Hi I'm 17 a girl and looking to apply for an acting course in college because I'd love to work in films and programmes. Only problem is I'm nervous when I have to get up and talk/ do things in front of a big group of people and I haven't have much experience in acting before and it's going to get in the way of me doing something I really would love to do.. Anyone have any tips or suggestions that could help me it would be great :) any comments will do thanks x

First recommendation is don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Meaning also study something for a career in another field as well. Less than 1% of the people who try to get a job acting actually get anything that pays well or is even remotely frequent enough to pay the bills. Very, very few make it past being an extra to even get to say anything. Nothing wrong pursuing a dream... but working part time jobs while you hope to find work acting isn't a good way to live, because that big break might never happen. Meaning find something that can be a career you can work at full time while pursuing the acting part time... waiting tables and working at Starbucks isn't a career.

As far as getting over stage fright and fear of public speaking... there is no better way than actually doing it enough you get used to it. Hard as heck at first... but it gets easier the more you do it. Pratice makes perfect....so practice, practice, practice.

I feel the same way. When I get up in front of a crowd, I stutter, I forget what I'm going to say, and I become extremely shy. That may not sound unusual, but if you knew me in person, I'm anything but shy, and always have tons to say. :)

One thing that helps me now, when I'm forced to speak to a large group, or act, is remembering that I'll likely never see these people again, so why not just say what I'm going to say, be silly if I have to, and do the best I can.

I know that most of my fear comes from making a fool of myself. I'm afraid that I'll try to act, and people will think I suck at it. But what is acting? It's becoming someone else for just a little while. So pretend you are that person, be that person, and forget what others may think. The best actors and actresses are those that can forget about the people watching, and just put themselves into the role they're playing, become the person they're acting to be.

Wish I could say it better than that, but it's hard to describe in writing.

Good luck. :)

I speak in front of a few 1000 people often, and even did some Bus commercials this year. But guess what, still scares me to death at times, Many great actors are scared when they go on stage, but they just do it.

You start by doing it in front of smaller groups and getting self confidence. There are groups like ToastMasters, that are great to learn public speaking. They are an International group, I belong to the one here in China.

Thank you's all so much that really was great help! :)