After taking a two-decade hiatus, Alicia Ocana returned to acting—and Backstage was there waiting. She was able to jump back in without missing a beat; as the saying goes, once an actor always an actor.
Past, present, and future, Backstage is there.
“I’ve been using Backstage since 2017. I’d been away from acting for about 20 years and I remembered Backstage. Back then, it was not online—actually, not much of anything was online!”
Her advice: Study.
“I read an article [on] Backstage about the best schools in New York, and as a result, I went to some beginner classes at both Atlantic [Theater Company] and Stella Adler. Excellent schools! I’ve learned so much and it’s really helping me in my auditions.”
When in doubt, hit submit.
“Apply to everything! Sometimes, I almost don’t apply, but then I go ahead and submit. Sometimes I get a nice surprise and I’m asked to audition. You lose nothing by trying. If you don’t try, you will never know if that role could have been yours.”
There’s no such thing as too much opportunity.
“I’m open to anything! I don’t limit myself, so I apply to too many, maybe, but I love acting so much. I have to keep trying.”
Have an archive ready.
“I post all my videos on Backstage, and then I can pick which ones to submit. You never know, people might use Backstage to find you and like what you have there!”
To see your success story in print, tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast.
This story originally appeared in the June 11 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.
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