By Lauren Gardner

Acting comes naturally, for some people. For others they have to work at it a long time and wait years and years for their big break. Most people don’t ever get their big break.

If you want to be an actor you will want to take acting classes. There are many wonderful places you may take acting classes, but my personal favorite is Castle Rock Players. At Castle Rock Players you learn audition techniques, perform monologues, do cold reading, improv, and even monologues with songs in them. Another great thing about Castle Rock Players is that they perform three children plays, and even one play for adults each year. You can sign up at www.castlerockplayers.org.

Another place is Denver Center Theatre of Performing Arts. They have acting classes for 2 ½ year olds to adults. In their classes, they do improv, storytelling, group building, and even some dance, moving, and music. They also have summer camps for acting, singing, and dancing. You can visit their web site at www.denvercenter.org

To be in any sort of play or film, you have to audition. Your first audition will be nerve-racking and hard. You will be asked to perform a monologue, which is like a small paragraph, sing a simple song, and do some cold reading and improvising. Your cold reading will be from the film or play you are auditioning for, so be sure to stay in character.

The best thing about acting is getting a part! If you get a small part, don’t worry because most people start out like that. If you get a big part, then make sure to study your lines about an hour each day. When it comes time for the show, don’t get too nervous that you forget your lines, but it’s normal to be nervous. After a play, there is a curtain call, which is when all the actors take their bows. Then you can go back to your proud family and friends and have refreshments.

A few other ways to act are in commercials and modeling. To audition for these, you will need an agent. Some agents in Colorado are Big Fish Talent, Donna Baldwin Talent, and Maximum Talent Agency. In commercials, you either do a voice-over, or you are directly in the lime light. In modeling, you can be in magazines and fashion shows.

If you want to audition for a Broadway Musical, you should first be aware of the competition. The auditions will be almost the same as a play, but they will be much harder. There are Broadway companies all over the country, but the most popular locations are New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. I learned these facts from a previous director, who was in many Broadway plays.

Acting is a fun hobby to be involved in. You now have some of the basics of acting to get your feet off the ground.

Break a leg!

Citations:

http://www.susanchambersdance.com/images/acting.jpg

http://store.linworth.com/images/Actingaz.jpg

http://www.midatlanticarts.org/images/acting_company.jpg

http://www.vicdamore.com/RecitalPictures/Acting---Karen.jpg