Honestly, if you think these types of postings are annoying, then I advise you NOT to visit the YAHOO! Answers - Theatre and Acting section. I think 1 in every 50 questions is actually related to theatre and acting. The rest, well, it's hard to pick...

Absit invidia

Jeff Watkins
Perth based Actor/Performer
Fight/Sword Choreographer
Virgin Director

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Someone in management sould post:

Berts guide to becoming an actor/STAR

Somwhere permanently!!!!!

See Labrug's blog about creating an FAQ for the uninitiated.

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Yes, I know... I'm a sucker.

But I also know that I appreciated getting responses from people when I wanted to learn stuff about the industry. I'm trying to pay it forward. As for ignoring them - I don't think it will stop the posting; it will just encourage the view that the industry is circular and elitist. This is also why I was advocating a more obvious FAQ or sticky posts; so we can answer the q's without actually having to answer them individually.

Perhaps I should have a Word doc from which I can cut and paste my response

(PS. Patience is wearing thin too)

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by a number of google searches eg "teen audition", "thirteen year old audition" etc you enter via the faq section... Grant put this in a few years ago when the teenage "I wanna be a star" postings reached epidemic levels. Believe it or not this is mild.

I used to answer each and every one of the little stars individually, but I got old and tired and frustrated.

Kimberley

And we can't forget someone that's completely new making their first post such as the one above- they're not going to read through thousands of threads.

Especially about other people wanting an audition, a part or whatever.

They want one.

The other thing is because of the large amount of titles saying 'I want an audition' at the moment maybe these new members think it's the right thing to do, that maybe it works. Posts also say things like '6 Replies', a new member might think- wow that person asked for an interview and got 6 replies, I might post one!

Drama at school hasn't taught me to get an agent, or how to audition etc. (Although school plays have helped with that). Drama has a course structure that has to be followed in the limited time we have at school year and it's more about acting than how to survive in a world of theatre. So don't get angry when young people aren't sure of what they're doing, they in general don't know.

When I self produced my show this year I had no idea about insurance or anything like that! And that was a challenge to work out. But I got help from members from this website- because I asked. We are to help each other don't forget- that's the community part of our website.

Although these posts appear quite often, nothing is forcing you to read them or even answer, a new member may not know where to start here, I know when I first 'logged on' I was confused, but found lots of help from some of the great helpful positive members here (angry posts don't create that same warm sense of welcome), a younger person may also not know how to go about things like auditions and agents and that big world (just a look into the 'Oh Dear a Bad Agent' files which seem to be growing on this site as well, shows that younger people need help before they get caught in a trap.) They may come from a community that doesn't have drama classes, or parents that are trying to help their child but have no idea- don't forget the internet can be accessed from all over the place- some people may not know what theatre groups are in their area so they research...

So don't be angry- yes they pop up often, but take a breath, count to ten, let the anger drive away. You're not helping yourself or others by posting angry comments towards new members who may have no idea where to go.

...and that's my five cents (as I'm not old enough to ever been able to use 2 cents)

And best of luck Nathan with all your ambitions in the future, I hope it goes well.

Sean
____________________________________________________________
Currently working on:
A nice break before jumping into my next project.

I couldn't have put it better - thanks Sean!

(PS. I can lend you two cents. I have a couple stashed away... even a one cent and a one dollar note! )

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My puppets
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I take issue at the following:

"The way I understood it, was that you learnt to act at school, then completed further trainingi at say...WAAPA, where the learning was focused more on the industry..."

I think you'll find that many higher education courses do not in fact, offer basic advice on where to find insurance, etc. Courses do generally offer short sessional classes (maybe 3 hours worth over the entire course period) on things like contracts, CVs and resumes, etc., but are entirely NOT an introduction to the industry.

When I was at uni, I asked my lecturer where to buy public liability (for techies). He told me he didn't know, because he couldn't afford insurance himself anymore (this was just after HIH etc.). While at uni, we had an assignment which was to produce a show (write, direct, act, tech, everything) by ourselves. It was in no way a realistic example of how to create theatre on our own.

The fact of the matter is that there are too many lessons that MUST be learned outside of an educational facility, and too many lessons that should be taught there but aren't.

It is thanks to the encouragement of my lecturers, and the very few people in the industry, who took the time to actually give me advice and direction, that I am able to work professionally in theatre.

This is why I continue to try and answer the numerous posts about jobs and auditions, etc.

The fact of the matter is that this industry is secluded, exclusive, and secretive. It doesn't matter how well informed you are at school or uni - it won't do diddly out there in the real world unless you do your own research, ask the questions, and when no one answers, find out yourself.

"Find a way or make a way"

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Puppets in Melbourne
www.thepromptcopy.com/pip

My puppets
www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

And there I think (from the limited industry experience I have) is the main part missing. We have the 'skills' training, but not the logistics training- if you get what I mean.

Self producing a show in school was easy- the background details of them covering my insurance, getting me a venue etc that I didn't really see all happened around my plans of just getting a good looking show on stage. Then putting on a show outside of school was a whole different kettle of fish.

Because of the different kettle the show we produce lacked a fair bit compared to the one at school because there was SO much more that we needed to worry about. (Not to mention self producing at an under 18 age isn't easy...it's parents signature on the dotted line for a lot of things). Negotiations took place in rehearsal time, rehearsal time was uhhh whenever we got a chance inbetween chasing things up.

However next time I know where to go straight away- not spend hours phoning insurance company and another and another.

Here's my metaphor- gaining the experience for me has been a treasure hunt- you search around a bit, you get an answer, and another, and slowly more and more pieces are revealed, so next time you go looking you can jump closer to the 'X' than the last time!

However something I want to be part of in the future (after skills training at Uni etc) is a group that aids young performers wanting to learn how to put on a show. Because I know how much I needed the help. (Cockiness only lasts so long haha)

Sean
____________________________________________________________
Currently working on:
A nice break before jumping into my next project.