by Mark Morris

Created on: September 21, 2008   Last Updated: November 01, 2011

Step 1: Define success! What is your goal? Are you a student looking to land your first regional role, or a semi-pro wanting to break into the big leagues. Only you can determine what will satisfy your craving for success as an actor!

Step 2: Write it down! As with anything in life making a record of what we want to achieve really does change our approach to getting it. Whether you journal it as a couple of sentences briefly outlining your goal, or write an entire business plan to map it out step by step, writing things down makes them more permanent and brings them out of your imagination into the real world.

Step 3: Assess your assets. Whether you are a brilliant natural talent or suffer for every scrap of acting skill you gain, be honest and make a complete assessment of what you have to work with. Make sure you are completely honest with yourself at this stage, are you really leading man/lady material or should you be angling for the character roles that so many long careers have been based on.

Step 4: Make and begin carrying out a plan for your improvement. Most actors should have at least a basic ability to sing, act and dance. Got one out of three? Work on the other two. Find a voice coach, take a dance class, try out for regional or community theatre but get to work.

Step 5: Learn to audition! Go to any audition where they will let you through the doors! If you can learn to audition well you will get cast and eventually hired and maybe even paid! Observe everything you can about the audition process. Find out what the differences are in auditioning for the stage, television, film. Take notes and practice the skills you need to get the part. If appropriate, not in the middle of their casting, ask directors what they would like to see differently the next time you come back. Most local theatre, or young beginning pro directors will take a few moments to answer if its not asked through a veil of angry, self-pitying tears.

Step 6: Act! Writers write, dancers dance, actors need to act. Whether it be student films at your local community college for free lunch, or children's theatre get your face in front of an audience, any audience and keep it there.

Step 7: Develop your image. Start a blog about your acting featuring videos, pictures and reviews of your work. Get some head shots made, if you don't have the funds to go for the best pro pics, then get a promising student to do it for you in exchange for putting their contact info on your pics and website. Use Youtube and social network sites to make a name for yourself that anyone can find if they search it.

Step 8: Keep going! Take another class, go to another audition, read another book, memorize a new monologue or song. Start an acting workshop with friends and trade off directing each other, whatever it takes to keep yourself sharp and ready!

Step 9: Don't neglect other aspects of theatre and film training. Learn the technical side of things. Many actors were first technicians that got a break just by being there! Besides, directors, musicians, designers, writers and technicians frequently get paid to work on films and theatre when actors are doing it for free. What better in can you have than knowing the director personally when that high strung actor who happens to be your type doesn't show up on set, or sprains an ankle in rehearsal?

Step 10: Focus on skill and persistence over talent, as an acting coach I see many talented young performers burn out because their talents are not an instant guarantee of success. I will hire skill and discipline over talent any day, the drama belongs onstage, not backstage, on the screen not behind the camera.

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