Category: The Essentials
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Understudying Jodie Comer in ‘Prima Facie’
Dani Arlington shares her experience understudying the part of ‘Tessa’ in Prima Facie both in the West End and on Broadway. An understudy is an actor cast in a production to stand in for another actor if they are unable to attend a performance or to take over a role if a performer is unable to continue. It…
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6 Tips for Tackling your First Arts Funding Application
Six top tips to help you complete your first application for arts funding in the UK As an actor, were you taught about arts funding applications at drama school? I know I wasn’t. Funding applications always seemed to exist in a roped-off section of industry know-how marked ‘producers only’, but it’s not true. Funding applications…
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How to Network as an Actor
Tips from casting directors for how to successfully network yourself as an actor and get connections in acting. In the performing arts industry, who you know can be just as important as what you know. Casting directors have fantastic memories and will keep actors they’ve met in mind for future roles. Anyone you’ve worked with…
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Frank Advice from the Casting Director of ‘Vikings’ on Auditions and Self-tapes
Frank Moiselle’s top tips for how to audition well, how to make a self-tape, and what a good showreel looks like. Casting director Frank Moiselle has worked on exciting projects, such as TV shows Penny Dreadful, Vikings, The Tudors and The Borgias. We spoke to Frank and asked him what advice he has for actors looking to get work through…
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10 Reasons to Delete a Photo From Your Spotlight Profile
Why you should remove bad photos from your Spotlight profile. It’s never been easier for actors to take and upload photos to their Spotlight profile. A lot has changed since the days when Spotlight was a book – now members can upload new photos whenever they wish, and the improved quality of camera phones means…
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Getting Started with Accents
Voice coach Laura Carroll shares her top tips on how to learn an accent There’s no quick way to learn an accent. Like any skill, it’s developed through training, practice and feedback, but once perfected, it will open up a whole new world for your voice work. Commercials, video games, audiobooks, narration – all of…
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What to Expect on Your First Day of Theatre Rehearsal
Tips for preparing for your first day of rehearsal, what to bring, and how to overcome nerves. The first day on a new job can be daunting. As actors, we spend most of our time feeling anxious, scared and overwhelmed when we haven’t booked any work for a long period of time. And when the…
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How to Prepare for an Audiobook Job
Skills needed to become an audiobook reader and 11 top tips to prepare for an audiobook narration job. I adore working on audiobooks. It offers the opportunity to play a huge range of characters stretching far beyond your usual casting, and allows for plenty of experimentation with your voice. However, in my experience, audiobooks are…
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Tips for Delivering a Natural Read
Founder of the VoiceOver Network, Rachael Naylor shares her advice for voice over artists, including how to deliver a natural read. Sounding natural when you deliver your lines is a vital skill for every aspiring voice over artist. Not only does it showcase your abilities as an artist, but it’s also a desirable skill that…
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3 Exercises to Prepare you for an Audition
Simple exercises you can perform before auditions to keep calm and gain confidence We can all use an extra kick of confidence before something as important as an audition. It can be daunting to enter the room or record a self-tape, armed only with a few pages of a script (if that!) and our own…