ALT-2 What you need to know about a Career in Acting
Here's what you need to know: a real career in acting takes hard work.
The acting world has sadly become a haven for pretty-faced, lazy and talentless people who are under the impression that acting is easy. To them, acting is a messy, unrefined display of 'art' and 'feelings.'
Certainly, acting is somewhat about feelings. But depending on them to guide you through a performance is not reliable. What happens when people who use the 'feel it' method are on stage and they don't 'feel' it that night? Their method fails them, and they crash and burn. While it might work for one production at a community theatre, that method won't work for an entire career in acting.
Real career actors understand this: acting is not an art, but a craft. What the audience sees is the art. What the actor must do to generate the art, and generate it consistently, takes a lot more thought.
A career in acting, like a career in most fields, requires you to build up a set of tools for you to tackle each role. Those tools (identifying actions of the scene, mapping the arc of the play, monitoring your character's accomplishments, etc.) can be applied to every character you play.
If you're seriously interested in a career in acting, start building up these tools. Take acting classes, read books on acting, and watch other people's performances with a critical eye. You'll be well on your way to becoming a true, accomplished actor.
