I have been a working actor in commercials and industrials for 40 years and have over 150 stage shows to my name. I came to So. Cal to find work in the biz. How do I get extra work in LA? I'm non unioun . I just want to work.

You've been an actor for 40 years and are still non-union? Wow. You must be paying your bills in some other way, because n/u commercials, industrials, and theater don't pay hardly anything!

Not sure, with your experience, why you'd really want to move to So. Cal to be doing non-union extra work. At any rate, you can't be living in Palm Springs-that is a given. You have to actually move to the greater LA area(Hollywood, the Valley, Westside, etc.) You would be spending more on gas than you would make on the shoot!

If you really want to do n/u extra work in LA(seriously not recommended)-you have a few options. If you don't mind having your schedule controlled and don't want to have to call and submit around looking for work, you can get a calling service like Extras Management, Booked, A-list, etc. You'll pay them like $60 a month to get you work.

Or, you can register with all of the extras casting companies, listen to their lines and try to book yourself. For film/TV that means places like Central Casting, Jeff Olan, Bill Dance, Sande Alessi, etc. For commercials-Virgo Talent, Artist Elite, Background Talent Services, Golden Time, etc. You can also sign up for LACasting-there's a lot of extra work posted there. Also, there's audience work in which you get cash at wrap.

I would advise against this because you get burnt out on it quickly, and it is very demeaning. If you were union and in good with the SAG commercial casting people I would say go for it-but not minimum wage, poor treatment n/u work.

Well I came from the mid west,Nebraska, where things were different. To be a union member there was actually a negitive. I had a good following of agencys who used me alot for film, industrials and voice overs. There are also theaters that pay a living wage there as well. I also took any job that paid money if it was related to show bussiness, so I did stuff like wear a polar bear costume to promote Coca cola and worked on the radio doing afternoon drive time. Anything to pay the bills.
Plus when the occasional feature was shooting I sometimes got small parts or did grip work.
I figure that by taking anything that comes along I can learn how it's done out here. As far as driving to LA ..so what I can afford it. As a working actor I learned long ago to SAVE,SAVE,SAVE. Just once I'd love to see a ad in the help wanted section that read:
" Wanted Full Time Actor...must be able to do shows for the next 10 years. 401K, Insurance, benifits and salary with regular raises". Oh well in the mean time I can bite my tounge and do what it takes to work for a while.
Thanks for your input

Hi Dutchman and welcome!

There are a lot of nay-sayers to background (BG) work, but I know and work with several actors who work BG in between their work as principal actors and many also commute. In addition to good gas mileage, you have to have the time and patience for traffic, but it can be done. Read the Getting Started in LA thread for help in finding some resources to get you started.
http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/932105/m/98310108

Good luck!

Non-union means working at near minimum wages. here in NY the Non unions earn around 75 for Film and TV, and 150-200 for commercials.

So If I were you, I'd stick to commercials.