With COVID-19 rocking the world, many people are feeling an economic pinch. One profession hit particularly hard is actors. Live performances and crowds are suspended for the foreseeable future, which is a huge disruption for actors. Actors can’t really perform when crowds aren’t around, creating a very difficult situation for actors. So how should an actor navigate the COVID-19 pandemic when no one is looking for actors for hire? Here are four things actors can do during COVID-19.
Practice
One of the most important things for you to do during this pressing time is to continue practicing and honing your acting skills. Usually, you get plenty of practice just from doing your job, but with theaters and live performances shut down, that isn’t really possible anymore. You don’t want your skills to get rusty or deteriorate, so it’s extremely important to practice your acting skills during this time. Try doing various acting exercises and drills to strengthen your acting skills while you can’t perform. In addition, you may want to shore up various aspects of your acting repertoire that you never had time to address before. Now that you’re not performing for the foreseeable future, this can be the perfect time to address issues that you never could before.
Get In Shape
Since you’re not performing due to COVID-19, you likely have a lot more free time on your hands. One of the best ways to spend this free time is by working out and getting in shape. When you’re acting, your appearance, and the way you present yourself is extremely important. As a result, if you can improve your appearance and present yourself better by getting in shape, you could have an easier time landing roles. In addition, acting requires many other things like dancing and stunt work. These activities require quite a bit of agility and physical fitness, something that you’ll only be able to have if you’re in good shape. As a result, you might want to look at this break as an opportunity to improve your fitness and open up new potential roles.
Study Acting Material
Another great way to spend this break is by studying acting material and learning from it. Usually, you don’t have enough time to study acting material, as you are too busy getting ready to perform. However, with no performances going on, you can spend your new free time studying other actors’ work. These acting materials may include acting books, allowing you to learn about new concepts and apply them to your own acting repertoire. Alternatively, you may want to study the work of other actors and actresses, taking note of what they do well and how you can emulate them. Finally, if you have any film of yourself acting, you can review it and see what areas you can improve upon. Studying and learning is an important part of becoming a better actor, so it’s important to use your new free time to study acting material.
Network and Market Yourself
Just because you’re not performing does not mean that you need to stop marketing yourself as an actor and networking. Your success in the acting world is often determined by who you know and who you’ve networked with. During your break from performing, try to reach out and form bonds with important people in your local acting scene. Networking with these people is extremely important, and now’s the time where you can focus strictly on the business side of acting. While doing that, you may want to update things like your headshot and resume, as doing so will make it much easier to market yourself and network with others. Networking is especially important in the acting industry, so it’s vital that you take this time to form some meaningful connections that can help you down the line.
