Acting
Is Everything: An Actor's Guidebook for a Successful Career in Los Angeles
The book covers the necessary things an actor must know - such as
classes, pictures, agents and more.
It also covers the things an actor needs to know about living in Los
Angeles, such as the cool places to hang out. Ths combined with Judy's
wisdom and insightful advice makes this a great book for an actor
seriously considering a move to Los Angeles to purchase and read cover
to cover.
L.A.
from A to Z: The Actor's Guide to Surviving and Succeeding in
Los Angeles
From A (acting classes, auditions, and agents) to Z (getting enough of them), this book offers actors a realistic, helpful, and at times bemused guide to life in the big city. In addition to working as an actor, the author also wrote the "Tombudsman" and "Working Actor" columns for Backstage West. A great guy with great info.
Twelve Step Plan to Becoming an Actor in LA: From Your Town to Tinseltown
Authors Dawn Lerman and Dori Keller, two working actors turned casting director and drama therapist, navigate the actor month by month through a year in Los Angeles. Supplemented with acting and self-help exercises, monthly progress pages, career/financial worksheets, journal pages, inspiring quotations, and personal stories that complement and sustain the spirit. With every step, this in-depth text imparts key lessons from professionals, with additional info on photographer referrals, classes, resume services, car rentals, insurance brokers, expert and affordable body/beauty services, and numerous other useful resources.
Known
as the ""actor's
bible,"" this is the only complete sourcebook for both
professional and emerging actors in Los Angeles. Annually updated
with the latest information in all categories, this brand-new edition
offers more than 100 professional and personal service categories,
including thorough descriptions of: * acting schools * casting agents
* photographers * production companies * Equity-waiver theatres The
Working Actor's Guide features important practical information, too,
including: * actor friendly services * advice from SAG * useful editorials
by industry professionals * success stories from working actors
Shades of LA-LA Land...
Few things not to bum you out but to get you thinking on a realistic note:
START SAVING YOUR $$ NOW
LA is not cheap. And neither is paying for starting or maintaining an acting career. You will have enough other things to stress about. Money shouldn't be one of them if you can help it. Most people way underplan and move here way underprepared for what they need to do. Coming here with no connections makes it even more likely that things will take longer on the acting front--and you gotta live in the meantime. Most actors are here 6-7 years before they feel any real sense of progress. Plan to not get any acting work for at least a year. Save up enough money to live for a couple of months, then at least when you get here you'll have some time to look for a flexible, actor-friendly day job. Put together a business plan for yourself. Think of yourself as an entrepeneur. You are starting your own business. What are the start-up costs? Where will you live? What will you do for transportation? These are real issues that so often get in the way of actors pursuing acting. Develop a budget. Don't guess what you think you'll need to live on--you can't afford to be wrong. Create a cost of living chart and really consider what it is you'll need to live-- rent, food, clothes etc. Nothing reeks worse to a casting director than an actor desperate for a job because the rent needs to be paid.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Read the trades--Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Backstage West. See who the players are--who is making the movies, TV shows, and who is casting them etc. Learn all about the industry you want to be in. Give yourself an intensive self-administered course in the "business" of being an actor. Expect to be in long lines of people who are just as blessed, just as talented, just as lucky and far more experienced than you. Expect to lose the job to friends of the producer--because it happens every day. Regardless, if this is what you want, you must willing to do the work and wait for a turn that could come at any time, or may never come at all. Whenever it comes, you must have the substance to live up to your own expectations, as Hollywood will often not live up to yours. As a manager I knew once wisely said, the only real thing he can do for his clients is keep them available for as much luck as possible. Being prepared when your chance shows up is all you can really control.
ARE
YOU SAG?
Expect it to be quite difficult to get into SAG in LA. You would be much better off getting your SAG card in a smaller market, where it's much easier because the competition is so much less. Coming here with one less roadblock could only help.
GETTING AN AGENT
This may very according to your age, or your level of experience, but unless you are a teenager or model-gorgeous, getting an agent in LA can be tough if you are not in the union--and only a fraction less tough even if you are. There are places around town where you can showcase for people--some are good and some suck, so ask around from the actors on the Net--and for good cold reading classes to attend too! But no matter what, the best way to get an agent is through a personal referral from a producer, casting director or director who believes in your work, or from a fellow actor who is willing to bring your picture to their agent and help you get a meeting..Research a management team -- this will include teachers, agents, collegues and managers. Know all of them. See all of them and always remember YOU ARE IN THE POSITION OF POWER. THEY WORK FOR YOU! Not the other way around. You can learn more about how to get an agent by vising the Getting An Agent section of this site.
LA IS A ME TOO TOWN
Being talented is only a fraction of the battle--and sometimes doesn't seem to matter at all. A casting director I've met once told a story of how he was thrilled to get an amazingly talented Oscar-winning actress to agree do a part in an MOW, only to be told by network execs that said actress's TV-Q (audience recognization factor) was maybe a tad too low and couldn't they just get Barbara Eden instead? Hollywood is run by the bottom line, so you will work if Hollywood thinks that you will sell, and that it can make money off of you. So the real key to success in Hollywood is to appear successful. Not what you'd like to be the truth, but that is reality. Show's like HBO's Entourage and Unscripted really aren't very far from painting a true picture. If people think so and so wants you--well, then, they just have to have you too. Very few people think for themselves or take risks. Most just say "Oh, me too." It might as well be "Baaaaaa" Much of your job will be to create a positive buzz for yourself. The more you have going for you before you get here, the easier it will be for you to get going once you're here, because it will give you an angle you can use to pitch yourself to the people you meet. Do marketing research -- who is your audience? What are they buying? What about you will make your potential investors (agents, producers and directors) willing to take a financial risk? How is your product unique? Why would anyone choose what you are selling over what's already being offered by others? Do a competetive analysis. Figure out who out there offers something most similar to what you have to offer, and then develop a plan on how to capitalize on that and highlight the features unique to you that will make you stand out in the crowd. Identify and create your own niche. Think about what you will do to promote your business Sending out fifty headshots at random is not promotion. Promotion is getting yourself out there and proving that you are a serious business and will be a good "investment" for someone. LA is all about Packaging-- the image you portray and what makes that sell. I'm not suggesting that any of this is easy. But it is the reality of business as usual in the City of Angels.
Check out the Caryn.com Actors Arena at http://www.caryn.com/acting for all the links on the web an actor needs, plus many LA-specific things (cause that's where I am!)
I also have books available for sale through my web site (From Amazon and Barnes and Noble) that deal with all aspects of the entertainment business, that I personally recommend either because I have read the book myself or heard enough good things about it that I feel I want to pass it along to others who might benefit from reading it. So you may want to look through there too.
Good luck!
Caryn