward membership in one of the actors' unions. Union membership and work experience in smaller communities may lead to work in larger cities, notably New York or Los Angeles.

In television and film, actors and directors typically start in smaller television markets or with independent movie production companies and then work their way up to larger media markets and major studio productions. Intense competition, however, ensures that only a few actors reach star billing. Actors, regardless of experience level, may pursue workshop training through acting conservatories or by being mentored by a drama coach. Actors also research roles so that they can grasp concepts quickly during rehearsals and understand the story's setting and background. Sometimes actors learn a foreign language or train with a dialect coach to develop an accent to make their characters more realistic.

Actors need talent, creative ability, and training that will enable them to portray different characters. Because competition for parts is fierce, versatility and a wide range of related performance skills, such as singing, dancing, skating, juggling, or miming are especially useful. Experience in horseback riding, fencing, or stage combat also can lift some actors above the average and get them, noticed by producers and directors. Actors must have poise, stage presence, the capability to affect an audience, and the ability to follow direction.

Modeling experience also may be helpful. Physical appearance, such as possessing the right size, weight, or features, often is a deciding factor in being selected for particular roles. A great example of this is seen through the eyes of a famous person, who is an actress as well as a talk show host, Oprah Winfrey. She grew up in Kosciusko, Mississippi, where she was reared by her grandmother on a farm where she "began her broadcasting career" by learning to read aloud and perform recitations at the age of three.

After a hard year of molestation, as a last resort, she was sent to Nashville to live under her father's strict discipline. Vernon Winfrey saw to it that his daughter met a midnight curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report each week. "As strict as he was", says Oprah, "he had some concerns about me making the best of my life, and would not accept anything less than what he thought was my best". (Oprah Winfrey Biography).

Oprah began her broadcasting career at WOOL radio in Nashville while still in high school, and two years later signed on with WTF-TV in Nashville as a reporter / anchor. She attended Tennessee State University, where she majored in Speech Communications and Performing Arts (Oprah Winfrey Biography). Oprah made her acting debut in 1985 as "Sofia" in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, and received both an Academy Award (R) nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for her efforts. In 1998, Oprah starred as "Se the" in the critically acclaimed Beloved based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison. Oprah has been lauded for her performances in the ABC made-for-television movies The Women of Brewster Place, There Are No Children Here and Before Women Had Wings with Ellen Barkin (Oprah Winfrey Biography).

Today Oprah is held as one of the richest woman on earth, and will be known to us not only as an actress but also as a Producer, Talk show host, Magazine Founder and Editorial director, and a Philanthropist. Though it's only the beginning for Oprah, it's shown how one is in need of education no matter how rich you are. In conclusion, in order to enter the pool of hungry actors and come out a star unscathed, you must get a formal training at an acting school as well as staying involved with as many shows as possible building up your r'e sum'e. Being an Actor / Actress is a hard career to pursue and if pursued a lot of talent as well as patience is needed in order to accomplish.

Although an education is not needed to be an actor or actress, you should never escape it. Education is an essential part of our lives and the world we live in and forever it always will remain important for whatever career you choose to enter including acting. Work Cited Crafton, Allen. Acting; a Book for the Beginner.

New York: F.S. Crofts, 1928. Haase, Cathy. Acting for Film. New York: All worth Press, 2003. Harrop, John. Acting.

New York: Routledge, 1992. Occupational Outlook Handbook. 21 Mar. 2004. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. 27 Nov. 2004. About Oprah.

2004. Harpo Productions. 18 Nov. 2004. "Oprah Winfrey Entertainment Executive". Academy of Achievement, A Museum of Living History. 3 Mar. 2003.

Academy of Achievement. 19 Nov. 2004. Moore, Dick. Opportunities in Acting Careers.

Lincolnwood (Chicago), Ill: VG Career Horizons, 1999.