Without question, Los Angeles is home to one of the biggest populations of actors on the planet. Unfortunately, because of the sprawling nature of the area and the ungodly number of hours one spends behind the wheel on the 405 Freeway, these actors may not cross paths with one another as often as they'd like. "L.A. is so spread out," says Paulo Andrés, vice-president of The Actors' Network. "It is a huge town, and people can live in Venice and be an actor, people can live in Burbank and be an actor, and those two individuals will never meet."
And that's a shame, as it is through meeting one another, networking with one another, and supporting one another that actors' careers are nurtured. "I think that when actors hear the word 'networking,' they will automatically equal that to schmoozing," says Andrés. "Networking has never equaled schmoozing. People need to get away from that, because schmoozing kind of evokes this kind of ugly, dirty, subservient thing, and that's not what it is at all. Networking is really about developing enduring relationships that you can utilize for your career."
To that end, actors should be aware of the various resources out there designed to help them with networking. Once you have a support system in place, L.A. becomes a friendlier town, and said support system may help your career in ways you hadn't imagined.
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One such resource is The Actors' Network, a community of actors with nearly 700 members. "Not only do actors meet actors, but because the organization really fosters 'Get up and do'—get off your living room couch and get things done—it's a proactive actor as well," says Andrés. "So now you have not just actors meeting actors, but you have proactive actors meeting proactive actors. And really and truly, networking is not just meeting a bunch of people; networking is meeting people who can support and help you develop your career."
To that end, The Actors' Network offers a number of resources to its members, including guest speakers and topical discussions on issues such as writing a proper cover letter and time management. Additionally, The Actors' Network's facilities house a library of helpful books and periodicals. "I call it a mini–Samuel French," says Andrés. "There's no checkout policy—they've got to come to us—but they don't have to buy [books], because an actor doesn't always have the money to support themselves in terms of some of the ancillary things like an agency book or the Hollywood Creative Directory or a subscription to The Hollywood Reporter." The Actors' Network also keeps records of members' experiences with, say, different headshot photographers. "There have been members that have come in that have just not been able to get a good photo," says Andrés. "They just kind of look at an ad and go, 'Well, this one looks good, so I'll do it.' We have listings of the various photographers and members' experiences are listed near them.... It's a referral, basically."
One especially helpful element of The Actors' Network: the organization's monthly power groups. "A power group is 30 people—the same 30 people—coming together once a month to discuss their professional activity for the past 30 days and goals for the next 30 days," says Andrés. "So [for] the first half, you talk about your actor activity and the goals you want to create. The second half is issue time, which is really about any actor-related comment, question, or concern. So a lot of times what ends up happening, the unsupported actor comes out here in L.A., doesn't know anybody, doesn't know where to start or what a good agent is, doesn't know where to go to ask those questions. This is a place you come and do it: You can do it every month. They may go, 'Should I start after a commercial agent or a theatrical agent? Should I get a manager, should I not get a manager?' People can ask those questions."
Membership at The Actors' Network is $50 a month. To learn more, visit the organization's website at www.actors-network .com.
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Another organization offering support and networking resources to actors is The Creative Actors Alliance, which started out as a small group of actors who came together to enhance their skills and further their careers. One key element of the organization is its monthly networking brunch, which features various industry guest speakers—guests included Charlize Theron, Elliot Gould, and Erin Gray—and is open to the public. Admission is free; you pay only for your meal. The organization also hosts other events, such as film showcase nights. If you want to join the group as an affiliate member, it's $40 a year and comes with headshots and a resumé on the organization's website, as well as one free acting workshop per month and the opportunity to screen any project you are featured in or worked on at the film showcase nights.
"It's a safe harbor," says Creative Actors Alliance board member Zander Villayne. "It's a great way to get to know people, to get to meet some people and become involved with a group. As you well know, most of the people that succeed in Hollywood, they have their own little family they use over and over again, whether it be the actor or the crew member. We've started our family, so to speak."
Villayne says, "The group offers a safe, no-BS place to come meet people who are actually getting stuff done, trying to move their careers forward in a positive way and [who] will gladly give you information on both the good and bad side of [it]. Let's say someone comes to town [and] they're not sure where to go to find a photographer. They don't want to pay somebody to tell them where to go find a photographer. We're a group of 100 actors who have been doing this for years, so we know who's good and who's not, who charges too much, who charges the right amount. So we can give them a whole list."
Additionally, Villayne says the group encourages a "get out and do it" approach to the business, which can help projects develop. "Our motto that we've recently adapted is: 'Take your own action,'" he says. "With the digital-video world and even in the film world, more than ever, you really need to get off your butt and go do it yourself. Not necessarily make your own film, because not every actor is going to aspire to do that, but you can't sit at home waiting for that phone to ring." For his part, Villayne says he has made 10 short films he's entering into festivals, and they've all been associated with Creative Actors Alliance.
"Let's say you join as an affiliate—you're going to meet some people, and then you're going to end up hanging out with those people," says Villayne. "[You might] see something and you go, 'Wow, that'd be perfect for Jim, the guy I just met.' So you shoot Jim an e-mail saying, 'I just saw this thing on Back Stage West or Creative Actors Alliance's website, you're perfect for it.' That's how it's a huge benefit to people, because people network and they help each other out. Hopefully, they watch out for each other like that."
For more information, visit Creative Actors Alliance's Web site at www.creativeactors.com.
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If you want to widen your net to look at networking resources that encompass all elements of filmmaking, Independent Feature Project may be an organization to look into. The group's Los Angeles chapter offers a number of programs and events designed to aid those who aspire to the world of indie film. In terms of networking, the organization offers a quarterly event called IndieLINK. "[IndieLINK] brings different disciplines together so they can show samples of their work [and] talk about upcoming projects," says Marceil Wright, membership manager of IFP/LA. "Individuals, if they're looking for actors, if they're looking for a costume designer, if they're looking for a composer, this is the forum where they can voice that. IndieLINK is a really good networking event to bring these people together."
The organization also offers film screenings, workshops on various aspects of filmmaking, and a resource library that features copies of SAG contracts. "Additionally in our resource library we have headshots of actors," says Wright. "So when we have directors and producers who are casting, or we have casting directors who come in who are looking for talent, they come to our resource library." Many of these headshots, says Wright, come from IFP members.
IFP/LA membership is $95 a year. For more information, visit www.ifp.org, which also features an online networking center.
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Actors also need to be active when it comes to the other side of networking: You can seek out help and support for yourself, but you should also help and support others. Actor Tracy Weisert is known for aiding actors—on a film set or through her work as a business and empowerment coach for actors. "I believe we all have to help one another," she says. "I feel that L.A. can be a very isolating place, because it's such a car culture."
Weisert has a comprehensive list of resources she likes to recommend: things that she says have helped her or that she knows to be legit, such as Women in Film (www.wif.org), which seeks to empower and mentor women in the industry, or the Film Industry Network (www.filmindustrynetwork.com), a networking organization made up of people from all areas of entertainment.
Currently, Weisert is looking to turn her natural networking skills into a helpful business: A Mom Away From Home is a service that would assist new actors getting ready to move to L.A. and provide a list of resources on the Internet. "I've been an actor for 40 years, and my agent in New Mexico always sends me people who are moving out here," says Weisert. "So I thought, 'Well, heck, let me turn that into an actual business,' because I could see, as a parent of two daughters, if my daughters wanted to move to L.A., I would be a little trepidatious."
Watch www.amomawayfromhome.com for more information in the near future.
Just remember: There is no greater resource than the knowledge and experience of your fellow actors, and seeking that out is worth your time. Deborah Puette, who has been a member of The Actors' Network for almost a year, can attest to that. "The actors at The Actors' Network, for the most part, are very proactive people, so they're creating their own projects," she says. "They have great marketing ideas or tools, all of which they share.... You can always find somebody who has already experienced the problem or the situation you find yourself in and get some advice. You're meeting with an agent, you see that so-and-so is repped with them or was repped by them, you can talk it out, you get some face time with somebody who actually knows this person one-on-one."
In the end, this advice might prove invaluable. After all, most careers aren't made overnight. "I think some people might move here waiting for somebody to wave a magic wand—an agent or a casting director or a director—and sort of make their career happen, and it just does not happen that way," says Puette. "No matter how many interviews you read, where somebody's, like, 'Oh, I was just standing on a corner,' I really think it's never true. A lot of hard work goes into it, at least for 99 percent of people."