Summer Revamp: A Round-up to Kickstart Your Career
Spotlight's best advice to get you summer ready...
The thermostat might not show it, but summer is definitely here! Here’s our round-up of the best advice to make the most of the summer months and give your career that much needed boost.
Revamping Your Showreel
How to Make A Showreel
THE video on showreels; here is everything you need to think about to get your showreel made and ready for your Spotlight profile!
Making and Getting Your Own Work
An Actor’s Guide to Producing Your own Audio Play
The lovely Katie Redford on her top tips for producing your own audio play - the perfect project for a summer break…
Voices, sound effects and your imagination can take you anywhere. For instance, I've just written a play about a kitchen appliance - just a normal guy in a normal world. Apart from the fact that he's a whisk. #andwhat
How Writing Can Help With Your Acting
Keiran Knowles offers up his very relatable perspective on how writing can help unlock new levels as an actor.
…with a group of friends, and fellow graduates we started to toss about the idea of writing a play where we could each play a dynamic human, with backstories and hopes, dreams, wishes and objectives, just as we'd trained to do. Not as a showcase, but as a credit, a chance to prove to ourselves that we could do something if we just went for it.
How to Get Gigs: Tips for Comedians
Fancy dipping your toe into the stand up world? Maureen Younger gives us her experienced advice on where you can get started with comedy gigs. The great thing about comedy? You can get a lot of gigs yourself! Perfect.
The standard joke among comics is the one where, on hearing a fellow comic mention a gig they’ve just done, you respond by asking: Who books that then? And like most jokes, it’s funny because it’s true.
Auditions
What to Do Before Your Audition
Before hitting your next audition, check out our video with advice for what to do to make the most of your (limited!) prep time.
Tips for Performing Your Best Monologue
Get that monologue down with these great tips from Spotlight and Guildford School of Acting panellist, Joe Richardson.
Think about the levels of emotion in the piece; where does the character start? Where do they end up? It’s vital to really break down and think about the way the piece flows, how emotions are changing or what is being realised, discovered or dissected in the language.
Your First Audition At Spotlight
Coming in to see us at Spotlight? Here’s what you can expect!
Post-Audition Self Care
Ok, so the audition’s come and gone… what next? The best self-care advice for the post-audition come down from the lovely Matthew Jacobs Morgan.
Don’t Google the project to see who got the part! Even if they are a completely different casting type than you, and you can see that the team really did go a different way, it’ll only make you feel like rubbish. Instead, Google pictures of baby hippos. It’s much less risky.
Voice Work
Animation Voice Acting with Dian Perry
Thinking about trying out some animation VO work? Dian gives us the low down on how to get into this particular niche of the industry!
There is nothing quite like the thrill of creating original character voices, bringing an animation script to life and then watching the finished characters move and speak with the voices you created for them. I hear you – ‘Good heavens yes, I’d LOVE some of that! But it’s impossible to get into!’ No, it isn’t.
Working in Audiobooks with Rachael Beresford
Prolific audiobook actor Rachael Beresford gives her tips for making it in audiobooks - a booming section of the voice over industry!
Audiobooks are not just mechanical readings. They are also equally not plays. The audiobook is a whole vocal production of its own.
Perfecting Accent Work with Dialect Coach William Conacher
The Crown’s own William Conacher talks to us about how to perfect your accent work and his approach to coaching. Take a read!
Accents have different entry points for me. Sometimes it’s the rhythm and melody, or sometimes it’s vowel and consonant changes… I believe learning an accent is much more akin to learning dance steps than it is learning a piece of music.
Self-Care and Wellness
A Guide to Finding Help for Anxiety and Depression
Summer isn’t all about that summer bod; get a little further than skin-deep with our guide to how you can address the tough times and feel better than ever.
Although many styles of therapy have been shown to achieve good outcomes, finding the right approach for you is important.
How to Feel Fulfilled
What better time to reflect on the big questions than when the sun’s out…? Life Coach Bea Grist gives us her thoughts on how you can feel more fulfilled.
Think about your own life for a moment. What is your vision of a really fulfilling life? What would that be like? Whatever answer comes to mind, notice that the question takes you deeper than simply asking, “What do you want?”
Surviving Long and Difficult Jobs
Our fav Matthew, this time on surviving those jobs that never seem to end...for all the wrong reasons.
Your dressing room needs to be your sanctuary. Somewhere where you can be at peace and prepare yourself for the show. I find that covering it with things that inspire is a great way of making it somewhere I want to spend time. For me, those things include positive quotes and pictures of loved ones, or even pictures of inspirational people (LIKE A FRAMED PICTURE OF OPRAH!).
Self Employment
Work-Life Balance: The Number One Issue for Freelancers
The “freelance” life is a tough one - performers should know! Here’s our advice for tackling that all important issue: balance.
Having a super organised schedule is really great and can help you see how and when you’re going to tackle everything on your plate. But don’t forget to factor in your down time - schedule relaxation time in too! Literally.
10 Tips for Taking Control of Your Talent Online
Got an online presence? Know how to use it? Mark Bonington gives us his top tips for taking control of your own talent and presenting yourself as a performer in the bets light possible.
Take a step away from thinking of yourself as a performer and consider yourself as a small business, offering your services in a highly competitive environment. Start by thinking about what inspires you. Music or words are the obvious ones to begin with. As performers and entertainers, these are our bread and butter.
How to Market Yourself as a Performer
Being a performer requires you to hone many skills - and good self-marketing is one of them. Here’s our video on marketing yourself and your talent.
Got any other questions? Ask us on Twitter!
