Mayfield Library Has Class For Aspiring Actors

People move to Los Angeles to become actors but have no idea how to get started in the film industry, said Mayfield Heights resident David Manocchio.

An award-winning writer and director, Manocchio will share his insights at an Acting for Film Workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Mayfield Library. Registration is required.

"I'm going to talk about the business of acting – how to get a job. I teach how to look at it more seriously as a business," he said.

One tip is to start by auditioning for commercials. Manocchio said one former student earned more than $30,000 for a Budweiser commercial.

"It's relatively easy to get a commercial agent. Theatrical agents are hard to get," Manocchio said.

The class, which is a very condensed version of an 8- to 10-week course he teaches, covers auditions, differences between film and stage acting and the film business in general.

"It's for anyone who has an interest even in just viewing movies," Manocchio said. "Obviously, someone who is a bit younger and thinking about acting as a career movie might get more out of it."

He also will show his 2009 short film, La Bruja (The Witch), which debuted at the Strongsville Branch Library. Manocchio, who won a CINE Golden Eagle award for his 1993 short film 24 Frames Per Second, is working on a low-budget psychological horror film in the vein of Paranormal Activity.

"Whether you like those movies or not, it's a brilliant way to change the game. People are saying, 'I'm tired of sitting and waiting for someone to greenlight my movie,'" Manocchio said. "You can do it on a used car budget."

Manocchio makes his living by teaching acting, making movies and writing and touching up scripts and said Cleveland's a good place to make movies compared to Los Angeles and New York.

"In those places, they're not apt to cut you any kind of a deal. Here, people tend to get very excited about it," he said, adding that Ivan Schwarz and the Greater Cleveland Film Commission is very helpful to local filmmakers.

Another piece of advice he has for people wanting to break into films is to have the drive to be willing to do whatever it takes.

"I think it's a good idea for any actor to learn as much as possible. The more you know about the industry, the better. So many people start out by going to LA to be an actor and wind up getting involved behind the scenes as an assistant to the producer or something like that. You always need to keep the doors open," Manocchio said.

Manocchio said what he enjoys most about his work is its artistic nature and the ability to take on a character's life for a while.

"I really don't know what else I would have done," he said.