How to be an Actor in LA
1. My first rule on going to LA is don't go until you have a contract to
work there.
2. That means you are SAG before you go, or you are SAG eligible
before you go and you have the money to join SAG if need be.
3. You need a terrific resume, great head shot, unique business
card and post cards, and a demo reel.
4. You need your three monologues ready to go.
5. You need a way to make a living while trying to become an
actor. You also need to have six month’s living expenses in savings.
I have read that it costs five grand a month to live in LA, so
that totals thirty thousand dollars plus the SAG money which is an
additional $2500.
6. You need a really dependable car.
7. You need to have an acting studio picked where you'd like to
study.
8. You need to go to my web site
and read everything about professional acting on the site
including my blog all the way back to Aug '09 and ask me questions about
it.
9. Reconsider going. It is so easy to be glib about “the Biz”
until you get there and actually have to compete in it. I have advisees
all over the world making strides toward their careers except for those
in LA. Most of the advisees I have had there have dropped out saying,
"it is just too hard," or have moved to somewhere they have a chance to
become an actor.
10. See rules one and two. Remember the Burt Bacharach song “Do
You Know the Way to
