For the acting community

Acting classes for TV and film
Total posts: 1
Joined: 15 year(s) ago
Posted 1:50 PM Aug. 16, 2010

I have done a year of taking acting lessons for stage and that was great. But I would like to now focus on Film/TV and how to get comfortable in front of a camera. Any suggestions?

Total posts: 38
Joined: 15 year(s) ago
Posted 10:28 AM Oct. 2, 2010

Actor Michael Gabel's On-Camera Acting classes through the Theatre Lab School of Dramatic Arts in Washington, DC is a very good introduction to the basics (www.theatrelab.org). Actor Ken Arnold can give you practical advice through his Actors Club that meets Saturday mornings at Studio 333 in Baltimore (www.studio-333.com/workshops.htm). He gives other workshops there as well. Also Brenna McDonough's Basic and Master classes (www.oncameratraining.com). In talking with local casting agencies, Brenna's name came up again and again as a source for excellent instruction.

There are some terrific books on the topic: How to Stop Acting by Harold Guskin; Acting in Film by Michael Caine; I'll Be in My Trailer: The Creative Wars Between Directors & Actors by John Badham and Craig Modderno to name a few

Also, for general acting advice, Mark Westbrook's blog at http://acting-blog.com. Westbrook is an acting coach in Glasgow, Scotland. Scan his posts. Lots of useful and insightful information there on how to approach acting.

After that - lots and lots of practice, which initially means getting the biggest roles you can in very small films, then moving up. Good luck with it!

p.s. I would also advise becoming well-versed in the business side of acting - right from the start. A very good book on this is Self-Management for Actors: Getting Down to (Show) Business by Bonnie Gillespie. It is encyclopedic in covering the issues you need to know to build a career. I recommend it on my blog.