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Monday, 29 August 2011

North Carolina Sound Stages And Becoming Involved In Its Acting Scene

By George Harris


North Carolina sound stages have more than 30 sound stages and seven major studio complexes. North Carolina is the number 3 moviemaking state, following only California and The Big Apple. Screen Gems Studios, found in nearby Wilmington, North Carolina, has been in existence for more than 20 years and has produced more than three hundred movie, television, and commercial productions. Perhaps this is the reason why Southport, North Carolina appears in a lot of movies. Or perhaps it's just Southport's tree lined streets, historical settings as well as lovely scenery that makes filming in Southport so popular.

North Carolina is one of the most busy states for filming movies and television outside of New York and California. Actually, it has the most soundstages (1,000,000 Square Feet's worth) and production sites of any state in the union outside California. Through the years it has played host to over seven hundred feature film productions and fourteen major television shows. Don't be amazed if one day while walking down the sidewalk in Southport, North Carolina you pass by Tom Cruise. Why? Southport, North Carolina is an extremely famous place for films. Numerous movies have utilized Southport as their primary location. There are also numerous films that use Southport for a portion of their scenes.

Now how can you become involved in the thriving acting scene in North Carolina? The first and most practical step you could take is to relocate to Charlotte. It's a great city which has a large community of actors and entertainment experts, and it's within just driving distance of any production or audition in the state. It's also in close proximity to many other major Southern Cities. Charlotte also has the most number of production companies and ad agencies of any city in the Carolinas, which do a large volume of commercial and model casting. Also, there are a number of professional Equity theatres in the city running stage shows year round which are maintained by a professional and amateur acting group called First Friday.

Many of the roles and work opportunities for actors in North Carolina are non-union, which has both plusses and minuses. On the good side, non-union jobs are much easier to acquire, more abundant, improve your resume, and allow you to side step difficult union rules as well as work qualifications. The major disadvantage is that these roles don't pay union scale, and will not always help you to get a SAG membership.

North Carolina sound stages are where films such as Being There, The Fugitive, Forrest Gump, The Last of the Mohicans, Cold Mountain, Firestarter, Dirty Dancing, and The Patriot have been shot mostly or entirely in North Carolina. Dawson's Creek, probably the most successful show ever to air on the now defunct WB network, was shot in NC for 6 years. One Tree Hill currently is in production there too. In all of these cases many roles were cast from the locals, and almost all of the background actors were pulled from local neighborhoods. This really is a great opportunity for natives of the Carolinas. Independent production also is ramping up significantly; since 2001 more than 100 independent films and shows have been filmed in-state. The Science of Cool, starring Scott Bakula, currently is in production in NC, and is also a high-profile HD feature.




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