What Steps Do I Need To Take To Become An Actress?

What steps should I take to become an actress?

• I'm planning on moving to NYC once I graduate high school in a few months. I want to pursue a career in acting. What steps can I take to achieve this? Should I look for an agent? Take some classes? Any advice would be great! and if you know any good agencies in NYC please feel free to share. Thank you.

• Answer:

  It's probably much too early for you to be thinking about an agent. Legitimate agents make their money by taking a percentage of your earning from the jobs they help you find. So no good agent will take you on as a client unless they think you have major earning potential. If you're fresh out of high school with no professional training and experience, you most likely aren't somebody they'll want as a client right now. Do you understand how expensive it is to live in New York City? Even if you have a very tiny apartment, you might need one or more roommates to share expenses. You'll need to have a job to support yourself while you look for acting work. You'll probably be able to find waitress work, maybe life model work at art schools, and you might be able to sign up with some office temp agencies if you have the right skills, but having only a high school education might limit your options. You will definitely need to take acting classes in the city, partly to develop your skills, partly to start building a network of contacts. (Acting classes aren't cheap, so figure that into your budget.) You'll want to pick up the newspaper "Back Stage" every week to check their audition notices. You won't be able to go to union auditions, but you will be able to audition for some student films, showcases, and other non-union projects. Most of the work you find through those auditions will not pay anything, so you'll be relying on your non-acting job for income. Your classes and your unpaid acting work will help you build up a resume that might eventually be good enough to get you an agent. If you can sing, play an instrument, or do stand-up comedy, you might find open mikes around the city where you will have some chance of being seen by agents and casting directors. But between classes, non-union performances, and open mikes, it could take years for you to earn a union card, sign with and agent, and otherwise get your foot in the door. You might want to consider applying to college and studying acting at that level, maybe even going on to a graduate theatre program for an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree, before you move to New York to try to make it in show business.