3 answers
Taylor
Student
Plano, Texas
1
Question
Asked
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How can I get started into real movies and films (8th grade)?
I have been in theatre for 2 years now and am a total horror movie fan. After watching " The black phone" I started thinking about acting in these type films and really wanted to do this. Currently doing theatre inside and outside of school to get highest variety to my learning. Recently participated in the Jr. Thespian Festival of texas and made it into nationals with an acting scene. 2 judges one score 18.5/20 and a 20/20. A recent thought has been to work at disney as a princess but obviously I have plenty of time to get there. Back to wanting to be in horror films, I have seen many but once seeing Mason Thames in this movie and a knew one in 2025 I thought about how in these movies have you have to portray a good bunch of emotion, this helps with future acting oportunities like how he has now 3 years later. Making directors see your talents from early on. I already have a profesional headshot btw. The only thing i struggle with is the idea of an agent + the money. Or maybe should I just wait until I am way older to start this career? Please tell me your thoughts and tips!!!!
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3 answers
Michelle M.
Actress
3276
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Taylor !
You can go into professional acting at any time, but if you are under 18, one of your parents will have to be with you at all times, auditions, interviews, working on set and location and you would miss a lot of school. Therefore, your knowledge that it may be better to keep acting and start this career once you are 18 and can do it on your own shows that you have insight. It helps that you are one that is very involved with acting currently.
It's not much a question of how to be cast in a horror film, rather can a full time 24/7 acting career be done right now. It all depends on your circumstances and your parent's willingness to dedicate the time, money and efforts needed to accompany you for this career. You can have your favorite types of films, but that has nothing to do with being a professional actress as you could get cast in anything. You could submit for lots of horror films, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'd get a part but might be chosen for a comedy TV series. So you basically have to want to do it all and that will come with training. My favorite is period drama, but I do not wait around to just submit for period drama.
You certainly have described that you have talent, reaching high scores at Festivals. Try to get into festivals where you do an entire one act play. To kick it up a notch, start doing Student Films, films that college students produce. In Plano, you can register at Backstage and Actors Access as well as Casting Network. Be prepared to see a lot of casting notices that ARE NOT FOR horror films. Send your photo/resume to nearby colleges that have a film department and state that you're interested in being considered for student films. Try Collin College – Communication Design Department, Lone Star College at Kingwood – Visual Communication Department, Lone Star College at CyFair – Visual Communication Department, Lone Star College at North Harris – Visual Communication Department. Remember, if you are under 18, one of your parents will need to accompany you when you audition and when you work.
You do not choose the roles you will have, directors or casting people do. It's not customary to refuse a role time after time because it may not be a horror film. Living in Plano lessens the probability also.
You also need to think about the future after High School. From now till then, think about if you want to go to college or just jump into your career after High School. Going to college will be a real benefit to you, teach you an enormous amount about acting and the business end of it, provide opportunities both at college as well as in the community, and it can open more doors than not having a college degree. Ask more questions about the different paths you can take and what they're like. This career also requires lots of networking, people getting to know you and college is a perfect way to do this in or outside of the Theatre Department and in the community. If not, you'll have to make great effort to know where to go to network.
Everything is going to depend on your circumstances and only you know what is doable and what isn't at any given time. What may not be possible this year may be easy to do three years from now. Let your progress unfold step by step and use patience, be humble, gain knowledge and life experience and enjoy it every step of the way.
After permission from your parent so they will accompany you, provide transportation and oversee and co-sign contracts, you can submit to local Agents for Representation . The ones near you are Core Talent in Frisco, Texas, The Ross Agency in Fort Worth, The Boysen Agency in Houston and Austin, The Zephyr Talent Agency in Cedar Park, Texas and there are a lot in Dallas that can be found by doing an online search.
There's an enormous amount more of information I can give you, but I hope this helps for a start. Keep active and you will discover just how to do everything as an actress. Give it time and have a good time. Best wishes in all you do !
You can go into professional acting at any time, but if you are under 18, one of your parents will have to be with you at all times, auditions, interviews, working on set and location and you would miss a lot of school. Therefore, your knowledge that it may be better to keep acting and start this career once you are 18 and can do it on your own shows that you have insight. It helps that you are one that is very involved with acting currently.
It's not much a question of how to be cast in a horror film, rather can a full time 24/7 acting career be done right now. It all depends on your circumstances and your parent's willingness to dedicate the time, money and efforts needed to accompany you for this career. You can have your favorite types of films, but that has nothing to do with being a professional actress as you could get cast in anything. You could submit for lots of horror films, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'd get a part but might be chosen for a comedy TV series. So you basically have to want to do it all and that will come with training. My favorite is period drama, but I do not wait around to just submit for period drama.
You certainly have described that you have talent, reaching high scores at Festivals. Try to get into festivals where you do an entire one act play. To kick it up a notch, start doing Student Films, films that college students produce. In Plano, you can register at Backstage and Actors Access as well as Casting Network. Be prepared to see a lot of casting notices that ARE NOT FOR horror films. Send your photo/resume to nearby colleges that have a film department and state that you're interested in being considered for student films. Try Collin College – Communication Design Department, Lone Star College at Kingwood – Visual Communication Department, Lone Star College at CyFair – Visual Communication Department, Lone Star College at North Harris – Visual Communication Department. Remember, if you are under 18, one of your parents will need to accompany you when you audition and when you work.
You do not choose the roles you will have, directors or casting people do. It's not customary to refuse a role time after time because it may not be a horror film. Living in Plano lessens the probability also.
You also need to think about the future after High School. From now till then, think about if you want to go to college or just jump into your career after High School. Going to college will be a real benefit to you, teach you an enormous amount about acting and the business end of it, provide opportunities both at college as well as in the community, and it can open more doors than not having a college degree. Ask more questions about the different paths you can take and what they're like. This career also requires lots of networking, people getting to know you and college is a perfect way to do this in or outside of the Theatre Department and in the community. If not, you'll have to make great effort to know where to go to network.
Everything is going to depend on your circumstances and only you know what is doable and what isn't at any given time. What may not be possible this year may be easy to do three years from now. Let your progress unfold step by step and use patience, be humble, gain knowledge and life experience and enjoy it every step of the way.
After permission from your parent so they will accompany you, provide transportation and oversee and co-sign contracts, you can submit to local Agents for Representation . The ones near you are Core Talent in Frisco, Texas, The Ross Agency in Fort Worth, The Boysen Agency in Houston and Austin, The Zephyr Talent Agency in Cedar Park, Texas and there are a lot in Dallas that can be found by doing an online search.
There's an enormous amount more of information I can give you, but I hope this helps for a start. Keep active and you will discover just how to do everything as an actress. Give it time and have a good time. Best wishes in all you do !
TRAVIS UPCHURCH
Federal Contract Admin
219
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
TRAVIS’s Answer
Learn all aspects of theatre and film. Stage production, lighting, sound, set building, and practice how to do auditions. Memorizing your lines quickly will be an important skill. The advice from Michelle is great. Find a local casting mailing list for opportunities as well. Never give up and keep honing your craft. Script writing is important too. If for whatever reason, no one wants to give you a role, make your own movie! You will do welll
Lucas Cheng
Site Reliability Engineer
2
Answers
Springfield, Virginia
Updated
Lucas’s Answer
I can actually provide a bit of context to this in terms of getting into acting - but as with other answers you'll probably need to have your parents support while you're below the age of 18. Specifically, in my case my parents did sign me on to be a child model/actor and were able to get jobs for me being an extra for a movie, as well as shooting some basic infomercials (one was a cooking show, another was with making Halloween costumes). You'll have to talk with your parents about the risk of essentially spending money on an agent (although more legitimate/better ones should not require you to pay until you get a job) vs potentially making money from a job. The main issue will be finding jobs as (unfortunately) it seems that the younger you are, the more jobs there are as when I became a teenager it definitely felt harder or more competitive to find anything.
Beyond just acting however, or maybe in addition to it perhaps consider getting into creating films. Phone nowadays have good enough cameras to have quite decent quality, and the act of "framing" a shot as well as learning how to compose a short film, how dialogue would flow would also make your acting better as you become more familiar of other processes in making a movie/film. It doesn't have to be huge either, I'd recommend starting with something like a short film. Not only will it give you more practice in acting, but it can also serve as a future "portfolio" that you can reference as you pursue this field. I would say even if you're younger, don't let that stop you from trying! As an example, this short film that's quite good was done by someone in senior year of high school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7ksUXKzLF0. I'd definitely encourage you to just go out there and create.
Beyond just acting however, or maybe in addition to it perhaps consider getting into creating films. Phone nowadays have good enough cameras to have quite decent quality, and the act of "framing" a shot as well as learning how to compose a short film, how dialogue would flow would also make your acting better as you become more familiar of other processes in making a movie/film. It doesn't have to be huge either, I'd recommend starting with something like a short film. Not only will it give you more practice in acting, but it can also serve as a future "portfolio" that you can reference as you pursue this field. I would say even if you're younger, don't let that stop you from trying! As an example, this short film that's quite good was done by someone in senior year of high school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7ksUXKzLF0. I'd definitely encourage you to just go out there and create.