Expert: Peter Messaline - 11/26/2008

Question
Hi , I am a 16 yr. old teen looking to get into the acting business. I am not scared to be infront of a camera; I welcome it. I'm very talented but I don't have much experience being an actor. Should I first go to an acting school , find an agent/manager , or go to auditions and get better along the way?

Answer
Thanks for your question -- you've obviously thought about it a bit.

No agent will want you, because there's nothing to show whether he could get you work. Legitimate agents make their money from a pecentage of your fees, and he/she'd be buying a pig in a poke. Scam agents would love you, all enthusiam and no knowledge yet -- as long as you can pay them for the classes and the photographs and and and ...

Look for auditions, talk to the local film school, if there is one - they often want oncamera volunteers. Try to get tape from them. You are very unlikely to build a professional career from the grass roots in that way, but the experience will at least tell you if the work is for you, and whether you do indeed have the talent.
Look for a way to start your own work.
Read all you can about being an actor. Look for the books in the 790 section under the Dewey Decimal system,. Don't bother with star biographies -- they're generally full of BS, just publicity exercises. You want How To books. Read all you can, see how the advice differs, and start to make up your own mind. All this visible acting activity will make you much more attractive when you're applying for a course (and they are always way oversubscribed).

I strongly suggest looking at the acting school route. Most North American actors are out of work, so you want all the skills you can get, to beat out the competition. Purely cynically, the acting course will be the most acting you'll ever do in so short a time. You'll start to build a network, of classmates, visiting directors and the faculty. Directors and agents who would be too busy to meet you will come to the school to see your class in performance. If they can get a look at twenty young actors at once and get a short list of possibles to see later, it's worth their time.