i need a good stage name

would blake draper be good(cause thats my actual name) or what??

take your middle name and match it with the street you grew up on and boom! your stage name is born.

Just saw this on the PARF board. (Thanks to HepHep11)

http://howmanyofme.com/search/

How many people have your name - OR your potential stagename? Fun link.

I was going to address each name individually, but then I realized I really liked everyone's real names. They already sound like stage names to me.

The only other thing I would say is that if you are making a name a bit more complicated (someone already commented on this and I definitely agree), beware of spelling. I might even try to spell it more phonetically if possible.

quote:

Originally posted by Brittany Burnett:
I don't think it's a problem of having the same name as someone else.

Actually, this can be a problem if that someone else is in AEA, SAG, or AFTRA. These unions have rules that "protect" the names of their actors. In other words, if someone is in SAG and has the name "Joe Shmo" and an up and coming actor with the same name tries to register for SAG he has to change his name. This can be as simple as adding a full middle name, but no one is allowed the same name in any union. I remember when I joined AEA I was prepared for any variation on Tom Patterson I could think of. Luckily, Tom Patterson was available.

Also, here's my opinion on stage names: If you try to "glam" your name up, it's gonna look fake. It's gonna look like you're trying to hard and that you desperately wanna be a famous soap star from the 80s. Now, I know a few people who have changed their name, and it's usually for three basic reasons. First, the name was already registered in the union. These folks usually just add a middle name or use their mother's maiden name. Second, for casting reasons. I have a friend who is half-Japanese half-Russian. He changed his last name to avoid ethnic stereotyping in casting and was able to do this because he has no strict "look" to him. Third, their original name was incredibly hard to pronounce or overly long so they change it to something simple. Just a soft touch.

I was reading something a few days ago where SAG can't make anyone change their legal name, they can just strongly encourage it. But I haven't done a whole lot of research on the subject. There aren't any Brittany Burnetts on IMDB, so I don't really have to worry about that point. :\

I think the rest of that is very good advice. I didn't even think about the stereotyping issue, but that's one thing you should definitely be aware of. Thanks for your input!

quote:

Originally posted by Brittany Burnett:
I was reading something a few days ago where SAG can't make anyone change their legal name, they can just strongly encourage it.

That's interesting to know. As surprised as I was that there were no Tom Pattersons in Equity I am sure there has to be one in SAG. I hope that that's true as I'm really not lookin' for a name change. I wonder why the rules would be different in different branches of the 4As. Anyway, good luck and I hope everything works out well for you.