Setting Goals as an Actor in 2025
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That is, of course, unless you’re an actor staring down 2025 with little thought to what you’re going to do… December and January can be tough for actors: the industry is quiet, the uncertainty kicks in and your family won’t stop asking you questions about when you’ll get that Real Job. So it’s actually the perfect time to start setting goals as an actor in 2025: hit the ground running and enjoy the confidence that comes from a plan well reckoned.
When setting goals as an actor in 2025, be clear and reasonable with what you can achieve. Learn from the year just passed, and separate your craft and career goals. Develop your skillset and review your actor’s toolkit so that your headshots, CV and showreel all display you at your best (and most current.) Finally, make 2025 a year of new experiences and immersing yourself in the arts. Watch films, read books and plays, see theatre and seek out new avenues for your career—such as working on stage.
If you are feeling overwhelmed at the thought of another year to fill with the hustle of the actor’s life, don’t let that alarm you. Such feelings are valid, and arguably display a sense of rationality that is vital to a career in the arts. It’s a good time of year to remind yourself that most of us feel the same way, and that we’re all in this together. Strangely comforting, no?
Looking Back at 2024
This time last year, I was writing our article on Being an Actor in 2024; a lot of the advice has carried over, and a lot of the concerns explored are still very much with us. AI is still a threat, unions are paramount to the continued success of the acting profession, and your creative community of friends and peers are still your best weapon against the negativity and uncertainty of the business.
It pays to look back before you plan ahead. What did you achieve in 2024? What did you learn? Are there any things that surprised you—for better or worse? Always look for ways to learn from what you’ve done previously, whether it’s a deep-dive into your career choices in a twelve-month period, or a simple review of your last self-tape.
Don’t dwell on the past: this is not a call for you to scrutinise and punish yourself for missed opportunities or simple mistakes. But take time to do some honest reflection.
Separate “Craft” and “Career” Goals
Not so much goals to set, but how best to set them. Think about what you want to achieve in 2025, and ask yourself whether your goal falls under the category of craft or career. Craft and career both require your attention. But keep the pursuit of each separate, and attack the given task with the right tool for the job.
Craft relates to your process and ability as an actor. It’s how well your act, how you go about your practice and everything you need to do your job—from vocal work to characterisation to script analysis. Career is how you progress in the industry. It covers auditioning, finding an agent, working with a particular producer or director, the kinds of jobs you shoot for.
Simply put: don’t attack a craft problem with career solutions, and vice versa. Sending ten self-tapes out a month isn’t going to help you improve your ability to break down a screenplay, any more than practicing monologues will help you land a good agent.
Develop your Skills
Make 2025 the year you really focus on the aspects of your acting that need attention. Are you aware of skills you could do better? Are there recurring issues that hold you back in auditions or self-tapes? It’s time to double down: turn these liabilities into core strengths of your practice.
While musicians play scales, dancers stretch and athletes train, actors tend to need a push when it comes to honing and practicing their craft. Far too many actors graduate from a theatre school degree, for instance, and never take another class again. You don’t even have to take a professional class: ten minutes of vocal warm-ups every day will put you so far ahead of the pack your head will spin. As will learning how to interrogate a playtext—a practice you can do on the bus ride home from work!
Be honest with yourself about what needs improvement in your process, and put that front and centre when setting goals as an actor in 2025.
Tune your Actor’s Toolkit
Here at StageMilk, we refer to the holy trinity of career materials actors require as the ‘actor’s toolkit’. These are your headshots, your CV and your showreel. When setting goals in 2025, ensure that a review and update of these things as needed happens nice and early. You want them ready to go when the industry starts up again.
Your CV is simple enough: ensure it is up to date and streamlined. Put your credits at the top and your training at the end, and ensure that it’s no longer than a single A4 page. Headshots can be expensive (especially after the holiday season) but are a delightful confidence boost, as well as a conversation starter with potential agents/representation.
The big one to tackle is your showreel. These days, the industry favours self-tape showreels over clips of existing work. It’s not about the work you’ve previously done—that’s what your CV is for. It’s about displaying where you’re at as an actor, right here and now in the new year: “If you hire me, here’s what I’m capable of.” Plan, shoot, don’t hesitate. You should be updating it again in another six months anyway.
Watching, Reading, Seeing, Playing
Ensure your goals in 2025 include watching lots of movies and television. See live theatre, read plays and books and play video games. Immerse yourself in art, and draw inspiration from it as an artist. Elsewhere on this site, we’ve outlined how to watch a film as an actor, because your consuming of art should never be passive. You’re in the biz: learn from what your peers are doing. Can you use that? Can you do something differently, or even better?
The other reason it’s important to keep experiencing art is that it puts you one a more level playing field with the creatives looking to hire you. Directors, producers, designers and even casting directors think in the language of the art that’s come before them. They’ll reference films, books, famous characters or performances. Know what they’re talking about: meet them half way!
One final thing: diversify the things you watch. Comfort-watch faves are extremely important, beautiful things. But they won’t make you a better actor. Watch things that challenge you, surprise you. And try to put down your phone when you do.
A Theatre Year
When Denzel Washington hit the press junkets to promote Gladiator II, he was asked a myriad of questions by journalists looking for advice on the art of acting. What did he tell them time and time again? To do theatre. To learn from theatre, and treat it as an acting school of its own.
If you’re new to the idea of live performance, make 2025 the year you engage with theatre. Learn to audition in a live capacity, fill a space with your voice. It’s worth examining the plans of independent theatre companies in your area—follow them on their socials, as they’ll often announce auditions for projects you’ll otherwise miss on platforms like Spotlight or Backstage.
A lot of screen actors I coach are hesitant to commit to theatre, as it asks a lot of time and effort. I remind them (as I’ll assure you now) that at a smaller, indie level, the work-life balance and schedule of actors is always taken into consideration. The money isn’t great … but if that’s the deal-breaker I have some rough news for you about our calling.
Create Your Own Work
When setting goals as an actor in 2025, ensure that one of them includes the creation of your own work. Write a short script, write a play, develop a starring vehicle for yourself. You might even be bold enough to produce for or direct other actors you know!
Actors with lasting success in our industry are often those who can make their own opportunities. If you aren’t finding yourself cast in the work of others, take matters into your own hands. This also elevates your status in the industry to that of other makers/producers/creatives. In the past, they were your potential employers. Now, they’re your peers.
Creating your own work is also a terrific way to develop as an actor. There’s no better way to improve your understanding and respect for a script than becoming a writer yourself. You’ll understand just how much work goes into making a scene comprehensible, engaging, filled with individual characters driven by unique objectives. When you return to your practice as an actor, you’ll bring that understanding and perspective with you.
Conclusion
One final piece of advice, all-too-often forgotten at this time of year by creatives. Take some time to rest and relax over the holiday period. By all means, look back on 2024 and all it gave you—and start setting goals as an actor in 2025. But somewhere in this holiday period, do some well-deserved relaxing and recharging. Not only do you deserve it, you need it if you want to take the new year by storm.
Speaking of: it’s Christmas Eve. I’m at the airport, on my way to visit family in a place with plenty of beaches. I think it’s time to take my own advice and seek out some kind of festive cocktail. Thank you all for a wonderful year, and see you all too soon in 2025.
Happy holidays!
The post Setting Goals as an Actor in 2025 appeared first on StageMilk.
Source: View source
