Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Street performer to actor/actress

A street performer already meets 52% of what the actor/actress role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From street performer
52 % overlap
Partial match
To actor/actress
19 You already bring
3 Still to learn
57 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

56.4/ 100

1 How much of what an actor/actress is expected to do is already part of a street performer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the actor/actress role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An actor/actress role treats 15 of its required skills as things a street performer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • act for an audience
  • analyse own performance
  • attend rehearsals
  • engage the audience emotionally
  • follow directions of the artistic director
  • follow time cues

What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An actor/actress role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a street performer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held perform in a public space communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held engage the audience emotionally communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held act for an audience communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held self-promote communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held perform for young audiences communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held show professional responsibility management skills

All 19 carried skills, including the 15 the actor/actress role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 38 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 21 supplementary
  • still to learn adapt to acting roles required
  • still to learn interpret performance concepts in the creative process required
  • optional, not held attend read-through optional
  • optional, not held communicate during show optional
  • optional, not held conduct background research for plays optional
  • optional, not held develop drama production process optional
  • optional, not held develop magic show concepts optional
  • optional, not held develop puppet shows optional
  • optional, not held organise an exhibition optional
  • optional, not held participate in tourism events optional
  • optional, not held perform music solo optional
  • optional, not held perform scenes for filming optional
  • optional, not held perform stunts optional
  • optional, not held perform with motion capture equipment optional
  • optional, not held plan choreographic improvisation optional
  • optional, not held practice dance moves optional
  • optional, not held work in an international environment optional
  • optional, not held perform improvisation optional
  • optional, not held perform scripted dialogue optional
  • optional, not held practise singing optional
  • optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
  • optional, not held speak different languages optional
  • optional, not held work with a voice coach optional
02 arts and humanities 1 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn acting techniques required
  • optional, not held literary theory optional
  • optional, not held music literature optional
  • optional, not held breathing techniques optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
  • optional, not held pronunciation techniques optional
  • optional, not held vocal techniques optional
03 management skills 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held assess progress with the artistic team optional
  • optional, not held direct an artistic team optional
  • optional, not held organise cultural events optional
  • optional, not held organise rehearsals optional
  • optional, not held lead cast and crew optional
04 information skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held study media sources optional
  • optional, not held study music optional
05 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held deal with public optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an actor/actress role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 19 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held act for an audience skill
  • already held analyse own performance skill
  • already held attend rehearsals skill
  • already held engage the audience emotionally skill
  • already held follow directions of the artistic director skill
  • already held follow time cues skill
  • already held interact with an audience skill
  • already held interact with fellow actors skill
  • already held manage feedback skill
  • already held perform live skill
  • already held self-promote skill
  • already held study roles from scripts skill
  • already held use declaiming techniques skill
  • already held work with an artistic team skill
  • already held work with respect for own safety skill
  • already held perform for young audiences skill
  • already held perform in a public space skill
  • already held show professional responsibility skill
  • already held sing skill
35 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held assess progress with the artistic team optional
  • optional, not held attend read-through optional
  • optional, not held communicate during show optional
  • optional, not held conduct background research for plays optional
  • optional, not held deal with public optional
  • optional, not held develop drama production process optional
  • optional, not held develop magic show concepts optional
  • optional, not held develop puppet shows optional
  • optional, not held direct an artistic team optional
  • optional, not held literary theory optional
  • optional, not held music literature optional
  • optional, not held organise an exhibition optional
  • optional, not held organise cultural events optional
  • optional, not held organise rehearsals optional
  • optional, not held participate in tourism events optional
  • optional, not held perform music solo optional
  • optional, not held perform scenes for filming optional
  • optional, not held perform stunts optional
  • optional, not held perform with motion capture equipment optional
  • optional, not held plan choreographic improvisation optional
  • optional, not held practice dance moves optional
  • optional, not held study media sources optional
  • optional, not held study music optional
  • optional, not held work in an international environment optional
  • optional, not held breathing techniques optional
  • optional, not held lead cast and crew optional
  • optional, not held perform improvisation optional
  • optional, not held perform scripted dialogue optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
  • optional, not held practise singing optional
  • optional, not held pronunciation techniques optional
  • optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
  • optional, not held speak different languages optional
  • optional, not held vocal techniques optional
  • optional, not held work with a voice coach optional
20 held skills the actor/actress role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role art history knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop artistic educational activities skill
  • not needed by the target role develop educational resources skill
  • not needed by the target role enable audience participation skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure health and safety of visitors skill
  • not needed by the target role gather reference materials for artwork skill
  • not needed by the target role handle petty cash skill
  • not needed by the target role keep personal administration skill
  • not needed by the target role keep up with trends skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain an artistic portfolio skill
  • not needed by the target role manipulate object to create illusions skill
  • not needed by the target role participate in artistic mediation activities skill
  • not needed by the target role perform dances skill
  • not needed by the target role play musical instruments skill
  • not needed by the target role practice humour skill
  • not needed by the target role select music for performance skill
  • not needed by the target role street art history knowledge
  • not needed by the target role tell a story skill
  • not needed by the target role use public space as a creative resource skill
  • not needed by the target role work independently as an artist skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn acting techniques required
  • optional, not held literary theory optional
  • optional, not held music literature optional
  • optional, not held breathing techniques optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
  • optional, not held pronunciation techniques optional
  • optional, not held vocal techniques optional
Index

Other moves recorded from street performer

Full index of moves from street performer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a street performer become an actor/actress?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A street performer already covers 52% of what an actor/actress is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 15 of which the actor/actress role treats as required.

What skills does a street performer need to become an actor/actress?

3 required skills are missing, plus 35 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt to acting roles.

How hard is the move from street performer to actor/actress?

Its learning distance is 56.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.