Career in Theater Acting

By Institute For Career Research

Entertaining, moving and enlightening audiences, The Smell of the Greasepaint, The Roar of the Crowd! Acting is a profession of superlatives. This report will introduce you to the magical, exciting, and infinitely rewarding world of live theater. You'll also get a first-hand look at what it's like to pursue a career in the theater in interviews with some working actors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Institute For Career Research
• Release date: Dec 9, 2009
• ISBN: 9781102468875

Book preview

Career In Theatre Acting

by

Institute For Career Research

Copyright 2009 Careers Research Reports by The Institute For Career Research CHICAGO

Smashwords Edition

Entertaining, Moving and Enlightening Audiences, The Smell of the Greasepaint, The Roar of the Crowd

Traits:

Exceptional talent

Portray a wide range of characters

Capable to concentrate intensely

Clear, pleasant speaking voice

Must have stage presence

Good memory

Ability to learn quickly

What You'll Do:

Audition

Rehearse

Perform

Where You'll Work:

Commercial theatres

Not-for-profit theatres

Movie sets

TV

Industrial shows

Earnings:

The leading actor:$4,000 per week

Supporting actors:$1,250 to $2,750 per week

Chorus,singers & dancers:$1,100

Understudies (just to be available: $1,200 wk)

Education Required:

Course studies: literature, art history, sciences, social sciences, history, languages

Undergraduate degree in liberal-arts with a concentration in dramatic arts

Courses at a reputable acting school/acting classes

Pluses:

Excitement, pride, & sense of accomplishment

Variety of work

Every night the audience is different

Opportunities for travel to perform

Constant growth of creativity

Develop new skills

Minuses:

Uncertain profession

Competition is fierce

Employment is sporadic

Work nights, weekends, and on holidays

Difficult to make long-range plans

Introduction

Acting is a profession of superlatives. Auditioning for a part in a play can be the most humbling experience of your life. The occasional rejections that are an unavoidable part of this career can leave even the most successful actor mired in self-doubt. Punishing rehearsal schedules may leave you more exhausted than you ever imagined possible, and performing in front of a live audience will fill you with the greatest exhilaration you will ever know.

You may already know the thrill of performing. Lots of actors say they have always known that the theatre was their calling. Some put on shows in their living rooms for relatives; others recall being referred to as the class clown; others remember playing the role of, say, the zucchini, in an elementary-school play, as the turning point. But many others were late bloomers, so if you've never performed in public, even if you don't enjoy being the center of attention or if you consider yourself a shy person, this doesn't mean you can't be an actor.

The office of drama is to exercise, possibly to exhaust, human emotions, wrote Sir Laurence Olivier in his memoir Confessions of an Actor. The purpose of comedy is to tickle those emotions into an expression of light relief; of tragedy, to wound them and bring the relief of tears.There is a spirit in actors that makes our brass to blare and our cymbals crash - all, of course, supported by the practicalities of trained lung power, throat, heart, guts.

This report will introduce you to the magical, exciting, and infinitely rewarding world of live theatre. You'll find out how actors go about getting cast in plays, where the best opportunities for employment are, what kind of education and training are recommended, and the