by Jennifer Claerr

Created on: May 15, 2007   Last Updated: May 17, 2007

The desire to become an actor is a noble aspiration. However, the acting field is one of the hardest fields to break into. Especially if you would like to be in film, television or on Broadway, you've got a tough road ahead of you if you plan to break into show business.

In his book Audition, Michael Shurtleff states that you have to be insane to be an actor. Essentially aspiring actors have very little control over whether or not they become successful. It's probably one of the few fields where this is true. Auditors will never tell you what it was you did, said, or were that caused them not to give you the part, leaving you at a loss to improve for the next audition.

Given this, the five steps to becoming an actor are:

1. Get an education. Acting training at a reputable college or university can really help you to get your foot into the door when you finally start looking into getting parts. Northwestern University has one of the most prestigious and respected schools of acting. Famous alumni of Northwestern include Warren Beatty, Shelley Long, Patricia Neal and Tony Randall.

2. You'll probably have to move to a major city such as New York if you want to be on the stage, or Los Angeles or Hollywood if you want to be in film, or Manhattan if your dream is to be on Broadway. It's unlikely that you'll be able to establish an acting career in your small hometown, unless you really like dinner theatre.

3. Assemble headshots and a resume containing your past educational and acting experience. Usually the resume should be printed on the reverse side of the headshot.

4. Audition. Audition. Audition.

5. Be patient and persistent. Getting work as an actor isn't solely dependent on talent. It requires drive, determination, and luck as well. If this is really what you want to do, stick with it, and don't let anything stop you from achieving your dream. As Shurtleff states in his book, acting is only for the insanely motivated and driven individuals who can persist in auditioning in the face of continual rejection. Remember, giving up is has a 100% chance of failure. If you keep auditioning with dogged determination, you may get that big break you've been hoping for.

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