Category: News & Advice

  • Powerful Pause Meditation: Future Focus

    Powerful Pause Meditation: Future Focus

    This guided meditation is all about the future and getting some focus on where you’re going. The idea of this is that if we can visualise our future, we’re much more able to consciously create it. This guided meditation was written for one of our Powerful Pause meditation sessions, where we come together to meditate…

  • Co-operative Acting Agencies: An Insider View

    Co-operative Acting Agencies: An Insider View

    What you need to know about co-operative acting agencies and how they work. There’s a buzz of excitement. One of us has just come off the phone from a well-known casting director’s office. Having reviewed a self-tape from one of our actors, they’d like to see them in person for a Lantern Entertainment film, directed…

  • Disability and Accessibility in Theatre with Robert Softley Gale

    Disability and Accessibility in Theatre with Robert Softley Gale

    We speak to theatre-maker and performer Robert Softley Gale about accessibility in the Arts and making theatre in Scotland. In this episode of The Spotlight Podcast, we talk to Robert Softley Gale. Robert has worked in the Arts for over 20 years and sits on the board of the National Theatre of Scotland. Robert is…

  • 7 Headshot Tips from Casting Directors

    7 Headshot Tips from Casting Directors

    Casting directors explain what makes for a good headshot and what they look for in a photo. As a professional performer, your headshots are vitally important. They’re how you’re represented on Spotlight and are the first thing a casting director sees when selecting performers to audition so it’s essential that your photo looks like you and truly…

  • 10 Ones to Watch from the London Film Festival 2022

    10 Ones to Watch from the London Film Festival 2022

    As this year’s BFI London Film Festival comes to a close, we look at the stand-out films and performances from this year’s line-up. Boasting over 160 feature-length films, short subject animations, documentaries and much more from Europe, North and South America and Asia, the mix of talent and cultures at the London Film Festival 2022 is…

  • A Guide to Working in the EU If You’re a UK National

    A Guide to Working in the EU If You’re a UK National

    What you need to know if you’re a UK citizen who is auditioning or working in the EU. Updated on 17 October 2022. The UK has officially left the European Union and as you’d expect, this has caused changes to the rules and regulations around travel and work on the continent. Whilst the Brexit deal…

  • ‘Into the Spotlight’ Monologue Competition Winner and Finalists

    ‘Into the Spotlight’ Monologue Competition Winner and Finalists

    We are excited to announce the winner and our other finalists for the first-ever ‘Into The Spotlight’ competition! We were completely overwhelmed by the response for our first round and the team here at Spotlight were blown away by the entries we received. The team watched every monologue performance and we genuinely struggled to narrow the…

  • How Lighting Affects Actors

    How Lighting Affects Actors

    How the world of lighting impacts actors, the characters they play and the scenes they’re in. The magic is rarely under the spotlight, it’s in the mystery surrounding it. Lighting is a powerful tool I always pay attention to, not only when watching a play or a film but also as something I can harness…

  • What to Do Between Acting Jobs

    What to Do Between Acting Jobs

    Four ways to stay active as an actor between roles. For years, I’ve been struck by how actors grapple with the period between acting jobs. When we’re looking for our next job, we can be plagued by self-doubt, loss of confidence and sometimes all-out depression. More than a few actors start to feel so low that…

  • Powerful Pause Meditation: Energy

    Powerful Pause Meditation: Energy

    In this guided meditation we tap into the energy of our senses. This mindfulness practice is all about pointing our attention towards different senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and our thoughts. This practice can really help us to find some calm and relaxation during our day. This guided meditation was written for one of…