Q: Do I need to go to drama school to be a successful actor?
A: Not necessarily....! There’s lots of reasons why drama school may not be the best option for you: work, money or family constraints for instance. And whilst drama schools are generally a lot more inclusive than they used to be in terms of diversity of age and looks, you may feel that you’re ‘too old’ of ‘too set in your ways’ to commit to a long full time course with lots of much younger students. There are many successful and well known actors who didn’t train at drama school (or got kicked out!). Try a google search and see who you can find!
What drama school will provide you with is accredited training (so you know it’s of a good standard and reasonably relevant to the industry). Drama school will also provide you with useful contacts particularly during the latter part of the course where you may well work with established directors or showcase in front of agents and casting directors. Drama school is a kind of passport. Any prospective employer looking at your CV and seeing that you trained at drama school will assume that you have been trained to a recognisable standard. There maybe certain subject areas tackled by a drama school syllabus (accent and voice work, stage combat, for instance) that are more difficult to access outside. Drama schools will also give you formalised feedback, lots of practice and a proven structure in which to improve your acting range and skills including professional help with promoting yourself.
However....
There are absolutely no guarantees that you will find work as an actor once you leave drama school. You may be well trained, reasonably talented and ‘know’ a few important names in the business and not get work - even after you’ve fired off 100 CVs to the top players. Going from a fairly sheltered environment where your days are time-tabled for you to the big outside world where no-one gives a damn about your fabulous performance in your final year production can be a bit of a shock! You will almost certainly have student debts and have to find a ‘real’ job to tide you over until your first Hollywood leading role.
Regardless of whether you’ve been to drama school or not, your motivation, passion, self-esteem, persistence, experience (of life, of acting, of everything), people and communication skills are what will count in finding work as an actor.
What about talent? Obviously important as well - but when you are auditioning for that perfect part you can be the greatest actor in the world - if the part doesn’t match with your looks, mannerisms or the particular vision that the producer/director/casting director has in mind, then you won’t get the part.
As you can see, there’s no simple answer. Drama school will be a perfect way in for some, but not for others. Acting itself isn’t a precise science, and there is no proven formula that works every time to ensure career success.
Q: What about extra/supporting artist work? Is it worth doing?
A: It is very unlikely that you will be ‘spotted’ whilst undertaking extra work, so whilst it’s an interesting and useful way to make money, it isn’t really a route into becoming a professional working actor. However, you will learn a lot about the TV and film industry and it’ll help make you more relaxed and confident in a professional environment. One of our students, Caron, has done a lot of extra work and has put together this information:
Advice for an SA/Extra/Walkon
Being a Supporting Artist (SA), sometimes referred to as an Extra, or a Walk On (WO) can be great fun, interesting, you meet great people and earn a bit of extra money. For Equity rate work you should clear around £70 after stoppages.
The downside (there always is one): it’s a lot of hanging around, you could find you’re not used on the day (thankfully this has never happened to me and don’t worry you still get paid) and you may need to outlay some money to buy suitable wardrobe initially but in my opinion the pro’s definitely far outweigh the cons so why not try it?
What not to wear?
BBC productions generally have the following rules:
No Red or bright colours (no orange, red, bright pink etc) – you’re a background extra they don’t want you taking the viewers’ focus away from the main cast/action.
No patterns – Stripes and dots and busy patterns can cause issues with the camera
No logos – Due to strict advertising rules no clothing with visible logos can be used, so whether its “North Face” on your coat, “Abercrombie and Fitch” on your favourite t-shirt or your new “Nike” trainers they’re not suitable I’m afraid!
No black or white – some productions i.e. S4C or films are not so fussy but BBC Casualty, Torchwood, Doctor Who, Being Human etc all say no black or white.
What will I need?
As an SA you will only be asked for fairly standard items, any “period” items will generally be provided by the wardrobe department. I’d recommend the following basics, plus be prepared to borrow from friends/family if necessary:
Work/Office wear
Casual Outfit
Party/Evening Wear
Sports/Gym Wear
Coats
Pyjamas/Night Wear
Thermals: I was filming in a hangar on an airfield and this was listed as a required item and boy did I need it!
If you have access to a uniform: Police, Fire, Ambulance, Nurse, Doctor, Army, Navy etc you should list this in your profile. As well as any other unusual items you have.
Take an extra coat (any colour) to put over you when you’re not filming even if you’ve got a coat on! Standing or sitting around you can get really cold. Also take food and drink with you. This will be provided but it depends on the time the crew started as to when you eat and what. You can find yourself starting work at 10am and having lunch at 4pm, or turning up at 8am to find the crew tucking into curry because they’ve been on a night shoot and they’re on dinner! Tea/Coffee etc is often available throughout but can run out so don’t rely on it. If you are on location meals are free. If you are in a studio set you may need to buy it, BBC often use a voucher for dinner (£4 from a machine).
Etiquette
Don’t speak to cast unless they speak to you first. Autograph hunting is very much frowned upon!
Don’t speak to crew unless you need to ask an important question regarding what you’ve been asked to do. The Assistant Director will generally be your liaison, they’ll introduce themselves, so if you have any questions ask them.
If you need the toilet ask if you can leave set, its important they know where you are at all times because of filming and transport if you’re on location.
Cast and Crew must eat first. You should join the food queue after them and if any crew arrive late you must let them join the queue in front of you. Make sure you sign in and out on the day this will decide how much you get paid.
It is rare but if you disagree with anything on your form just right disputed next to it and raise it with your agent later. Don’t cause a scene.
What shows could I be in?
Depends how far you want to travel but the good news is with the new BBC studios going in at Roath Lock (Cardiff Bay) lots of top shows are coming to Cardiff and occasionally a film gets commissioned at Valleywood studios in Bridgend so we’re ideally placed!
In 2011 Casualty, Being Human, Merlin, Doctor Who, Sarah-Jane Adventures, Sherlock, Upstairs Downstairs, Baker Boys, Pobol y Cwm & Stella will all be filming in the Cardiff/Barry areas. If you don’t mind travelling further a field you could be on Doctors (Birmingham), Skins (Bristol), Come fly with me (Stansted and Manchester)
Pay
Standard SA fee for up to 9 hours (including lunch break) is approx £85. Sometimes you will get extra money. For example (prices accurate in 2010/2011):
If you go over 9 hours you are entitled to overtime.
You could find you get upgraded to a walkon (if you are given lots of direction or need to interact with a cast member for instance). This generally pays a little over £100.
You could also get a “multi-ep” payment (50% extra) this is where they decide to film scenes for a 2nd episode on the same day. Another reason why its worth taking more than 1 outfit ;)
If you are required to wear some sort of prosthetic or extensive time consuming makeup*
If you are required to perform naked*
If you are required to audition – this sometimes happens for a walkon required to act emotion or a few lines for example
If you are providing a specific skill (martial arts, circus skills, firearms training etc)
* this will be agreed beforehand and is optional, often agencies ask you on registration if you are happy to perform naked, kiss on screen etc.
