How to Start Acting

Seven steps, in order. Each one is short and points you at the academy chapter, the tool or the listings that do the actual work — this pathway exists to sequence what already lives on the site, not to repeat it.

The full academy

  1. 1. How to Become an ActorThe first step for a new actor is not a headshot or an agent. What to do first, and what the following six steps cover.
  2. 2. An Acting Résumé With No CreditsHow to build an honest acting résumé before you have professional credits — what to include, what to leave off, and what never to invent.
  3. 3. Your First HeadshotsWhat a first headshot needs to do, how to choose a photographer, and how to tell whether the shots you got are usable.
  4. 4. Your First MonologuesHow to choose monologues you can actually play, how many to keep ready, and where to find material.
  5. 5. Your First Background WorkWhy background work is a sensible early step, what a day on set actually involves, and where to find open calls.
  6. 6. Build Your Actor ProfileWhere your headshots, résumé and footage should live so that a casting director can see everything in one link.
  7. 7. Your First AuditionWhat happens at a first audition or self-tape, what to prepare, and how to find calls that accept direct submissions.