'Types of Acting'
Professional Development for Actors DG49 34 - 0.5 credit.
A variety of possible areas of employment as an actor and the expected circumstances for each.
1. Work as an actor in the theatre.
Equity’s minimum rate for actors working in theatre is £372 per week. However rates can change depending on whether or not that actor must travel to work etc. London’s West End actors earn a minimum rate of £470 per week. Actors who are not equity members are often expected to work for much less money. Actors may also have a percentage taken from their earnings for their agent’s commission. This can vary from 10-25%.
Working hours are very variable for the theatre actor. An actor can go for months without work and then have a period where they are rehearsing for one show during the day whilst performing another by night. Working hours also depend on the project in question. For some productions, the rehearsal process will be a few weeks, for others, it will be more extensive. For some projects, such as Fringe shows, many companies will get a show ready for performance in less than 2 weeks.
There are many types of contracts in the theatre, and Equity puts them into 2 broad categories – the ‘Principle’ contract (also known as the ‘white’ contract) is for principle actors and stage managers, and the ‘Chorus’ contract (or ‘pink’ contract) is for actors who are mainly performing ensemble or choral work.
Working conditions again depend entirely on the nature of the project the actor is working on. They might be expected to travel long distances each day, commit to multiple performances each day or perform under unpleasant weather conditions. They might have to learn extra lines very last minute.
Actors should be physically fit and have a good voice. Actors are expected to be punctual to every rehearsal and performance, to know their lines and work on their character outwith the rehearsal room. They should come to rehearsal ready to work. In return, the actor should expect
A variety of possible areas of employment as an actor and the expected circumstances for each.
1. Work as an actor in the theatre.
Equity’s minimum rate for actors working in theatre is £372 per week. However rates can change depending on whether or not that actor must travel to work etc. London’s West End actors earn a minimum rate of £470 per week. Actors who are not equity members are often expected to work for much less money. Actors may also have a percentage taken from their earnings for their agent’s commission. This can vary from 10-25%.
Working hours are very variable for the theatre actor. An actor can go for months without work and then have a period where they are rehearsing for one show during the day whilst performing another by night. Working hours also depend on the project in question. For some productions, the rehearsal process will be a few weeks, for others, it will be more extensive. For some projects, such as Fringe shows, many companies will get a show ready for performance in less than 2 weeks.
There are many types of contracts in the theatre, and Equity puts them into 2 broad categories – the ‘Principle’ contract (also known as the ‘white’ contract) is for principle actors and stage managers, and the ‘Chorus’ contract (or ‘pink’ contract) is for actors who are mainly performing ensemble or choral work.
Working conditions again depend entirely on the nature of the project the actor is working on. They might be expected to travel long distances each day, commit to multiple performances each day or perform under unpleasant weather conditions. They might have to learn extra lines very last minute.
Actors should be physically fit and have a good voice. Actors are expected to be punctual to every rehearsal and performance, to know their lines and work on their character outwith the rehearsal room. They should come to rehearsal ready to work. In return, the actor should expect
Bibliography: http://www.redgoldfish.co.uk/job-roles/62-actor-actress-job-role.aspx http://www.prospects.ac.uk/actor_salary.htm http://www.actorsequity.org/AboutEquity/contracts.asp http://books.mongabay.com/labor/working_conditions/093.html http://www.equity.org.uk/resource-centre/rates-and-agreements/equity-rates/ http://www.cruisejobfinder.com/JobDescriptions/cruise_entertainment.php http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071206210518AAV5vgf http://www.jobmonkey.com/uniquejobs/voice-actor.html http://www.ukvoices.co.uk/hints_tips.php http://www.thestage.co.uk/