Working with local film schools for acting experience

Acting Experience.

To get a nice gig you much have experience. To have experience you need to have gigs. Sooo, how are you supposed to jump in? Don't stress out, read on because I am going to tell you exactly what I did to fatten up my resume. This helped me get in front of bigger opportunities.

Make sure to read my blog, "Actor Cred - What credits are you going to add to your resume?" then come back to this post.

After adding a few classes and two or three plays on your resume, it’s time to add film acting experience on your resume. The best way to go about this is by contacting local film schools.

Colleges, Universities, and technical schools have film departments. Some schools are film schools and some are colleges with film programs.

Students in these schools need to complete student projects to apply what they have learned. These films will probably not be at a professional level yet since they are still learning.

Here is a tip:

Do senior thesis films. Thesis films are usually of great quality and a fantastic set experience for you. These thesis films are usually sent to film festivals.

On set, you will learn set language that you'll hear later in professional sets. Student films will teach you hands-on training on set etiquette.

You want to develop a relationship with these students, these are the directors and filmmakers that are headed to Hollywood and might take you with them.

Remember that to get on a T.V. show and do just a one-liner, you will need to have set experience, and lots of training. There is a lot of competition out there with people just like you going for the exact same role and probably with more training and acting experience than you.

I'm not saying these things to discourage you, I'm saying them so you understand that the actor on "This is Us" with one line probably waited 10 years to get that part. I'm not exaggerating either. The competition is tough out there.

Student films will help you practice what you learned in all the classes and workshops you are enrolled in. You will learn how shots are set up, the technology, how things work on set, and how long it takes to do scenes under the best conditions.

Every director has different styles; student films will help you learn to take directions from different directors.

Keep in mind that even though you are working for acting experience in a student film environment, you must still be a professional at work. Show up on time, be respectful, and pleasant to work with.

If you won’t be able to keep your commitment and show up to work please let them know in advance so they can find a replacement. Students are under stress trying to get the hang of putting everything together and improvising on the spot to make a scene work.

Often times filming scenes take longer than expected due to several factors so if you don’t have time to stay on the set until you’re no longer needed, please don’t commit to working with sophomores or juniors.

One of the greatest experiences I've had on a film set was working on student films. We all learned and grew together.