Category: The Essentials
-
Playing Older, Playing Younger
Tom Baker offers tips and things to consider when playing a role significantly older or younger than you are. Inhabiting a role of a different age to your own is no different from playing a character whose situation, background, provenance, or accent differs from yours Believe it or not, most of the girls in Derry Girls aren’t…
-
How to Know Your Casting Type
Rhys Jones gives his advice about knowing your type as an actor and warns against casting your auditioning net too wide. It’s important to know what your type is so you can put yourself forward for the right roles. “I’d cut my hair for a role” – every actor who takes themselves seriously has, at some point, made…
-
Performing Arts Charities in the UK
The performing arts industry can be tough and sometimes you may need some support during your career or beyond. We’ve gathered a list of fantastic charities who can offer help should you ever need it. Whether you need help to make ends meet, support your child in education or face challenges through illness, injury, age, or unexpected…
-
Spotlight’s Best Advice: 2019 in Review
Enjoy a recap of Spotlight’s acting industry advice from the past year. With the festive season in full swing and 2020 beckoning us ever closer, we’re taking some much-needed time out to reflect on all the great content we’ve published on Spotlight this year. We aim to bring you the best advice from industry experts…
-
How to Handle Stress on a Film Set
A film set can be a stressful place to work. Writer and performer Kit Pascoe offers practical tips and advice to help ease the pressure. You are not alone if you’re stressed or suffering An actor’s life is so uncertain it makes Brexit seem predictable. We spend so much time training, auditioning and crossing our…
-
Acting With Dyslexia
Tips for navigating the stage as a dyslexic performer and advice for industry professionals when working with neurodiverse actors. It’s estimated that around 10% of the British population are dyslexic. But that figure leaps dramatically to around a third within the performing arts! Acting, dancing and singing often appeal to those who struggle to express themselves or…
-
Personal Branding for Actors
Speaking at a Spotlight Open House session, Charlotte Thornton gives tips for refreshing your personal brand as an actor. Firstly know that you are brilliant! Always hold on to that thought. But there’s no point being brilliant if no one knows you exist and you don’t get to show it. Marketing and promotion are vital for performers looking for…
-
Six Tips for Keeping Your Cool During Tech Rehearsal Week
Necessary though it is, tech rehearsal week has accrued a somewhat intimidating reputation. It’s an important part of the process – but how can you make it less gruelling? Tom Baker offers his top tips for keeping your cool during tech week. Being part of a theatre production is a magical thing. A group collaborate to…
-
Parting with a Part: How to de-role
Tips for taking care of your mental health when playing intense parts and how to let go of a role and wind down As actors, we spend years learning how to become different people, but how do you leave a character behind when a show is over? Exploring the dark side of humanity is an actor’s…
-
How to Deal With Career Envy
Whilst we are (usually) almost always happy for fellow performers to land a job, it’s still perfectly natural to feel a little envious. Here are some tips for dealing with career envy. Resilience in the face of repeated rejection is one of the most vital skills an actor can learn , which is why it’s hammered home from…