How to get started as an actor

If you want to get started as an actor, what are the first steps you need to take?

There is a distinct set of skills that an actor needs to acquire if they are to be any good at their job (whether that’s a professional gig or an amateur one).

Acting is, in fact, a skill set; there are many elements to learn. Among them are:

• Line-learning: this is the most fundamental skill of the actor – and there are a number of different techniques that can help you “get your lines down”, as they say in the biz. (That is, to commit your lines to memory.) You need to find what works for you. Is it writing them out? Is it the ‘cover and check’ method? Is it working with a buddy? Is it recording them? Is it using an app? Once you have mastered your line-learning method, you’re on your way.

• Vocal technique: Using your voice is a very important part of performance, whether you’re on stage or screen. If you want to be a stage performer, you need to develop your capacity to project and support your voice, as well as develop diction and vocal resonance. While projection isn’t so important as a screen actor, diction, expression and the integration of face and body with voice are vital.

• Movement: Actors generally need to learn how to ‘move’. We all have habitual ways of moving, but an actor needs to be able to change and adapt their movement to the character they're playing. There are many specialist movement techniques that can assist you find new ways of moving, or develop ways that your character might move. Gesture, gait, and facial expression are all tools an actor can use to communicate character.

• Text analysis: Acting generally involves working with scripts (improvised theatre is the usual exception). A script is not just words on a page – it’s a blueprint for a whole production. Actors need to learn the skill of going through their script well in advance, as if with a fine-toothed comb. This is called "textual analysis" and its purpose is to search for details about their character in order to plan how to play them. This involves examining what their character is scripted to say and do, as well as what other characters say and do in relation to their character. From here, an actor can develop ideas and suggestions to bring to the rehearsal process.

• Integration: All of the above need to work together! Text analysis undergirds character choices, voice needs to work with movement, and lines need to flow easily as if they were being said for the first time. A key skill of the actor is integrating each of these in the moment of performance.

Since so many skills are involved, a great way to start is to do a course for beginners – it’s an excellent way to test the waters and find out whether acting is for you.

A lot of people have one idea of what acting is about, but discover it is something else altogether once they jump in.

Many people think acting is pretending, for instance. While pretending could be seen one facet of acting, it is far better to understand acting as the opposite: truth.

That is, the more truthful your performance, the more authentic the experience of your audience. It’s not unreasonable to say that part of being an actor is the search for truth – how do I bring my truthful self to this character I’m portraying? How do I find the part of me that resonates with this character? How do I reflect the universal challenges of human nature in my character in a way that brings meaning to the story – so that the story rings true to my viewers?

This is where the deepest skills of the actor are to be found. A brilliant story, conveyed by a truthful actor, can have an enormous effect on an audience. It can teach, change minds, and even change lives.

So if you’re thinking of starting out as an actor, begin by working on your actor’s skill set.

As with every new set of skills, they can take time to develop: weeks, months, and years. So bring patience to your learning, be open to new experiences, and practice, practice, practice!