Expert: Taylor Sheppard - 2/8/2010

Question
Hello, my name is Catherine and I'm doing a research assignment for my english class on what career we would like to do and part of that research is to do an interview with somebody who has done that. As a result I'm doing my research on acting and I was hoping you would be able to answer a few questions for me. I would be very grateful if you could answer for me if you have the time. Thank you.
Sincerely, Catherine


The questions are:
1. How would you describe a typical day at your job?
2. What do you like most about your job?
3. What do you like least about your job?
4. Are the followng work habits important in performing your job and why?
-following directions
-being accurate
-participating as a team member
-working independently
-exercising integrity in the work place
5. How much can you earn in your type of job and what are the opportunities for advancement?
6. What kind of education or specialized training is needed for your job?
7. When did you decide you wanted to do this kind of work and how old were you?
8. Did you do other kinds of work first? What jobs?
9. What experience is required for your job?
10. Is what you do typical for your type of job?
11. What advice would you offer a person who is about to enter the job market?
12. If you could have any other job what would you pick?

Answer
Hi Catherine!

Here's your answers:

1. How would you describe a typical day at your job?

Well, that is kind of a multi-day thing. I receive audition emails (not every day) and I answer back to my agent if I want to go on the audition or not. (I try to go to every one I can, but sometimes I can't because I am already busy or other reasons. Sometimes I know the role is not suited to me, and rather than spend the time, expense of travel and waste the time of casting agents, I decline). When I do go, I get cleaned up, made up (if their are any blemishes or issues that would hurt my on-camera appearance)and dress in mt audition outfit, depending on what it is for. Sometimes I dress as a doctor or cowboy, etc. Most times, just slacks and a bright blue shirt. Then I study my script (if there is one)and drive to the audition office after looking up directions. i always try to arrive early by 15 minutes. There, I sign in and sit quietly, waiting to be called inside. When I go in, I say hello, listen to the casting person's instructions and then perform for the camera. If I get the script days earlier, I memorize the lines and work them out extensively, if not, I have to just decide quickly what my character wants in the piece. After that, I than, I leave and may get contacted that I got the part, or not.

2. What do you like most about your job?

I like acting. I like meeting other actors and people that work to film projects. I love the food that they cater on sets (Yummy!). I love getting the chance to be someone unlike myself with suffering the consequences!

3. What do you like least about your job?

I hate waiting to find out if I won a role....and then never being called. That is normal. I also hate slow periods when there is no work. However, that is when I go back to taking more classes to improve my acting. You never stop going to classes and learning if you want to be really good. Even A-list stars train. I also hate the weather and the hours sometimes. I often wake up at 3:00 am to get ready to work. Shooting can start at really early hours and go late into the night. Like 12-17 hours on shoot days. Sometimes you get to the set at 7:00 am and they have you wait until 5:00 pm to shoot your scene! That is because shooting some scenes takes longer than they thought, or there is an equipment malfunction delay.

4. Are the followng work habits important in performing your job and why?

-following directions: ABSOLUTELY! Otherwise you will be replaced. Also, things are done in a specific way, so nothing works right unless everyone follows commands. Some shows cost thousands of dollars a minute for everyone's pay, equipment rental, food, and hundreds of other expenses. Would you want to be the person who makes everyone wait?

-being accurate: As an actor, you have to be able to repeat what you are doing in a scene exactly. Why? because unless they are filming with several cameras, you must make sure you don't don't get caught looking the wrong way when they change the camera angle. Watch a tv show or movie: how long does the camera "look" at someone from one point of view? Not long! you will see them head on, then from maybe the side. Often, when two characters talk, you will see one start to talk, then the view go to the person listening. Why? because people are naturally curious how the other character takes what the talking character says. Are they mad, sad, shocked, angry or what?

-participating as a team member: A performance is rarely one actor, and even if it were, nobody would see it without a crew to put it on or put it on film. As an actor, it is important to have someone help your performance if you have something wrong. It's sad when a show ends, because you develop a relation ship with those you worked together on a project with.

-working independently: Well, yes again! You have to have your lines memorized, your character figured out, and alternative ways of performing to give a director choices of what they prefer you to do. Again, show up unprepared and you won't have a job long!

-exercising integrity in the work place: A lot of what makes an actor a working, successful actor is integrity. Even if you are talented, if you are unreliable, don't think and act as a professional, make bad choices in private life that spill into your working life (or reputation-Tiger Woods?) You can end up with a VERY quiet phone and empty bank account!

5. How much can you earn in your type of job and what are the opportunities for advancement?:
You can make an occasional $50.00 all the way up to double-digit millions of dollars depending on talent, look, working hard, professionalism and popularity. However, nothing is guaranteed.

6. What kind of education or specialized training is needed for your job?: Acting classes, maybe college acting classes, private lessons in all sorts of areas of acting: Auditioning workshops, improvisation class, basic acting/intermediate acting/masters acting classes, film acting class (film is quite different from stage), theater classes, reading books, reading scripts, doing student films to get experience, perhaps singing, dancing, language classes to learn accents/get rid of accents...really anything that gives you more experience and flexibility!

7. When did you decide you wanted to do this kind of work and how old were you?: I started in High School when I was a senior, and my mom saw that they were filing a movie near my town. I showed up and they said I could be an extra (background person). I was 17, I think. I didn't do anything else for about 5 years, until I was in acting classes in college. I was a lead singer/guitar players in bands until then. I loved acting and the music style was changing at the time. (I didn't realize that music, like most other things changes and repeats itself again.) That is because I hadn't lived long enough at the time to see that history really does repeat itself. Styles return every so many decades) I would like to play music again someday.
 
8. Did you do other kinds of work first? What jobs?: Well music, (above) waiter, hairdresser, billboard painter, cowboy (I grew up on a Texas ranch) bar=back, making flower pots, grocery store clerk, tech support worker, reservations, concert security, warehouse work, product demonstrator, electronics assembly,....whatever I could to pay the bills while I worked on my dream of acting. If you relied only on acting, you'd starve for a while, and I still have other work I do, even as an actor. Many actors have their own businesses.

9. What experience is required for your job?: Life, and education. Ability to develop focus, (VERY IMPORTANT)-learning to be observant watching people. If you can't focus and block out distractions, you can memorize things or ignore everything but the other character on set- when you have 40 or more people doing stuff around you!! Actors portray people, so when you are at the mall "doing nothing" you find yourself secretly watching and recording in your mind how they walked, talked and held themselves. That way if you are asked to repeat it someday as a character, you can.

10. Is what you do typical for your type of job?: Yes!

11. What advice would you offer a person who is about to enter the job market?: Learn everything you can about the job, or company. Some stuff, unfortunately, comes with doing the job. No matter what, education is important. In whatever you do. I am thankful for what I did learn in school (regular school and acting) I cringe sometimes at the spelling and language skills of some of my readers here. How are they going to fully understand what is going on in a script if they can't read and get it? How seriously will someone take them if they write like a 5th grader? One thing I have noticed about 99% of the stars I have met: they are very intelligent people. Very sharp and perceptive. I have always regretted things I avoided learning. They tend to find you later in life, when you least need to have the trouble. I also regret not being a better student in school. The better you do in school, the better you do in life and more opportunities are open to you. I wouldn't even think of skipping a college degree...a high school diploma does get you much money to live on.

12. If you could have any other job what would you pick?: Cartoonist? hard to say. Music, being a builder, maybe lawyer?

Sorry for the delay, hope this helps...

Best, Taylor