Are You An Actor Trying To Make It Abroad? Here Are 5 Things You'll Go Through!

I sat down with Maria Renée Lavalle, a Mexican actor currently living in New York City. She's starred in Broadway adaptations back in Mexico, her home country. She's also appeared in an Emmy nominated show and she's currently acting Off-Broadway, plus more. After this intro, we can say she's the best person to share 5 things actors trying to make it abroad go through. Here, she explains it all:

1- Connecting To Words

Disney / Via giphy.com

You feel like your emotions aren’t connected to your character's lines because it is not your first language.

Well, most of us go through this struggle when starting performing in a different language. Something that helped me out was to write down words in Spanish (my mother language) and think of the essence of the word. What it evokes to me. Then I would say the line in English keeping in mind the feeling and the images that word caused me in Spanish. I would also practice my English as much as I could outside of my classes and rehearsal space. Hanging out with English speakers friends helped me out a lot!

The Egg Layers by LM Feldman, Maria Renée Lavalle / Via The American Academy of Dramatic Arts Archive

2- Your Accent

Netflix / Via giphy.com

I used to be worried about coming in to an audition and be judged because of my accent. When I was at the conservatory, teachers would tell me to improve my “General American” accent because if not it would be hard for me to get acting jobs. Now I know that’s a lie. The moment I embraced the fact that I am Mexican and have a Spanish accent when I speak English, I started to book more auditions. I can't try to hide my roots.

3- Getting Gigs

Boomerang / Via giphy.com

Paying to apply for auditions on different websites is only one way to get new gigs. When I started working in NYC, I barely knew people from the acting industry but with the few ones I knew I always tried to keep a professional, honest and respectful relationship so they would think highly of me and/or recommend me for future projects (which they did).

.. this works, one of the shows I appeared on got nominated for an Emmy.

Hasta Que Te Conocí, Disney Media Distribution Latin America and BTF Media / Via Maria Renée Lavalle

1. As an actor, have you ever paid to apply for auditions?

    Yes

   Yes

    No

   No

    I didn't know I could do that!

   I didn't know I could do that!

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As an actor, have you ever paid to apply for auditions?

1.  

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   Yes
2.  

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   No
3.  

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   I didn't know I could do that!

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4- FREE Gigs

Gifak / Via giphy.com

A dentist is not going to take your teeth out for free. So WHY should you work for free? Unfortunately, this happens all the time and we keep taking on this kind of “jobs”. I get it. Creating strong connections with people in business is key, so you have to take on jobs that can help you create those connections. But to what extent is this actually helping you out? I took 3 things into consideration:

1- Time-consuming

2- Artistic (personal) achievement

3- Weight in your resume

If I’m happy with at least 2 of the points mentioned above, the gig is mine!

5- Headshot and Resume

Disney / Via giphy.com

You may realize that your old headshot and resume look different than the ones other actors use in the country you're currently at. Don’t be afraid to ask for suggestions and recommendations to get yours ready to go!

.. I had to redo mine.

Maria Renée Lavalle / Via J. Demetrie Photography

Now, get out there and get those auditions!

TBS / Via giphy.com

There's someone out there looking for you! Keep showing everyone your talent 😬