Need advice- I'm moving to LA to become actor

[CRAZY BONE]

Ok, so I just wanted to run my plans by you guys to see what you think. I'm 18, and I just graduated high school. I decided to skip going to college in order to pursue an acting career. I live in San Diego, and I plan on moving to LA no later than September 8th. I did the math, and I will have to work a full time job 7 days a week to afford food, rent, gas, acting classes, phone, etc. Oh yeah, and I don't have any acting credits to my name, nor do I have any kind of formal training. I plan on paying for some acting lessons once i move to LA. So basically I just want to hear you opinions, advice, whatever. I'm really uncertain about this whole plan, especially since I will be all alone in LA trying to live on my own.

[Spartiate]

I don't know a whole lot about acting but it sounds like a really difficult career to make it big in. I suggest having a backup career in mind as well as avoiding drugs and scientology.

[Black_Eagle]

I'm not sure this thread is serious or not. I can never tell when CRAZY BONE/Maverick is joking. I'm sure similar ideas have crossed all of our minds before. A lot of people are trying to achieve exactly what you are. That doesn't mean it's impossible, but just that you have to be wise and outgun your competition. This means endless weeks of work and drudgery just to achieve minute first success. If you're up to it, all power to ya.

[CRAZY BONE]

No, I was being completely serious haha. Thanks for the advice

[DeeryTheDeer]

What I want to know is, how passionate are you about the craft of acting itself, and do you want to be famous, or do you want to be truly good? You can be both, but I'm just wondering how committed you are to giving the best acting performances you can... If you really do want to perfect your craft, not just run to Hollywood and get in movies, then I'd strongly suggest a career in theater first. 9 times out of 10, the best actors in TV or movies did a lot of theater/stage acting first. It's just a more genuine and living acting experience. Acting classes are a must, of course. So once you take some good acting classes and maybe also read up on good acting books like Stanislavski's "An Actor's Work", audition for any roles you can get. Audition as much as you can, even just for the experience, because it is exhilarating and you can learn a lot. And most important of all, have fun!

[Xei]

No offence but it sounds to me like you don't really know what you're doing. Neither would I. I think you should be better informed before you start making big decisions; speak to somebody who knows something about acting careers.

[Armistice]

I'd have to agree with Xei on this one. I think you need to do a lot more research on the subject, but I'm assuming you haven't Acting classes are a must. I would actually find a college that has a good theater program and do that rather than just up and go to Hollywierd

[Alric]

Well your plan is way off. You can't work full time, 7 days a week and search for acting work and do auditions. Also any time you are doing a budget for something like that you need to add in at least 10-20% for the unexpected. If you didn't factor that in, for how much money you need, you better do that now. I am not sure how you really factored how much money you need. Though you might want to look to live with some roommates, if you hadn't considered that. That will help.

[Butterflies]

You are very brave, I’ll give you that… Good luck finding a job, there is a serious lack of them in the greater L.A. area especially if you do not have experience. (If you’re bi-lingual, that’ll help) Also, by CA law, you cannot work full-time (8 hrs per day) 7 days a week with one job, you’d have to get a second one. Working full-time while going to school (even if it is acting school) will be difficult and draining. Say goodbye to your social life. Rent is expensive, especially if you don’t have a roommate, or a job. You’ll most likely need to put up two months rent in the beginning as a deposit. Use common sense when choosing where you are going to stay. There are quite a few communities in LA where even the police won’t go… Also, be careful if you try to find a roommate. Not everyone is as nice as they seem. There are quite a few sickos out there. Acting is very hard to make it in. It is possible, but it’s not likely. So, as another poster said, have a back-up plan. If I were you, I’d try to get a degree in something while pursuing the dream. Unfortunately, a college degree is becoming the new high school diploma, especially in CA. Do as several other posters said and research a lot. Good luck

[spockman]

Well, what is your true goal in becoming an actor? Is it for the art of it? If so, you could probably go to a one year school to better appreciate the art of filming/theater and then better craft it. Is it for an adventure? If so, then go ahead and push full steam ahead for a couple years. But you may want to set things up so that you have other options when you feel satisfied that you gave it a go. Is it to make it big? If so then the best of luck to you but your odds are slim. Is it for yourself because you find it fun? If so, you could probably get a job that gives you a lot of free time, (at a school, as an EMT with a 24 on 48 off schedule, etc.) and look for as many indie film's as you can get involved in. That is what I would do. Set goals based on the underlying motivation, that is.

[Skyline]

First of all, it is highly possible that you can achieve, what you want to achieve if you dedicate yourself and your mind to it and work really hard. Skipping college is probably not the best idea to start from. The good thing is, that you're only 18 and still have time to move to L.A. If you can, don't skip the college. Education is the pathway to success. You said you have no formal training in acting. Doing theater is a great way to get some. So what I suggest is go to college, major in theater and then go to L.A. Working full time is probably also not the best idea, because you'd want to spend most of your day improving your acting skills, not working. This is a career that always needs improving, no matter how long you've been doing it. There is still something to improve. Good luck. What ever path you decide to choose, I believe you can do it.

[ninja9578]

Do you have any training? I have a friend who's an actress, she spent four years at a performing arts school, and she's gorgeous.