First some helpful links regarding your  Headshot and your Resume. It's every actor's business card and if yours isn't working for you, then you might wish to check our resources page and link to several photographers to shop for new headshots.

It's important that you establish some BASIC habits  that you can practice on a REGULAR BASIS  to keep your instrument in shape. Remember, an actor's instrument is EVERY SINGLE ESSENCE that translates to film/video and live performances. It's your charisma, your physical type, your voice, your other unique qualities and it's important that you PRACTICE and HONE that uniqueness to stay in shape.

Remember, acting is a muscle, you have to work it out!

• Practice breathing exercises every morning.
• Practice tongue twisters and mouth and lip dexterity exercises every morning
• Practice the ELEMENTS OF SPEECH every single day. How you speak is an important aspect of your ability to create demand for your services as an actor.
• Practice COLD READING every morning for at least 1/2 hour. Look down see the words, look up say the words. Read three scripts per week this way, or one book per week this way!
• Walk, run, play sports or go to the gym EVERY SINGLE DAY of the week for at least 20 minutes. If you are a physical type, then extend that to 1 hour or more.
• Send a postcard, make a phone call, e-mail or have a friend call at least THREE people who can impact your career  per day. Don't get obsessed with anyone so that you make contact with them more than once every six weeks, but GET BUSY and make contacts.
• Be sure to make sure you are getting regular workouts and coaching to tweak your skills by an outside "eye". As an actor, you need that constant grounding that comes from working with a gifted director, be it an acting teacher, acting coach, or fellow actor.
• Keep a daily journal of your work and progress!
• Workshop and network on a regular basis. How else can you learn how a BUSY casting office works, if you don't workshop to experience the knowledge of a busy CD? Plus, if you meet 3 or more new industry people per week, that means that you have 12 new contacts to postcard at the end of the month! THEY KNOW WHO YOU ARE, TOO!!! You were the HARDEST WORKING actor in the workshop! You listened, you learned and you grew as an actor!
• Start writing a short film---STARRING YOU!
• Write some short monologues for a one-person show---STARRING YOU!
• Post your MONOLOGUES in a videoblog on YOUTUBE or other ONLINE BLOG!
• Create a memorable character and vblog the life of that character! Make it a  realistic character the audience can believe---definitely don't vblog about being an actor...nobody cares!
  
• Work with a scene partner to practice a scene at least THREE times per week for at least one hour each session, and WORK for that whole hour, cut the idle chatter.
• Take a scene from a movie and and work it until it is as real as the original! Challenge yourself to become believable in a difficult scene!
  
• Make a goal to become the HARDEST WORKING actor in your acting class and STICK TO IT! Be the most reliable, the hardest working, work the scene the most times, and take the strongest risks!!! Step out and make progress QUICKLY!
• Make the rounds of the commercial casting studios to get comfortable with them. That way you aren't in a foreign situation when you go to audition, plus, you can drop your headshots in their mail room if they allow it.
  
• Get rid of your flakey friends. Surround yourself with winners. You can't change and motivate those who aren't motivated! Find those who ARE motivated and make new friends.
• Take a fellow actor to lunch once per week and share information.
• Read the industry trades at least once per week to get an idea of the industry as a whole.
• Get all of the insider information you can find and send postcards that show how BUSY you are to everyone out there who could impact your career.
• Take 30 agents that you would like to meet with and send them postcards every 3 weeks for three months!
• Target the casting offices that you want to meet and send them postcards every 6 weeks year around. You can send more often if you have HOT NEWS to share!!!
• Find filmmakers who are making films every weekend and get out and star in their films. There are 100 or more short films shot every weekend in Los Angeles, find out who is doing them and get to know them and help them get their projects made!
• Take advantage of all of the benefits of membership in the Actor's Unions. Find out what activities they provide and participate.

Website Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 2002, 2003, 2004 J. P. Turnbull