ACTING FAQ

Acting is So-o-o Competitive... Not!
by
Bob Fraser

Woody Allen is quoted as saying "85% of success is showing up."

My two cents? Showing up is crucial... but what really separates the successful
from the wannabe is attitude.

When I say attitude I mean what we think is true... and therefore how we behave.
Since acting is really just behavior we are getting paid for, it seems
self-evident that attitude is pretty doggone important.

What shapes our attitude is what we believe... what we accept as the truth.

For instance, if we believe that wanting a career as an actor is 'a crazy
dream,'
it is likely we will approach the entire enterprise in a haphazard (i.e.,
'crazy') and undisciplined manner. I'm sure you've met actors of this sort who
seem to be 'all over the map.' One week auditioning for a student film and the
next, writing a children's play and the next, it's, "I'm trying to get an
agent."

The interesting thing is this: When you ask this sort of actor about his or her
head-shot, or her mailings, or anything to do with finding acting jobs and
earning money ... an attitude is suddenly revealed. An attitude that kills most
careers before they start.

Here are some things you might hear from actors with this attitude:

"This business is so-o-o competitive."
"Statistics prove that almost nobody makes it."
"I tried doing mailings. It doesn't work."
"It doesn't do any good to send your picture to them. They just throw it in the
trash can."
"All I need is an agent."
"My agent doesn't have any pull."
"Agents aren't signing any new actors. They turn 99% of them down."
"Agents aren't interested in my type."
"New pictures? This headshot is the best one I've ever had."
"I can't afford new pictures."
"Some people are just lucky."

I'll stop here. There are literally thousands of these kinds of statements.

In my opinion, these statements (and all the others like them) are disastrous to
your dreams of success. If you believe these 'reasons' (accept them as the
truth)
they will form your attitude. Your attitude will determine what you DO. And what
you DO will ultimately determine what you accomplish. That's the truth.

Here are some other truths.

Ask any Casting Director about 'no-shows.' Incredibly, when casting directors
call a group of actors in for a part... 20% don't show up. One out of five
actors don't even try. It's a statistic. A fifth of the 'competition' eliminates
itself. So Woody Allen's 85% is high.

Another reality is that Casting Directors absolutely love finding new talent.
They live for it. Therefore, they are always on the look-out for wonderful
actors. In order to do that, they look at every picture... just like a gold
miner must look at every pebble... before they toss it aside.

If the picture doesn't 'grab' them, if it doesn't say, 'gold.' whose
responsibility is that?

If you do a big mailing and don't get any calls – get another picture and try
again. Keep doing this until you get a picture that gets you called in. Don't
whine that it's too expensive. Without a headshot that is working (getting you
called in), you are like a butcher who has no knives. You are telling me you can
cut it... but I don't see how you can.

If you send nothing... consider yourself part of the 20% who don't bother to
show
up..

Agents? Think this through carefully. Tom Cruise's agent makes 10% of Tom's
salary. Today that's about 2.5 million dollars. The agent sits in her office and
chats with people on the phone. It might only take her a couple of hours of real
"work" to collect that 2.5 million.

Do you really believe that agents are not looking for the next Tom Cruise? Or
the
next JLo? Or the next Steven Spielberg? Do you really believe that all agents
turn down 99% of applicants out of hand? Remember the gold miner. No decent
gold
miner gathers up a bunch of pebbles, indiscriminately, and tries,
unsuccessfully,
to sell them at the assay office. He looks for gold... which he knows he can
sell. In order to find the next big thing, an agent must see a lot of pebbles.

You have a choice. You can be a 'rolling stone' or you can be a nugget.

The most devastating belief an actor can have about agents is that somehow being
signed with an agent will "get me work." That's like thinking an untested,
unfinished, unproven new product will be successful because there is someone
willing to sell it. The best salesman in the world cannot sell a product people
haven't any need for and ultimately don't want.

We, the actors, are the product the agents are "selling." If we are unable or
unwilling to prove – on our own – that we are a product people might need and
might buy... what makes us believe that having a salesman will change things?

Some actors have an interesting theory ... even if you don't apply for the job,
by some miracle you will get the job. That's the premise behind not sending out
pictures, not getting new pictures, not being prepared to audition, not showing
up, in fact not doing much of anything.

This sort of actor believes that repeating over and over, "I want to be a
working
actor, I want to be a working actor," will somehow make success happen... as if
by magic. An amazing number of actors recite this 'magical' phrase... but they
seldom have any idea when or how 'the magic' will actually occur. Bottom line?
Magical incantations will not take the place of doing what must be done.

Hardly anybody makes it? Look, it's important not to say things like this to
yourself. You can get the facts by watching TV for an evening. Watch for three
hours. Count the number of actors who have lines. Keep a good count. Multiply
that number by 365 days a year... times the number of networks... and you begin
to see a glimmering of the truth. Isn't this a fairly large group of actors? If
nobody makes it, where are all these actors coming from? Mars?

The truth is that there are lots of acting jobs, all over the world. A very
large
number of people earn their living by acting. If you want to be one of them,
then
DO what they DO. If you don't know what they have done to get where they are...
then isn't it your business to find out?

Believe me, you will not find out... or take any steps... or really even try...
as long as your attitude is being shaped by your belief in 'reasons' like, "it's
so-o-o competitive."

It's not that competitive, it's just difficult.

When it comes to doing difficult things, a lot of people aren't up to the
challenge. They spend most of their time thinking up excuses for poor results.
If
you believe 'reasons' or 'facts' (which are usually someone else's cleverly
disguised excuses), then you may not DO what has to be done. Or even try.

Believe me, the excellent results of trying and doing are vastly under-rated by
most wannabes.

What do you believe? What's your attitude? What are you doing?

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Bob Fraser is an actor, writer, producer, director
and author of You Must Act! "The Bible of Acting Success"

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© Copyright 2004 Bob Fraser All Rights Reserved.
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