Comments (0) A short video about AADB especially for actors looking to join. Wendy Ho, one of the founders of AADB, explains how it works and the benefits of AADB for actors, producers, casting agents, crew and post production freelancers.
So you want to start acting in Singapore but don’t know where to begin. I will outline a few things to consider in this article and how AADB can help get you on the way.
This is always a difficult question to answer – many new actors ask if this is a viable career path. To be honest there are many actors in Singapore who make a fairly comfortable living and there are also many others who teach or do other side jobs to supplement their income. Because there is no set rate for the acting industry actors can get anywhere from $30 per day to $1500 per day. It also depends entirely on the type of job. A commercial can often pay a lot more than a tv serial.
The best way is to go to a full time course in acting. There are a couple of well known courses in Singapore – NAFA and Lasalle. These are FULL TIME so you do have to commit 3 years to the training but it’s well worth it if you really want to have longevity in your career. A doctor without training wouldn’t last a minute in a hospital – an actor without training may get away with natural talent for awhile but most will eventually fall out of the system. 3 years of full time training will really prepare you for anything the industry might ask of you and will give you the knowledge and skills to really stretch your talent.
A full time acting course is the best way to become the best actor you can be. If, however, you don’t have the time for that you may want to try a part time acting course. Centre Stage school of the arts offers courses for kids and adults – this may be a good place to start if you want to test the waters.
My advice is to do as many classes as you can – part time or full time. There is no replacement for training and practice. When you get a job you don’t want to be ill prepared – cause they won’t teach you on the job they just won’t hire you again.
You need a few things to be a professional actor: photos, a showreel if possible and a place where people can find you. You can of course get an agent or manager – they will help find auditions for you, negotiate your contracts and collect money. They take a fee for this – sometimes up to 30%. Most actors in Singapore work FREELANCE – in other words they don’t have an agent or manager and do all the negotiating and find auditions themselves. The benefit of this is they get to keep all the money they earn. There are pluses and minuses to both ways of working.
Whether you have an agent or work freelance you will need professional photos or headshots. A headshot is similar to a passport photo – it’s a clean photo of your face with minimal make up. It can either be black and white or colour these days. You should get this professionally done as it’s your calling card. This is what will be the deciding factor between you getting a job or not – it’s equivalent to a CV in job interviews. Directors and producers will send your headshot to each other to decide whether you’re the right look for a particular job. You don’t want them sending an amateur photo of you taken in some restaurant – you need a good, professionally taken headshot from someone who understands what the industry needs. While you’re getting your headshot done – you should also get side profiles, half body shots and a full body shot as well. The industry needs to know what you look like from all angles. Yes, it seems like objectification but that’s the industry you’re signing up for! ; )
Everyone needs an online presence now – you have email and facebook so people can find you. AADB is a place where the industry can find you. No point just having your own website where the industry can only find you if they know your exact website url. You need to be where everyone is looking and working. All you need is a membership to AADB and a profile on AADB with your photos, a showreel if you have one and a basic CV of all the work you’ve done. Don’t worry – there is a NEWCOMER section for anyone just starting out. Once you’re on AADB you can be seen and found by hundreds of producers, directors and casting agents who use it daily. You can also submit yourself to any of the hundreds of auditions that are posted there every month. It’s easy to use and it’s convenient for the industry.
So, all you really need are a few photos and a membership to AADB and you can start auditioning! If you don’t know where to get photos just sign up to our ACTORS ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION & PHOTO PACKAGE which includes a studio shoot with a professional photographer and a 1 year membership to AADB. Alternatively, if you want to try AADB for 1 month free of charge just SIGN UP HERE under ACTORS / Voice Talent ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION. Thereafter it’s just $150 per year if you wish to stay on the site.
Click to follow AADB on twitter
AADB just started a twitter feed. Only members of AADB have full access to audition pages and can submit their profiles. But everyone can follow AADB on twitter. You will soon realize the large numbers of Singapore acting auditions or casting jobs within AADB. At present we’re tweeting all acting auditions in Singapore and we’ll be adding production bulletin notices, crew job notices and more in future.
Some acting audition tweets will have multiple auditions posted in one tweet – so do click READ MORE to see ALL the auditions. You will of course have to sign in to read the full audition details.
So just click on the image above to follow AADB on twitter. And, if you’re NOT already a member of AADB – JOIN NOW- whether you’re an actor / actress, producer, director, casting agent or crew member – be part of the tv and film production community of AADB.
Develop a Feature Film
If you’re interested in writing a feature film or you have a feature film project you’ve already been working on then you may be interested in this screenwriting course. “The First Draft” is Singapore’s first professional screenwriting development programme. It’s supported by The British Council (Singapore), MDA and Sinema. The First Draft focusses on developing a full-length feature film script over 1 year.
Structure of The First Draft
There are 2 live-in, intensive workshops – one at the beginning of the year in March and the second in September. The first of these 5 day workshops focusses on the building blocks of screenwriting: from structure, characterisation and genre to motivation, active questions and mise-en-scene.
Following the first workshop there are monthly meetings with a small group of writers and bi-monthly feedback phone calls with the UK tutors.These first 6 months focus on the story structure and development leading to a detailed and very polished treatment.
Then in September a further 5 day intensive workshop will begin work on the actual screenplay: expanding the polished treatment into the full length script.
Video about “The First Draft”
Express Interest
For those interested in the next intake of The First Draft – contact Layhong:
ker.layhong@britishcouncil.org.sg
with “FIRST” in your subject line – include your contact details.
Selection Criteria
Applicants must be Singaporean Citizens or PR.
The application involves submitting a 1 page treatment of your feature idea along with two scenes in screenplay format. An interview will take place after the first level of selection. The cost is approximately SGD$ 2500 for the year – inclusive of accommodation costs for the two live-in intensive workshops.
If you’re new to acting you may not know what a “Casting Call” is. You may have heard of an “Audition”? Well, it’s the same thing. A Casting Call or Audition is basically like an interview for a job. The casting agent or director wants to see who will best fit the job. So, they will invite a lot of actors or actresses to come and “audition” for the part. Of course, most who come will not be “right” for the part simply because of their look, physicality or accent; or, sometimes, the director just has something very particular in mind for the role.
Almost all films, tv and theatre shows start with a casting call or audition. Whether it’s a big Hollywood production or local tv show there has to be a process where all the actors are selected for all the parts.
Usually, you’re greeted by someone who will ask you to fill out a form with your contact details, short bio and measurements (if you’re a member of AADB – you can print out your online CV – just go to your profile and click PRINTER FRIENDLY – then print that page). Then you will be given a script of the part you’re going to audition for. You’ll then be given some time to learn the script. You should learn this script as well as you can – there’s nothing worse than trying to act with a piece of paper in your hand. Always, always try to memorize the entire script. It’s even better if you ask the casting agent or director to email you the script to learn days before your actual audition.
The actual audition will usually happen in a quiet room with a camera, some lighting and the casting director. He or she will read the other part/s of the script from behind the camera. You’ll be asked to relax and then give your performance when the camera rolls. It’s not easy – but it’s a skill that can be learnt and improved on over time.
The best place to find casting calls is on AADB. The casting calls are all formatted – giving you all the relevant information, they allow actors to submit themselves and we keep an eye on the whole process to make sure it upholds professional standards.
Just go to our Casting Call or Audition page and click on the DETAILS link on any of the audiitons. As a member of AADB you will be able to Submit your profile online directly to the casting agent. This saves a lot of emailing back and forth of CV’s, bios, photographs etc. The casting director will get a link directly to your profile. It couldn’t be easier.
If you have any questions or comments – do leave them below. In the meantime – good luck with your auditions – and break a leg!
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