Timing- it is the ability to ‘move and speak in a precise manner’ at the right moment for maximum impact and the pacing of action.

Rhythm- It is the ability to understand and put into good use the rhythmic expression of a play.

Style- it is the ability to absorb and produce a particular manner of presentation. This is sometimes characterized by the director’s vision, company agreement or any conventional mode of presentation.

Pace- it is the ability to regulate the speed of delivery and action, dictated by dramatic potential.

Atmosphere- it is the ability to create atmosphere, which can also be considered self belief and confidence in one’s self that makes the audience believe.

Interaction- it is how one communicates, as well as reacts with other actors and identify themselves with the roles they play.Characterization- it is the ability to create a believable character within a role – through discussion, improvisation, analysis, understanding, belief, faith, living the part,  imagination, faith and a sense of truth and emotion memory

Emotional impact- it is the ability to feel the right emotions within the role, and communicate them to the audience.

Focus – it is the ability to hold the attention of actors and audience, as well as the direct attention of the audience to specific persons or areas on the stage

Sustain – it is also the ability to sustain a role through an entire play, as well as sustain momentum, mood, atmosphere and pace as required.

Generosity – it is the ability to offer something to play off to others and the ability to allow focus to be with other actors.

Stillness- it is, on the other hand, the ability to show thoughts and emotions without movement.

Spatial awareness- is the ability to create space around self and other actors; positioning – in relation to each other/to audience; physical movement on stage; utilisation of props or set designs.

Breath control- this is also the ability  to  control  breath  for  vocal projection; for physical control of energy and use of voice

Stamina- is the ability “to maintain energy, sustain role or momentum”

Strength – is the ability to maintain stamina, fitness for physical and vocal control; for emotional control – carrying it through (emotional tension/sensation is physically

Relaxation- this is the ability to use voice and body without damage ability to use voice and body without damage and allows emotions to come through within character at points of high tension.

Control – meanwhile, is the ability to have power over one’s voice and manipulate it at will.

Good actors must possess a number of skills, among them good vocal projection, clarity of speech, physical expressiveness, a good sense of perspective, emotional availability, a well developed imagination, the ability to analyze and understand dramatic text, and the ability to emulate or generate emotional and physical conditions.

Take good note of all that were mentioned here, since acting is an artistic approach to character portrayal, and a good means for entertainment and for you to make the most out of it, making the most of available resources for your acting career will surely get you a long, long way.

Be on time.
On a big film the money is going out the door at about 30 grand every 20 minutes. On a network TV show the rate is only a bit less. If you are ten minutes late for a job that pays five hundred bucks – you will be very disliked by the producer and everybody that works for him. People will scream at you. If you are late for an audition, the casting director will worry that you won’t get to the job on time. If you are late for a job, that casting director will also have people screaming at her. And further more, there is no such thing as an eight-hour day in show business. If you cannot work a long day, you are unsuited for success in show business.

Be an early riser.
If you want to be in the movie or television business, you must be the kind of person who can get up at 5 in the morning. If you work in the theatre, your early rising will fall about 10 AM – because you work into the night. But if you plan on working in this industry you would do well to make early rising a lifelong habit.

The early starts and long hours mean that you will be spending about half your life with co-workers. If you are a pain in the butt – you will be heartily disliked by other people who are also working 12 hour days. Word will get around and it will be harder to get work. Therefore be nice to people no matter what. You have to keep your ‘creative juices’ flowing during the entire 12 hours. If you don’t love doing this kind of work, being on for 12 hours is impossible.

Well groomed and clean.
You are not the part. Even the guys who play bikers and bums wear deodorant and have clean teeth. Your breath must be pleasant. A co-worker who literally stinks will get a reputation and lose opportunities because of it.

No complaints
Those actors on sets who do complain about the dressing rooms, the food, the director, the co-star, the costume people, the lack of work, the hours, the script and pretty much anything are labelled as complainers. They are rarely appreciated or tolerated for very long.

Good value from you
When you habitually give 100% of your energy to the work – you will get more work.

We hope that helps you to become a successful actor!

If you go to the theater frequently, you might suddenly find yourself thinking what it would be like to be a theater actor. You might think of it as glamorous, to be standing in the spotlight, holding a bouquet and bowing to an appreciative audience. However, you might also think, how difficult a stage actors life is: you might not always have a job, you have to practice for days with no guarantee of the plays success, and you have to perform the same play night after night.

Acting and stage play activities, however, don’t have to take you to the theater as a professional actor. In fact, engaging in acting and stage play activities can be a hobby, and it can help you make good use of your free time. Here are a few ways that you can make these activities a part of your everyday life.

- Look for books on simple acting exercises that you can carry out. Contrary to popular belief, acting exercises aren’t meant to help you lie better. Acting isn’t only an art, it is also a discipline, and it entails placing a great deal of discipline in how you express your emotions, how you change and control your facial and body muscles, and how you can find something within yourself from which to draw your emotions.

Why is this so important? If you can learn the discipline of acting, then you can learn how to recognize your emotions, and even control your anger better. The discipline of acting can help you discipline yourself.

- Contrary to popular belief, the best actors aren’t the most melodramatic or poetic. The best actors are down-to-earth people who are true to themselves and are able to separate work and family life. Look for books that chronicle the lives of such great actors. You can get great insight into how to live your life better from people who have learned to live many different lives, and yet who have never lost a sense of themselves.

- Many good actors are made, not born. However, acting schools can be expensive, so instead of formal education, go to your local community theater or arts center and attend workshops.

- Take a friend along for the ride. Look for friends who are as enthusiastic about the theater as you. You might be able to attend workshops together, read monologues and critique each other, and check each others progress. By enjoying acting with someone else, you will see that the art will make your life more enjoyable as a whole.

Acting

Why should you spend time and money to learn acting? And why should you even consider it as a great hobby aside from spending time learning how to sew, write, knit, or draw? Here are a few advantages to acting and taking it up as a hobby.

- It can help you control your emotions. Contrary to what you might have seen on reality television shows, real acting isn’t all about letting all your emotions out, running across the stage naked, or flailing your hands up and down and screaming all your thoughts to the heavens. Real acting is about knowing which emotions to use for which lines, and how to control your facial expressions so that you are conveying the right emotions.
In other words, acting is more than an art or a craft: it is discipline, and if you can learn the ropes and discipline yourself through acting, then you might also learn how to control and discipline your emotions in real life.

- Acting can help you gain focus. In order to act out a specific scene and convey emotions, actors need to be especially focused: they need to stay in character and know the character through and through. This can be an especially difficult task if there are many distractions.

The acting techniques that get actors focused can also help you get focused on many aspects of your life, including your job, school, or anything that you are working on or getting paid for.

- Acting can help you let go of tension. Many of the acting exercises that you will be learn can be enjoyable, and even make you laugh. Other exercises will help you understand why you react in certain ways to certain stimuli. As you discover more about yourself, you can control yourself better and perhaps be more at peace with yourself as well as enjoy yourself in the process.

- Attending acting workshops will help you make more friends. That means a wider network, more parties to go to, and more fun!

Whenever you see the posters of old epic movies, you might notice an often-repeated phrase: featuring a cast of thousands In the good old days of movie making, producers had all the money to pay thousands of people to show up as gladiators, raucous crowds, or protesters. To act as an extra in a movie was akin to rubbing elbows with the stars, and people who acted as extras were more than happy to lend a hand in making a movie.

Today, movie studios rely heavily on special effects wizards to create artificial crowds. For instance, entire battle scenes can be filmed with only ten to a hundred people standing in as soldiers, with the rest of the people designed into the scene. Nevertheless, acting as an extra has not lost its appeal, and there are still many ways to land a role as an extra. You can walk through a scene, raise a shield for a scene, or simply be someone in the background.

If you are interested in acting as an extra and yes, getting paid for your services; here are a few tips that you might want to follow.

- Join an acting workshop. Most workshops will either be headed by people who have worked in the industry, or organized by people who regularly cast for major studios. In order to land a role as an extra, you need to have connections, so start making them.

- Look for an acting agency that specializes in landing extras. Do a lot of Internet research on this one: you can find acting agencies that regularly look for extras, and who like to keep pools of people to act as extras. Get your resume ready and have some good photos of you taken.

- Join online groups or forums that are frequented by people who work in the movie industry. In order to land a role or get a job, you need more than abilities and skills: you need to have connections, and you need to know people. Activate your social network: if you have close friends, you can ask about working as an extra. Who knows? Simple questions and friendships can sometimes make for big breaks in a career.

- Watch out for calls for extras in your local newspaper or on your favorite Internet movie site. Be especially vigilant if a movie is shooting in your town or nearby, as the producers will certainly post openings for extras. When the call for extras comes, get everything ready as though you’re already posing for your shot!

Here are some ideas for some goals you might want to make:

Get some acting experience – Look for community plays, plays at your school, small parts in a TV commercial. Do what you can to get some experience.

Go to casting calls – Do you research and look for some casting calls to attend. If you live in a bigger city, it’s not that hard to find casting calls. Just start getting out there! Most likely you will get rejected at first until you have more experience, but you have to start somewhere! Every star I have ever heard talk about how they got started were rejected over and over in the beginning, but they didn’t give up.

Get an agent – If you want to shoot for the big time and audition for Disney, you need an agent. Disney auditions are usually closed auditions and you need an agent to get your foot in the door. Do your research and make sure you find someone trustworthy. Do an initial interview with the agent and make sure you get a good feel for them and that they are someone you trust and feel like you can work with.

Take acting classes – This is a great way to get a little experience and get some confidence. Acting is an art and there is so much you can learn.

I hope that helps with your goals for 2010. Feel free to share your goals in the comment section below. It may help others who have the same dream as you!

Here’s to a very successful and exciting 2010. YOU CAN DO IT!