Looking Forward

August is gone and September is upon us. Today, marks six months exactly that I have been a Southern California resident.

August, by any standard, was a very good month for me, and while I enjoyed it greatly, it is time to focus my attention forward, and not live in the past.

My immediate goal is to secure theatrical representation from a quality agency, and now being SAG eligible can only help. There are many such agencies in LA. Yes, there are also a few who are not reputable and make their income chiefly by selling things (classes, headshots, etc.) to the talent they claim to represent. This violates acceptable ethics and in many cases, the rules for being a SAG franchised agency. Most of these agencies are proceeded by their reputation and are fairly easy to steer clear of, but newer actors in LA need to know that they exist. Remember, the only way a talent agency or agent should make money is when you make money. Having said that, there are many, many reputable, and hard working agencies and agents in LA. However, all good agencies may not be a good fit for each individual actor, so my immediate job is to find not only one of the good agencies, but also one that is a good fit for me.

Postcards are a necessity for an LA actor (and not at all a bad idea for non LA actors). They can be used in several ways. First, after an audition, it is a good idea to send a postcard to the casting director or casting agency thanking them for that audition. Postcards, by the way should have one or more headshots on the front and your name, address, and other pertinent information (email address, phone number, website) on the back, plus of course, space for a brief message and an address. If you have computer skills and can design and print them yourself in a professional looking manner on blank stock, that's great. If not, there are many services in LA who will do that for you, and I'm sure non LA actors can also find such a service in their area, as well.

Postcards can also me used to bring attention to some upcoming production you will be in, such as a TV show, film that is about to be released, or play. They are sent usually to casting directors, but in my case I will also send postcards about the date and time of my appearance on The Office to selected talent agencies, as well as to casting directors.

There are literally thousands of actors in LA who are actively seeking work. No matter your talent level or credits, you can get lost in the shuffle if you do not market yourself to the industry. There are simply too many actors for casting directors, agents and others to remember, and postcards are an excellent way to keep you name and face in front of them.

I am continuing to take selected casting director's workshops from Actors West. These are very economical ways to (1) get instant feedback from a working casting director, and (2) be remembered by them for future projects which they are casting. I have two such workshops scheduled for this month.

However, a little playtime is good for the soul (and body), so come mid September my wife and I are going to take an eight day vacation. We have not begun to see the sights and attractions of LA and we plan to do a good deal of that, as well as spend a few days in Las Vegas.

After that, it's back to work for both of us.

Filming an episode of The Office was a wonderful experience, but now it's time to look ahead. By the way, the air date of October 8th for the episode I'm in still looks good. It will be an hour episode instead of the usual thirty minutes for most episodes of the series. I'll let you know if there is any change in the broadcast date.

CORRECTION: In a past blog entry (I'm not sure which one), I said that when a SAG production hired a non-SAG actor, that production had to pay a small monetary penalty. That is not so. To hire a non-SAG actor, the production has to fill out the Taft Hartley papers to properly authorize the actor to work in that SAG production, but there is no monetary penalty to be paid. It costs the actor nothing, and all it costs the production is some extra paperwork. Sorry for the misinformation.

More soon............