Actors training Part 1

A while ago I had a chat with one of the agents here in Wellington. I was lucky for him to even sit down with me to talk about representation, I was told, and he was doing so only because he knew me.

Here's the thing with wanting to be a professional actor: There are so so many of us!
Being a woman doesn't make things easier. On the contrary, not only are there many more actresses than actors but there are also many more leading and supporting roles for men.

So, quite generally and for women particularly the following is fact. The market is oversaturated, actors are a common commodity and casting directors don't have the time nor the resources to give us all a shot at getting a job. So, unless you are incredibly lucky, casting directors won't even look at you unless you have a sizeable acting CV. Bit of a catch-22 I hear you say? It' not surprising then that some casting agents are hesitant to represent new virtually CV-less talent, since trying to get them jobs is most likely a wast of everyone's time.

As one of those CV-less people, I've got several options: wishing and hoping, roughing it with many unpaid gigs and evening classes, or getting formal acting training.

More about this tomorrow...