Getting started in acting
One of the biggest challenges in learning anything new is to know where to start. And acting is no different.
If you don’t know anyone who does what you want to do, you have no frame of reference – no starting place.
What I did was I started taking lessons.
This accomplished three very important things.
- I started learning the actual skills I needed to be an actor
- I started gaining confidence in my abilities since I had to stand up on stage and actually act every week
But in my opinion, by far the most important thing was that I started associating with other actors, some good, some not so good. But they were ACTORS!
I could learn from my own mistakes on stage. But I learned even more from the mistakes others made on stage. (Ooooo, note-to-self – do NOT do that!)
I could discover the mindset I needed to actually think like an actor. I discovered my own priorities of acting as well.
I now had other actors in my class relying on me to learn my lines for a scene we were doing in front of everyone next week.
So instead of just letting my mind wonder while walking the dog, I’ll run my lines in my head. Or do my monologue quietly to myself.
Of course it’s only a matter of time until someone catches me doing it. But since I typically walk with my Bluetooth earpiece in maybe they’ll assume I on the phone (although my current monologue is about my wife being killed in a car crash, so we’ll see how that goes.)
But I think the best thing I learned is that if I screw up, it’s not the end of the world. Everyone does. Just don’t do it again! 🙂