Career Options for Acting outside of Hollywood
Actors must usually rely upon auditions for commercials, plays and shows to get performance jobs. Some performers are skilled at writing plays and shows but many actors are strictly interested in playing characters instead of writing for characters. Large cities like London, New York and Los Angeles are home to millions of working actors, but you don’t need to move outside of your hometown to work in the acting industry. There are plenty of jobs available for people who have a knack for performing and who want to stay in their communities.
Party clowns are in high demand for children’s events, birthday parties and circus productions. While becoming a clown may not be every actors dream, comedic actors might really enjoy clowning around with kids and using their dramatic skills to make people laugh. Clowns can work independently or for a company and as a working clown, you can usually command your own salary and create your own working hours and schedule.
Dinner show theatres hire many local actors to perform in their musicals and plays. Dinner theatres allow an audience to eat in a restaurant that has a stage where performers act in a live production. Dinner theatres declined in popularity during the mid 1980s but they began to gain popularity again at the turn of the 21st century. Actors who can sing and dance should send head shots of themselves and a resume to dinner show theatres in their local area. Dinner theatres often show diverse shows during their lunch productions and dinner productions. Dinner theatres put on more than one show throughout a year which means there is more opportunity for actors to get hired.
There will always be a need for teachers to train aspiring actors on how to perfect their skills. Drama teachers not only get the opportunity to train students on how to act, they also get to help with productions. Drama teachers are needed in public schools, private schools and theatre companies. If you love acting and want to create opportunities for yourself and for other actors, you can create your own theatre company and produce plays, television shows and whichever productions you want to produce and have performed in your local community.
Voice actors are needed for radio commercials and the radio stations in your local community would be a great place to start searching for voice over work. Radio stations tend to feature advertisements for local businesses like car dealerships, specialty stores and community events. Voice over work can be done at recording studios in your local area or even in your own home. In addition to voicing commercials, voice actors can find work voicing cartoon characters and narrating television and radio documentaries.
Many world famous actors launched their careers after years of working in every performance venue they could in their hometowns. From stand-up comedy to community theatre, you can find acting jobs in your local area that will help you to develop your talent and perfect your performing skills. In addition to working as an actor, consider working in other areas of the performance industry as a director, lighting technician and writer to learn the ropes of your field and expand your career options.
