Why You Aren't Sure if You Should Move to Los Angeles
I get asked this question from more people on the regular than anything else about living in Los Angeles: Do you think I should move there right now or wait until after college for a little bit?
Los Angeles is a mystery to anyone who has never lived there. I know so many people who just don't know what it is or what to expect, exactly. They know on some level its just bigger, harder, faster, and sunnier. But as far as the industry, it's a mystery. And guess what? It's set up that way.
I can't say for sure why it's set up that way but I have my opinions. First of all, it doesn't thrive as the industry central that it is unless it keeps its secrets to itself. It's like a sorority. Only those on the inside know the rules, the idiosyncrasies, and how to truly make it. Anyone on the outside is left to flounder, bounce around from side job to side job, audition to audition, class to class, until they might get an answer from someone who knows someone on the inside. This makes it seem very scary and frantic. Especially because it's very expensive to live there. So every time you pay your rent you wonder if it's worth actually paying this much money for your studio apartment in East Hollywood where your bedroom window sits adjacent to the nightly activities in the parking lot at the 99 cent store.
But all this aside, it's not really that mysterious. It's what you make of it.
Los Angeles has the studios and the agents and the casting directors. That is all there and it's kind of daunting when you want to get on the inside so bad. But imagine if you changed perspective and therefore flipped the script on Los Angeles.
First of all, there are TONS of people JUST LIKE YOU wondering if they should move and then actually moving to Los Angeles. There are TONS of people JUST LIKE YOU that have NO CLUE what is going on or where to start. You are NOT ALONE! Which is the biggest complaint people have about Los Angeles "It's so lonely." "Everyone is just out for themselves and no one wants to hang out or connect." Meh, this isn't true. But you have be open to things.
I for one, did extra work. Do you know how many of my union friends told me not to do extra work? Most of them. They told me it was below me. That it would result in not getting booked on things because I was a lowly extra. I did it anyway. It was the best thing I ever did. First of all, I got on all the studio lots. Second of all, I met so many weird people and therefore based a variety of characters on them when I wrote material. And third of all, I met a handful of amazing people who are VERY TALENTED ambitious people that do extra work and work in film and tv. Meeting some of these people resulted in discovering new things in LA, understanding their journey, and getting perspective on things.
I also reached out to people who were friends of friends and told them I'd work for free on their film sets. I helped on short films, feature films, webseries. I met people that way and asked people questions about how to get an agent. I got weird jobs by meeting people. I was a "bubble show performer" at a house in the Palisades and played with bubbles with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garners children.
After a while I booked an agent while I was non union and got my first commercial. I was on a judge show as a plaintiff and saw how fucked up daytime reality tv is. And I won the showcase showdown on the Price is Right! Later I joined the union and got a real taste of the inside. But sometimes I miss the days when I knew nothing, when I was just open to all experiences and learning the wild world of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is a place, and you are your home, inside of you. Don't let a place rule you or make you feel like you don't belong. Just be you in a place full of endless possibilities!
Los Angeles is a mystery to anyone who has never lived there. I know so many people who just don't know what it is or what to expect, exactly. They know on some level its just bigger, harder, faster, and sunnier. But as far as the industry, it's a mystery. And guess what? It's set up that way.
I can't say for sure why it's set up that way but I have my opinions. First of all, it doesn't thrive as the industry central that it is unless it keeps its secrets to itself. It's like a sorority. Only those on the inside know the rules, the idiosyncrasies, and how to truly make it. Anyone on the outside is left to flounder, bounce around from side job to side job, audition to audition, class to class, until they might get an answer from someone who knows someone on the inside. This makes it seem very scary and frantic. Especially because it's very expensive to live there. So every time you pay your rent you wonder if it's worth actually paying this much money for your studio apartment in East Hollywood where your bedroom window sits adjacent to the nightly activities in the parking lot at the 99 cent store.
But all this aside, it's not really that mysterious. It's what you make of it.
Los Angeles has the studios and the agents and the casting directors. That is all there and it's kind of daunting when you want to get on the inside so bad. But imagine if you changed perspective and therefore flipped the script on Los Angeles.
First of all, there are TONS of people JUST LIKE YOU wondering if they should move and then actually moving to Los Angeles. There are TONS of people JUST LIKE YOU that have NO CLUE what is going on or where to start. You are NOT ALONE! Which is the biggest complaint people have about Los Angeles "It's so lonely." "Everyone is just out for themselves and no one wants to hang out or connect." Meh, this isn't true. But you have be open to things.
I for one, did extra work. Do you know how many of my union friends told me not to do extra work? Most of them. They told me it was below me. That it would result in not getting booked on things because I was a lowly extra. I did it anyway. It was the best thing I ever did. First of all, I got on all the studio lots. Second of all, I met so many weird people and therefore based a variety of characters on them when I wrote material. And third of all, I met a handful of amazing people who are VERY TALENTED ambitious people that do extra work and work in film and tv. Meeting some of these people resulted in discovering new things in LA, understanding their journey, and getting perspective on things.
I also reached out to people who were friends of friends and told them I'd work for free on their film sets. I helped on short films, feature films, webseries. I met people that way and asked people questions about how to get an agent. I got weird jobs by meeting people. I was a "bubble show performer" at a house in the Palisades and played with bubbles with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garners children.
After a while I booked an agent while I was non union and got my first commercial. I was on a judge show as a plaintiff and saw how fucked up daytime reality tv is. And I won the showcase showdown on the Price is Right! Later I joined the union and got a real taste of the inside. But sometimes I miss the days when I knew nothing, when I was just open to all experiences and learning the wild world of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is a place, and you are your home, inside of you. Don't let a place rule you or make you feel like you don't belong. Just be you in a place full of endless possibilities!
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