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When I came to Los Angeles, I came from New York where I already had an agent and had been working for a few years. I came to Los Angeles for a week and stayed 30 years.  
Not everyone who arrives in Hollywood has an agent or manager – quite the contrary – most don’t have either an agent or manager.  So how does an actor get an agent?  It will be the easiest or the most difficult thing in the world – sometimes both at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »

I have already written about my friend Mary Pat’s concept of “Powerful Partnerships”.  Briefly, they are the friends you meet at the beginning of your career that will help and nurture you through your entire life.  It is so important to start class as soon as possible when you arrive in Hollywood.  Not because you need to learn acting, but because you need to network and meet people who will help you find your career.
Powerful Partnerships develop over time and you begin to care about someone else’s career as you do your own.   If you can’t get there, to that place that you care about someone else’s success, the power and generosity of this concept will pass you by.   If you see someone that is talented and you back them up, you help them out – the same thing will happen to you.  You show up for them.  You walk the dog if they have auditions or work, you help them with lines or running a scene for class and they will do the same for you.  You create a family, a support system that every actor needs.  It’s not an easy career path and actors need as much ‘family’ and support around them as possible.  You will have some very wonderful times and some very difficult times and during those difficult times your faith in yourself will fall away, your faith in your talent will fall away – you will need those friends, those “Powerful Partnerships” to help you find your way back.

What is the first actual meeting you will have as a new actor in the Los Angeles film and television community? It is likely to be a general audition with a casting director. This is a meeting that will not be for a role in a current casting project such as a movie or television show, but will be a chance for the casting director to get to know you as a person. They will be judging whether they can use you for something in the future so don’t treat a general audition lightly. Dress professionally, present yourself well, and use the opportunity as a preliminary to a casting call. The casting director will be looking at how well you can chit chat about yourself and your special talents, skills, and abilities. They will be looking for confidence, professionalism, and they will be watching how you present yourself, to see how you will fit in on a working set. They may ask for your marketing material, a picture and resume and perhaps biography if you are not represented by an agent and they don’t have access to that information from your representation. They may need a demo reel, so you should be prepared to have that ready. This is a valuable first step that you should take seriously and not waste! You never get a second chance at a first impression. If you are late or rattled or badly dressed or unprofessional, you will not likely have access to that casting director in the future.

Of course it is important to be a good actor in order to get a job on television.  Acting class, auditioning class, performing in plays, doing student films, watching films and television, reading instructional books and periodicals all help round out an actors understanding of what will be required of him or her. Read the rest of this entry »

Learning to Audition is in many ways a subtle art.  There are as many different audition styles as there are projects to audition for.  That is why an actor must really research and know the show or project he is trying out for. 

Television is always changing.  The auditioning actor needs to know as many details of the project they’re reading for as are available.  Sources for that information are online, in print, in the form of the breakdown and the script, and in person, by way of asking questions of your agent or the casting assistant.  Know as much as you can before you get to the audition. Read the rest of this entry »

My personal experience as a new actor in the Los Angeles area, trying to break in to show business is similar to many I’ve heard from other actors.  I came here on a shoestring, was willing to work hard, attend class, get into plays, sing in nightclubs, and get “seen” in every appropriate way I could.  I realized my weak points…my experience was mostly theater, so I needed to get into a film school right away.

I met many other actors just starting out and found a way to survive.  I sewed for voice lessons, catered a party to have my headshots taken, painted the inside of an apartment in trade for repairs on my beat up old car.  I waited tables, ran camera and sound for acting classes, did secretarial work, temp work, and eventually got a job in a casting office to learn about things behind the scenes. Read the rest of this entry »

My personal experience as a new actor in the Los Angeles area, trying to break in to show business is a typical story at first.  Joel Brooks and I teach lots of young actors just starting out, and I can’t stress enough the idea that every situation is different, and there is no right way to get your chance in Los Angeles.

I moved to Los Angeles during college to “try it out a bit” as a member of a four week summer workshop for pop singers on Catalina Island.  After my workshop was over, I just stayed.   I got a job as a waitress, found a cheap, shabby apartment, and signed up for film school.  It began an association that lasted for nearly 25 years, and from which most of my film craft was learned.  I eventually became a teacher there, then a vice president.  I got my SAG card doing a commercial for people from that school, and met so many friends who were also aspiring actors and built a support system that sustained me in free meals and friendship for years to come. Read the rest of this entry »