I want get into acting but I have never acted before!?

Question:I am 14 years old and I am very into sports, plus I play the clarinet. I've always loved how actors and actresses can be whoever they want, and how they are always so open and outgoing. I really want to open up and be an actress. At home, I am really wild and fun and then in public I am so shy! I have never acted before, and I know my friends would think it's weird to join the drama club. I need helppp!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am 14 years old and I am very into sports, plus I play the clarinet. I've always loved how actors and actresses can be whoever they want, and how they are always so open and outgoing. I really want to open up and be an actress. At home, I am really wild and fun and then in public I am so shy! I have never acted before, and I know my friends would think it's weird to join the drama club. I need helppp!!

Theater attracts all types, even the quiet and shy ones! You don't have to join the drama club to get into acting. At almost every school, auditions for the plays are open to everyone. Just go and audition. Even if you don't get cast in the show, you will stay gain valuable experience on how the audition process works so you'll be better prepared next time. Also, ask about volunteering to help with the show backstage, or passing out programs, or building sets or props. Again, you'll gain some experience and become more comfortable being around the theater.

Since you play the clarinet, you can also volunteer to play in the orchestra if your school ever does a musical (usually made up of a volunteer orchestra of students).

You can also sign up for theater classes at school. All kinds of kids take Theater I, mostly just because they have to fulfill an Arts credit. It's a great way to earn your Arts credits if your school requires it (most do) and you can also learn the basics of theater and acting.

So what if your friends think it's weird? Who says you only have to have friends that are only into sports or band? One of the greatest things you can do for yourself is to broaden your horizons and have friends from all different backgrounds and interests. It seems to me that the coolest, most well rounded (and often popular) students are those who are kind to everyone (genuinely kind, not fake) and know people from all the different scenes.

By the way, I totally wasn't into drama my freshman year (being the quiet and nerdy bookish type). I took a theater class so I could gain some self confidence and not be so scared being up in front of people. I only auditioned for the fall play because it sounded like fun. I didn't get cast, but I volunteered for the stage crew and made loads of friends and absolutely fell in love with theater. I had NO idea that it would actually become my life's work! I'm now a theater teacher and still great friends with people I went to high school with. I not only got a rewarding career, but lifelong friendships as well.

Give it a shot. You never know where it will take you!

Join the Drama Department at school, or enrolll in acting classes.

just join drama. go with ur guts, if u dont do it. u will regret it trust me. and also try taking speech classes if u have like stage fright or something.

If you want to be an actress, for heaven's sake join the drama club, where you will make friends who have the same interests. Also, it doesn't hurt to read a lot of plays and watch films of plays (I recommend this because for a long time the best actors and actresses acted from the stage rather than in a studio). And practice in front of a mirror as much as you can- take on different roles and practice facial expressions for various emotional states. Acting is a lot of fun but it's very competitive as a career choice. You might consider taking up drama as a major in college.

Join the drama club. Forget what your friends think. Go for it!

Hi, the first warning sign i saw was when you said " my friends would think....". Honestly , what your friends think is immaterial- Your talking bout a career! The first thing you might consider, is, Are you interested in ACTING or Pleasing Your Friends. Excuse me, but when you walk of the stage on Broadway or into the set for Spielberg, believe me, they wont remember the Drama club you studied at, They`ll REMEMBER Your Name! H= Humanity E= enjoys L= laughter and P= Progressive ART!.....HELP!

acting is a luck of the draw thing. get into a school play. only way to start and get practice

this won't help cuz i have never acted in my life... but you really need connections with familly to get you good agents... you also have to live in cali... GUESS WAT I PLAY THE CLARINET TOO!!! winter concert is comin up too =]

you should stop thinking about what your freinds think if they cant accept u 4 who u r then they arent your real freinds with the shy thing start just with ur family then freinds by the way when i was nervous when i did a school play first to get into the comp i had to do it infront of them on the mat then once i did it on the stage i felt better so if u r on a higher level then them
good luck

Great advice in the previous answers! You won't know if you like the actual work of bringing up a show (as crew or cast) until you actually do it. The two places a teenager can do that are in your high school's drama club and in your local community theatre (if your town has one). If you do a couple shows and find out what you're good at (tech, sound, lighting, scenery design, costumes, production coordination, props, music, and/or acting), then you might want to try a Summer drama school. In a drama school or camp you will work with other teenagers who have the same goals, and (typically) are very talented. How does your voice, stage presence, body language, timing, and ability to learn lines compare with the best you have met? You'll live and breathe drama for six to eight weeks, and you'll find out if you love it enough, and if you have what it takes.

Acting, production, and all the piece-parts that go together to make a show happen, are hard work. It's even harder work to "learn your craft," to make your part of the show look easy. You won't know if you can do that professionally, until you try it. And if you try it and find you're not the best, you will at least learn some new skills, gain some self-confidence, and meet a lot of great new friends.

If your high school drama club participates in a regional drama competition, try to become part of it, whether as cast or crew. At the competition sites, you will see a LOT of theatre performed by the other schools, and you will see the huge differences in quality of performance, scenery, costume, sound, lighting, etc. by kids your age. You will start to get a feeling for what's good, and what you can do to make it better.

No matter what you do in the future, the experience of producing a show, from casting calls to final performance and striking the set, is a complete project and will teach you how to start and complete any project. You will learn cooperation, teamwork, and leadership. You will learn to trust other people, and what to do to build trust (that's part of what the theatre games are for!). You will learn how to put things together quickly, and make them good enough for the audience to accept them (costumes, scenes, props, blocking, ...). You will certainly gain that self-confidence you mentioned.

Start it. Try it. No matter what you decide later, this is an experience you will draw upon the rest of your life.

Ignore what your friends think about it. Join drama club, and then MAKE them come to the show and see how fabulous you are! Honestly, drama club is the best organization I ever joined in high school. Everyone was so different, but really accepting and kind.

If you don't want to join your school's club, maybe see if there is a local theatre you could join. I know our local papers usually have a lot of notices about auditions. I think the best thing to do is to just start doing shows...even just being in the Chorus can be a wonderful experience.

Good luck!

ps. Your friends are supposed to support you. They should respect your decision to join the club and your interest in acting...thats what friends are for!