[NEohioPAL]Moving to Hollywood -notes from a coach

[Nina McCollum]

As someone who also lived in LA, if you plan on
getting ANY type of "day job" or even a part-time job
to supplement (or be the bulk of) your income while
you work to (hopefully) land some acting work, do NOT
tell potential employers that you are an actor.

Generally speaking, actors in LA are seen as not the
best employees, and that includes actors who work as
bosses and supervisors because they KNOW how the
schedule of an actor can be.  Many actors are seen as
starry-eyed morons (because that's what a lot of them
are.  There are still a lot of people figuratively
getting off a bus with a suitcase and looking for the
drugstore where they can sit to be discovered, or
hanging out at the Polo lounge hoping to get
"noticed") and they're seen as very unstable employees
because they are always calling off or asking to leave
early or come in late because they have an audition,
or a part of some kind.  Even a non-speaking part in a
commercial is going to require at least a full day off
of your day job, perhaps 2, and it may not pay more
than a handful of beans so you have to keep the
regular job.

I don't advocate lying on a resume, but if you want to
get employed out in LA, I would just omit the fact
that you're an actor and plan to look for work in that
field if you are going for any kind of a "regular"
job.  I lived there for quite awhile and couldn't even
get a basic office job until I took out the word
"Theater" on my resume and just left the B.A.  

I echo what the previous poster said about having a
huge stash of cash before you go.  You have to put
down a LOT of money on an apartment and some of them
don't include appliances.  They're not like apartments
here, you have to RENT appliances.  It can be a lot
more costly than you think.  And some places are in
neighborhoods bad enough that you must rent space in
the garage.  And then you have to rent a storage
locker, and etc., etc., it all adds up and you're
paying upwards $2K a month before you know it.

Car registration is not a flat fee like it is here in
Ohio.  It is based on a PERCENTAGE of the worth of
your car.  When I lived in LA, I had a crappy Ford
that was several years old and I had to pay $300 to
register it, and this was 10 years ago.  I had to pay
an additional, one time $300 fee at the time of
registration since I had not purchased the car in CA
due to emissions standards.  Even if the car is
manufactured to national emissions standards and you
pass the emissions test (required), you still have to
pay the fee if you bought the car in another state.  

A lot of people simply don't anticipate exactly what
it takes to move to LA before they go.  

--- Maureen Dempsey <fromstage2screen at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Great advice!
>    
>   I spent better than 10 years working in the
> industry as a coach among other things.  I moved
> back a couple years ago to raise my kids. 
> Otherwise, I would still be there.
>    
>   The life advice you guys are sharing is great but
> don't forget to add the professional points. 
> Auditioning there is different from auditioning
> here.  Casting Directors have great memories and
> once you blow it it takes a lot to work your way
> back in.  You need to learn how to audition.  It is
> a skill separate from acting.  A lot of great actors
> blow it when it comes to auditioning.  And let me
> tell you, the best from all over the world all go to
> LA.  The competition is fierce.  Not to mention the
> skill of on-camera acting.  This is a completely
> different game from community theater.  Many stage
> actors can not adjust to on-camera work and vice
> versa.  You need training.
>    
>   I just don't understand the concept of "born to
> act."  Too many actors think they "have it" and
> don't need training.  "I'll just give it a go." 
> This is a profession just like accounting , law or
> medicine and the people in this business are serious
> and devote their lives to it.  If you don't have
> that level of respect for it then you might as well
> stay home and play the lottery.     Would it be OK
> if your grandfather's cardiologist was "out of the
> loop?'  I am sure he was born to be a doctor.  Many
> of the actors, writers and producers who make the
> move to LA have prepared for it for years.  
>    
>   I know this is coming from an acting coach and you
> are thinking, "yeah she wants work."  Well I became
> a coach because so many clueless actors came to LA
> unprepared and I wanted to save them a lot of
> heartache wondering why they weren't getting cast. 
> I trained my theater friends to adjust their
> performances for the camera.  I was asked to work as
> a career consultant for TVI auditioning people and
> giving them direction and then actors started
> calling me to teach them how to act on-camera.  I
> went out to be an actress not a coach.  Coaching
> pursued me.  
>    
>   So, bottom line is...get in the loop and get
> prepared if you are going to Los Angeles.  Start as
> young as you can and learn as much as you can before
> you go.  It will put you years ahead of the many who
> land there everyday to "give it a go."  Treat it
> like a profession and you will put yourself in the
> company of the other professionals.  The worlds best
> and worst of everything all seem to head to
> Hollywood.  Get yourself into the "best of"
> category.   
>    
>   Maureen
> 
>        
> ---------------------------------
> Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
>  Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.


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