Or at least read this article:

Actress faces tough Hollywood script

Interesting article, but has anyone ever had any luck "networking" with customers while being a waiter at a restaurant? It certainly never happened to me when I was a waitress, and I know people who have been fired for being too chatty with customers, but never the reverse... or is it just me?

Miata Edoga
Financial coach for actors and artists
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As per my remarks on networking elsewhere, I think the key is to connect with people first on an equal footing. Certainly, a server who tries to "work" a client who's in the industry is skating on thin ice. But just off the top of my head, I can think of one woman at my local coffee shop who was put in a film by one of the customers who often directs features and another who, some years back, got a rather well-known person to be in her husband's small film. But in both cases these women had established low-key friendly relationships with these people before any professional activity resulted.

I hate reading stuff like this. Just makes you realize how hard it is to get into this.
How someone goes around looking for stuff to do, or just their daily lives or praying to make it work is just such a rat race.

EXCELLENT article. All need to read it before coming here and even then. THIS IS what it takes and if only more people realized that instead of cruising around thinking they are going to "get discovered". And believe me, more people think that than you realize. It is SICK and people that don't have the passion to really go after it simply do not need or deserve to be here and are in our way. Point in example. I recently attempted to cast a scene for my reel and the end result was fantastic. I paid a company out of my own pocket to do it and am SO happy. 300 times better than most student films or the like. Looks like a TV show or similar. Here is what happened to get there. I put an ad on Actors Access and Now Casting, explaining thoroughly what the deal was and how it would be shot etc. Great scene showcasing both of us etc etc. Promised super-fast turn-around and a copy of the scene for them in DAYS. Which is what exacly did happen. My scene partner whom I chose was thrilled. I had the breakdowns up for about two weeks before the auditions. Do you know how many people turned up for the audition? In all of LA? With 117000 actors on NowCasting alone???? THREE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!One guy stood me up and wrote to me a week later to say "Do ya still need anyone?" One guy submitted stating he refused to audition for anyone to help them with their reel. Another guy stated "I have the looks and talent but I will not work for free." Guess what then- don't SUBMIT in the first place!! So-about the actress in the article- I can relate and I actually felt good reading it as now I know I am not the only grounded and focused person here. It's about focus and hard work, not clubbing and hoping to get lucky.....Peace out.

quote:

Another guy stated "I have the looks and talent but I will not work for free."

Superb! A jewel of its kind!

Reminds me of a friend of mine who actually wrote some pretty good short stories but told me he wouldn't write a novel "until someone pays me to do it."

Because, as we all know, the world is just waiting for one more actor or one more novelist.

The solution, I suggest, is a classified ad (that would be Craiglist, these days): "Invest in talent. Pay me and I will act/write. Or else - and don't think I'm not serious about this - I will KEEP WORKING MY DAY JOB.

The choice is yours."