Take Control Over Your Acting Career: WRITE!
Rainy Kerwin, Senior Staff Teacher at Gary Spatz’s The Playground, a Young Actor’s Conservatory Writing is great creative outlet for young actors. Often times, teens want to jump ahead in their careers. They want to be the lead in a television series or a feature film. And they want it by tomorrow. Scratch that. They want it by yesterday.
First things first and that is that you must study your craft. Learn the basics. Develop a toolbox of secrets that will help you deliver the goods when on set. But after you’ve got a few years of training under your belt, WRITE. Writing can give you a leg up in this business in so many ways. Don’t wait on your agent to get you an audition. Don’t let the casting director tell you when you can and can’t act.
If you are so passionate about this business, then take some control of your career and write. Aside from the fact that writing helps you find a voice, it also gives you opportunities to create your own content. And in this day in age, if you want to act, there’s no excuse to not do it.
You can make a short film on your iPhone or get a flip cam. There’s probably a digital still camera floating around your house that shoots video. And then you can edit it on iMovie. It’s too easy these days, so no excuses. Plus writing, directing and editing your own scenes will help you to better understand acting for the camera.
Once you try your hand at writing a scene, you’ll have a better understanding of how to break down other writer’s scripts. You’ll become a detective and find clues of what the writer intended. Nikki Reed from Twilight is a perfect example of this. She launched her own career at age fifteen when she wrote and starred in the film “Thirteen” opposite Evan Rachel Wood. She found her voice and made it heard and because of that, she has an amazing career today. Give it a try!
