Expert: Taylor Sheppard - 12/23/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi, My name is Jenna and I'm 19 Years old. I am a sophomore at a private college in the middle of nowhere Georgia. I love to act! It is my passion, and has been since I was little. I want to pursue an acting career, but i don't know if I can do it where I live! I have been planning on graduating from my college with a BA in Theater, and hopefully, working in my hometown, while saving up about 10,000 bucks to fly to LA, Get an apartment, and of course, i would have already searched out a day job here at home, to start work out there, right away. I have considered getting a new car, and driving there, that way i can have transportation, but i know it's close to 3,000 miles away, and I can stop at hotels, to let me rest, and the car rest. But here's this: I know no one in LA. I am one of those people though, that "never meet a stranger". I get along with mostly everyone, and I know I have acting and stage potential. I also, have done little things behind the set for the productions my school has done, and I know a lot about staging make-up, set design, and stage managing.  My question is this: What do you think? Does my plans sound realistic? I know, I will be able to do this, but at what price? What do I need to consider and do before all of this takes place, and finally, Starting off, brand new to a big city, What do I need to be successful in an acting or stage career?

ANSWER: Hi Jenna,

Sorry for the slow reply, but with the season and the weekend AND the nature of this question, I had to percolate on it a bit...

First, I admire your spirit, it will serve you well if you can hang on to it and not be swayed. The bad thing, as you get older, is a person can get in their own way: attachments, comfort loving, family, fear of failure, etc. When you are younger, you have an innate fearlessness that can serve you well. As well as great headshots and a resume....

To the points: First, in Hollywood, everyone is expected to have a Screen Actor's Guild card (SAG card). They figure you have had enough experience BEFORE arriving to get one. My eligibility took years! Some get it earlier, some later. To get an agent out there, you really need one. It is about 98.5 percent certainty. Poppy Montgomery managed to get an agent out there after she left Florida (having arrived from Australia), but she was beyond persistent with her agent and got really lucky.

It sounds like you've had the schooling, but what of actual experience? Anything? It would be good to have something of a resume besides education. Education will help, but you really need paid work.

You are right that if you are in B.F.E., you need to go somewhere where you can get jobs to get credits to go to LA. The three hottest spots at this moment are: Michigan (they have a 45% film incentive program drawing productions right now, but then you'd have to find a day job there -and live in Michigan), Louisiana (they have a good % to attract films) and New Mexico. Wherever you go, you will have to find a FLEXIBLE day job to pay your bills, unless you are independently wealthy, so the economy needs to be halfway decent.

Another aspect is, you need education in FILM acting. Theater and film are not the same. Sometimes theater people can't adjust to film. In theater you are used to projecting your voice and your performance (movements) are "bigger". In film, you have to resist the urge to "perform" and try to just "be". In real life, you don't perform emotions (ok, some people do! lol! -in real life you hear or see something and it causes you to feel something and you react. Depending on the person, you react a certain way, to a certain degree per the circumstance. Not only do you have to find that "reality", but you have to find it as a mix of you and your character who may have different morals, upbringing, etc. You don't have to talk loud, the microphones can pick up everything! It looks weird if you do.
That's why you need practice and training to "dial it down" a bit.

Once you are in LA, there are call centers I have heard of that hire actors and are flexible with scheduling, but you will need to "give back" to make up for your absences -remember, they are running a business and have their needs too. Also, the rent and bills and food, etc. are MUCH higher than in other cities/states, so you will go through 10k in a hurry. The best thing to do, not knowing anyone, is to try to locate a roommate(s) through the net (actor's boards),or find roomies who want to go there to set up camp. If you have a few roommates, it would be cheaper than 2. BE CAREFUL! there are lots of nice people out there, but also many not so good ones. Be smart!
It might be good for you to go to LA for a week to scout it out. It can be intimidating, as it is big -the big leagues!

Another avenue to take would be getting into extra work in LA and hope to work yourself up. However, there are LOTS of extras who have been there for years and are still waiting. There is this odd thing where you can get "known" as an extra and then no one sees you as being a "serious" actor. Not so much in the old days, but moreso now.

Also, it can take a couple years to get "KNOWN" to the casting people and others before things star happening for you (assuming you have all your ducks in a row). Harrison Ford said he flipped a coin to decide between California and New York and it landed on Calif.

He said he was happy about that because he didn't much care for the cold. He said he was patient and "won through attrition" -meaning he watched the people he came out there around the same time leave and the next bunch and the next.....(He also had a pretty worn out attitude about acting by the time he made it. He almost didn't bother auditioning for "Star Wars". He was a carpenter by trade when he was struggling.

The statistic used to be that a million actors came to Calif every spring...by fall, half had gone home...by the next spring, half of that half had gone. Success take perseverance.! It also takes "self-belief" because no one else will (sometimes family even goes against you!) And it takes smarts.

Here's the part of my sermon where I warn you about the "Big Bad City". You may get desperate. What you do about it should be considered carefully. Some girls take jobs in strip joints. Good money, but if you aren't careful, you could end up straying from your dream and getting messed up with stuff. No judgements from me. I don't think the human body is obscene, it depends on what you do with it. What you can live with. If you go the "nudie picture route" you could make money too, but the shots go EVERYWHERE in the cyber-world, and can come back to embarrass you even faster should you become a star. These days that doesn't necessarily end a career, but it depends on what caliber career you want. Pam Anderson is a star, but not seriously respected.

If you do not go the route of getting to a state you can stage yourself, then to LA, fine, but know it may be tougher that way.
Also, you are young. Don't let love affairs stop you for your dream. You have time to worry about that later. Relationships can really get in the way.

Best to you,

Taylor  


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: OK, Well, I have talked it with my family, and they are supportive, and I would love to follow through. What are some good areas of LA to live? I want a place not to far from the action, but also, some place clean, and not much crime. I have also considered roommates, and even found someone in my hometown willing to go with me.

Answer
Hi Jenna,

That's great!

It's been a long time, but West Hollywood would be my best guess as to somewhere reasonable. As far as crime, hard to say. Like I said, you need to watch yourself and keep your eyes open! Anywhere can be dangerous if you aren't careful. Good luck to you!

Best, Taylor