Before I start typing all of this out, I'll warn you that this post might be pretty long. So, thanks in advance to those who actually read it and respond with your extremely helpful advice.

I'm 19 years old and I have just discovered that I have quite the interest for acting. I've always enjoyed watching movies and plays, like most people, and I always had a slight interest for acting but I never really pursued it or took any classes, seeing it as only a side hobby at first and not something I was totally serious about at the time.


Now, about two years after graduating high school, I've decided to develop my interest into a skill and pursue this more seriously as a possibly career choice, not just a hobby. I've done so much Googling lately, researching this field and some actor's bios to see how they got started in the business and etc, and I'm just not sure at all where I should begin to study how to act. I have theater classes at my college that I could take, which I probably will end up doing, but everywhere else that I've asked for advice so far has sent me off in so many directions.

People who run actor workshops say that taking classes at CSN (the college I attend in Las Vegas) is a waste of my time and I should go off and pay the hundreds their way instead of their classes. Talent agencies, a lot of them online and most likely scams I'm sure like talenthunter.com (I can't believe people actually fall for some of these sites), say that I can just get started now and audition already for roles in HUGE FILMS! Other places only offer classes to children and quite frankly send me this subliminal message that I'm too old to start up in this industry, now. (19 is the new 40, apparently)

So now I'm asking the people in this thread for some advice. I'm serious about pursuing this as a possible career, like I said before. With this industry it's so hard though, mainly because half of everything I stumble upon is an incredibly pricey scam, and that makes it incredibly hard to figure out whether or not I can actually learn something useful at another place. I guess I'll stop rambling on, now, and let you guys reply. Thanks again in advance. [:

Courtney

I don't know what your options are in Las Vegas, but you should absolutely take the classes in college for starters, and if there are other classes around town, you should take some of them too. You need to get a taste of it and see if acting is really something you NEED to do. If you don't need to do it, if you can think of anything else that you could do in life, and be happy doing, you should do the other thing.

And yes, those on-line groups that guarantee auditions for major films are scams.

Thank you so much for your reply. I've found some stuff in Vegas that I can work with, including an agency once I have some experience. I guess the part I have to get over now is being skeptical from running into so many scams before already, and hearing so many different and contradicting things about how to get started and what I should or shouldn't do. It's insane, although I have to admit that it has made these past few days amusing, too, especially when one of the on-line castings called me the other day ...

They were so nice to me while they were telling me about their business, and then he asked for my credit card number and I asked him if I could ask a few more questions first before I made my decision on paying him or not ...

"You are wasting my time. Goodbye. -click-"

I guess questions weren't allowed.