Michael had been acting for the past 16 years and decided he desired to help out his fellow thespians by writing a book. His chosen subject was audition techniques for actors because he felt that, having attended many Disney actor auditions himself, he wished to pass on the knowledge he had gained.
As Mike started to research his chosen subject, he found out that there were a variety of sites on the Internet giving the sort of information he was looking to impart. He saw little or no sense in reinventing the wheel. Consequently, he chose to approach his chosen subject from a different angle. Instead, he set out to target those that were considering entering the industry of theatre, film and TV, and tell the story of how he became an actor himself. His idea was that several people don’t have a clue where to begin.
Michael had embarked on this career when he was in his mid forties with little or no experience, only a desire to do something different and make money at the same time. He served his “apprenticeship” being an extra. Some people believe extras only work in television and the movies but this is not true. And also they work in the world of photography.
Mike got his name registered with plenty of casting agents and bookers, and also attended as much open auditions for actors as possible. As his workload picked up, he grew in confidence. He progressed to going for “feature artist” vacancies. This could certainly best be referred to as halfway between an extra and an actor, a stepping stone if you will.
From here, it was only natural to make a decision it was time to go for certain speaking parts. At this time he also applied for his Equity card, as for several jobs it was a prerequisite. Michael didn’t rush into putting himself forward for roles beyond his capabilities, but instead opted to try out initially for those with 1 or 2 lines of dialogue. In fact, his first speaking part was being a pub landlord in the Bill, where he said “Alright Guvnor.”
That was years ago, and his parts have improved as have the variety of words he gets to speak. He has not had any lead roles to date but he still hopes to break into the big time. So even though Mike couldn’t add to the myriad of sites giving audition tips for actors, perhaps his story could possibly encourage others to follow him into the profession.
Guidelines and Tips on open auditions for actors be found at http://auditionsforactors.com/