In December, Back Stage West put out a call to actors who were about to tackle their first pilot seasons, asking those interested to apply to participate in a six-month interview process—one interview per month—tracking their experiences. We received hundreds of responses to this request, and four actors were chosen for their combinations of experience, projected chances at success, and intriguing personalities and situations. One actor spoke of his calculated plan of attack to make it in Hollywood, while another detailed his experiences doing monologues on the street for $1 per performance. One actor had emigrated from Scotland to make her dreams come true; another decided not to come to L.A. at all but to tackle pilot season from Canada instead. In their struggles for representation and work, they represent the best qualities of young, hopeful actors: talent, persistence, intelligence, faith, and courage. Here are their stories.
Lassie, Don't Go Home
Pamela Newlands says she's known her whole life she wanted to be a performer, whether as a singer or an actor, and she pursued that goal in her home of Glasgow, Scotland. She also dreamed of working in film and television.
"The earliest thing I started doing was singing," she says. "I did musical theatre, and then I did straight plays. I started taking classes with a teacher in Scotland, and she was so encouraging. It really fired me up. I told her that I wanted to do film, and at that time there wasn't really much going on [in Scotland]. The independent film scene is starting to take off now, but a few years back it was mostly theatre. I did a degree in politics, and I had a job for a while, but I thought, 'God, I hate this.' I applied to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama—the RADA of Scotland—and a lot of smaller colleges, but I had a lot of debt since I'd just graduated college. When I came out here it just hit me that I didn't want to put myself through another four years of the structure of school; I just wanted to do it. So I did. I worked four jobs—a full-time day job, and I worked in a bar, I worked at a scuba-diving school on the weekends, and I sang and did session work—and saved up enough money, and I came out here. When you really want something, you need to work."
Newlands had the benefit of a few friends in L.A.; they showed her around and initially gave her a place to stay when she came to the city in 2003. She decided to spend a year learning the business side of the industry and went to work as an intern for agents and casting managers. The actor supplemented her income with various retail jobs and session work, including singing for a songwriter, networking and honing her craft in the meantime. She took a scene study class with CD Holly Powell and another course during which she discovered she liked Meisner technique. She performed in The Vagina Monologues, a production attended by the play's author, Eve Ensler, and Molière's The Imaginary Cuckold, on the Santa Monica Pier. She also worked as an on-camera interviewer for the Santa Barbara Film Festival and did voiceover on an animatic pitch for the 28 Days Later sequel. Newlands recently became SAG-eligible through a Taft-Hartley waiver for her part in an upcoming film titled Hell To Pay.
That year of preparation paid off earlier this year when she landed a theatrical agent and commercial representation (Shayna Pelavin with DDO Theatrical), and secured a manager (Mark Holder). She was accepted into the Theatre District company at the Cast Theatre, and she did session work for music production company Simply Put. She also contemplated recording a five-song demo.
Newlands continued auditioning, as most actors must. "I went out for a pilot audition and a feature film as well," she said in February. "The pilot was one of those untitled ones, and the feature film is [Buena Vista's] Goal!. [The auditions] were both excellent. Things are going really well. I have an audition tomorrow for an independent feature. I don't know that much about this one, because somebody actually contacted me. I'm just going to go along and see what happens. I'm not in class right now because I joined the theatre company, and hopefully that's going to keep me working and doing stuff. I'd like to take an audition class, because I feel like I'm at a new stage now."
In March, Newlands discovered she had made it to the top tier of actors considered for the role in Goal!. She wasn't cast, but says she was excited to have gotten so close. She did a general audition with the Los Angeles Film School and has kept busy with student projects, as she considers it important to meet up-and-comers in the field.
In April, Newlands booked an industry reading of a musical theatre piece titled Runway 69, directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King film); in May she sang in a cabaret-night fundraiser for the Theatre District, which she said was a great success. The Runway 69 reading went well, and she was eager to participate in workshopping the show. She is currently contributing a song to a compact disc compilation of independent artists—which features members of Dru Hill—called "Independently Speaking," to be marketed in U.S. coffee-shop chains. She is preparing for the upcoming round of episodic auditions by getting new headshots and cutting her reel.
"It really helped me that I had such great representation," Newlands concludes. "These people are really onboard, very proactive, and very supportive. I came out here 100 percent prepared for success. Anything that comes along that conflicts with that doesn't register for me. The biggest motivation for me I've had to hold onto every day is that I came out here to be successful, and that in itself is success. It would have been phenomenal if I had booked something, but it's just made me more confident for the next time around. It was an amazing growing experience. I mean, I grew. I grew a lot."
Forth and Back
New York native Damian Bailey got into acting in an unusual way: A casting director approached Bailey's identical twin brother about auditioning for the film A Bronx Tale. The brother wasn't interested, so Bailey went instead. He auditioned with Robert De Niro and got a small role in the movie, and he's been working toward a career in film and TV ever since. The actor landed various acting jobs in New York, including work on Johnny Zero, Third Watch, and Law & Order.
As a writer with 19 plays to his credit, Bailey eventually came up with an offbeat idea about how to promote himself. "My wife was pregnant, and we had no money," he recalls. "It was, like, the driest season ever in NYC. There were no jobs. Being that I was a writer anyway, I wrote some stuff and said [to myself], 'It's a nice day, and I want to act.' So, one day after church, I made a sign that said: 'Monologues for a dollar. No Shakespeare, no comedy. I'm a struggling actor with a baby on the way, and I'm trying to get into Hollywood. If a rapper can do it, so can I.' So I went to Greenwich Village, Times Square, and 56th Street right by ABC Studios, and I made $20 in one day. It was a great experience. That's what passion does, I guess."
Bailey planned to fly to Los Angeles in February and stay with a friend while he gave pilot season a shot; to make ends meet he would temp or work as a bouncer. He'd leave money he'd saved behind for his wife and young son, whom he intended would follow if he succeeded.
"[People have] been telling me to come out to L.A. for years," Bailey said. "But, [for] some reason, this year it was in my heart. In life, you have to get out of your comfort zone in order to succeed. I had just gotten fired from a job with the city that I'd had for seven years, and I thought that maybe this is a sign. It just seems like the right time to go. I have to do it. At least I could die saying that I've tried it. I'm not a failure; failure is not an option for me."
In February, Bailey auditioned for the TV version of Barbershop, So You Want To Be a Soap Star, and a boxing commercial, but didn't get any callbacks. He was delayed in his trip west. "I got here March 1," he said. "So now I'm out here trying to get some type of work or representation or something. I'm also trying to get a side job. I'm trying to hustle, but the hustle is different out here. I can't crash an audition; it has to be by appointment only. It's been difficult, but I'll survive. I'm taking it day by day and trying not to let it get discouraging."
Bailey soon ran up against a few obstacles. The New Yorker quickly discovered that not having a car in L.A. was a liability. He also couldn't afford to take classes, though he audited what free classes he could. He interviewed for a job at the El Capitan Theatre, and his N.Y. agent got him two commercial auditions. One was for Chevy, which he believes he didn't get because they didn't like the only shirt he had with him, and the other, for Nike, involved doing sit-ups, which Bailey can't do because of the metal rod in his back—from scoliosis when he was younger.
After a while, Bailey decided nothing was happening—"It's damaging my health, it's damaging my spirit, and I hate it," he said—and he missed his family, so he went back to New York April 24. He promptly got a job as a personal trainer at Equinox Fitness, and his career as a writer may now be taking wing—production is rolling on two of his plays. One, about female gangs, will tour New York and Florida. Bailey will star in and direct the other, about teen prostitution, in August.
Bailey's recent venture in L.A. could have cost more than money: The actor says it almost cost him his marriage. But he and his wife have reconciled, and Bailey feels family is the most important thing in his life. "I'd consider going out for next pilot season," he says. "But this time I'd want to take my family with me. I'll rent a car next time; I'm not taking that damn bus and train anymore. If I go back again, I don't want to be working two or three jobs: That was tough. It was a good experience; I know what to look out for when I go back."
Working From Home
Sarah Meltzer's family discouraged her from going into acting. The Toronto-based actor's old-school Polish father was convinced actresses were immoral. But Meltzer wasn't to be stopped. After graduating from college with psychology and fine arts degrees, she auditioned for comedy theatre Second City Toronto and was accepted. A week later she landed the lead role of Tina in Tony and Tina's Wedding, and her career began. While living in Vancouver she became acquainted with Evangeline Lilly, whose star turn on ABC's Lost inspired Meltzer to further pursue acting. She returned to Toronto and quickly got work in such films as Stephen King's Riding the Bullet and the Ice Cube comedy Are We There Yet?.
Meltzer initially planned to come to L.A. in January, but the timing wasn't quite right. Her brother's wedding was in February, and, besides, she didn't have an American work permit. She'd also already been cast in a pilot, The Floor, in Toronto. The show was a half-hour sitcom about life in a college dorm, which Meltzer, cast as the floor's resident assistant, describes as "kind of a cross between The Office and The O.C. and Malcolm in the Middle." In the meantime her Canadian representation submitted her on tape for other pilots, she began writing a pilot for her own series, and she waited to see if The Floor would get picked up.
Things clicked in a big way for Meltzer in February. She made the producer's cut on a show for the Oxygen Network called Good Girl, Bad Girl, an improvisational sort of show looking at how good girls—which Meltzer would play—and bad girls interpret life differently. She auditioned for the lead role of a teacher on Fillmore Middle, for the NBC spy thriller World of Trouble, as a series regular on The Chris Kattan Project, and for NBC's Blue Skies. She found that auditioning by tape, which is instantly transferred as a computer file to L.A., was working very well.
"Truthfully I know I'm supposed to go down to L.A. to experience pilot season," said Meltzer. "But this is the best setup, I have to say. Even though I'm not there, I'm still experiencing it. I'm just this anomaly. I would love to be in L.A., but I'd love to have a job and my papers, and not have to struggle. I know an actress who went down and got cast in The O.C., but she didn't have her papers, so they recast. That's crap; I would never want that. This way, auditioning on tape, they know I don't have my papers, and they know what they're getting into if they want me. It's so much less stress. I've been an actor for a while, and it's never worked like this. But, all of a sudden, this year it's bang, bang, bang."
In March Meltzer appeared in an "It Girl" article in Canadian magazine LouLou, which she quickly highlighted in a postcard she sent to CDs. She auditioned for a film called Primal Scream as a Latina character, which she described as "a nice stretch." On the downside, the producers of Good Girl decided not to hire any of the Canadian actors they'd looked at, sending the project instead to the U.S. to cast. But Meltzer booked a commercial for Canadian store Kelsey's and was on hold for a Labatt beer commercial.
"I feel like with these things, and the pilot, and my pilot I'm writing, the power is back in my hands," she said. "Getting this audition for [Primal Scream] is a step forward. It gives me hope, because I've never had that level of consideration before."
Though she didn't get the part in Primal Scream—it went to Sherri Saum (Anne B. Real, One Life to Live)—Meltzer did a short film called Rebirth. Auditions for various TV series went well, but she wasn't cast. Meltzer is taking it all in stride and is in an acting class to sharpen her skills for next season. She recently sent in tape for a new lead on CSI Miami, and she's finishing the pilot for her own series idea. Although she enjoyed working from Toronto this time around, Meltzer plans to come to L.A. for the next pilot season.
Nonetheless she is pleased with her first season. "I had a lot of high hopes that didn't manifest," she says. "But I tried and was out there. I feel like I got somewhere, in that I got a pilot and came really close to another, so it's totally doable, and plausible, and going to happen for me. I had a whole lot of fun."
Doin' the Hustle
Twenty-something Boston native Jon Saphire began acting just seven years ago, but his commitment to learning his craft and building his career is total. Saphire has always enjoyed performing in front of people—he's also a guitarist—but for years it took a backseat to his job with his family's wedding business. Nevertheless he did 10 student films during his time in Boston and took classes at local casting agencies. He finally decided he wanted to tackle pilot season.
"I said to my girlfriend Amie [now his wife] at the time, 'Let's go to L.A. I'm not getting any younger,'" said Saphire. "She said, 'I don't want to go to L.A. unless I have a commitment.' So we got engaged and made plans to come out. I thought, 'After the wedding, we'll go to L.A.' I had a year, so I started saving. I started to do as much film work as I could in order to get my film experience to a good level. I did a lot of planning. I knew people out here because I'd been [to L.A.] a few times before. I made a lot of phone calls to friends asking them where I should live. On part of our honeymoon, my wife and I came out to L.A. to scout places to live. We were shocked at how expensive everything was."
With his savings, Saphire wasn't pressed to find work, so he immediately began intensive training. He signed up for the Actors' Boot Camp in North Hollywood, joined The Actors' Network, and started taking acting business classes. He also began what he called his "calculated attack" on breaking into the industry.
"I just got some new headshots taken, and I'm going to start calling up places," said Saphire in January. "I've been doing drop-offs at casting agencies. It's better than sitting at home sending out blind letters. It's a people business, so it's better for them to see you face-to-face. Here's my plan of attack: I'm going to stay in class, take an improv or comedy class to sort of work on all of my areas, and stay loose. I'm going to have a target list of CDs, and I'm going to come up with a doable list, not something that's going to overwhelm me. I'm not going to spend 10 hours once a month sending out a big bulk mailing, because that burns you out. I'm going to network my ass off, because networking is more important than talent in this industry. I'm not going to contact hundreds of CDs; I'll pick 30, from shows that I like, that I have a connection with."
Saphire started reaping the benefits of his plan almost immediately: He got commercial representation with agent Daniel Mulheran in February. Before signing, the actor spoke to several people represented by the agent; he was pleased to hear they all had great things to say about the agent. Mulheran sent him out for two SAG commercials—one for Blue Cross and one for Milwaukee Beer—that first week, even though he didn't have SAG membership yet.
Saphire also had new headshots taken. "They were the best I've ever got," he said. "The lady who took them [Denice Duff] was amazing. She totally brought it out of me. I've done five to seven headshot sessions, and these were by far the best. You've got to get that picture to where you love to give it to people."
Meltzer still needed to land a theatrical agent. He said, "I did drop-offs with a friend of mine. It's easier to do drop-offs with a friend, because it's less intimidating. I signed up for Now Casting, and I posted six or seven good shots of myself. I'm getting lots of calls for student films and independent features. I'm going to go to every audition just to get audition practice. I'm going to focus this month on getting a theatrical agent and sending targeted letters to producers."
Saphire booked a national HBO commercial in March and performed in a local showcase at the Elephant Theatre. He also bought a house in L.A. On top of continuing his classes, he and his actor friends practiced on their own. "Every Wednesday a group of actors from my first Actors' Boot Camp class gets together, and we do improv," said Saphire. "We do five to six hours. We tape it and watch it afterwards. We do Groundlings-type stuff. That really keeps me loose. We challenge each other a lot. We stretch the hell out of ourselves. If you can do that kind of stuff, when you go into auditions, it's a cakewalk."
By April, Saphire had joined Margie Haber's cold-reading class and was taking private lessons from Actors' Boot Camp teacher Josh Biton. He booked two student projects, went out for a reality re-creation series, did a showcase at the Hudson Theatre, and was positioning himself for entry into SAG by offering himself as a local-for-hire for films shooting in the Boston area.
He recently did another showcase and booked three student film projects with two leads. He is meeting with agencies such as Don Buchwald and Associates and continues to audition for practice; he says he's ready for upcoming episodic auditions at the end of this month.
"It's okay that I didn't book a pilot my first season," says Saphire. "You have to be realistic. I think I had a great last six months. I've arrived. I got the commercial agent, I just got an offer from a theatrical agent. My confidence has dramatically increased. What more can you ask for?" BSW
The actors interviewed can be reached as follows:
Pamela Newlands: www.pamelanewlands.com
Damian Bailey: www.talentmatch.com/damianbailey
Sarah Meltzer: Laura Hubert at Hubert Talent (416) 966-0700
Jon Saphire: www.jonsaphire.com