u/Glacier_junky

Hi all,

I'm trying to become an actor, and I know one thing I need to get better at is improv. I tried out for the improv team in high school and didn't get in (29 now), and over the past year I've been getting back into acting. I took a 10-week theatre acting class last year that focused a lot on improv, and I felt like I wasn't very good at it. I find in my everyday life I can make people laugh with one liners and puns, but when it comes to actual acting, I can never think of something funny to say. If anyone has any tips or advice, please let me know.

I'll try to keep this short. I went to college for Hospitality and Tourism, and worked in hotels for 7 years. When Covid hit, I was laid off, then stayed for another year after coming back. During that time, we got a new General Manager and a front desk supervisor position opened up. I applied, and was passed over by a newer hire (that also happened to work with the new GM at their last property) that had "more experience supervising". After Covid, I found the guests were meaner and more demanding, so I left the hotel industry for office administration. It's been almost 4 years now doing office admin between two companies, and I was passed over again for a new position. At this point, I'm not burnt out but I'm definitely bored of my job. I loved working in hotels, but I also love the steady office schedule with weekends and holidays off. I've been trying to do more hobbies outside of work, but if I did decide to leave this job I don't know what field to go in to. I've debated for years if I should go back to school for Hospitality Management, but I don't know if that would actually help me. My goal was to be a Front Office Manager, but now I wonder if I'm just not right for a supervisor or manager position. I'm also 29 if that helps. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.

I've been doing an audition class for the past few months, and at the end of every month we do a self tape for the scene we've been studying. The script is usually 4 pages long, and my tape ends up being about a minute and a half long, the longest being 3 minutes because there was more dialogue. I always watch everyone else's submissions, and a few people are usually over 3 minutes and their performance seems more real. Should I be trying to make my tapes longer? It's also been ingrained in us that casting decides in the first 4 seconds if they're going to like the actor, so should you say your first line within those 4 seconds? The only feedback we get from this class in generalized for everyone, so I don't know how I can improve.

My husband and I had a long conversation about him potentially seeing a therapist, and we're at a standstill.

Backstory: We're from Canada, and for the past two years he has been traveling to the US for work. He's normally away for a month at a time, then comes home for a few weeks to a month. For almost a year now, he's been growing tired of going away and has debated finding a similar job at home, the only problem is that nothing pays as well as what he is making. It pays so well because he works away, so his flights, food, and lodging are paid for.

He has never been diagnosed with any mental health issues, but he goes through episodes of sadness whenever he is away. He has always been very attached to me, but today he admitted that he feels like he doesn't miss me as much as he used to, so I suggested that he should talk to a therapist. He then went on to say that he wouldn't talk to a therapist without me, and I said that we're not at a point of needing couple's counseling. He's adamant that he will not speak to anyone unless I'm in the room, and from what I have read online, most therapists don't allow that. It's clear to me that he should talk to a licensed professional, but I don't know how to navigate this.

I've been taking acting classes online for about a month now, and paid for a 3 month subscription. They announced that they will be having an in-person workshop in June, but at an added cost. After the conversion rate from USD to CAD, it ends up being $400 Canadian. It's a 1 day workshop for about 5 hours, so I thought that price was pretty steep. Even if I lived closer to where it's being hosted, I wouldn't go simply because I can't afford to.

A lot of people must have asked if it would be recorded, and I found out that it will be live-streamed, but you still have to pay for it. It's a lot cheaper (around $140 CAD), but I'm wondering if it's even worth attending in the first place.

I haven't loved the course, mainly because the live lessons are only ever half an hour, but I've found it icky that whenever someone signs up for the workshop, they make a post saying "yay, this person is coming!" To me, it seems like a tactic to guilt people into signing up, but on the other hand, it's about a months worth of content in one day, so I'm torn.

So, is it worth paying for this workshop?

I see on a lot of casting calls saying something to the effect of "LGBTQ+ and all backgrounds encouraged". I get that's probably just to say anyone can apply, but do you have to tell them if you are? I would want to get a role because I'm a good actor, not just because I'm queer. Or is there more to it than that? I'm very much a newbie, so I'm just curious more than anything.

Hi all 👋 I have auditioned for 3 musicals within the past 2 years (small city that only does a couple major productions per year), and I haven't booked any roles. I'm very much a beginner, so I understand why I haven't gotten anything (nerves get the best of me + confidence), but I've been wondering if my monologue and song choices have also been a wrong fit.

The only voice training I have is from school choir, so singing lessons are on my list of things to look into, and I was classed as an alto. I find a lot of female songs are too high for me, so it's been difficult to find songs I can actually perform well. As for my acting ability, I am taking classes online for screen acting, and I did a 10-week theatre acting class last year.

Of the 3 auditions I've done, two of them needed a monologue. I chose monologues from movies, but I've read recently that that may have been a bad choice. For songs, I picked from musicals that I liked.

For any future auditions, should the monologue and song be similar to what the show is? For example, last year was Shrek the Musical, so would a comedic monologue be preferable over dramatic? The theatre usually encourages to sing a song from the show, but I haven't known the shows to be comfortable enough to learn a song in under a week.

I'm sorry for the long post, but if anyone has any tips or advice I would love to hear them!