It's a bright and breezy morning in Los Angeles!
Yes, Los Angeles! That's where I live! Can you believe it!? It's a dream really. You can so easily lose perspective in this life unless you regularly take stock. I've noticed in myself that the habit tends to be to awaken in the morning feeling a sense of lack and focusing on the things I haven't done instead of the things I have.
For instance, I haven't booked a job in a while, I didn't have the money to pay the rent this month, in fact I haven't got ANY money, I haven't got any work. I'm an out of work actor with less than twenty dollars in his wallet!
Now, another way of looking at the same situation is:
I have achieved my goal of moving to L.A. I have acquired an agent and am on the verge of signing with a manager. I have a great head-shot. I have worked with Apple, BMW and Porsche. I am fit and healthy. I am not addicted to any drugs. I'm not overweight. I have a computer and an iPhone. I have the potential to be a great actor. I am competent in some accents and with training could be proficient in many more. I can play guitar and sing. I know a meditation technique which brings peace and happiness to my life. The sun is shining. I'm free!!!
There you go, that feels better!
Yes, I'm in this place the people have assigned as LA. My goal here; to make a decent living doing something I love - acting. I feel as though I'm doing everything I can within my means to make it happen. I have an agent. My agent is getting me commercial auditions; around three a week on average, with names like Toyota, Smart Car, Samsung, Porsche and Motorola. Commercially I don't have that much to complain about. However, my agent is not pushing me into the place I WANT to go: TV and Film. I get the feeling they are limited in their theatrical connections. Also their theatrical department doesn't seem very professional: little to no communication and short, garbled emails are saying to me that I am not important to them. I may have to change things up there.
So, what is my actual clout in this town? What ammunition do I have as an entity in this industry?
I have an Apple commercial. A BMW commercial. A Porsche industrial. And what I have when I walk into the room: my looks and my charm. Being British is an arrow to my bow also as it's something which makes me stand out in a good way; the British accent is sexy and exotic here.
The ability of a few different accents (Irish, Scottish, French, South African). And a good singing voice. That's what I have. But on paper it's my big commercials that form my ammunition. And because of them I'm not quite at the bottom of the ladder in this town. I've got something to bargain with. They will get me in the door of agents and managers here and the rest is up to me.
So, what's next? What can I do to move toward my goal?
- Apply to auditions every day through Actor's Access account
- Keep in shape.
- Get a new agent
- Find a good manager
- Sign up with some acting classes
- Get some new head-shots to reflect versatility and image I want to put out there
- Work with accent coach to improve range of roles I can play
- Join organisations online to keep abreast of what's going on in the industry
- Be seen in as many ways as I can
- Produce my own work i.e writing, directing, shooting, acting my own scenes
- Make connections with people and organise people's details so I can find them easily and know who they are
Marvelous! Now, I'd already be doing all of those things IF...I had the resources. And what I mean by resources is money. Money, money, money! It's something I have very little of, this resource. So, let's get some! Now, that's all in hand right now and can be saved for another post.
In the meantime what can I practically be doing without that resource?
I could be keeping in shape, applying to auditions, researching managers, organising shoots with friends for head-shots, enlisting help of friends with my accents, making connections, and producing my own work. I am limited in some ways by my lack of cash, but there are lots of things I can be getting on with without it! Charrrrrge!
It is as though a force of light is holding firm deep within the bowels of this modern darkness of consumerism and commercialism and is working it's magic in the very eye of the storm! Marvelous!! I respect her very much. She hates it here and yet it's a five-year course! She endures being away from her family in a place that repels her because she's following her dream. A bit like me I suppose! But I have traveled a great deal and spent time in many places on this earth and have come to realise that it doesn't REALLY matter so much where you go. No matter where you think you're escaping to your discontent will follow you and catch up with you. It's inside you see. It's like a shadow. It can't help but follow you. You created it! The only way to deal with it is to face it. To find a still, quiet place and take the time to look deep into it's eyes and meet it. And when you shine your light into it you'll laugh at what you find because you'll realise you yourself gave it it's power many moons ago.
