I think I want this BLOG to be all about acting and my adventures here in LA. ...And only that. So, to kick it off; the following is where I am right now!
NEW TO LA LA LAND
I am not with an agency... I almost joined AFTRA, (you just buy into it,) but here is the consensus I have heard on both: Don't sign up/join until you have to. AFTRA has monthly dues, and unlike SAG, you don't have to be a part of the union to work AFTRA gigs. Agents aren't required to find you work, but they take a cut of your pay whether you book the job yourself or they book it for you. And, they are unlikely to work hard for you if you aren't already booking work. So, the key is to just get as much work as possible yourself and then when you are getting a lot or "must join" a union: join then.
I have signed onto LA Casting which posts a lot of non-union and union work. Agencies go there too looking for talent. I signed up for Central Casting which is primarily for extras, but I haven't done anything with that. I have really been persuaded against extra work. I want to be in the foreground as much as possible.
And there is a lot out there, so I'm being choosy. I only submit for roles that pay or seem very interesting. I do need to build up a reel. It's hard thought to justify leaving my paying job and spending time and energy on something I don't believe in or won't be paid for. Like Jessie, my friend out here said, we can't give up our power just because we want it so bad. They need us to make their words come to life.
I did a music video for another friend I made out here. The link is on YouTube: Damien Christopher TV: 4 AM Revelations. He asked me to do another one which should be fun. I just auditioned for a student film. Waiting to hear back about call backs. That was at UCLA which the craziest campus I've ever tried to navigate!! I have sent out my very first complete screen play that I have ever written in my life to a few friends so I can get some feed back on that. And there a re a couple or so more projects on the nearing horizon that I am very excited about.
Little by little....
My personal network needs some growth, to help all of the above goals continue moving forward: so all in all I foresee a very busy 2010.
|
This entry was posted on 1:38 AM and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
1 comments:
I don't know who you've been talking to, but you need to kick their butts for filling your pretty little head with gross misinformation, to wit:
AFTRA - like SAG - is a union that is the industry standard defining acting professionals.
AFTRA members - like SAG members - are billed for their union dues twice a year, NOT every month.
If you never work an AFTRA gig you'll pay about 55.00 in base dues every six months. This keeps the lights on, and keeps you in the system for when you DO get a legitimate job.
There is no rule that says you can work one AFTRA job after another and not join. Like SAG, you will be required to join after one union job.
There are many reasons why these unions exist, not the least of which is:
Assurance of fair and timely payment on work you've done under an AFTRA or SAG contract
Assurance of fair and safe treatment on the AFTRA or SAG job
Assurance of payment of ROYALTIES (that's mailbox money, honey) on jobs where the AFTRA or SAG contract calls for them
Non union work is called a BUYout, which means lowest possible payment, one time, and no royalties ever, period.
For more info on AFTRA, go to www.AFTRA.org
Put your business hat on, and get your facts straight. Don't become one of the millions of LALA Land hopefuls who never take care of business and end up in the weeds.