Expert: Phil Nemy - 7/31/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello! I hope, you'll answer my questions. I live in Russia, but I've been dreaming about being an actress in the US. I'm 20. Since I was 6 I've attended dancing, singing, acting,English classes in my school. Then I started to do it myself at home (except English, I learn it at the University), because it was very difficult to find experienced teachers. I tried to do my best and not to lose my skills. Now I'm studying at the University (it is not connected with performing arts) and I understand, that everything I want is to perform and be a film actress. Of course I'll try to get involved in professional acting in my country, but... What do you think about my going to the New York Film Academy? Or to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London? Or can you recommend me other academies, universities, courses in LA, NY if I need it? Will it be useful for me? Can I "get into business" there? Do I need to find an agent? I'm afraid it's impossible for a Russian girl... How to find people who will be interested in my talent even if I'm Russian? I have a video tape with my presentation, dances, etc. Should I send it to some companies or... place it on facebook, myspace and other sites to "promote" myself? And one more question. Am I able to travel to some auditions or create and send my resume and headshots? I need your help! Thank you very much!


ANSWER: Olga,

Thanks for writing. The Royal Academy is an excellent place to study the craft of acting. I encourage you to consider them. However, stay away from the New York Film Academy. Their reputation is not very good and I don't believe you will be happy there. Other universities with strong acting programs include Carnegie Mellon, NYU School of the Arts, Webster University, NC School for the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Boston Univ., Brandeis Univ., Univ of Washington at Seattle, UCLA, and of course, The Julliard School of Drama. You can't go wrong with any of these.

Once you have the proper training, you'll need to move to Los Angeles as 95% of all film and TV is cast in LA. You'll need to get an agent, you'll need a good headshot, and if you have strong work on videotape, then you'll need to put together a reel of your work. I would then subscribe to casting sites like LACasting so you'll be aware of auditions. You may also with to consider subscribing to BACKSTAGE, which is the premiere bi-weekly newspaper for casting, auditions, and actors.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Phil

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your advice! May I ask you some more questions? What acting courses can I attend in LA next summer? Unfortunately I don't have possibilities to enter a University (I hope it will be UCLA) right now... but I really want to prepare for studying at the University (I'm afraid I'll have to pass some auditions there).  So I'd like to go to LA, just get to know the atmosphere of LA, prepare for my "acting life" (if I can say so). So can you recommend me some courses or teachers? And I'm very interested in your book. How can I buy it? Thank you!

Answer
Olga,

You should check and see if UCLA offers a summer workshop for actors. They might. You might also look into the American Film Institute as they may have some summer courses as well. As far as acting teachers, I can recommend to you two people. Bjorn Johnson and Larry Moss. Both are terrific instructors, very capable, compassionate, knowledgeable, experienced. You can be certain that the training you receive from them will be top notch.

You can find my book on Amazon.com.

Phil