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Kick Up Summertime & Semester
Breaks with a Little Acting Job

10 Tips for Becoming an Actor: No Acting Skills Required

by Jo Kelly, Author of The Truth about Being an Extra

You may fear that you'll fall flat on your face when the director calls, "Background!" and you begin to walk across the movie, film or television commercial set. But here's the good news: Unlike your class assignments, you won't need to remember any lines and no one will expect you to have attended acting school. You could be majoring in biology, political science or nursing; the casting agency and the production studio really don't care. And for a summer or a semester break job, spending your days without having to memorize anything at all is music to the ears.

It takes real people to populate the scenes in noisy restaurants, elegant hotel lobbies, tense courtrooms and bustling city streets. You can be part of the "background" that fills that role and while you're at it, make a few bucks, get to know some interesting people and have a lot of fun.

Getting started

Being a good background actor is a little like passing English Composition, without all the homework. A sprinkling of preparation and research go a long way toward your success and happiness. And when you're all through (unlike English Comp) you want to do it again. Here are a few tips to help you get off on the right foot::

1. Have a pad of paper handy or create a computer file to keep your notes.
2. Find potential casting agencies by networking with friends and asking for their best referrals; searching the Internet and your local telephone business directory. Jo Kelly's book, The Truth about Being an Extra, is another good source for reputable agencies.
3. Interview potential casting agencies. Find out how long they've been in business. Ask if they have a specialty (such as dancers, children, college students, mature adults, etc.). Check the agency's website to see if it's professionally presented and if it can offer additional information about them.
4. Check references provided you by the agency. Ask other actors what they like and don't like about working with the agency.
5. Before you give the agency any personal information, book yourself or make any arrangements, call the Better Business Bureau to see if the agency has a good rating.

Now you've done your basic research and contacted or visited a reputable casting agency and signed on. You've even got your first assignment! Great!

You're going to go into that set and take the world by storm. You're the character, the diamond-in-the-rough the director has been looking for. You're doing to be discovered.

Ahem. This is background acting, remember? Fill-in people for the background? You may well be discovered along the path you are about to take, but that's not the goal for this first assignment. Making a great impression (the sort of impression that gets you called upon for the second and successive jobs) requires following certain rules. Here are a few words of advice to help you do it "right" and feel at the top of your confidence game when you do:

1. Call the hotline. Once you're signed on with a good casting agency, you'll be given a special phone number which you can check as often as you like to see if they are looking for your type (age group, gender, etc.). If you fit the description, call the number given and leave your information and availability. If you are what they are looking for, they will call and book you and provide information about the time you should report for work, location and wardrobe. Follow those instructions carefully.

2. Follow the wardrobe instructions, as you will be checked by the Wardrobe Department when you arrive on the set. Bring an extra jacket (even in summertime), especially if you'll be working on a sound stage, where it's always cold. Ladies, take a pair of flats to wear when not on the set (your feet will thank you).

3. Prepare the day before. Fill up your car’s gas tank. Look up the address and driving directions on your favorite Internet map site.

4. Always arrive on time.

5. Upon arriving, look for the Assistant Director, or your contact person, to assure that they know you arrived on time. (In show biz, sometimes it’s not “who you know” but “who knows you” that matters.)

6. Never bring friends, pets or cameras along. Friends will not be permitted to work unless they are registered and have been booked.

7. Take a book, crossword puzzle or something to occupy you during the long waits in the holding area. (Just don't bring anything that makes noise that might interfere with a "quiet" shot.)

8. Network with other background actors. If you obtain one good tip or referral, it could lead to a lot more background acting jobs. More work gives you more opportunities to get the necessary vouchers (three) to qualify to join SAG (Screen Actors Guild). Being a member of SAG gives you benefits you would not have as a non-union extra, e.g. double your pay and medical, dental and vision benefits.
9. Don’t ask the stars for autographs. (It’s a work environment, not a pubic appearance.)
10. Bring a pen with you to complete your voucher and be sure to get the voucher signed when you are wrapped for the day. Keep your voucher until you are paid, as it is your only proof that you worked.

Taking this advice to heart is a small price to pay for your success and continued acting assignments. Unless you hit the big-time, (a lot of today's celebrities got their start in the background world), you still don't need to memorize any lines; and what could be better than that? You just need to follow these common sense rules to keep being asked back.

My advice? Have a fun semester break in the "background!"

Jo Kelly, author of The Truth about Being an Extra: How to Become a Good Background Actor, has worked for nearly ten years as a background actor. She was married to the late Jack Kelly, who co-starred with James Garner in the long-running television series, "Maverick." She may be contacted through her website www.jkelly4extras.com. Her book is available at the website and www.Amazon.com.