The Reasons You Need An Acting Coach

Here’s why every serious actor or actress needs a coach:

• You are a brand
• You need to increase your weight lifting from good to great
• You need the advice from someone who has worked in the industry

The choice between going to an acting school or not attending, is almost like deciding to skip or prepare for college.

The truth is, acting schools give actors a competitive advantage in a very competitive industry. This is done through techniques that have been learned and taught through decades. These acting techniques are what directors look for during auditions. Acting schools also produce skills in individuals to make showcases perfect – and on any stage.

Yes, some skills cannot be taught. These include natural talent, in-born motivation, and others. Then, there are those abilities which can be learned.

What acting skills are taught in an acting school? Here goes:

• Learning timing, as in when to move based on settings and signals
• Rhythm, meaning gestures and the way your body moves freely and naturally
• The display of emotions, to increase and nail believability
• Voice control and pitch, for getting into character

These skills are just scratching the surface. If you’re new to acting, you may need to start a beginner course. Actors who are already in business can continue with acting classes to improve upon current skills.

The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio is an acting school, that has realized numerous successful actors and actresses. To learn more about Emasla, visit www.emasla.com.

To Be Discovered in Hollywood

What can you do to get discovered as the best in the business?  You may think that going up against leading actors is absolutely daunting. It is.

However, the good news is – it can be done.

All it takes is the most steadfast belief in yourself, despite any number of closed doors.

Don’t believe us?

Get insight and inspiration from the very competition you fear. Check out a few leading actors’ and actresses’ bios, and you’ll see… just like you, they got their feet in the door as aspiring actors too.

Determination, discipline and drive, will make the difference between your success and another man’s failure. Of course, the obvious talent of acting is a must.

The next step to getting discovered in Hollywood, following the belief that you can act, is enlisting the help of an acting coach to polish and master basic and advanced acting techniques.

Acting schools in Los Angeles, like The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio have trained hundreds of acting students, to help them get discovered as key talents in the industry for the last decade. It also helps when you can get referenced by a seasoned coach,  who also has networking opportunities with numerous directors and recruiting managers in the Los Angeles vicinity.

Acting workshops  also allow actors and actresses to practice to perfection, in dedicated groups. This means that when it comes time to audition – all nerves will be intact, and the performances will flow naturally.

Nowadays, it seems that all it takes to get discovered is a viral video. That’s one way of doing it, but there’s also the tried and true method , which is – honing one’s raw talent in an acting school, enlisting the help of a talent manager, and auditioning in front of the world’s most revered acting directors, right in the center of Hollywood.

Elizabeth Mestnik’s Acting Studio can help you get discovered, by first schooling, and then helping with recruiting trained, professional actors and actresses from beginner to advanced levels. This is whether you want to be discovered for serial commercials, theatre, or movies in different genres.

Acting Niches and Avoiding the Type Cast

We’ve seen it time and again – the public’s viewing of an actor and actress in just one niche. Is this the reason most Disney stars try their hardest to shake off  their previous image by going the opposite route of styling for a new perception?

Or, one actor being cast in the same roles movie after movie? Is there one way to avoid or break this pattern? Or is everything just a matter of luck and destiny?

Some actors that have been type casted include:

  • Funny man Vince Vaughn
  • Romantic Jennifer Aniston
  • Hit man Mark Walberg

As an acting school, the Elisabeth Mestnik Acting Studio can take you beyond the realm of your comfort zone to explore new acting talents, whether it’s to partake in action, romance, family or drama-type genres.

Get the look of multiplicity by presenting a diverse portfolio. Take yourself outside the box,  and explore acting in several genres.

If you prefer to be type casted in one type of role, then it’s all up to you.

It’s important to remember that being typecast has its advantages too. Some of these include steady work, being seasoned and comfortable in the role, since it was experienced before, and also having a very recognizable name.

It’s comforting to know that being typecast is not exclusive to acting alone. In business, average workers are also traded in the same professions. So much so that they have to prove themselves  over a million times to be considered for promotions or alternate job descriptions.

An acting school isn’t dedicated solely to run-of-the mill actors either. Every type of professional entertainer can benefit from the acting, such as singers, dancers, models, since these experts all perform to woo a crowd. Learning how to entertain an audience in several niches is one way of expanding your portfolio and getting cast in different roles.

How to Get Your Foot in Door with Acting

If you’ve always dreamt of being an actor or actress, then do something about it, no matter your age. Daydreams may have your head in the clouds, but we know your feet are grounded in practically realizing them. And that’s a good thing because you’re here!

To realize your vision of becoming an actor, you’ll need to have a plan. And in this short, but invaluable post, you’ll learn an arsenal of techniques to double your guns and show off your acting skills, in whatever setting  you find yourself.

Are you ready to get staged as an actor/actress? Here goes.:

Get Help  From An Acting Studio – raw talent alone is super, but it will still need to be refined and polished with the help of an expert. Professional singers use voice trainers, musicians refine their playing techniques, top athletes are coached, so why shouldn’t you get  trained as an actor?

It really is a sport, if you really enjoy it.

Confidence is Key – As with anything in life, you need to be able to believe in yourself before others will be able to believe in you. You’d be doing yourself a disfavor if you don’t.

Calm Your Nerves – During auditions, look at the bigger picture (literally), and be confident and composed. Training at an acting studio can help you to reel in the audience of judges and have them hooked to your performance. Many acting studios like Elizabeth Mestnik’s will have already exercised staged auditions to get you comfortable in front of a director. After all, practice makes perfect, doesn’t it?

Network – In all careers,  and not just showbiz, one asset that can always take you to higher grounds is networking, because people help make people. Learning to market yourself subtly or presenting  your talent to interested parties is also something that can be taught by an actor’s agent.

Keep Improving – Each step you take that’s an initiative to build upon your current skills is priceless. As you may have countless competition, the more you learn and refine your acting skills, the more you’ll stand out.

Take these tips and sprinkle it in your daily plan to be an actor/actress. And if you need a coach for your acting career, call Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio at 323-528-6280. Soon, you’ll be on your way to stardom.

Do What You Came Here To Do

The Basic Technique Series at the

 

 

NEXT CLASS:

***THE SCRIPT***

a beginning scene study program

 

The words on the page are the INSPIRATION for most performances, and all actors must understand how to read a script, break down a scene and bring a character to life!

 

THE SCRIPT is a technique class that emphasizes the role of the text in an actor’s performance. This class will give you exercises and techniques that will help you make character choices, play the action of the scene and relate emotionally to the given circumstances. Focus is placed on making strong choices that keep you emotionally connected to your scene partner as well as using the language of the playwright to tell your character’s story. A great scene study class for beginners or more experienced actors who want to brush up their acting skills.

What:    THE SCRIPT- Technique class for Beginning Actors

Where:    EMAS:   7600 Melrose Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles 90046

When:     Thursdays at 7pm – starting April 12th, 2012

Tuition:   $530 for 12-week session

Contact:   323-528-6280 or [email protected]

 

 

THE ELIZABETH MESTNIK ACTING STUDIO is one of Hollywood’s most highly regarded acting schools:

 

Here’s what the industry has to say about EMAS:

“EMAS has a very talented and versatile group of actors.”
-Paul Weber  -Head of Casting MGM

” I have seen Elizabeth work miracles with actors from beginning to advanced”
– Damona Resnick – Casting Director – NBC

” She is simply the best at what she does”
– Ed Yeager – T.V. producer –  Still Standing, Suddenly Susan, Gary Unmarried

Read what our students and the industry have to say about EMAS at Yelp!

CALL 323-528-6280 FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION

or

TO REGISTER ON LINE CLICK HERE

Blend Business with Enthusiasm

It’s often the case that newer and more enthusiastic actors overlook the fact that things need to be done in a logical and properly conceived order. According to Actingmagazine.com, many as a result go through a case of classic self-sabotage.

One of the best things an actor can do for themselves is make sure they have a great foundation in film acting technique. Even though this is the rule of thumb, many beginning actors don’t see it this way. They think acting is just acting and therefore a fair amount of their time is spent on plays and dabbling into a workshop or two. After their vicarious training, then they rush straight into film and the television market, and only then do they realize their training/skills aren’t quite winning over those casting directors.

Eventually these impatient actors will see that it will be over a year or more before casting directors would take another chance to see someone who had essentially wasted their time.
What does this all mean? Basically, that the industry is too tight knit, and the memories of casting directors too long for you to make that kind of mistake.

To ensure you get the right training, be sure you check out The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting School.  Located in Los Angeles, in the heart of Hollywood, Ms. Mestnik has taught acting for over a decade.  With her combined experience in the industry and with her expertise in the Mesiner Technique, she will help you develop those skills that will get you the auditions you’ve always wanted.

Acting Education

If your goal is to become a film director, but you want to first gain access to that kind of exposure through an acting career, and you are divided upon what kind of education you want to seek, the question remains – how focused are you?

As a high school student about to finish school, and on the verge of starting his adult life and career, that is a really good question to ask awarding-winning filmmaker, D. L. White. White, who began studying acting at The Sanford Meisner Center in Los Angeles, CA where he graduated from the two year acting program in 2006 and went on to write and direct several short films and a feature length in 2010, titled, The Middle of the Middle, White most likely went through the same decision-making process and struggled with the same things that this high school student is probably going through.

To answer the question, White says that filmmaking is an extremely expensive and time consuming process, and sometimes the expenses and the time invested can outweigh the pros of going to film school. He gives another alternative: The School of Life. The only place to really learn about this job is via on the job training, and this true for any field in the industry including, acting, script supervising, directing, set designing, gripping, gaffing, etc. According to White you can work your way up in this industry, and through that gain great experience and valuable contacts along the way.

But sometimes as an actor, you would need some guidance to give you the right amount of direction that you need in order to get you motivated. Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio, located in the heart of Hollywood, is the recommended actor-training program for NBC’s Talent Development Initative. Since 2001, Ms. Mestnik has been providing Hollywood actors the same comprehensive training she received in New York City. Similar to D. L. White’s educational background, EMAS was founded on the principles of the Mesiner Technique. Offering serious training, in a fun and challenging environment, EMAS may become that great opportunity that you can’t forgo towards the honing and development of your potential as an actor. Contact us, here, for more details.

Key to Handling Auditioning Pressure

It seems like once you take that big step towards achieving your goals, a huge barrier comes between you and your success. And that can take many forms from self-doubt to the unknown pressures you may put on yourself to achieve those dreams. But the question remains: as an actor, how do you handle that sort of pressure?

D. L. White, an award winning filmmaker, who has worked in the film and television industry for nearly 20 years, has been asked this question before by aspiring actors who are attempting to make their mark in the industry.

His advice is to stop thinking about it. The creative process is a delicate thing, and you’re only going about disrupting the flow of your craft by stressing about things you cannot control, while focusing on what you can improve with rehearsals, research, memorization, preparation, and performance, will produce better and more effective results.

White writes that the more you try to control your craft, the more likely you will come across straining the creative process. Simply by letting go, and giving your talent leeway to breathe and grow, you will eventually learn and grow from it also.

White gives the example in his article for Actingreality.com of an absurdist play, a form of theater he is not all too familiar with, but where he finds the structured formatting stifling. Only during the more authentic moments of the production, where the actors’ emotions happened to slip through did the play really speak to him.

By the end of the performance, White was surprised to find that the things that stood out to him the most were these rare and spontaneous moments of emotion. The human connection that he felt through the player’s acting drew him closer to the scene and dialogue. What also lured him was the authenticity of the moment. By being real, the player was actually able to elicit a truer gift than any contrived monologue has ever done.

Join us at Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio, located in Los Angeles, to discover your full acting potential. Currently enrolling for Spring classes for beginning actors and those who want to study under the Meisner technique, be sure you don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

Juggling Acting and a Day Job

There’s already so much that goes on with an acting career, but what if you’re juggling a day job as well? There’s no question that you need the day job to pay for expenses, but a burgeoning acting career is something that asks all kinds of sacrifices from you and it just isn’t realistic to work at both a regular full-time gig and pursue an acting career at the same time.

The question has come up if you had to choose, would you choose your day job over acting? Well, it comes down exactly to that – how committed are you, and to which career? In the long run, if you choose acting, you’ll have to sacrifice comfort for crappy living conditions and for long periods of time – which is why a lot of people quit their acting pursuits because to actually give yourself this kind of shot is really up to what you are willing to sacrifice.

Usually an average of eight to ten years is required from acting professionals who make it to the big screen or television. Similar to any profession out there, acting requires hard work, determination, and perseverance. If you’re not willing to do your part and carry the bulk of what’s required of you, then it really isn’t likely that you’ll be able to hit the big time either.

And finding something flexible, which usually falls into the waiting tables-category, is ideal. It’s pretty rare to find something part-time that is flexible and accommodating at the same time. But if you’re not willing to work hard to reach where you want to be in 5-10 years, then it’s pretty much telling an engineer that forgoing his studies will help him get his certificate – which really isn’t the way the world works. Work hard, and that means roughing it, and even suffering a few blows financially, but if you want to be one of the elite few, then it’s all requisite stuff from here on.

Acting: How To Get Started

Acting is a tough profession. It’s a distinct balance of experience and skill perfected over a period of time. A lot of patience and time ends up being thrown into the equation, and those who are disciplined enough to work hard and persevere for what they love and aspire to will reap the rewards in the end.

Rigorous training and practice – a minimum of three to four hours a day, six days a week for at least two or three years before you reach the bare minimum of becoming a professional. Which means you might have the potential, but you’ll have to work hard in order to be able to push that potential to the max.

It also comes down to how you present yourself. Imagine this: you are given a basic monologue and a rundown of what the casting director is looking for. What if you look down at the script in hand, your self-doubt gets in the way, and you freeze? The first few seconds are crucial. Your monologue either flies and you deliver, or you fail to sell them your speech, and you’re axed before you can unearth your character. Two seconds or so to prove youself – probably the most essential two seconds of your life.

The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio, a dynamic Los Angeles acting school, is willing to help you unmask your potential in truthfully, emotionally, and courageously expressing yourself. Ms. Mestnik founded EMAS in 2001 to provide Hollywood actors the same comprehensive training she received in New York City. Using the Meisner Technique to help challenge and invigorate actors to fully encompass their roles, EMAS will help guide you in understanding and improving your craft.

What’s most likely standing between you and your goals, is yourself. With the help of some great acting instruction, you’ll be able to acquire the skills that you will need to deliver those lines with fiery appeal, or with enough pizzazz, or dynamic panache to impress the right people.

Enrollment for Spring Classes Beginning Acting Classes starts now!

Los Angeles Acting School and Classes