im a newbie at the age of 23 and i need help. school wise.?
what courses should i take ?
how long in school should i go for ? ect ect.
Everyone's a newbie at some point.
I didn't really take a renewed active interest in acting 'til last year... and I'm a lot older than you.
(I did a lot back in high school/college, but it was all forgotten over time)
I assume your acting-friends will be able to tell you if they think their classes/courses are suitable for you. If not, there would likely be beginner classes at the same place.
Many places offer a variety of specialised classes... "Nailing The Audition", as an example. Probably not the type of thing that you would want to take first. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be looking around for parts when you feel ready, though. You might want to finish a course in the basics, for starters.
How long do classes last? I'm not sure if it's a standard, but both of the acting courses I take last 6 weeks... one day a week, for 3 hours. 18 hours total time per session. Might be coincidence, maybe not. That's my experience in CA, anyway.
There's no real "end" to the training and workshops.
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Get some headshots & resumes duplicated (don't panic if you don't have a lot of material for the resume... starting at the bottom like everyone else), and visit your local schools/colleges that have filmmaking programmes. They ought to have a department where you can add them to a folio of other actors. Student filmmakers often need non-students for various parts, and that's an easy way for them to find you.
Try out for local theaters.
Check out the regional section of CraigsList.org & Mandy.com , in the TV/Film/Video sections. (Or Casting section, for Mandy). Most the jobs will be no/lo pay... but it's experience and some footage to use to build a demo-reel.
...and never engage in a discussion about people you dislike. That's the darker side of the networking aspect.