Act Now! by Peter Jazwinski

Author:Peter Jazwinski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780307419729
Publisher: Crown
Published: 2009-03-08T00:00:00+00:00

Universities—Even if you’re not a student

When I tell people to go to universities to look for acting work, they sometimes say, “I’m not a student there” or “I’m not in the drama department.” It doesn’t matter in this case. Most universities have a TV or film department as well as a drama department. Don’t go to the drama department unless you’re enrolled in the university. They won’t let outsiders into their productions. In the film and TV departments, however, they need people like you, and they’ll welcome you with open arms. These students are making short films, commercials, spoofs, music videos, and news shows every week. Each student has to do one to four projects in a semester. That means there are plenty of roles. They can’t act in them because they’re running the lights and cameras. Therefore, they have to find actors outside of their class, and they don’t always use Backstage to post their notices.

If you go to the film department and find a class or bulletin board, you’re almost guaranteed to find a role. They won’t pay you, but they’ll give you a copy of the show that you can then add to your reel, and you’ll get a new credit on your résumé. Don’t overlook this area. This is easy and fun work. One of those students just might end up getting a film deal some day. If you make a good impression, chances are that you’ll be remembered. Best of all, though, you’ll be getting practice in front of a camera.

When I went to the University of Texas, I wanted to try acting, so I went to the communications building and saw a post on a bulletin board that said: “News Anchor needed for student TV show.” I called the guy and said I’d like to do it. He said, “Great, can you be there Thursday from one to three with a nice jacket?” That was the audition. I went to the class and they were doing a simulated news show. I sat down at the desk and they turned on the lights and let me practice reading the story. I was nervous, but I had fun. After the class, two other students asked me if I would appear in their news shows the following week. Within one month I had a reel of four different news shows under my belt. Did that get me a role in Hollywood? No, but it gave me valuable time in front of a camera with others watching.

Recently, one of my students visited the USC school of cinema and just walked around until he found some filmmakers in one of the classrooms. They showed him a large notebook where they kept headshots and résumés of actors on file. He gave them his headshot for the book, and he was called to audition for three films in the first month alone.

Dear Pete, I just wanted to let you know that I took your advice and went over to the studios at NYFA.

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