Jettisode 17 – Acting Outside Hollywood
In the last Jettisode (Jettisode 16), Jett stirred up a bit of controversy due to his honesty regarding padding the resume. Every industry in every business you’ll find that people pad resumes. Hell, we do it on our college applications don’t we?
Anyway, the greatest thing about episode 16 was that it started some open and civil dialogue in the comments section. Love to see more of it in the future!
And from the ashes of the the last Jettisode births Jettisode 17, where Jett Garner responds to Short Film Texas community member Kathy Greenup and her dilemma regarding sending her high school graduate daughter off to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career.
Are there alternatives to LA? What cities offer a serious actor more opportunity than Los Angeles?
Jettisode 17 – Acting Outside Hollywood
December 15th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
As Jett mentions, you have to look at the reasoning behind “why” you are going out to LA or wanting to go to LA. Why LA? Why not Chicago (big for commercial work and theatre), Dallas (big for commercial work) or New York (broadway and television)? LA is enticing, the lights, the fame, but it is also an incredibly skewed battle.
But, if you do decide to go to LA, take these things into account.
1) Go out there with a lot of acting experience. If you are thinking of going to LA, so are 100,000 other people – half extremely good looking, the other half extremely talented. A deep resume will help your odds of surviving, even if you are good looking and talented.
2) Go out there with $20,000 and expect that to last you, at most, 6 months, realistically 4. During the time you are out there, treat acting and auditioning the same way you would a full-time job. From 8 AM to 8 PM, find any and every way to get into an audition and on a set. The second that you have to take on a job waiting tables, you are done. If you are not auditioning or acting every minute of every day in LA, you are on the downhill. I know tens of people that went out there with $5000 in savings, spent through it, got a job and 6 months later had to leave town having acted only once or twice.
Just know that it is expensive and it is a lot of hard work. Some, very few, non-Hollywood blood have made it, but very, very few. Hollywood really is the American kingdom full of nepotism and the royals work hard to keep their stake in the land.
As Jett said, if your intentions are to be a great actor, explore other options – Australia, Chicago and New York. If you are looking to go to LA to be famous, good luck, I hate to be negative, but it is almost certainly impossible and I wouldn’t recommend it either.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Right on Jet…you crack me up.
Note to mom…I have a daughter in L.A. and it sucks. It is unbelievably expensive, especially when you add in parking tickets, towing fees, and other rip offs we experience almost weekly.
Rent in affordable areas is as much as our mortgage each month. I’d definitely think Chicago as a great option, you don’t have to worry about a car.
I’m available to talk more about this too.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Where can i get more info on moving and acting in Australia, New York and Chicago? Could Los Angeles be a place i go to after, lets say studying acting in Australia?
December 16th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
I am kind of in the middle..
I know when I was in Hollywood, I really enjoyed the camaraderie around actors..that feeling that you are in the same place as all the greats was really neat and that you know if you work hard, you can make it. I’m based in Dallas, and maybe it’s my attitude..but it just doesn’t feel as attainable here as over there..maybe it’s the market..maybe not.. not sure..
December 17th, 2009 at 9:57 am
My daughter is 12 years old and has an interest in acting; we live in Houston, TX. I first put her in acting classes for a year before I went searching for an agent here in Houston. She is also involved in theatre arts at her school. I told her to finish school first. When she graduates school then I will help her go to L.A., but to get as much experience as possible here first.
Now, it is hard to find work here. I’ve tried looking for an agent in Louisiana but I can not find one. Louisiana is about a 2 hour drive or more if I go further in. I have heard Louisiana is 2nd Hollywood. Can you kindly give me some advice?
December 18th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I have had some experience around the Austin area, and what I have seen are a lot of projects that are supposed to start take months, even years before anything comes out. LA may be commercial, but it seems like one of the few places where someone can have the chance at constant work where you can actually be a full time actor.
Plus, I am also interested in stunt work and there really isnt much good paying work for stuntmen in Austin as well.
December 24th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I would add to Shawn Hs’ comments( I went out to L.A. earlier this year). L.A. is an extremely ruthless and cutthroat town, especially in the film industry. Everybody is your friend until your money is gone. Then they don’t know you. You see a lot of that when L.A. productions come into Texas. Have you noticed that recently extras are paid nothing. I auditioned for a film producer last month that was really just looking for free featured extras. I declined. I expect we’ll start seeing a lot of bounced checks next. In light of the current economic conditions in L.A., Texas, and elsewhere, I would recommend staying close to home. Attend UTs’ drama school, or AMU Corpus Christis’. I have worked with grads of both schools(They’re good). Besides you’ll meet a lot of people who’ve been there and done that and they won’t abuse you as much–Good Luck
December 28th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
once i helped out a film called “The Battle”-part of it was shot in LA and part of it in the rio grande valley. I ended up doing stunts and i doubled for their villain-all i got was 20 dollars for gas-it was ridiculous. I would like to go to California and become a SAG stuntman becuase at least i get minimum $759daily or 2300 plus for a week. It has always been a dream of mine, but in light of recent econ0mic events i am not sure if next summer, the time i had originnaly thought of goin, would be a good time