by Arnold Bustamante
(New York City )
QUESTION:
I’m 18, live in New York City and I really want to become a professional actor. But I don’t have as much experience as many actors do during my age. I don’t really go to a big huge acting college so my plan is to major in media studies because I want to do something in movies even if it’s not acting (but I definitely want to be an actor).
I will also be duel minoring in film studies and psychology. Then I would take all the acting classes they have available there (which is a pretty good amount). In addition I will be trying out for all the plays and student films offered at the school. While I’m doing that I will also be looking for castings outside of school. I hope to graduate a year early from college(which would be in 3 years hopefully). Then I would try to get into a huge acting graduate school and if I don’t get in I have an extra year to intern and audition for more parts to improve my craft and gain connections. By the year following hopefully I would have gotten good enough to get into one of these schools. Does that sound like a good plan?
ANSWER:
It sounds like you got things figured out. It’s great to have experience with the film production side of things to become an actor. It gives you the option of acting in your own films if you need or want to. When I decided to make my own short film in New York, I knew nothing about it and the film suffered accordingly. You will also make connections during film internships that could help both of your careers.
It’s also a good idea to audition for all the plays and short films at your school. Good graduate acting programs like to see experience on your resume. You may want to consider taking a year off before applying to get an MFA in Acting, not only to build your resume but to learn from the real business what you need to succeed.
Acting is a very tough field to break into, no matter how talented you are, so I’m not saying your plan will work, but it sounds good to me.