For those that know, who are the better commercial agents in Chicago? especially for a younger actor like myself (22)

It doesn't matter, really.

There are only three casting agencies in Chi that I know of: Simon Casting (Feature Film and Network and Cable TV primarily), P+R Casting (Indie, Feature Film, Commercials primarily), and O'Connor Casting (Commercials).

Each agency handles more traffic than what's listed, of course, including non-union work; but as far as talent agencies, regardless of their name, the power each has is about the same. The Chicago market is small enough for all of them to have some pull. Pretty much everyone will get seen in a relatively short period of time.

Good work is good work, your rep is only as good as he/she can get you seen for projects, and in that regard, no one talent agent (or agency) is "better" than another. You as a client are really the factor, more than who reps you.

anyone heard of or been to ed hooks acting classes in chicago? seems like a nice place to start. im deciding between him and the black box studio. will let yall know how it goes.

I'm moving to the Chicago area this fall (finally!). I was going to try to find a place in the northern neighborhoods. But now I'm moving with two people (non actors) and we are considering living in the northern suburbs to be able to get a house to rent. If I plan on taking classes in the Near North area, mainly, how far away is "too far" to be? Will a 45-60ish minute drive one way become tiring after a while? Is it better to live right in the city? Thanks for any input.

I don't know how familiar you are with the city and surrounding burbs, but the studio where I train (Green Room) is in Ukrainian Village and there were a couple people in class who live in Schaumburg, driving in twice a week for class. So, doable, you just have to decide if it's doable for you!

The northern suburbs are a great place to live but pretty far removed from Chicago's creative community. The METRA is pretty convenient and beats the hell out of driving

cant sign up for any classes til next term. waiting sucks. where are you guys currently training?

Florida is also an ideal place for acting,Palm Beach Acting School is one of the most famous amongst all.

Victrola, have you ever asked them how long it takes for them to drive? Schaumburg is one of the main suburbs that I am considering. I've looked on google maps to estimate travel time, but I don't really trust it to accurately apply traffic conditions to the overall time.

I never asked, no, but I got the sense it was generally a good hour.

Oh, ouch. I could probably cope with that if I only came down once or twice a week. But if I want to be in multiple classes, that is going to be time consuming. If I move into the actual city, I was looking at living in the more northern part, in quiet Ravenswood, Andersonville, or the nice western part of Uptown. The areas south of those are so dense and expensive. But with public transportation, I'm assuming that the commute from those areas down to the areas where the acting studios and Second City are will be quicker (and cheaper) than driving in from a place like Schaumburg. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

You also have to consider the cost of parking if you drive in. Not to mention that if you are in a metered space, you will have to leave class to feed the meter! Personally, I don't think it will be worth it. You can find really nice one bedrooms for well under a thousand, heat included, in those areas you mentioned.

And there's some great Meisner classes (two different studios) in Ravenswood, too!

Oh yeah, parking is a total beast in and of itself. Wow, I never would've known that there were classes in Ravenswood, thanks!

Yup, there's Green Shirt Studio (not to be confused with Green Room Studio - which is also wonderful, but not Meisner and not in Ravenswood) and Artistic Home Acting Studio.

I took a great workshop at Green Shirt, personally. I haven't yet gone to Artistic Home but MANY people whose opinions I really respect rave about Mary Ann Thebus and she teaches an advanced Meisner class there.

What neighborhoods do you Chicagoans live in? What's cheapest? How about survival jobs?

I want to move up there soon, but I'm so freaked out about the expense of everything...