by Paul Lines

Created on: December 24, 2006   Last Updated: March 31, 2007

You want to tread the boards, or see yourself on the small or silver screen. How do you make that ambition come about? What is the first thing about acting?

The first thing to know about acting is to know yourself and understand your own abilities. No everyone is going to become a screen legend, but certainly some will. It may be you, but you need to be able to honestly appraise your own talent.

A great actor/actress has to be able to lose him or herself in the part that they are taking on. Effectively, the character has to completely engulf his or her personality for the duration of the part. Secondly, acting entails undertaking an enormous amount of research. The actor will need to understand not only the character he or she is to play, but also the environment within which that character is operating. This means knowing the geographical setting, relationship and the reasoning behind the action the character is taking.

If you want to be believable as an actor/actress then you need to learn all of these situations in the first place.

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