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Category: Blog
So, you want to put on your own work?
“Putting on your own work is not easy, so here are some tips to keep you going”
Can I say I am an Actor AND a…?
Tired of wondering what to say when someone asks you what you do? Worry no longer!
Am I always going to have to worry about money?
“Its the last night of my show. My second West End gig! And instead of being happy, proud and excited…I’m backstage worrying.
What is The Actor Awareness Campaign?
My name is Tom Stocks and I am an actor. I have also been running the Actor Awareness campaign for 2 years now.
Sam Benjamin – Forging Your Own Acting Destiny
In this industry, you cannot sit back and wait for an angel to give you the career you dream of, it is up to you to go out and make it happen. And no one knows more about that than our featured actor, Sam Benjamin, who has created his own path and is quickly becoming a rising star.
Camden Fringe – Acting After Illness
One evening in early October 2014, I walked into the Royal Free Hospital. I was admitted with a serious neurological condition – a brain haemorrhage, and the discovery of a congenital AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation).
In Steven Pressfield’s, new book on writing, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t , Steven informs us that scripts have an “All is Lost Moment” – the protagonist’s darkest hour. Think Karen Blixen in Out of Africa or Bond. These moments are then followed by a way out.
Camden Fringe – Creating our own work & roles for the under-represented
What’s interesting as an actor/writer/producer is that sometimes you have to step away from the acting.
I trained at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts from 2005-2009 and have been working on the London fringe scene ever since. I am only just starting to get my work out there in a larger way and that’s thanks in part to Aequitas Theatre Company.
Camden Fringe – The Multitasking Actor (and why acting isn’t really a skill)
By Sarah Tattersall
Ashton Kutcher sold his blood; Sean Connery polished coffins; Brad Pitt used to dance in a chicken suit on the street – we’ve all heard the tales actors working alongside their true passion for years before they finally made it. And that mentality doesn’t necessarily stop after a string of big roles. Just look at Gwyneth Paltrow, who is still inventing health tips to flog us overpriced tampons. Expanding our work is something the working actor needs to accept – but how do we make our work, work for us?
Camden Fringe – From Sydney to Hollywood to Camden
By Sammy Courtright
I moved to Los Angeles when I was 22 years-old. I just spent four years getting my BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Miami, Florida and I had to choose between pursuing theatre in New York or film/TV in LA. Not an easy decision because I truly loved both. My major was theatre focused so I was intrigued to try something new. And now that I have been in LA for a while, I miss live theatre and a live audience more than anything.
Interview with actor Vauxhall Jermaine
Here at Ascend we love to feature proactive actors who carve their own way in this industry. This month we caught up with actor Vauxhall Jermaine, who has worked with Tom Cruise and Shane Meadows, for a quick inspiring chat and to see what he has in store for the rest of 2016.
Rich Creative presents ‘Modern Love’
Thinking of starting up a theatre and/or production company? Well…‘Take control of your career, find your artistic family and make your career happen!’ Great advice from Annabelle, Francesca and Emily; the three ladies who founded the production company Rich Creative earlier this year, and are about to showcase extracts of their latest production Modern Love at the Pleasance Theatre’s Litmus Fest this weekend, before the full production opens at the Etcetera Theatre in a few weeks. Check out their journey.
Can you be a writer and an actress?
Actress and Author Carrie Sutton tells us about her journey.
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Taking The Acting Leap of Faith
Actress Lauren Douglin shares why and when she decided to drop everything and take a giant leap of faith towards towards her acting career.
From Workshop to Commercial
After doing my very first workshop with Ascend, which was such integral learning, Stephanie (head of Ascend) put me forward for a paid commercial she new was being cast.
Thinking of Starting a Theatre Company?
So what does it take to start a theatre company and produce your first play? Easy right? Wrong!
Enter the world of the bold, new and exciting theatre company, Paper Creatures Theatre, to see what it really takes.
IMPROV: Be Your Own Casting Director
I have frequently joked I could have been cast as a student on Glee and stayed with the series long into my thirties. Not that I would WANT to, but I could because, ironically, for a creative industry, casting calls aren’t very imaginative. When talent is what should matter, a greater focus is instead placed upon our appearance. So, as I am relatively short, baby-faced, and can pass as a teen, I will primarily be cast as such.
Breaking Borders – Let the light shine on me
I went to a school called City of London School for Girls, a school where I felt I could become anything I wanted, and in my early teens, I auditioned to be part of our school play, Grease.
Bring Forth What is Within You
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.” The Gospel of Thomas.
There’s a moment, in the sweat-soaked delirium of giving birth, when you really want to pack up your shit and get the hell out of there. The pain and the humiliation and the being naked in front of everyone just gets old and you think you’d quite like to leave, actually. You crouch there, in a mess of bodily fluids, and you have to face the fact that the only way out of this is through it.
Interview with Actress and Entrepreneur Scherrikar Bell
How did you get started without an agent? Acting agent
“I had a cousin who was a stylist and he would find models via this website www.starnow.com I joined up and I began getting extra jobs on music videos with the likes of Tinchy Stryder. Some of the other extras were working actors and they would give me tips about being in the industry. I gathered that I needed an agent, credits and a showreel. I was then directed to an open audition advert for an Off West End play “Oh what a lovely War!” I thought I had no chance and still went along having nothing to loose and booked the role! After playing lead in a successful show I was then cast in numerous short films and indies. I gathered all of my footage, made it into a showreel uploaded it onto CCP and emailed agencies, I was signed within days. This process took roughly a year.” Ac
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