Photos: Surviving Actors first convention proves a huge hit

It's famed for being a notoriously difficult profession, with thousands of actors out of work at any one time, but being an actor in 2010 can be an exciting journey if you approach it in the right way.

Surviving Actors, a new company set up by actress Felicity Jackson, aims to connect actors with their career. The first event, held at Sway Bar in central London and sponsored by The Drama Student Magazine, attracted over 600 actors who took part in networking activities, targeted seminars, advice and industry stalls.

The buzz on the day was thoroughly inspiring with young and old actors coming together to be encouraged to take charge of their careers.

The convention was broken up into three key areas. In order to be a successful actor, Jackson believes that first performers must develop their career, which relates to preparing their marketing material (headshots and show reels), and the consideration of refresher classes.

Then, actors must be able to sustain their career, with well-paid flexible work, such as promotional jobs which are usually ideal for actors. In the final breakdown, Jackson looks at the create aspect of performing and the idea that anyone can generate their own work by creating productions and projects.

The day addressed all of these issues and the feedback from everyone involved seemed to suggested the event was a winner.

Felicity Jackson said: “It has just been amazing. I almost feel emotional about how well it's all gone. The support from everyone – the stall holders, the actors, all the staff, especially The Drama Student Magazine who've been incredible. I could never expected it to have gone this well.”

See photos and video blog below

The Drama Student Magazine team