Michael had been acting for the past 16 years and decided he wished to help out his fellow thespians by writing a book. His chosen subject was audition techniques for actors because he felt that, having attended many Disney actor auditions himself, he planned to pass on the data he had gained.
As Mike began to research his chosen subject, he found that there were a variety of sites on the Internet giving the sort of information he was looking to impart. He saw little or no sense in reinventing the wheel. Consequently, he decided to approach his chosen subject from a different angle. Instead, he set out to target those that were considering entering the industry of theatre, film and TV, and tell the story of how he became an actor himself. His idea was that many people don’t have a clue where to begin.
Michael had embarked on this career as he was in his mid forties with little or no experience, only a desire to do something different and make money at the same time. He served his “apprenticeship” being an extra. Many people believe extras only work in television and also the movies but this is simply not true. They also work in the field of photography.
Mike got his name registered with plenty of casting agents and bookers, and even attended as much open auditions for actors as is possible. As his workload picked up, he grew in confidence. He progressed to going for “feature artist” vacancies. This could best be referred to as halfway between an extra and an actor, a stepping stone if you will.
From this point, it was only natural to determine it was time to go for certain speaking parts. At this moment he also applied for his Equity card, as for various jobs it was a prerequisite. Michael did not rush into putting himself forward for roles beyond his capabilities, but instead opted to try out initially for all those with one or two lines of dialogue. Actually, his first speaking part was as being a pub landlord in the Bill, where he said “Alright Guvnor.”
That was a long time ago, along with his parts have increased as have the variety of words he gets to speak. He has not had any lead roles to date yet he still hopes to break into the big time. So although Mike couldn’t add to the myriad of sites giving audition tips for actors, perhaps his story could possibly encourage others to follow him into the profession.