Hi,

Is there anyone in Brisbane here who's an actor or involved in the theatre or movie industries? I'm just interested in getting an idea of some pointers on where to start getting involved, i've met some people in passing who've told me I should just go directly and find an agent (two people have recommended Cutting Edge to me). However i'm not sure what they might be looking for and would rather be atleast some what prepared they I think I can fudge a lot fairly easily.

Anyway if someone shows up in this thread I might have some more detailed questions but any advice at this point would be great.

Thanks
Tim

edit: why does d always automatically follow an

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i know a few peeps that are/have been actors

they were always involved with school stage productions and did community theatre as well (in cairns, cairns choral society etc)

i guess it depends what sort of work you want . . .

if its just ads, i guess get an agent and get yourself out there

if its something that requires acting skillz, you'd probably wanna have qualifications and a body of work that people would know/recognise

old mate of mine (well my bros really) acted/sang all through highschool and joined zen zen zo theatre group in brissy, worked at that for a few years and now pops up here and there (was the lead in "god is a dj" in brisbane a few years back Jason Klarwein)

had a girl i went to school with go through Nida after doing drama at kelvin grove, and she got a bit of work on tele for a while, but i think she gave it away, as it was hard work constantly going for roles and not having regular income .. . .



last edited by Spook at 14:13:56 30/Oct/07

It's tough, a lot of agencies out there are looking to make money through training and signing up your account etc..
I answered a job ad asking for Extras, and while the guy was very keen to sign me up as an extra, in order to do this I had to take 12 weeks of his acting classes and photos taken by his thousand dollar photographer. I told him I was very interested, and never called him again. And to think I f***en recited a Pacino monologue for this a******...

Don't expect to get work being recorded etc.. unless you have training though. Film makers especially find it frustrating to work with actors who are not already familiar with the processes, and can compose themselves appropriately for camera, and project their voice at a good level for microphones to pick up consistently.

There's a good school at South Bank, I think it's QCA, that gives their actors a lot of work experience and stuff.

last edited by Idol at 13:13:26 30/Oct/07

was the lead in "god is a dj" in brisbane a few years back Jason Klarwein

Hah, that was an awesome show, especially when they put the baby in the microwave... had a pretty cranking system and sweet AV setup, good concept.

I like doing community theatre, anything more and it's just too much of a battle / f***around.

had a girl i went to school with go through Nida after doing drama at kedron, and she got a bit of work on tele for a while, but i think she gave it away, as it was hard work constantly going for roles and not having regular income .. . .

Yeah I know someone very similar, they had high hopes after NIDA (brutal as to get into) but couldn't handle being dirt poor while pursuing the dream.

There is a place over at west end called the Acting Academy or something like that. I would suggest starting there, they do workshops , productions etc etc. Friend of mine used to do stuff with them

I have another source of income which gives me a fairly large amount of free time, so the money is not really an issue, at this point it would be just for fun, perhaps small theatre groups are a good location to begin.

Where are you situated?

I haven't attempted to be an actor, but both my Mum and Dad are amateur directors/actors, many of their friends are in theater and quite a few of my friends were once aspiring actors.

Getting an Agent is a good idea. They know when events are coming up and can advise you on all sorts of good things. Most Agents will be able to manage multiple types of events. However, make sure that you understand your requirements as their representative; i.e. do you have to keep them notified of your schedule, or any amateur performances you've lined up and so on.

If you want to get into Theater, I'd recommend learning how to sing and dance (at least dance). It gives you range, and shows the director that you can take directions and learn complex motions for a stage. The most homosexual dancing techniques seem to be the most successful, i.e. ballet, but jaz, ballroom and modern dancing all work. Learning to sing can teach you how to project your voice and how to control the quality of your voice with great depth.

If you want to go into film, I'd also start learning some sort of martial arts. It gives you credit for more action based roles that come out, even as an extra. If you do go down this path, I'd do stuff like Jujutsi (for throws and grapples) and Kickboxing (cos it looks f***ing mean).

I'd also look at learning how to fight with a fist full of weapons, although, because you want a massive range of weapons, I'd look at some of the Living History groups (which are all over Australia) for your basic training. Many of them source their basic understanding of stance and tactics to martial arts, and you could float through dozens, if not hundreds of different groups around Australia and learn a metric f***ton of weapon styles; everything from Gladiuses, Longswords, Bows, Crossbows, Claymores, Poleaxes, muskets and pikes.

Don't forget, you don't want to learn how to be a ninja, you want to make it so you look like you're a ninja, so when the director is looking for extra's to participate in the main battle scenes they pick you.

I'd go to all of the amateur theater things in Brisbane like theater sports through to auditioning for full amateur productions. There are hundreds of small theaters in SEQ, and looking at the complete s*** that most of them produce, it shouldn't be too hard to get a non-paying role.

Getting some formal lessons on how to act may be useful. You'll do a lot of wank things ("Now, pretend you're a tree that's swaying in the wind"), but you also learn a heap about moving on stage, understanding a character, adopting a persona and so on.

thanks typo that's some really good stuff there, CHUB I am in West End.

I did private speech and drama for about 7 years, although it was mostly an emphasis on public speaking, but it means I have no problems projecting my voice or some of the other aspects of performing.

I don't know that I could ever sing, but the things like dancing and some other kind of martials art training are an interesting avenue.

I'm not an actor but work in theatre & comedy as a stage manager so know a hell of a lot of actors. If you are not looking at it for an income, just for fun I wouold recommend auditioning for an amatuer theatre group and having some fun with that. If you are serious about working as an actor you will need to get an agent. For a proper agent ie. not an extras agent you will need some good audition pieces and a well doen showreel.

Good luck mate but as others have said, it's hard work and most of the kids I went to uni with have given it up since then.

Mum and Dad are amateur directors/actors

.. like porn?

Actually imitation, you DO need it as a form of income so you can pay me back the $3 you borrowed from me in 1996.

I believe Chris Peuril that we went to school with is an actor and (manages?) a local theatre group in Brisbane, or at least he did last time I saw him. You could chase him down if you have any way of contacting him.

I can confirm Poorel works in a theatre group. He also wears short shorts.

Just some random off-topic info, the La Boite Theatre Company at the Roundhouse Theatre (Kelvin Grove) has produced some of the best theatre I've ever seen... if you enjoy quality acting and unique writing, you should definetely duck along to one of their shows.

are you doing it for fun or looking to do it professionally? if professionally i hope you've got some serious looks/talent.

cause it's a pretty impossible market to crack. a story comes to mind of the top drama kid in my grade who did drama/acting his whole life - they guy was a total fag but he was actaully a half decent actor. got a few roles in large theatre prodcuctions (QPAC) as a high school student. all he's done since has been a dominos ad.

Also take a penor knawing class....
Remember to mind the step children.

taggs my motivations at this point are mostly just for fun, but the opportunity to turn it into something down the track is appealling but not not particularly important, I am extremely good looking and talented also.

Didnt we watch a film from Suhaib?

Also can someone pm me purel's number, it might be worth ringing him.

i hear charlie rumkle is a good manager

Surely a lot of hollywood types only got into it on looks and built from that. I can't see brad pitt or whoever being a drama geek at school.

you could take up soccer

I think it goes something like this.

Beware the casting couch!

.. like porn?

Yeah, you've probably seen them in half a dozen movies ...

No, they run plays out of the Ipswich Little Theater.