Category: The Industry
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Books about the Acting Industry to Add to Your Reading List
Books about acting and the industry recommended by Spotlight staff. Time spent sitting with a book is never wasted. It’s a chance to relax, contemplate, and absorb information entirely at your own pace. When we have time on our hands it’s also an opportunity to branch out and learn more about any number of topics. There is a…
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Exercises to Stay Creative at Home
Are you the kind of person whose creative energy is stimulated by being out and about with others? Struggling to find inspiration? You’re not the only one. Ilayda Arden offers up lockdown-friendly exercises to kickstart your creativity. Removing the pressure of having to share your creative endeavours with anyone allows you to be totally free. If you…
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Dare to Dream
We need dreamers now more than ever, but how can you make those dreams become a reality? Actor and Spotlight adviser Justin McDonald offers his advice. Now more than ever we need the dreamers to step forward. I’ll share my dream. I see a roaring twenties; a healthier, happier, closely connected planet and a booming…
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6 Moments Performers Experience Waiting to Hear If They Got a Part
Anticipating a call to confirm you’ve got a part? Niamh McEnhill talks about her experience of playing the exhilarating but frustrating waiting game. When you’re waiting on news of a job, there is sometimes nothing more comforting than listening to ‘our kind’ talk about their experiences We actors are patient creatures. We find the character’s…
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Radio and Voice Studio Setups Explained
Award-winning audio writer, director and producer Jack Bowman explains the various types of radio and voice studio setups performers may encounter. Audible Studio Setup Audible like to cast big names for their audio output. If you do work for Audible, you will likely receive the script in advance however it’s not uncommon for the rest…
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How to Negotiate
Scotwork director and senior consultant Richard Savage shares his secrets to make us all better negotiators. Negotiation is an art, not a science. Richard Savage Negotiating is a key part of any agent’s role and not something you as a performer should be clueless about either. We can often feel powerless in the industry when…
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Working in Radio and Audio Drama
As the opportunities in radio and audio drama grow, performers can feel confused as to what skills are required. Award-winning audio writer, director and producer Jack Bowman gives his insight and explains industry jargon. Getting cast Voice agents are great to have but audio producers and independent production teams don’t always rely on them to…
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Telling Stories through Puppetry with Richard Hay
Spotlight talks with Richard Hay, puppeteer and co-creator of Sharklegs Theatre Company, about puppetry, going viral, and taking Sharklegs’ new, Amazon-exposing show, Fulfilment, to the Edinburgh Fringe. Hi Richard! How did you first get into puppetry? I graduated from drama school a long, long time ago, and I did a course at East 15 [where]…
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Vaulting the Pond
The pull and prestige of appearing in British Theatre is very strong: advice on moving from the US to the UK for work British theatre holds a special spot in theatre actors’ hearts, especially for our fellow English-speakers across the Atlantic Ocean. Even though they have Broadway and their various prestigious regional centres, Americans dream…
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Emma Ashton on the Commercial Casting Process
Casting director Emma Ashton gives us her insight into the way commercial castings come about… Casting director and member of the Casting Directors Association (CDA), Emma Ashton, talks to Spotlight about how commercial castings come about, and what happens behind the scenes. Perfect insight for any actors looking into commercial castings! Take a look: Find…