A community of professionals that offers a clear alternative, swinging the pendulum of power firmly back to the actor.
Our support network is an integral part of what we do, it creates a sense of community – a non-judgemental, friendly atmosphere and, although we are not a union, a strong sense of the voice we have as a collective.
We believe there should be a consistent and recognised standard of professionalism for all casting director workshops.
We believe this would benefit the actor and the casting director as all concerned will then know, whoever they book with, that there will be the same quality controls and restrictions on numbers and cost.
The Actors’ Guild runs its casting director workshops with the following promises:
We understand a ‘block’ or course of workshops suits some actors down to the ground. However we believe actors should always have the choice to book as many or as few workshops as they want, and not incur a financial penalty if they only book one workshop.
Good agents can offer a really useful insight into certain aspects of our industry. For this reason we sometimes invite top agents to lead seminars for our members. These seminars offer the opportunity to sit down as a group and on a one-to-one level, providing a chance for members to ask all the questions members have when it comes to representation, as well as to share and discuss in a supportive environment, and receive honest answers and feedback. Howver, the Actors’ Guild strongly disagrees with the practice of producing workshops where actors pay to perform infront of agents.
We offer a range of workshops including: casting advice and audition technique with directors, casting directors, agents and producers, covering theatre, film and television; toolbox skills including, voice, movement, marketing and running your own business, and lab work covering a wide spectrum of titles with key industry practitioners. Workshops can be presented in courses, individual group sessions and one-to-one formats.
Our members tell us that when they pay to attend workshops with key industry professionals, they believe tea comes second place! If you pay for a three-hour workshop, then that’s what you get. Tea is lovely but the workshops take priority!
The majority of our workshops sell out. They are all offered on a first come, first served basis which is why our booking system is fully automated and not done via email. This means the moment you press the submit button you know the workshop place is yours. Of course we are always at the end of the phone or on email if you have any booking questions, and all new membership applications are normally processed within a couple of hours.
We all earn and spend money slightly differently, so we don’t want to limit your options. Members can pay for any of the services we offer by debit or credit card, PayPal, online banking, cash, cheque or through our membership credit scheme.
Driven by the community it serves The Actors’ Guild is the professional association for actors in the United Kingdom, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards. The Actors’ Guild was founded by a community of professional actors who believed there was a better way to do things. They believed actors needed an organisation that had strict membership criteria along with a low membership fee. An organistion that produced workshops and classes that did not exploit them in any way. They believed actors would be the beneficiaries if they were able to avoid following the ‘side line business’ approach of others and instead build an organisation that was able to support them in a number of ways. Such was the need, we have grown very quickly and now employ staff full-time. However, we believe it is in our members’ interests to remain smaller than other long established institutions and uphold strict membership criteria.
We have a constantly evolving dialogue with our members to ensure The Actors’ Guild provides for the community it represents. The feedback we receive from our members directly affects how we run and what we do.
