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Off I go into the wild blue yonder!... of LA.
Double_Faces
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I begin my post college career as an actor, and I have about an 80% chance of it being in LA. I had a few questions before I move out there, so anyone from that area I would love some answers..
1. Waiters make hourly plus tips, yes? If so, how much is a safe amount per week to make given hourly and tips at a restaurant like "Macaroni Grill" (a step above Chilis)?
2. I'm looking at North Hollywood for apartments. Suggestions on telltale signs of nice places to live?
3. Anything else you think bears mentioning.
Keep in mind I have been out there before, almost went to USC for acting, and have just spent four years getting my BFA in Dramatic Performance.
Thanks in advance, shitheads!
1. Waiters make hourly plus tips, yes? If so, how much is a safe amount per week to make given hourly and tips at a restaurant like "Macaroni Grill" (a step above Chilis)?
2. I'm looking at North Hollywood for apartments. Suggestions on telltale signs of nice places to live?
3. Anything else you think bears mentioning.
Keep in mind I have been out there before, almost went to USC for acting, and have just spent four years getting my BFA in Dramatic Performance.
Thanks in advance, shitheads!
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That is unless you pool tips, which I think is absurd.
Do you want film, tv, or stage?
Have you found an agent yet?
My monthly budget is completely dependent upon what I make at work. The only number I've gotten so far is from a pair of guys who worked 40 hours/ week at a Macaroni Grill (a chain that I currently work with and could easily transfer to) and made about "a grand a week on a good week". These guys ain't that good at their job either. I'd love second opinions on this however.
I'm leaning toward film and television since I'm heading to LA.
At the end of april I perform for casting directors, agents, etc. in what is called a showcase. At that time I would be in the market for an agent. I currently have one in the tri-state area here.
A grand a week sounds like a lot, but maybe not so much in California with the high cost of living, also 40 hours at a restaurant job is brutal. A normal shift is more like 5 or 6 hours, and it'll leave you tired and praying for death usually. And obviously if you want any days off while working 40 hours you'll need to pull double shifts, which are super brutal. But you'll make lots of money unless you suck at it
Problem is, if you have no experience doing it, you might not be able to get a job at a terribly good place
And for fair warning, the San Fernando Valley is usually 10+ degrees warmer and less humid than the LA-proper basin area. It also has worse air quality. Prepare to moisturize regularly! I swear my skin gets sucked dry the minute I go through the Sepulveda Pass on my way to work.
Your monthly budget should not be dependant on what you make right now, or what you might make in LA. Find LA's cost of living, and the cost of living where you are right now, and have a few months saved up to be safe.
From what I've heard, everyone is doing stage work in LA just to get work for getting into film and TV. Which means, hey, you're probably going to do alot of stage work to make ends meet, and alot of your fellow performers will probably be very selfish.
I'm sure you're aware, but having a showcase does not mean you will get an agent. Also, not every person who might represent you will be there. It wouldn't hurt to do some research and finding some agents you like and making appointments with them.
Get a new color head shot if yours is out of date at all.
Have a general audition outfit, an industrial film outfit, a commercial outfit, etc.
-Agents look for nice new shoes. No, really.
-Avoid whites and blacks
-Avoid patterns in front of a camera
Have a reel (if possible). It should follow to or three main categories of your work.
Are you in a union? Probably not, and for LA it would help to be in one.
From a professor of mine
Also, I'm interested in your resume. I love looking at other performers resumes to see what they are doing with it. If you don't mind sending me yours, PM me.
Trust me...
Can't help you on the waiting tables bit, as I've never done it myself- but I'm pretty sure it's minimum +tips.
Drop a line if you do make it here- us SFV-PA'ers are friendly folk.
North Hollywood doesn't really have the best reputation, but there is worse in the LA area. While the Valley can sometimes be warmer, the air quality is not that bad as long as you don't live next the freeway. The air quality in LA has drastically improved over the last several year. The South Coast Air Basin just achieved attainment of federal and State carbon monoxide standards this last July (which means not a single violation had been found for a minimum of three years, although in reality it was longer). So no more jokes about LA's bad air.
Word of advice: Everyone and their brother is looking to get into the Business in LA, so you're going to have a lot of competition.
And it doesn't really matter where you live in relation to studios. There are studios everywhere, including Santa Monica, where I live. G4, MTV, etc. are out here. I live a few blocks from the Third Street Promenade, and I regularly see film crews out there.
Have a car if you don't already. Public transportation in LA sucks. But also be aware that everyone else has a car and there are regular traffic jams (except me since my car was just totaled on the freeway yesterday).
If you want to look around there, Van Nuys also isn't bad (It's just west of North Hollywood.) and Burbank is pretty good too. Sun Valley isn't as good a neighborhood but I wouldn't classify it as bad. It's just a few miles from North Hollywood, and you could probably find cheaper rent around there. Anywhere further north and you're getting into bad areas.
Living in North Hollywood, if you get a job waiting in downtown Burbank (Macaroni Grill like you mentioned, or places around there) You'll do fine on tips.
Maybe this helps: I'm looking for an apartment somewhere in the price range of 800-1000 dollars. If I were to find this in the North Hollywood area (and apartments.com says I should be able to) then would that be a safe amount for a waiting job like I've described?
http://swz.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layouthtmls/coll_metrodetail_98.html#moving
Those are very useful
My late father has a friend out there who I'm shacking up with until I have a job and a place. My goal is to hit that in two weeks from my showcase.
Sweet. That fixes like, a hojillion problems.
The guy is apparently an accomplished retired cinematographer.
Anyway, another SFV forumer here. North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, and Studio City are all good areas to live if you are new to the LA area. Generally, the valley has a lower cost of living than the rest of the LA area, so you can probably find a one bedroom apartment between $900-$1200 / mo. Van Nuys gets a bad rap for being full of gangs, which is partially true, but if you mind your own business, people tend to leave you alone. My wife and I live in Northridge, which is a bit inconvenient for us since all of our activities are on the east side of the 405, but it's a nice area and we got a good deal on it, so we manage.
You might also want to consider getting a roommate to save some dollars. LA is a very expensive place to live, so cutting rent in half by having roommates is completely worth it.
You're going to need to buy a car if you don't already have one. If you do already have a car, you need to make sure it meets California emissions specifications, else you will be paying a shit-ton of money to bring it up to code.
The air quality in the valley sucks. It's not a joke, it flat out sucks. Your snot won't turn black like it does in London, but it's still bad.
Most of the aspiring "actors" I know don't actually go to auditions. Don't be like them. Go to every audition you can. There's a lot of competition out here, so don't get down on yourself when the acting gigs aren't rolling in.
That's not really true as long as you're not living next to a freeway. California emissions standards are so stringent that the air quality has vastly improved. The only real issue you might have slightly higher ozone levels in the summer because of the heat and some dust during Santa Ana wind conditions. Other than that the AQ is fine. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the water quality, especially in the west Valley ever since the Rocketdyne leak.
I'm sure AQ has gotten better over the years, but when you have around 2 million people driving 98 hojillion cars in a valley, AQ is going to suffer no matter what you do. I don't think the brown layer of crap my airplane descended through on Sunday was something I want to breathe on a regular basis.
Regardless, you won't die from breathing the air here, but if you are from Oklahoma City, for example, you will definitely notice a difference in air quality.
I'm safely assuming 500-600 a week including hourly. Shouldn't be a stretch, as I was making around 400 a week in Cincinnati, without hourly and only working around 25-30 hours.
As for going to auditions, the school I go to has noted that the biggest issue with LA is that it can seem like a big playground for actors. Like they are "living the dream" if they claim to be actors and just kinda sit there.
I've had good success with keeping a steady flow of auditions going in Cincinnati, so if i don't get auditions in LA it won't be from a lack of trying.
I'm originally from Nebraska and spent the last 3 years in Chicago. SFV's air quality seems no worse than Chicago, a city that has one of the most successful public transit systems in the country. California (and Californians) really should be commended on the great lengths they've gone through to clean up the air in Los Angeles; I see a lot more hybrids and a lot fewer Hummers than I did in the Windy City.
'Course, this is all OT. Good luck to ya, Double_Faces, hope you like 818. I sure do.