BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

Acting Class

I've decided to take an acting class.  Two nights ago on Wednesday night I went to this Theater and Film Artist Exchange networking event.  It was SO much fun.  Also they had one of my favorite beers on tap, Yards Brawler.  So that made it even better.  I sat and chatted away making new friends and enjoying my Yards Brawler.

Most people there were super serious and all business, as they should be.  Some were just there to say hello to old friends but aren't really into the film scene as much anymore.  A lot of people were just there to try and connect up and maybe get another part in another film.

So, when most people think of movies they think mostly what's in the theaters.  Or on DVD.  But for every major motion picture made there are hundreds, if not thousands, of indie films made.

So, all of these small films need actors and directors and writers and... You name it!

I found out that Philly has a vibrant local film scene.  And the people are SUPER fun and cool to hang out with.  They are also very supportive of one another.  Sure, they would all LOVE to make it all big time Hollywood... But a lot of the people there just do it as a side hobby outside of their day job.

Basically everyone there had fancy headshots and acting resumes and business cards.  I had none of those.  I mostly just went out of curiosity.  I decided though, to sit down with a couple of the casting people and directors... They all were more than willing to help me and give me information and direction and notes.

The basic rundown is like this... If you have no or very little acting experience here's what you do...

1. Take an acting class.  Acting classes are crucial.  You network with other actors and film people and you become friends.  A lot of the business is all about who you know.  Especially if someone you first meet in an acting class is a nobody now, but then a year from now they are getting some pretty major roles... They can kind of pull you in by recommending you to the director or casting agent.  Etc. etc.  Classes are also usually run by casting agencies who will then help you get a role in some movie... Even if it's just a tiny little extra part to start building your acting resume up.
2. Headshots!  So if you liked the class and you think you might want to get into the acting biz.  Go get professional headshots.  These are what you hand out to the casting people to help you get gigs.  Always have fresh ones and make sure you look like a million bucks... Or at least look professional.  The last time I had photos professionally taken I fell in love with the girl taking the photos... She snapped up my heart as she was snapping photos of me on her camera.  So, there's always that possibility.  I fee like it's worth the risk though of falling in love with the photographer in order to get good headshots to possibly get cast in something and try my hand at the acting thing.  If nothing else it will just be something to add to my personal character and life experience.
3. Build a resume.  If you get a gig.  Write down everything about it.  Write down who you worked with and the experience you had on set and the producer and the writer and director and other actors.  Don't just show up and spit out lines and go home.  Take notes.  Write down your entire experience once you get home in an anecdotal journal to refer back on.  Memory is terribly unreliable and we usually remember things differently from how they actually happened.  If you have a written account of the events that occurred on set and you can thumb back through them, you can always refer back to that if someone has a question for you at a later date.  You can always beef up your acting resume too with something that you may have forgotten about or might not have thought was important at the time and didn't really think much of it, but then someone later on brought it up at a networking event and you say, "Wait... I think I DID do something like that!  I'm going to look that up when I get home and maybe add that in."  What you might not think is important, could be exactly what someone else is looking for.
4. Keep on networking.  Network, network, network!  Go to pretty much any event that anyone invites you to.  This is how I ended up at the networking event on Wednesday.  I went to my neighbors play, then I went to the movie premiere screening, then I went to the network event... Where is this rabbit hole leading me next?  I got an invite from someone new that I met on Wednesday to an event called 'American Kidz' and it's taking place in September at Dave and Busters.  So, I said... "I'm in!" and she sent me the invite.

I feel like those are the basics.  The whole idea is to also start small and work your way up.  A lot of people there last night had IMDB accounts.  So they are trying to build up their IMDB list.  I spoke with one guy about my music and he said that I need to do ASCAP and BMI and look into songwriting rights.  That way I can license my music for film and TV.  You can collect royalties on songs.

I feel like this can be applied to any profession in general.  Keep learning and taking classes, keep networking and meeting people in the industry and making new contacts, keep going to new events, keep learning new ways to do something that might help you.  Just stay involved and stay present and keep your name on the tip of everyone's tongues.

And know that... It's a lot of work.  It's going to be a lot of work.  Anything that you want... IS going to be work.  But if you are having fun doing it and enjoy it... It won't seem like work at all.

Anyways so out of all that I decided I'm going to start with the acting class.  I'll take it from there.  If I like the acting class then maybe I'll get some headshot photos taken.  I'm almost positive I'll do this anyways... I don't know, it's kind of exciting!  I'd love to get a small part and then go to the movie screening and see myself in some scene up on the screen.  All of the people there on Wednesday were in various small films.  A lot of them have all worked with each other multiple times.  It's a pretty thriving scene.  They mostly all just seem to do it for fun.  I'm not sure many of them get paid much for it, if at all.  But that experience seems like good experience to use elsewhere in life.  Making a movie requires a lot of patience and hard work and teamwork.  Which are good skills to have to stick on the resume.

It also is a great way to make new contacts and friends.

So... Keep an eye out for my acting debut one day on the big screen!  Haha, you never know.  It could turn into something big.

I might one day star in a TV show or movie.

But most of all... It's just fun and I had so much fun meeting all these people and chatting and learning all this stuff about the film biz.  It's all new and fresh and fun to me!  So, I'm just going to go with it.

Sometimes the best stuff in life happens completely by chance and accident.  This was definitely something I didn't see myself falling into 6 months ago.  I had no idea I would be possibly taking an acting class this fall or getting professional headshots to then audition for a movie of some sort.  But it looks like that's what is going to happen next month.

We'll see...