The performing arts industry can be a difficult yet rewarding career to be a part of. Although it is challenging to obtain jobs in the industry, three Northwood students have managed to book jobs for projects in film. Junior Abi Dasher starred in the music video Talkin’ to Myself by Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, with the video having 10,000 views as of Dec. 15.
“My role in this performance was an agoraphobic person who relied heavily on this medication to keep them in almost a sedative state,” Dasher said. “The medication eventually runs out, and basically chaos ensues. It was honestly a very difficult role, I’ve never really had to play a character with so much intense emotion.”
Northwood juniors Eden Priddle and Mae Conners starred as extras in the film titled The Tableau, shot in Chapel Hill.
“My role is one of the main character’s friends and I was just in the back of a few scenes,” Priddle said. “I would describe my character as excited to be with her friends.”
“I play one of the friends of the main character’s little sister,” Conners said. “The role was kind of a blank state, so I kind of just used my own personality.”
These Northwood stars say that having connections makes finding a job in the acting industry much easier.
“My parents are pretty close friends with the band’s manager,” Dasher said. “She helped me with a previous contract in the past since she’s also a lawyer. She knew I was an actor, so she reached out to me and my parents about the music video.”
“I found this opportunity through my director at Pittsboro Youth Theater,” Priddle said. “She met the director of the film and he mentioned that he was looking for girls around 17 for the shoot, and she gave him my name and a few others that have been at Pittsboro Youth Theater.”
After acquiring the job, preparations for the role begin.
“I received a powerpoint of the basic storyline and a list of things I would be doing,” Dasher said. “There wasn’t really a script, so other than basic actions, I kinda had to come up with the things myself, which was really fun.”
“The director told us that he didn’t have any set-in-stone lines for us,” Priddle said. “He said we would do some improv so that the lines sounded natural. Before filming we would do some blocking just to make sure we knew where we would be standing or sitting.”
“I read through the script the director had emailed us,” Conners said. “When we arrived to the shoot he gave us specific instructions and more details about the story and the scenes we were in.”
When it comes to gaining experience in the performing arts feild, Dasher has advice for fellow thespians searching for insight.
“My advice would be to just get out there! Get to know other people in your field. Just being connected with fellow actors, directors, or filmmakers can take you a long way. Also, do any audition you can find! A lot of the acting business is getting rejected, but there will always be that one chance that you’ll make it. Try to branch out with different acting companies too, you can get totally different experiences from different directors.”
