"I refuse to let fear stop me and so far it hasn't," said Susan Tierney, a New York City actor who moved to Los Angeles a month ago to pursue her dream. "Fear almost stopped me from moving. I was really afraid to move. Things were very comfortable. Now I'm on a limb."
Tierney initially got a taste of L.A. when she visited with a New York stage production in December. In April she flew out to Los Angeles again--this time for a showcase presented by TVI Studios, the membership-based actors networking group. She won positive responses, including an offer from an agent. Upon returning to New York, Tierney did a mass mailing to agents and received a call from a second agent interested in working with her.
Tierney, formerly a professional dancer, had been acting in New York for the past five years. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Actors' Equity. With some respectable stage credits under her belt, her acting coach, Anthony Abeson, convinced her that the time was right to consider moving to the West Coast. "He said, 'You have nothing to lose. I'm not asking you take a risk; I'm only asking you take a chance,'" she recalled.
Tierney likewise felt the timing was right for a major change. Her well-paying day job at a bank had ended when the bank closed. She had broken up with her boyfriend. And two agents in L.A. were biting. Heeding her acting coach's advice, she gave away most of her belongings, put the rest in storage, and bought a one-way ticket west. Before flying out, she called an L.A. acquaintance, John Zalewski, who had designed sound for the play she appeared in last year, and he agreed to put her up for a week. One of the first things Tierney did after arriving in L.A. was rent a car--a wise decision, as public transportation here is not very convenient. She also had a local cellphone number already hooked up before she made the move.
"This is absolutely the most crazy thing I have ever done," said Tierney, who is admittedly overwhelmed by her new surroundings. "I got my driver's license two days before I came out. I get lost everywhere I go. It takes me two hours to get anywhere." Even with a Thomas Bros. Guide (the must-have book mapping Southern California), she had little sense of direction.
Tierney was also not sure where to look for an apartment and a job. She has a license as a personal trainer, so she's thinking about looking for work at a gym. She's also interested in learning how to play golf--to her mind the ultimate Southern California sport--and began inquiring about employment at some of the L.A. country clubs, perhaps working as a hostess or in a pro shop.
"I'm going to be a great golfer, if nothing else," jested Tierney, who that day whacked her first set of golf balls at a driving range.
Margaritaville
Tierney's first week in Los Angeles was hectic. She met with both agencies interested in signing her, and both agreed to take her on--Baldwin Talent Inc. for commercials and the Dangerfield Agency for theatrical. At the request of her theatrical agent, Mary Dangerfield, Tierney had new headshots taken. The pictures were shot by a digital photographer and cost Tierney a "fraction" of what she would have paid in New York for the same quality. "Instead of spending $1,000, I'm spending $300."
Four days into her stay she got hooked up with producers of a 99-Seat play, who hired her to serve margaritas during intermission. It was Tierney's idea to whip up the drinks. The margaritas were a hit. In addition to earning $300 in tips, she made a few potential contacts and even met one of her idols, Lily Tomlin.
"Lily looked me right in the eye and asked, 'Where are you from?' I said, 'I've been here four days and I'm from New York City,' and she said, 'New York City's loss; our gain,'" recalled Tierney, who, indeed, has what some would call "chutzpah"--an infectious energy, enthusiasm, and zest for life.
After a week of crashing on Zalewski's couch in Long Beach, Tierney relocated to Oxnard (located 35 miles outside of Los Angeles). A friend of hers had an uncle who owned a townhouse there, which was vacant for the summer. Her friend said she could stay as long as she wanted. She gladly accepted another free place to sleep but felt she needed to find her own apartment soon. She spent some of her free time driving around L.A. and getting familiar with some of the more popular neighborhoods. Though she's heard that a lot of actors love Silverlake, she found it too removed from the hubbub of city life. She drove around West Hollywood, the Miracle Mile, and Hollywood and began to focus her attention on those communities.
Friends recommended that Tierney look up apartment rental listings on a free Internet site called Craigslist (at www.craigslist.org). After making appointments to view apartments, she signed a lease for the first apartment she saw, a single off Franklin Boulevard in Hollywood that costs $790 a month. Tierney couldn't believe how painless it was to find her own place. "I'm shocked. There was something very easy about it, but I think that's the way things can go in life."
Like her headshots, rent was also far more affordable than she was accustomed to. "It would have cost $1,800 in New York," she said. "But I think you get paid less for jobs here. That's the next thing I have to tackle."
With the help of friend in New York, Tierney also bought a car her second week in L.A.--although she had to wait another 10 days for the car to be delivered from back East. "All I know is that it's automatic and it's gold," she shared. "And some guy named Bub is driving it out from Buffalo."
Long Haul
Tierney's top suggestion for her fellow actors considering the move to Los Angeles is to arrive in L.A. with a nest egg to support themselves for at least a couple of months. "You definitely need money," she said.
Tierney also advised actors to follow their instincts if they feel that L.A. is the place they need to be. "Just do it," said Tierney, who's in her early 30s and has spent most of her life in New York. "Don't think about it. Go. It makes me feel relieved that I am where the work is. I think all actors in New York share this; we just feel like we're missing out."
Unlike many L.A. transplants, Tierney has not set a deadline for success. Her plan is to simply stick it out. She said, "If I set a deadline, then it's like I'm setting myself up, in a way, for failure. If I say, I'll be here for two years, then I'm thinking about going back already. I'm in it for the long haul. I'm not worried about working hard."
Tierney has something valuable to sell to casting directors: confidence, a quality that shines through when you talk to her. After honing her acting skills in New York, she feels ready to compete with the best actors in L.A. "It helps to know what you're doing when you all of a sudden have to do it," she noted.
As talented as Tierney may be, she thinks luck and good connections are going to be the keys to breaking into the L.A. acting industry. "I believe in the power of the mouth," said Tierney. "You've got to be out there and accessible. I need to be invited to some parties. I think that's very important."
Rush Hour
During her third week in L.A., Tierney spent a good deal of time getting settled in her new apartment--calling the utility companies and waiting for them to show up, cleaning her new home, making trips to Home Depot, and buying a bed to sleep on. She was a little freaked out to discover coyotes rummaging through her trash cans one night--a sight and sound she's not used to from living in Manhattan.
When Back Stage West last spoke with Tierney, she was focused on getting her headshots completed. As she explained, her agents were reluctant to submit her for jobs without her new pictures. Meanwhile, her photographer was lagging in getting her the touched-up shots she had ordered.
"So I called the photographer and said, 'Where are my pictures?,' because I'm from New York; we do things immediately. He apologized and I picked them up, ran them over to my agent this morning. She said they were fine--thank God," said Tierney, who placed a rush order at a lithos house so that she could get her headshots as soon as possible.
As we wound down our fourth and final interview, Tierney suddenly got a call on her cell phone from her commercial agent. "I got my first audition!," she said ecstatically. "It's for a commercial shooting in Spain. They're looking for a Nicole Kidman look-alike."
The audition was being held in Venice in two hours. Although Tierney was starting to feel more comfortable getting around L.A.--"Today I learned I could take Cahuenga to my agent. Very exciting"--she had no idea how to get to the casting director's office. I gave her directions, wished her luck, and sent her off to her next adventure. BSW