If you want to act or direct then there are plenty of opportunities out there. If you want fame or celebrity then that is a different goal entirely.

You have 2 choices really

1 KEEP YOUR CURRENT JOB AND DO IT LOCALLY

I live in the UK and every reasonably sized town or city has at least a dozen or so amateur rep, musical, theatrical and operatic societies. I am sure it must be the same in many countries. And don’t perpetuate the myth that amateur performances are crude, badly acted or sung. This is one myth that the professionals in tv and film love to extol in their self congratutory way – with any programme featuring a back drop of an amateur show being an opportunity to ham it up in the crudest possible manner. Don’t believe it – just find a company near you and join up!

2 DROP EVERYTHING AND GO FOR IT

There are many brilliant theatre schools to get into. Find out about their next intake and get your name down to audition. You will need to be able to dance, act and sing (for most) and you will need to have a reasonable talent in at least one of those. In the UK you will probably need to pay for your tuition and I don’t suppose it’s too different elsewhere. You could be looking at around £3k – 6k a year. Meanwhile get yourself into the local rep and start learning. I have several mates currently in various theatre schools and all are loving it and all tell me it’s incredibly hard work.

If you want to perform then get out there and do it. Waiting for the Big Break in Hollywood is probably unrealistic – and you need to get experience anyway.

Because my greatest ability was art, I opted not to pursue a career in acting/singing. But I still felt the need to do it. The amateur stage gave me that opportunity. If you are good enough, then all the biggest roles in theatre and opera will be open to you. And don’t forget you will often (depending on the size of the company) be performing on exactly the same stage as the professional companies. I am lucky to have performed so many of the leading mezzo roles (and loved doing it) and now I am directing as well – which is just as fulfilling – the fantastic opportunity to make your vision come true (see pic above). I am currently working on Die Fledermaus. It’s great being a big fish in a small pool!

Don’t be ashamed of the word Amateur – it simply means you are performing because you LOVE it and not because you get paid to do it. I have seen hundreds of amateur actors and singers over the years and have seen hundreds of professional shows – and I can honestly say there is very little difference between the performances of many of the actors. The show itself, with the money thrown at it in a professional performance is VERY different!

And yes, there are some truly great actors and actresses who rightly deserve their fame and fortune – but if you look closely at the “amateurs”, you will find people there who SHOULD be on the professional stage – people who will make you laugh and cry, who take your breath away.

Be one of those.