TITLE: Get real AUTHOR: Tavia DATE: 6/06/2008 09:09:00 PM ----- BODY:
Just got an email posting about a week-long summer acting intensive to be held nearby in a small Maine town. Here's the promise the teachers make: "Get everything you need to start working in Film, T.V, Theater or Voice-Over. All participants will leave this course knowledgeable and prepared to enter the world of professional Film/TV/Stage." The class is open for participants ages 6th grade and up. Give me a freaking break. I'm all for classes, and for exposing interested people to new opportunities and possibility. But making claims like these is utter bullshit. I'm sure some people will jump on board because they get swept in and blinded by the totally unrealistic guarantee that in JUST ONE WEEK each participant will suddenly be endowed with everything they need to be a successful professional. So what will one get out of the class? It's incredible, really, what is included in the $175 fee. A headshot! A film clip that will be seen by agents and producers! On camera scene study! How to write a film! A video performance video! (Umm...what's that, now?) I don't usually get so irked, but this is simply one of the most blatantly unrealistic class offerings I've seen. It links to a webpage that has this description of what a headshot is: "Traditionally, headshot is a Black & White picture of your face without any make-up on an 8X10 sized paper with your wardrobe measurements and resume printed on the back side. This will cost you around $1000." That should tell you something. That bizarre definition and the incredible price estimate should tell you to RUN AWAY. Where did this information come from? This is simply ridiculous. Spend $1000 on headshots if you're a serious actor with some serious tools in your back pocket, with a long-term investment in building a long-term career. Do not spend $1000 on headshots if you live in Maine and you're just looking to pick up a few commercial gigs a year or test the waters. Please. Times are tough enough. This class offering (and my rant) comes on a day when a friend called me to say that her aunt is interested in getting into voiceover, and did I know how she could get work? I told her to tell her aunt that if she's really serious about pursuing voiceover, she should start by reading. Doing research. Going to the library and exploring the resources available online. Then I told her the sum that I'd invested in building my career, and, when she gulped, I explained that any successful acting career is a business. I only wish that I'd had the class offering to forward to my pal this afternoon. She could have passed it on to her aunt, and her aunt could have saved herself all the time, money, and effort of actual training and skill development, and instead taken the AMAZING class. Please. Whew. I'm going to go take a bath and relax.

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