About Arlene Schulman Expertise As a professional director, dramaturg, acting coach and actor for over 25 years in the NYC/NJ area, I can help with questions on acting technique, character development, audition and rehearsal techniques, dealing with directors and stage managers, what directors are looking for, and other aspects of the acting and directing professions.
Experience A professional director, dramaturg, acting coach and actor for over 25 years in the NYC/NJ area, I have directed in professional, university and amateur theatre and have directed and acted in dramas, comedies, musicals, Shakespeare as well as collaborating closely with playwrights in the development of original plays and musicals.
Organizations SSDC associate member Advisory Board - Isle of Shoals Productions Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America associate member Shakespeare Association of America The Shakespesare Institute -
MA "Shakespeare & Theatre" candidate, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Expert: Arlene Schulman Date: 1/15/2008 Subject: how did celebrities now get famous?
Question was it luck? I'm 20 years old now and I've always wanted to do some acting or commercial work. I've been to model/talent agencies and they made me read a script and they said that they like it, but they wanted me to pay over $2000 to join their agency. I think thats a rip off, because I think that if they really wanted me for my talent, it wouldn't be that hard to accept me, right? Plus, i live in Charlotte, NC and I'm an Asian female and there's not that many Famous Asian Actors in the USA, and I would love to be one of them~
Answer Hi Betty,
You've asked a couple of different questions here. Let me take them one at a time.
How did celebrities get famous? "Celebrity" is very different from excellence at acting. And if all you want is to be "famous", then I can't help you. But if you want to be a good actor who has a chance at becoming known for their skill and excellence, then you should read on.
For the most part great actors work really hard at becoming good at what they do; they worked hard at promoting themselves and their career; they found the right representation in good agents who knew how to promote their careers; they networked with the right people; and, most of all, they were in the right place at the right time. Yes, luck, but for really good actors, not luck alone.
Becoming a good actor is a question of talent, training, and experience. It is a skill and a craft and, if you have the talent, it can be learned. And a good actor can get roles and, with hard work, earn a living as an actor.
But becoming famous and a celebrity is something else entirely. "Celebrity", in and of itself, has nothing to do with talent, or looks, or training, or experience, or much of anything else. It's all about luck, about that "being in the right place at the right time." It's about attracting attention; about having something that catches the public eye and keeps it. It can be about being outrageous, or special in some way. There are loads of celebrities who have very little talent other than getting themselves in the papers.
Is that what you want? Or do you want to become the best actor you can be and hopefully become known - a real celebrity, not a fake one - for the excellence of your work? They are two very different things. Celebrity is ephemeral. It comes and goes in a second. As Andy Warhall once said, it is your "15 minutes of fame". But true talent, training and excellence will last you a lifetime and be a true achievement. Think about it.
You are right, Betty. Those model/talent agencies that asked you to read a script and then charged you to join are rip-offs. THEY ARE SCAMS! Not because it should be easier for them to accept you (it is never easy to get an agent), but because LEGITIMATE franchised talent agencies DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING to represent their clients. They are not acting classes. You do not "join" them. They are industry professionals who are employed by actors to represent them for the purpose of getting them auditions and promote their careers. And LEGITIMATE agents do not get paid by the actor. Rather, they earn a percentage (generally 10%) of the income the actor makes from the jobs they get them. They charge no upfront fee. They may not, by legal and industry rules, charge their actors or require them to take any specific classes or use specific photographers or other professional services. They may suggest that their clients take classes or have headshots taken, etc., but the actor is free to choose their own professions for those services.
However, because of the way they are paid, legitimate agents are VERY selective in the clients they choose to represent, and it is very difficult to get a good agent. Think about it, Betty. They get thousands of submissions from actors who want to be represented. Because they only get paid if their clients are hired, they want to choose those actors who they believe have the best chance of getting cast. Therefore, they often will not accept anyone whose work they have not seen personally or who has not been recommended by an industry professional they know and trust. They often prefer actors who already have a strong professional resume, a history of getting roles and working professionally. And even those might not be lucky enough to attract the attention of a good agent. I know a number of exceptionally talented, well-trained, experienced actors in the NYC area who have not yet attracted an agent after years of working in the business. Though sometimes it is easier for actors working in smaller, less competitive areas.
The way to approach legitimate agents is to send them your professional headshot and resume, which they will file (unless there is something special that makes them want to see you right away). Then continue auditioning. When you get cast, send the agents a postcard letting them know of your performance and inviting them (comped) to come see you perform. Of course they get hundreds of headshots and resumes and many, many invitations, so they may or not have time or be interested in any particular performance, but with luck and persistance you might get an agent to come see you. Then, if you are good enough, and what they is looking for, they might ask to represent you.
Betty, the best way for an actor, any actor, white, black, Asian or otherwise, to get cast and become known for their work is to study in a good actor training program. As with any profession, it takes training to learn the skills and techniques, not only acting, voice, movement and more, but also business and promotional skills, that an actor needs to be successful in the extremely difficult and competitive business of acting. If you really want to be known for the quality of your acting, that is where you should start, along with working at improving your auditioning skills, auditioning and getting as much actinge experience as you can.
I wish you much luck in your future, Betty. And I hope, if you truly want to be an actor, that you have the passion, perseverence, patience, determination and willingness to work hard that will bring you closer to your goal.
