A Reliable, Safe, and Legit Resource for Actors and Soon to be Actors
How do I get into acting? How do I get auditions for Netflix? When should I start auditioning? How do I book acting jobs?
Your Acting Questions Answered
How do I get into acting?
Find and take an acting class taught by a working actor or professional that has taught working actors that you respect. Start taking technique and on camera classes. Then, find and take a course on the business of acting taught by a working actor or someone very familiar with and in the business of acting. Get headshots and create a resume, make sure they are professional and fit into current industry standards. Then, join legit websites to find independent, student films, and smaller projects to submit to. There are a lot of scam sites out there, but sites like Actor's Access, Casting Networks, and Backstage are some of the legit sites you may want to join to find auditions depending on your goals. Next, stay in class and start submitting for smaller auditions to get experience. When you have a strong acting technique, professional level materials, and are comfortable with and have the resources to do quick turnarounds for professional self taped auditions, begin submitting to find representation that can submit you for higher profile acting work. Nothing is a guarantee in this business and anyone who does give you a guarantee of success is lying to you and shouldn't be trusted. That said, there are many effective and concrete steps you can take towards moving your acting career forward!
For more guidance and in depth information specific to you, feel free to reach out to working actor and acting coach April Billingsley at upliftactors@gmail.com to schedule a one on one coaching session!
How do I get auditions for Netflix or Stranger Things?
Netflix casts their projects using casting directors that look through submissions from agents and then the casting directors pick their top choices of actors to read for each role and ask their agents to have them submit an audition. The actor then films and submits their self tape. The casting director then picks their top choices from those tapes to pass on to the director and producers of each individual show. You are unlikely to be able to get an audition for a Netflix show without an agent. Occasionally however, when certain shows are looking for something uncommon, like say, triplets with a specific disability, they will post that audition on Actors Access so that actors fitting that description can submit themselves. Any actor can and should create an actor's access account. Actors can use actor's access to submit themselves, and agents will use that same actor's account to submit them to the projects only they have access to.
For more in depth information specific to you, reach out to working actor and acting coach April Billingsley at upliftactors@gmail.com to schedule your one on one coaching session!
When should I start auditioning?
It may be best to wait to submit to agencies, which can submit you to higher profile and higher paying work, until you have professional materials and a solid acting and auditioning technique to be able to handle the quick turnarounds in the professional acting world.
However, there is no substitute for experience, so I would say that you can and should start submitting for smaller independent projects and things like student films as soon as you have a grasp of how to do so, have a basic self tape set up, and have basic marketing materials, like a headshot and resume created. You may not receive many auditions at first, but you'll learn how to submit yourself and any auditions you get can be great practice!
For more in depth information specific to you, reach out to working actor and acting coach April Billingsley at upliftactors@gmail.com to schedule your one on one coaching session!
How do I book acting jobs?
You can book acting jobs through auditions, through friends and/or networking contacts, and by doing great acting work that someone casting may see, or by doing great work and being great to work with so that you get hired again by the same person. There are a number of ways you can book acting jobs, but almost all jobs are booked through auditions, even if you get that audition from networking or doing great work. Jobs that are not booked through auditions are called "straight to offer". This is very rare for actors that are not famous, but not unheard, especially for independent and lower budget projects. You can find out about auditions that are open to the anyone submitting for them by using sites like Actors Access and Backstage. For higher profile auditions, you'll need a legit acting agent.
For more in depth information specific to you, reach out to working actor and acting coach April Billingsley at upliftactors@gmail.com to schedule your one on one coaching session!
How do I know an acting agent is legit?
Legit agents only get paid when you get paid, and in the USA, no more than 10% for a union job. Any agent asking you to give them money for classes or pictures you should steer clear of. A legit agent may tell you you need headshots, take more classes, or share websites they will use to submit you that you may need to pay a subscription fee to be on, but they should never get any monetary gain themselves from any of these things. For example, an agent telling you to please get on 800Casting so they can submit you for commercials in normal. An agent sending a list of photographers they like for you to choose from to get headshots with is normal. An agent telling you that you need to pay them and take your pictures with one specific photographer they use is NOT okay. An agent sharing acting coaches and classes they think are good is normal. An agent telling you that you need to pay to take classes with them before they can submit you is NOT okay.
For more in depth information specific to you, reach out to working actor and acting coach April Billingsley at upliftactors@gmail.com to schedule your one on one coaching session!
What is a self tape?
Self tapes are taped auditions that an actor must tape on their own and then either send to their agent via a file transfer service, or upload to casting website. An audition that is not a self tape is usually referred to as an "in person" audition. Self tapes are the most common form of auditions today. There is a standard format for self tapes and all actors should know and understand that format. The camera should be a locked off (not moving) camera. The shot should be a medium to a close up depending on if it is a commercial or film and TV audition. The actor should be the only person in the frame and they should have only one reader. The reader and all other eye lines (things and people the actors look at) should be close to the camera.
Actors that do not have a self tape set up can pay to use a taping service. Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York all have a plethora of options for taping services. Taping services also include a reader. Actors can also pay for coaching at most self taping places to help up the quality of their work and potentially increase their chances of booking.
A good self tape set up has both good sound and lighting. Self tape setups should also have a plain background or backdrop. Grey and blue are the most commonly used and accepted colors for self tape backgrounds.
For more in depth information specific to you, reach out to working actor and acting coach April Billingsley at upliftactors@gmail.com to schedule your one on one coaching session.
What do you charge for acting coaching?
I required a minimum of a 1 hour commitment for new students, and charge $90 per hour.
For current students of Drama Inc. and professional actors only, reach out for a discounted rate or for options for shorter sessions
To set up a coaching session, email April at upliftactors@gmail.com
What kinds of acting coaching do you do?
I do audition coaching for professional actors, pre-set filming coaching for actors who have already booked a job and want to rock it on set, coaching for newer actors looking to level up their performance and auditioning skills, and coaching for actors learning to understand the business of acting. I coach because I genuinely love it and want you to succeed. I hold nothing back. My goal is to give you every tool and resource I possibly can to help you become the best actor you can possibly be. I love lifting up others!
My focus in the work is on finding the humanity and specificity in every character and audition and how to be a great collaborator in creating an audition that is unique to you, fits into the world of the show, and honors the intentions of the writer. I pull from lots of different techniques and acting teachers. I love working on comedy, emotional scenes, generally confusing scenes and auditions, and scenes with difficult stage directions that may be challenging to adapt to an audition. I especially love working with actors that are wanting to find and breakthrough the things blocking them from reaching the next level of their performance skills or the next stage of their acting career.
To schedule a session or inquire further, email upliftactors@gmail.com
What have you been in?
Please search for me on IMBD, or check out my acting website aprilbillingsley.com to learn more about me as an actor!