Acting in Hollywood: A Newcomer's Guide

Acting

in

Hollywood:

A

Newcomer's

Guide

Stanislav Meiner

Copyright © 2010 Stanislav Meiner

Published by Mull Foon Books at Smashwords

mullfoon@aroma.com

All rights reserved, No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Although the author and the publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of any information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Planning Ahead

Are you ready for Hollywood?

Are you a parent of a young actor?

Getting ready

Finding work where you are

When should you come?

Seasons

Should you come for pilot season?

New York vs. LA

What if you're coming from...

Chicago

Philadelphia

Atlanta

Boston

San Francisco

Texas

New Mexico, Louisiana or Michigan

Most other states

Canada

Another foreign country

What if you're older, heavy, ethnic, etc.?

Why not come?

Why come?

Your Two Top Tools

Headshots

Finding a photographer

Preparing for the shoot

The shoot

The shots

The prints

Getting prints

The resume

Billing

Building a resume

Joining resume and headshot

What about a reel?

Getting Settled

Where to live

Some areas

How to find an apartment

Survival jobs

Specific jobs to consider

Class

Finding a teacher

Choosing a method

What to avoid

Gurus and life changers

You tuning

Working

Getting auditions

Casting directors

The Breakdowns

Watch the shows

Mailings to casting directors

The cover letter

Postcards

Drop-offs

Worth it?

After the call

Auditions in general

Before arriving

In the waiting room

In the room

Nudity

The callback

The booking

Working

Commercials

The anatomy of a commercial

The audition

The money

Infomercials

TV

TV Seasons

Pilot season

Hiatus

Episodic season

The holidays

Mid-season

Film

SAG indie contracts

Back-end deals

Background

Getting extra work

Is it acting?

Stand-in work

How it works

Photo doubles

Zones

Internet/new media

Industrials

Print

Stock photography

Voice-over work

Looping

Performance/motion capture

Other work

Student films and shorts

Equity waiver theater

Table readings

Staged readings

Representation

Managers

Getting an agent

Mailings to agents

Waiting...

The meeting

Signing – or not

Getting a manager

Other help

The Unions

SAG - joining or not

How do you join SAG?

Financial core

AFTRA

AEA

AGVA

Encounters

Networking

Scams, come-ons, wastes of time and/or money

Things to watch out for

I met this [director/photographer/producer...]

Protecting yourself

Los Angeles

Public transportation

Your car

Parking tickets

Traffic disputes

Break-ins, car theft, etc.

The road

Highways

Surface street alternatives

Trick streets

Exploring

Yard sales

Walking

Free fun

The Reference Section

Standard actors' resources

Terminology

A Word About Dreams

Introduction

Hollywood is a state of mind, a state of mind whose home is Los Angeles, California. Tourists can also visit a place called Hollywood where handprints in concrete and stars in the sidewalk give them some glimpse of the glamor associated with the word. But those who come here to act will spend little time in that place. The Hollywood they have come for is spread out in multiple locations and takes many forms. It can be very confusing, if very exciting too.

This is a book for the adult actor who is planning to move to that Hollywood or who has recently arrived. It should also be of use to others, even if parents of young actors, for instance, should also read specialized books (and Web sites) on that subject. It covers everything from whether you should move to how to get settled in, find representation, and look for work, to navigating the city of L.A. itself.

Much of this will become second nature once you are here; some of it may be a good reminder even if you have been here for a while. No doubt you will find others who disagree with some of what is said here – people disagree about just about everything in the acting business. And little attempt has been made here to address the issues of more established actors or anyone whose career is at a point where they are surrounded by advisers.

It is unlikely, after all, that they are still reading books such as this one.

Simply put, this book is intended to facilitate your move – if indeed, you decide to move – and to guide you towards what is useful and positive in getting started in the business and the city and to warn you away from some of the many traps which await a newcomer. It won't tell you how to be a star, but hopefully it will make your first few years here easier, more productive and somewhat safer – leaving you free to at least have fun.

Because if you can't do that in Hollywood, where can you?

Planning Ahead

Presumably, if you're coming to Hollywood, it's for a career. Which hopefully means you have a career plan. So before you even decide to move, you will already have done a lot of work.

Hopefully....

Are you ready for Hollywood?

It's not unusual – in fact, it's far too common – for people to come to Hollywood and think that's all they need to do get work. Hollywood is where the work is, right? All you have to do is get there and if you... have the right look... know the right people.... were a hit back home... the work will come.

It won't. (That is, to the degree that anything is certain in Hollywood, it won't.)

How many people in the United States play basketball? How many people play for the N.B.A.? What's the difference between those who do and those who don't? A number of things, luck and natural gifts among them, but above all: preparation.

Yes, there is more acting work in Hollywood. But there are also WAY more actors. Which means you'll be competing, right from the get-go, against thousands of people. And probably thousands of people who fit your general type.

Are you ready to do that?

Never mind if you're better than your competition. Are you your best self? Are you in top acting shape? Have you done everything you can to arrive in town with a honed, professional product that has some chance of standing out among all that competition? Have you tried every opportunity where you already live and had more success than not?

First of all, have you ever acted? A silly question, one would think, but actors arrive in Hollywood all year round who have done little or no acting. Many more arrive who have no training.

If you have acted, how's it been going? When you send out your headshot (you DO have a headshot?), do you get called in? When you get called in, do you book at all (no one always books)?

What kind of acting have you been doing? On stage? In tiny half-empty theaters? In larger ones? In Equity productions? And on-camera? Have you worked in front of a camera at all? Do you have some footage of yourself?

Have you worn out where you are – that is, gotten to where you're booking all the different kinds of work available there, partially because you've identified and overcome all the obstacles to your getting the part? Or do you still have a ways to go, right there, where you are now?

How about your knowledge of the business? You're reading this book, which is a good start. Have you read a few others? Do you go on-line and follow the message boards where actors in L.A. post? Do you know the difference between an agent and a casting director? (There's no such thing as a casting agent, though unfortunately you will see that term.) The difference between a manager and an agent?

Do you know how to tell the difference between legitimate industry people and the innumerable posers out there, some simply trying to score, some with more sinister agendas? And monetarily, how do you plan to survive? Have you saved up some money? Do you have a good day job solution worked out?

Have you ever been to Hollywood? Do you know the difference between Hollywood and North Hollywood? Hollywood and West Hollywood?

Etc.

If you're young and good-looking, yes, there is a chance you can just land, blindly, in LA. and have some luck. But there's an even better chance you'll get taken advantage of. In any number of ways. So anyone, of any age, should be clear about what they have to get them off to a good start in L.A. before they even think about moving out here.

First of all, you should be an actor. That means acting, not just telling people you're an actor; for most people it also means training. Before you even think about coming to LA, you should be experienced enough as an actor to know what your strengths and weaknesses are, to have some idea of what your type is and of what work you most easily get, to know what work you typically WON'T get.

Theater is good and it helps to have a strong background in it. But you should also have done some on-camera work and hopefully even have a reel showing your work.

If you're not getting called in where you are, or getting called in and not booking very much, if at all, that's a problem, and one to solve before you move to a far more competitive market.

You should certainly have a headshot and a resume – even if you may need to redo both when you get out here. And that resume should have some solid credits, credits that show you're really acted, not just walked about in front of a camera (yes, casting directors can tell the difference).

You shouldn't necessarily be in a union (we'll discuss that later) at first, but you should certainly be at a level where it would soon make sense for you to be in one. (The ideal these days is to be SAG-eligible without being SAG until you have more shots at SAG work than at non-union work.)

You should know how you'll live for the first year you're in Hollywood. (If you're thinking, Why from paid acting work of course, you're already in trouble.) You should certainly have savings, but you should also be clear on what you'll do to earn money. This will very probably be what you're doing right now. If you're afraid your current job would interfere with acting opportunities, then think long and hard about what else you'll be doing (and read the section here on this subject).

You should have some idea of what life is really like in Hollywood. These days, with the Web, that's much easier to get. You can listen in on message boards. You can ask questions. You can read blogs by industry professionals. You can even 'stroll various neighborhoods virtually and get some idea of where you'd want to live. You can also browse local papers and see what issues are coming up day to day in the place you plan to make your home.

Hopefully, if you're planning to move here, you first will come out and spend a week to a month here just seeing what the town is like, what people are like, etc.

No, you don't want to wait forever (though if you're getting professional work where you live, you may find you're better off staying there). But if you have little acting experience or training, no reel, no clear idea of how to survive and only the vaguest idea of how the town really works, then you are, in a word, not prepared to come here.

Which doesn't stop innumerable people. But at least you've been warned.

Are you a parent of a young actor?

This book is mainly targeted towards adult actors. However, most of the information in it will be of use to you as well.

The biggest thing you need to know is that parents are some of the biggest targets of come-ons and scams in the acting world. Has someone come up to you in a mall and told you your child could be a star? Has someone offered you a chance to participate in some convention where your child might be discovered? Has a school whose walls are covered with pictures of stars tried to get you to pay thousands for courses?

These are only some of the more popular approaches made to parents. Someone will act very excited to represent your child, then, once you're in their office, stick a contract in front of you requiring you to get new headshots, to pay for various marketing materials.... whatever it takes to make you cough up thousands of dollars.

Every parent thinks their child is special and it's not hard to validate what they already think, then nudge them towards investing in their child's future. Which usually ends up costing thousands of dollars.

It's almost impossible to warn parents against every scheme out there, but a good general rule is to be very suspicious of anyone who just approaches you, whether in person, on the Net or by phone. If you think your child has potential, the best thing to do is take control from the start, doing research on the industry in your area and in general.

Before you sign ANYTHING, be an expert. Read the actors' boards listed at the end of this volume. Ask questions. Learn the terminology. Then approach the right professionals. If every agent you approach in your area passes on your child, but someone in the street tells you how much potential they have, don't listen to what you want to hear – listen to the people whom you've researched and who you know are legit.

If someone who is trying to sign your child keeps pressuring you, saying, But you need to act NOW!, that in itself is a bad sign. If your child really does have something special, it won't go away in a month or so, which is all it should take for you to do some basic research.

Always check the Better Business Bureau's site. It's amazing how many companies with complaints on it manage to keep signing people up. Why? Because people don't bother to check it and learn from other people's mistakes.

These days, too, there are a lot of parents helping parents, with posts full of stories about My DD (Darling Daughter) or My DS (Darling Son). Read through the posts on message boards dedicated to parents and their children. The BizParentz Foundation also maintains a site (bizparentz.org) filled with good advice and resources for parents.

Getting ready

So you're not ready to move, but you have Hollywood in your sights. What should you be thinking about?

First of all, working as an actor - you want to be an actor when you come to Hollywood. Then doing research on Hollywood.

What about seminars with industry people from Hollywood, whether they come to you (locally) or you go to them (on a scouting trip)? Are they a good idea? Are they scams?

Scam is a fluid word – one person's scam is another person's oversold opportunity, and more than one person who thinks of themselves as upright and honest has no trouble exaggerating the value of a product that they're selling. So let's put aside the strong terms for now.

Many of the opportunities offered to actors outside Hollywood are sold in ways that suggest that, by paying a great deal of money, you'll get opportunities with agents or casting directors you won't get otherwise. It is not unheard of for companies to ensure, too, that a certain number of actors DO get called (where that is even feasible) so they can advertise that these opportunities are real. (That is, according to at least one casting director, when they hire the industry guests, they ask them to agree to call a few people in. Not necessarily hire them, mind you, just call them in.)

This is not the place to criticize specific offers, sight unseen. Simply be aware that it is very unlikely (to put it gently) that someone who does not live in Los Angeles will be called in on projects there. Period. Even if you fly out to L.A. and blow a casting director away in a showcase, if you're not available for the long term, it is unlikely to help you in any concrete way.

In other words, every dollar you lay down in the expectation of that happening is, in effect, gambling. If you pay $5000 to spend a few days in a seminar with (supposed) Hollywood players and do so because you think you (or, often, your child) might get cast, you are basically gambling with $5,000.

(Note that if you have local representation, they might be able to submit you by video in some cases. But that is still relatively rare and it should not cost you a cent.)

On the other hand, is there nothing to be learned from those who work in Hollywood? No. If you're paying something comparable to what you would pay for a local teacher, with perhaps a small premium for the person coming from out of town, it might be worth the money. If, that is, you're being honest with yourself and actually paying for the information, not the implied opportunity.

The other aspect of such seminars is the inflated claims for the guest. One teacher, unknown in Hollywood, was teaching in other cities saying he was the top children's coach in Hollywood (where he appears to be unknown). It seems that casting directors, more often than not, are advertised as top Hollywood casting directors, even if they are legitimate but modest figures here.

These days, with the Web, there really is no excuse for taking such claims at face value. One can easily do a search on any professional and information should be readily