<p>What is the best way to start acting in a movie, esp if you don’t have prior experience? Where should you start looking?</p>
<p>Also, is there a big forum devoted with acting/theater like college confidential? I know there is one for med students so I’m curious to know if there is one for theater as well.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>There is no “best” way. Successful screen actors come from a variety of backgrounds.</p>
<p>Go to Backstage.com and first read the articles under “Advice.” Then go to the message board, but beware that there are a lot of prolific posters there who don’t know what the heck they’re talking about. Off the top of my head, the regular posters who are worth listening to are Michael Kostroff, Jackie, Secret Agent Man, Gettothetruth (another agent), TruthTeller59, and Mominbiz. I occasionally post as Fishgurl when something amuses me, but usually keep it short and only engage in depth if the subject of college training comes up.</p>
<p>I think if you are really this serious about acting in movies you are going to need to move to a city where lots of movies are made, such as Hollywood or generally the Los Angeles area, and get yourself an agent. While you are waiting to “break in” find a job that will pay for your basic needs and also some acting training at the same time (the stereotype is waiting tables). Having some ongoing acting training will keep improving your chances each time you audition.</p>
<p>A question is “how does someone know if they are ready to make this step?”, and there isn’t a clear answer. You really don’t need a college degree. Where I live, actors tend to make the move to L.A. when they have developed their acting to such a point that when they audition in the local theatres they always get a leading role. But our local theatres are of such a quality that we really can say that our best actors are ready for L.A.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>