The Making of an Actress: Studying to be an Actress

Here is the fourth post in collaboration with my agency, Exxcel Model & Talent, Inc., about my previous trip to LA and the progression of my career. You can find it here on over on Exxcel's blog, Exxcel EDGE. 

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​https://exxcelblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/29/studying-to-be-an-actress/

​Dennis always tells his students in the Lavalle Actor’s Workshop to ask themselves two questions every day: What have I done to improve my craft? and What have I done to improve my career? Answering these questions each day, whether it be the smallest little factor, is sure to effect you and your career positively.
Spending time in LA allowed me to answer both of those questions. In class each day, we would do a vocal warm-up, which included some Shakespeare, along with many other tongue twisters. We worked on our scenes, and fine-tuned our craft with other exercises. With the first question answered, what did I do to impact my career? Well, it varied from day to day. I spent one day updating my portfolio and my resumes, the next scoping out the biggest, most well-known studios in LA, and another networking and making friends within the industry or studying my scene on my own time.
My dad and I drove all around Burbank, Studio City, and Universal City looking to see what we could find — and boy, did we hit the jackpot! We were able to check out Warner Brothers Studios, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and Nickelodeon’s Studios all on
virtually the same road. Seeing the ginormous promotional posters for each show made me realize that the shows I had been watching on television for years happened right behind those walls, and they were real. The thought absolutely blew my mind. As we drove
by each studio, my yearn to be on the other side of those walls grew stronger and stronger.
When we weren’t adventuring around LA, I was at home, studying my scene and making sure I had the words down pat. Each day, three or four times, I would handwrite all of my character’s lines into a notebook which I always carried around with me. After that, I would put my script down and have my dad read the lines opposite to mine. Doing this everyday definitely had a substantial impact on the final result of our scene.
But while there is so much for actors to do for their career in Los Angeles, other areas may keep you a bit limited. Where I live, there are no theater shows to participate in, no auditions to attend, or even any photographers who could help you update your portfolio. But I’ve never been one to let my location limit me. In an area like mine, you can always take it upon yourself to exercise your voice and your body each day, familiarize yourself with some Shakespeare, or even prepare some monologues for those times where you get to venture somewhere that isn’t in the middle of nowhere. Not matter where you are, there are no excuses for not practicing what you love. Each day, you would always do something to benefit your craft and your career, because no matter now small the improvement might be, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.

Be sure to stay tuned for more posts from The Making of an Actress. x
-Samantha Baldwin 

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