PLEASE NOTICE, this is not just a list of words...if you want to be PREPARED, you need to look pay attention!
It's the research you do, the practice you put in, the books you read, the movies you see before the interviews and the auditions, before the agents and the casting directors, before you ever utter a word of dialogue or hit your mark. When you do your actor's homework, acting looks so easy that anyone could do it. IT'S NOT. IT'S HARD WORK, and the home work never stops!
This is a word that is heard. When you hear the director or the assistant director say this word, it is your cue to start talking or smiling, or crying or whatever the director has told you to do. Listen! Hopefully, it's your cue to start acting!
Sometimes, before you hear "ACTION", you'll hear "BACKGROUND ACTION", which means the people (mostly extras--sometimes lucky bystanders) in the background will start their 'actions'--walking, talking, drinking their diet Coke, moving past the camera--just like it sounds. Make sure you know which one is which and which one you do your thing on, or they'll find someone else who pays attention!
sometimes called EQUITY or Actor's Equity, AEA is the union for stage/theatre actors. Becoming a member of this union requires that you participate in stage productions--so many hours as an actor at a theatre associated with Equity. Beyond this, as a beginner, you really don't need to know too many details, except that actors who have an Equity card (members of the union) have paid their dues in every sense of the word. They have spent time backstage, onstage, taking classes, rehearsing, and learning by listening and asking questions. Make friends, ask questions. If they remember how hard it was for them, they just might give you some tips. These are the pros--learn from them!
fyi, approximately 10% of the members of the acting unions make 90% of the money...the majority of members still struggle from job to job to make a decent living as an actor.
also known as the AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS also referred to with the SCREEN ACTORS GUILD or SAG/AFTRA . These are the only unions for radio, television, and film actors and performers. Anything on videotape or on radio is AFTRA, anything on film is SAG. And then there are the exceptions to every rule. As a beginning actor, you shouldn't have to worry about these unions until you have some experience under your belt. As you get jobs and meet other actors, you'll learn more than you need to know about this--but you do have to ASK!
A necessary and very important player on the stage of show business. Just like Real Estate Agents & Life Insurance Agents, Talent Agents are selling something--you and your talent. They try and 'sell' their talent for the best jobs at the highest prices. Good agents are 1/4 barracuda, 1/4 pussy cat, 1/4 genius, 1/4 magician, and 1/4 con artist. No, it doesn't ad up, it doesn't have to! Good agents work hard for their percentage but, in the end, they can only get you the audition. From there , IT'S UP TO YOU!
If you haven't been there yet, be afraid
A necessary part of finding the right actor for the job. Sometimes put on video tape, actors are asked to read from a script or act out or react to something. Other times, it's more of an INTERVIEW! Enjoy the audition for the experience. They are not only looking for the right TALENT, they're looking for somebody they will ENJOY WORKING WITH! Don't panic and remember to listen to the other guy! (Even if it's the casting assistant who has no talent for reading out loud!)
This is what you will hear on the set when they want to do it again. This phrase means you go back to the position you were in before you heard the word "Action." This phrase can get old...but don't despair--if you're hearing it, it means you're working! Enjoy it...and keep listening and learning!
Everyone goes 'back to one'. This means the camera will be reset to the original position. If the shot was someone getting a pie in the face, that lucky actor will be cleaned up, blown dry, and put back like they were before the pie was thrown. This sometimes takes time--as does most everything on a set. Don't worry, they're going as fast as they can...just relax and enjoy the experience.
Action that happens in the background--extras are sometimes called 'background extras' because they are guess where? In the BACKGROUND, being a part of the scene, smiling, nodding, moving their mouths...but usually, NOT TALKING (unless they tell you to) while the 'real actors' do their job.
- 1 Where your name falls on the list of names (credits/opening credits/closing credits) that come up at the beginning or end of a picture, or
- 2 the extremely short list of names on a marquee in front of a Broadway Theatre, or
- 3 the really long list of names printed inside the playbill or program of a theatrical presentation.
Your agent should negotiate this. If you didn't know what it is, you probably don't need to worry about it for a while.
As an actor, perhaps one of your biggest challenges will be acting against a 'blue screen'. Sometimes, it's actually green and sometimes, the entire studio is painted blue or green (including the floor!). It's how you fight the aliens, talk to the dinosaur, or fly with Superman. If you're lucky enough to do this, you'll have to 'pretend' there's something there. You may pretend you've just heard a nuclear explosion going off, a giant ant is chasing you, or the underwater city is leaking. Good luck. Enjoy it. Acting is becoming more and more a big blue screen process--they fix it later in the computer. Just be glad they still need actors for part of this process. They're working on that, too! ACTOR BEWARE! Don't give them any reason to replace you with a computer generated character!
CALL BACK:
Congratulations, you did something they liked or you have a 'look' that they like.You are 'called back' to read or to audition one more time--sometimes more than once! It means you're still in the running. Remember, you still don't have the job. They haven't seen exactly what they want. LISTEN and try to give them something different...go out on a limb...take a chance! Above all, enjoy the call back...learn from it and persist!
Double congratulations, you've got the job! Your call time is the time given you by your agent (or sometimes by the casting director, assistant director, or somebody else whose name you won't know). This is the time for you to show up on the set. If you can't be on time, be early! Don't ever, ever, ever show up late--you may not work again for a very long time!
If the unthinkable happens and you do get stuck in a terrible traffic pile up or if all four of your tires are flat, CALL YOUR AGENT as soon as you can! Most production companies will understand if you let them know as soon as you can. Remember, you're only one of an army of people hired for this particular shoot. If you can't get your agent, call the contact number for the production company. Don't leave home without it!
