I was recently on the set of “The Young and the Restleess” and I was chatting with several actors who were there for the day doing extra work. One of them asked me what I thought of their taking non speaking roles as a way to get “real” acting work.
I had a couple of thoughts. First of all, I think it depends a lot on the amount of experience you have as an actor on a TV or film set. If you’ve done lots of plays, but have no on camera experience, what better way to get a feel for a working set? To actually be there and watch and see how it all flows, what’s expected of actors and the crew, what are the rules and how to navigate the schedule on a set…all these things are necessary to know to be a professional. If you want to learn in a relatively non threatening way, this is the ticket!
I know that there is a lot of discussion in acting class and at theater group that you should never take extra work, but I would have to say not everyone books big roles right off the bat. It’s something to consider that you can end up being a permanent professional extra (I think the proper term is atmosphere artist), but there is a lot to be said for learning on the job, and actually being on a working set can not be taught, duplicated, or read about. The choice is yours, of course. But don’t be a snob and cheat yourself from being ready when your speaking part comes along.
Just do it.
Beth