Just the other day I talked with an actor about investing in their career. We talked about preparing necessary materials and continuing with craft and career training to build their acting career. The actor asked, “Do I really need to spend money to build my acting career?”
I get this question from new actors on a pretty regular basis.
Before I continue, know there is a difference between credible instructors and coaches and the companies selling you an easy way to book work - you’ve probably seen or heard the commercials, “get seen by a big name director…star in the next big hit!” - when you attend the "audition" you learn that they made this call just to enroll people in their classes.
Know that I am not referring to the latter.
I am always talking about training and working with credible instructors and coaches to build your career, skill and knowledge with integrity.
So my response to the question is go for the credible training, make the investment…yes, spend the money on reputable opportunities to deepen your craft and grow your knowledge about the industry and here are my reasons why:
- With most professions people either need a degree or training of some sort.
- Actors need headshots, copies of a resume and business cards to send out for auditions and booking work in the industry.
- We are always learning new things through our life experiences and it is always great to have a class or workshop environment to be able to process and work with our new knowledge and how this impacts the character work actors do.
- Professional development is necessary for career growth. I believe we continue to get better when we take a craft or career class. We can always learn something new about our ability to dig deeper and create.
- Growth and development will always cost something. So when you invest in your career be it time (this includes volunteering to audit a class or assist an instructor or coach during their workshop or training), money, or work, you will always get something out of what you put into your career.
What are you investing today?