Der Be SCAMS Out Der

Every actor who comes to LA wants to work. To work you have to audition; to audition you have to find out where, when, and the particulars about an audition in order to submit yourself for that audition. This is particularly true before you have an agent and is even somewhat true after you have one.

Into this void, with both feet, has jumped a number of companies, organizations, what have you, all claiming we can get you the straight skinny on all the quality auditions in town. I was not exactly a neophyte to all this, having done a good deal of research before moving down to LA. The majority of these companies (but not all, as you will see) are SCAMS pure and simple, with a goal, not in helping find auditions, but separating you from as much of your hard earned money as possible. The come-on is that you can register free, and yes, you certainly can do that with most of them. However, with most it costs to find out the contact information for an audition, post headshots onto their website, post your resume onto their website, and so forth. These companies are simply predators lying in wait for the unsuspecting "newbie" actor.

I mentioned that there are exceptions to this type of predator company. One is called Actors Access. With them, you can join free, post two headshots free, post your personal information (hair color, height, weight, etc.) free, post your resume free, and they will send you emails giving the complete details of auditions that fit your age and other parameters which you specified when you registered with them. Is there a catch? Well, yes, but not an unexpected one, as this company, like most, is in business to make a profit. You can join for $68 dollars a year and reply, at no additional cost, to any audition call which they email to you, or you can not join and pay $2.00 each time you respond electronically with headshots and your resume to an audition call. If you think you'll want to respond to more than 34 audition calls a year (not quite three a month), joining is the way to go. If not, then the $2.00 per pop is probably more thrifty. Actors Access also runs an off-shoot called Extras Access. It is run exactly like Actors Access, except it is for extra work only. I discussed the value of extra work for a new actor in town in a previous blog. If you are already a member of Actors Access, you can join Extras Access for only $10.00 per year. Actor's access get good marks from respected professionals in the area.

There is also another organization, with a slightly different mission, called Backstage. It also has a yearly fee, can also turn you on to legitimate audition calls, offers other services, and is also well thought of in the industry. I will be looking in Backstage more thoroughly this coming week.

So, if you're thinking of making the move to LA, be warned. There are some legitimate ways to find out about auditions prior to having an agent, but there are a number of SCAMS lurking in the weeds, as well.

More later..........