Hey all you theatre grads with BFAs in Theatre/Dance in the crook of your arm! You're an artist with a Degree!
So you do what anyone who wants to be in the moving pictures does - Move to LA!
The weather is great, the humidity is mostly low, and the rent is, wait. It's HOW MUCH?
But this post isn't about moving to LA. It's about being a recent theatre grad with no clear idea on how to get into Sag-Aftra, the actor's union for everything except theatre. (Irony!)
Anyways, (if you can't tell, I'm in a bit of a mood and feeling a wee bit loopy. I just ate some really frikkin spicy food and even my lips are on fire) you might think that the only way to get a good agent in this town is to be union.
Well, kiddo. Hold your horses! You JUST graduated. Agents are going to expect you (you who looks 18 to look younger) to not be union. And, BONUS -
COMMERCIAL REPS ARE LOOKING FOR NON-UNION ACTORS. (If you graduated years ago, are 40ish and still non-union, keep reading! This applies to you too!)
When Sag and Aftra members voted to merge, those who were only Aftra, but still going on non-union commercial auditions, are now suddenly Sag too.
The big talent pool of really good Sag-E/Aftra actors just shrank to a teeny puddle.
And there are still TONS of actors needed for the huge amount of non-union commercials being produced.
And that, my fellow thespian, is where you come in.
No, non-union commercials don't pay that much - but I've made more money on them than I did two Sag gigs. And if you're non-union, your commercial agent is going to submit you for non-union AND union commercial auditions. YOU ARE GOING TO GET SUBMITTED FOR EVERYTHING.
You've got it easy.
So don't worry. You're going to be FINE.
And welcome to LA!
