By Acting is about promoting yourself. You are the product you want to sell (to get cast). And so we ought to ask ourselves: what exactly should I do? How can I best promote myself?
When it comes to promoting yourself, you have to switch your thinking: YOU ARE THE PRODUCT. Then, you start getting ideas of ways of how to continue. Because when you stay with the mentality of “promoting yourself,” easily we may slip into “EGO thinking.” That means you are trying to put yourself first as you are something special. But you are not. Yes, you are a unique and beautiful person, but you are not something better than others. We are all human beings. You are different from everybody, but it doesn’t mean you are something more. So, switching to thinking you are the product will get you to see yourself outside the box. It helps you to find the right distance looking at yourself. And, even though the ego can be useful in some situations as an actor, an important shift happens when you step into thinking about yourself as a product. This will help you distance from your persona and see outside of the box.
Let’s discover the product
Now we have the product – You. Sit with and ask yourself: Who are you as a product? What kind of acting do you want to do? Who are you, as a person? How does the outside world see you? How does your social media persona present you as? What types of roles can you be cast in? What are your skills? Or what type of roles are you able to play beyond your type? It may be helpful to check out my previous article to Define your type for acting to know more about your type.
Promoting yourself
First, you need to accept who you are. First and foremost: how you look. Realizing and accepting this will move you to another level to deepen your self-awareness and confidence and what characters you can play. When you know where you are a right fit for the role, your path becomes easier as you can use it to your advantage and focus on what is real for you.
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Now, we know you, so we know the product even better. So next, to think about how to sell the product.
As in any other business, you need to create the right marketing. There are many approaches and styles to do it. First, you can start working on your social media and promote yourself there. Second, you can build up your own website with your works. Third, work in the industry and get in touch with other creative people. Fourth, do your own shit! Create! Make! Do! Collaborate! Help others with their projects! There are many ways, but let’s focus on social media today.
Social media
Nowadays, social media are powerful tools to promote yourself. You can create the outside look of yourself.
Add photos with stuff you love and want to do. Then, you can create your online persona, and keep in mind the casting directors and agents will see it first. And that is the thing. It could help you, or it can damage your reputation. It depends on what persona you create.
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If it’s hard to manage your personal private stuff under the cover – create a separate account for acting and use it as a professional. Use it as it is your business account. The casting directors are not interested in drunk party photos, 1000 photos of cats, or posts about your food 5 times a day. Yes, your photos are so great! So if this is what you think, you should really consider the create a separate account. But please don’t take me wrong. You can use one account for both your personal and acting one, just saying – think twice before you post something because others can see that, even the people who can decide about your acting life.
Power of social media
The casting directors don’t know you. They know just your resume, your headshot, your demo reel, your audition tape, and social media. So They use these five pieces of a puzzle to assume if you are the right fit for the role.
Because they have access to your social media, they see your life, your style, maybe your skills, and, well, pretty much everything you share. So they will know you a little bit better. Based on it, they can cast you. Because maybe they can see you are the right fit, or maybe you are not. So it’s crucial what you share. THE POSTS MATTER.
Promoting yourself
You are managing your social media to choose what to share and what impression you want to create. Finally, you got a powerful tool in your hands.
You want to be seen. There is also a rumour that casting directors cast actors based on the number of followers to get actors’ audiences. It could be true as it makes perfect sense. But don’t worry, if you are a great actor you don’t need a big amount of followers—your performance is what matters. And if you care about a large number of followers – they will come on their own if you are as good as you think.
Building your social media
Get a professional photographer and bring some ideas you want to capture. It is not about just having photos. It’s about creating the right feeling or expression of yourself that others can see. So have your headshots there, create lifestyles photos where you capture your hobbies and skills, and create the right expression of what you are and what you can play as a character. Can you ride a horse? Put it there. Can you play a violin? Record a video and put it there. Are you an awesome skateboarder, skier, slackliner, rock climber, dancer, juggler, magician, storyteller, comedian, etc.? Whatever you can do – Share it! You never know what can be used for your future role.
Do your own stuff if you don’t have any other opportunities and share it! Be seen as a doer! Make things happen! Everybody has to start somewhere, so now is the right time to start. Do something today! Something small, something big, but do it! Promoting yourself is hard, but don’t forget the best promotion of yourself is doing things, and don’t worry, people will notice it.
Break a leg.
About the author:
My pursuit of artistic perfection extends beyond the stage and into the world of film. Represented by agent Jill Kabush at Dorothy S. Management, I am actively seeking opportunities to make my mark in the industry. Though my creative interests are diverse - including DJing and illustrating - my primary passion lies in acting. I received rigorous training at the Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts and have since performed in prestigious theaters such as Theater Around The Corner, Moravian Theater Olomouc, Theater DiGoknu, and Mlada Scena II. Through unwavering dedication and hard work, I continue to hone my craft and push myself to new heights in pursuit of artistic excellence.
