How Do You Become A Professional Actor ?

Well-trained professional actors who have discipline, technique, and a working knowledge of the entire filmmaking process
are rare.

This is why outLOUD Academy’s Acting School is on the cutting-edge of the actor-training field. Designed equally for beginning actors as well as those with experience, our Acting School programs provide actors not only with modern on-camera acting techniques but also a foundation of acting training rooted in time-honored theatrical traditions. Our instructors are all professional working actors, writers, directors, and producers—veterans of independent film, television, Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre—and they give each student the personal focus and rigorous discipline necessary for launching a career in theatre, film and television.

MANY OF OUR ACTING STUDENTS ARE:

• People with little or no acting experience
• People who have some theatre experience but little or no film experience
• An eclectic group of people with diverse backgrounds, from all over the world
  

• An intense learning experience
• Total immersion in the craft of acting
• On-camera training within the first few days
• A professional working atmosphere
• A complete spectrum of acting classes
• Access to veterans of stage and screen
• Opportunities to work on actual film scenes and production
  

The Acting Workshop Introduction

The workshop is comprised of total 3 weeks training. The two weeks concentrate on the foundations of acting, using training techniques rooted in the theater but applicable to screen acting. Students participate in a broad array of core classes that introduce them to finding the actor within, while simultaneously training their instrument to do the kind of technical, emotional, and physical work necessary for film acting.

In the second portion the core classes continue as the students’ focus intensifies on applying the techniques they have learned to more elaborate scene work, on-camera exercises, and film shoots — all designed to develop and hone their screen-acting ability. At several points in both portions, each student performs in video shoots. In addition, a variety of classes are given in order to broaden students’ knowledge of acting techniques, the film business, and many different film crafts.

The Acting Workshop attracts students from all over the world with backgrounds and experiences that are as varied as the countries from which they originate. Each class is limited to an average of 20 students. The compressed length of the course and the focused level of study requires commitment and intensive collaboration. The experience is physically and emotionally demanding, but always rewarding.

Scene Study

Working on scenes from published plays and screenplays allows actors to learn all of the basic concepts of approaching a scene: defining objectives, breaking the scene down into beats, understanding the arc, pursuing your objective, playing actions, and working to overcome obstacles. This class provides the most basic technique for understanding acting, therefore it starts at a most basic level, usually with silent scenes or short dialogue scenes. Once the foundation is in place, longer dramatic or comedic scenes are explored. This class culminates in a live showcase performance of scene work.

Voice Movement

A primary tool for the actor is the expressive and free voice. Therefore, voices must be trained to be heard (through volume adjustments), understood (through articulation) and also felt (through expression). Students gain insight into the power of how to nurture and control their voices by exercising various resonators and muscles, enabling them to release emotional impulses. In addition to breath work, classes focus on singing, relaxation, phrasing, and posture as a way of nurturing the actor's instrument. Using text, students learn to identify key words and learn how to link intention with the voice and speak clearly and powerfully through the end of a line.

Shakespeare

It’s true that monologues are often used for auditions, but working on monologues is also a technique that is very useful for film acting. Screenplays oftentimes incorporate monologues into their dramatic structures, but more importantly actors must learn the self-discipline to work individually, without relying a scene partner for inspiration. Techniques include: choosing monologues that are truthful, meaningful, and revealing, performing script analysis on monologues, staging and directing oneself, and developing both outer and inner focal points. Monologues will be presented to a live audience.

Film Craft

Acting students rarely have the opportunity to immerse themselves in other aspects of filmmaking. However, we feel it is crucial that an actor develops strong collaborative skills by gaining a working knowledge of the film medium and how each member of a film crew contributes to making an actor’s performance shine. Therefore we provide all of our students with master classes taught by the NYFA Filmmaking faculty who give a broad outline of the mechanics, language, and production of film.

Audition Technique

Acting is as much of a business as it is a craft. In addition to training, successful actors must develop strong marketing skills in order to build a career. These classes focus on such topics as feeling comfortable at cold readings, preparing a resume, choosing a head-shot photographer, and developing a career strategy. Additionally, actors will have the opportunity to get live auditioning experience both in class and during an open casting call with directors from the industry.

Acting for Film

Students learn the basics of film acting: calibrating performances based upon shot size and angle, hitting marks, emotional and physical continuity, and strength and imagination in acting choices. The course intensifies as students are assigned scenes from produced films. These scenes are then professionally shot with a crew and edited together.

Acting Technique

Acting teachers throughout the ages have developed many different techniques for teaching the craft to aspiring actors. Since actors oftentimes are required to draw from their many facets of their training to meet the demands of a role or a director, this class teaches a range of techniques so that actors can be best prepared for any role they are given to play.

Open Casting

This one-of-a-kind opportunity places our acting students into a real-life audition scenario as we combine our Filmmaking and Acting programs. Each actor auditions for scores of up-and-coming filmmakers, hoping for the chance to be cast in one of the short films that will be shot.