Our most recent Superstar Talent Search winner writes an open letter to the InstantCast community
Thank you, InstantCast for the opportunity to participate in the Superstar Talent Search.
I have had the dream of becoming a working actor for as long as I can remember. I recall watching shows and movies, saying, "I could play that role better than that." I chose to put that dream on the back-burner while I raised our children and concentrated on our family. My greatest achievements will always be my marriage and my children... no matter what professional accolades I may be blessed with in the future.
My goal is to become a consistently working actor, to learn the business from the best, and to become very good at it. I love the creative and technical aspects of the production process. I am a true student of the craft. I have long studied people and their mannerisms. I feel this will make me better able to "be" the character.
I do not claim to be an expert by any means, but here are some observations I have made:
Be wary, but not overly wary. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't legit. Trust your gut. This industry is a dog-eat-dog society. Be prepared for rejection. Think of how many others are vying for the same part. Don't become discouraged though...Learn from these situations, but remain very positive for what is yet to come. Think big!
Learn from every person and situation you encounter while working. You may get a tip about an agency that you didn't know, how you should dress, what your resume contents should be and what it should look like, you'll hear technical production terms used on the sets (remember those), or you may even just make a friend or two.
Take classes and act in small local productions to learn all you can about the business. If you think about it, you wouldn't get a job doing anything anywhere if you didn't know a thing about it. As a friend/mentor once told me, act in local theater. The role may be small and seemingly insignificant, but you take that role and be the best rabbit or busy-body there ever was! Scouts & casting agents frequent local performances. People WILL take notice of your hard work and dedication to the project!
Get and keep yourself "out there." Have your headshots (I know mine aren't professional headshots yet, but that will be remedied very shortly), resumes, and business cards (with your picture, name, contact info on them--these work really well in situations when 8x10s and a resume wouldn't be appropriate or practical)...ready to distribute to anyone who may turn into a contact. You never know who you will meet or when.
Keep promoting yourself. Sign up with several different regional casting agencies. Most seem to charge a minimal sign up fee and nothing else after that. A lot of opportunities may be for extra work in your area, but what fun those jobs are--truly! The TV shows/movies wouldn't be what they are without the extras, so don't look down on extra roles. They are additions to your resume and experience for you. A lot of extra roles are without pay and most are non-union, but you will find that some of them pay the non-union daily minimum. Additionally, you never know when an extra job might just turn into a SAG voucher or an upgraded role for you - I've seen it happen. I have learned SO much from just standing and watching on those sets, and from my actor peers while being an extra. I hope to continue doing this.
Take yourself and your work seriously-be a professional, but have LOTS of fun too! What's the sense in having a job that you dread doing?
I am now ready to make MY dream become a reality! With hard work & determination, I feel this dream is well within my grasp!
Good luck to you all!
Thank you for your support,
Christine (Chris) Malloy
Click here to read more about Christine!
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