How to ease resume stress at the beginning of a career launch ...

I recently received an e-mail from Dennis, a young actor living in Seattle. He just graduated from college and is preparing to relocate to Los Angeles to start his career journey. I think his question might be very relevant to may of you.

Dennis wrote:

“My acting resume is loaded with credits that I earned in high school and college productions. I read in your book that agents and managers and even casting directors won’t really care about that work. I’m confused and a bit concerned about what to do and what to actually put on my new LA resume.”

I wrote back:

“What’s relevant to list on your resume has more to do with what stage of your career you’re in than any standard that applies to everyone.

At your age, at this place in your career, anything “appropriate” is appropriate — and that includes high school and college productions and community theatre. As you build your career and your resume, new credits will replace the older ones as you begin to run out of room. It’s the natural law of “early credit falloff.

The most important thing a young actor can do is to quickly begin balancing their high school and college performing credits with professional classes, seminars and workshops. You should begin taking classes as soon as possible after your arrival in Los Angeles (or New York). ‘As soon as’ also means as soon as you can reasonably afford to do so. Rent, food and other “survival” and transportation expenses have to be covered first.

You can show a potential agent or manager that you are serious about becoming a viable candidate for success in the business of acting (and maybe even a successful client of theirs) by showing that you are developing your skills and your talent with some good, solid professional training. This will score you a lot of points.

Getting into professional classes will also introduce you to a new community of other actors, most of them a lot like you, just out of college, just starting out, just looking for a smart way to match their potential with a world of opportunities.”

• • •

I am always being asked to recommend classes or an instructor or coach – and that’s a tall order, quite frankly. Like a head shot session, what works to make a photo session a success for both the actor and the photographer has everything to do with the energy and the connection both people bring into he session. That’s a lot like what make a class or a coach effective, as well.

It’s all about personality, style, professionalism and attitude, on both the actor’s part and the teacher’s.

Having said that, I have personally sat in on classes with a few well-respected teachers in Los Angeles and can suggest that they be on your list of people you check out. You’ll find a downloadable, printer-friendly list on the Resources page at TheBusinessOfActing.com.

One of the people I like a lot is Jeremiah Comey. He teaches a great acting for the camera class and I have sent many of my clients to him over the years. You can watch our two-part interview with Jeremiah on our Web TV series “Inside the Business of Acting,” now playing on-demand on the Virtual Channel Network. He offers up some solid advice for all actors, but particularly for young actors.

I hope this helps you, Dennis, and the other couple of you making your ways to Los Angeles this summer, freshly graduated, all pumped up and ready for your career launch.

If you have a business of acting-related question, please post your question (or comment) here on our Blog site or you can e-mail me directly at blemack@TheBusinessOfActing.com.

BL

You can't go it alone ...

Now playing on our Web TV series Inside The Business Of Acting, our two-part interview with noted Los Angeles-based acting coach and author of the book The Art of Film Acting, Jeremiah Comey.

Good advice served up on-demand! :)

Thanks for checking it out.

BL

Flying solo: The Loh down on how to launch a one-person show, now playing at InsideTheBusinessOfActing.com

If mounting your own one-person show is something you would like to explore, actress, writer and solo performance artist Sandra Tsing Loh gives you the Loh down on how-to at InsideTheBusinessOfActing.com.

Now playing, episode #3, gets into the nuts and bolts and dollars and cents. What Sandra has to say will help get you started -- and there is nothing quite like a work-in-progress personal performance piece to focus, inspire and empower any actor seeking to create both a challenge and an opportunity.

Another time, I'll tell you about my former Emerson College student Christian Johnsen's "Red Sweater" project. Inspiring and therapeutic.

BL

The message is clear as a sizeable SAG majority gives the green light to a new contract …

It’s a good day in the business of acting today as both union and non-union actors alike – and all other industry professionals – begin to absorb the acceptance of a new two-year SAG contract, which was announced as approved by a stunning 78% of the Screen Actors Guild membership last night.

There is not much need for analysis here. It appears that the overwhelming victory for the new agreement sends a clear message: Stop the infighting, stop the politics and let us, confidently, get back to work.

This new contract has many gains, including its expiration date, which will allow SAG to make nice with AFTRA over the next two years and then work together in carving out a new “new” agreement that will be in the best interest of all union members – and those who will become union members.

Next up, SAG leadership needs to make nice within its own ranks. Too much infighting, too many harsh words, too much “actor vs. actor” … And the winner is … “nobody.” The new contract isn’t perfect, but given the landscape in which the business of acting currently exists, it’s a fine achievement, for now.

Full steam ahead. Let’s all get back to work with some sense of accomplishment. Seventy-eight percent? That’s a strong statement.

Complete details at SAG.org.

BL

Hot tips on how to get your first film industry job now on "Inside the Business of Acting"

Whether you have just graduated from college or have been in the job market for a while, any information that can help you get a foot in the door and an on-ramp to the career journey you seek is hot, valuable and must-have information. It's even better when it's free.

Actor, writer, producer, director ... whatever your career goals and aspirations are in the business of acting, you must make time to watch our three-part interview with industry executive and entertainment career consultant Karen Kaufman Wilson, now playing on-demand on our Web TV series "Inside the Business of Acting."

Karen offers up some critical advice on how to open doors in Hollywood with a strategy that can't fail to get you moving in the right direction, if you follow the proactive plan of approach talked about in our interview.

Okay, now get moving to the Virtual Channel Network and have a pad of paper and pencil ready!

BL

Caps and gowns at the ready: Class of 2009, line up!

It’s that time again … cap, gown, post-graduation expectations, student loans lurking. Class of 2009, prepare to launch!

We finished our classes at the Emerson College Los Angeles Center this week, which was proceeded by the Business of Acting class’s industry showcase. It’s a terrific project and I’m thrilled that we are able to make this opportunity available to my students. It’s their final project for the course. We spend the semester studying, discussing and workshopping the issues now impacting the business of acting. We spend the semester exploring the options for creating, launching and maintaining a smart, professional career journey after graduation. We end the semester with a student showcase that the class has being assigned responsibilities from scene selection, theme selection, branding, marketing, reception catering and more, and then, after they get the business of the project done correctly, the joy of performing.

I always tell the class that it doesn’t matter who is in the audience, if anyone. The objective is to learn how to create and pull off a project like this. I hold a safety net under them during this learning process, but after graduation, there will be many times where knowing how to do this well will prove enormously beneficial.

And so it went. An impressive group of both industry and college supporters attended. Sharing food and beverage afterward, connections were made, new relationships were started and the first steps in each student’s transition from student to wanting-to-be-working professional began. It’s an exciting process to participate in; it’s even more exciting (for me, anyway) to observe.

In our last class, we deconstruct the project and the experience. I ask the class to write their individual assessments of how they think they showcase went, from producing to performing; I ask them to discuss what they learned in the process and how they would do things differently next time – because there will always be a next time, for all of us.

Now, with the semester behind us, my students (and senior students everywhere) march towards graduation day, loaded with the excitement, fear, apprehension and possibilities that that day – and more importantly the days after, will bring.

If you fall into this category, I have both a note of congratulations and a note of warning for you: First, brave! You did it! Next, take heed. Emotional fitness during this important time is dependent upon two things: 1) Learning how to manage the expectations others have of you (your parents, for example), and 2) learning how to manage the expectations you have of yourself, in the “what comes next” process.

Relax. Have patience. Prepare for the journey ahead by planning for the journey ahead. Take the time to create a business plan for yourself. There is a chapter in the book to help you with this. You can also read my Back Stage article about this process, which I hope you will find helpful.

Lastly, if you have a minute to check out my Blog from last year at this time, I have a few suggestions about how those who want to gift you can do so in meaningful and significant way that can help jumpstart the funding for the launch of your career journey. It’s a concept I call The Business of Acting Gift Registry. Check it out.

Congratulations Class of 2009! You are about to enter what many define as a “challenged” work environment – and I won’t deny the struggles that so many are having in this tough economy just to make ends meet. But, you are not them.

The truth is that you will never be more employable than you are right now. It may not be the job or position of your dreams (yet), but your youth, your talent, your flexibility and, perhaps most importantly, your potential, will help open doors to the opportunities you seek. Patience along the journey is critical, now more than ever. That goes for you and your family, who want nothing more for you than at least a hundred times what you want for yourself.

Bravo, indeed.

BL

Deal or no deal? At last, SAG members will now have their say on a new contract.

I have been quiet on this issue for some time now, mostly because I really didn't have anything new to say. Today is different; the news is, actually, positive.

The SAG board yesterday approved by 53 percent the new contract with the studios and the producers -- and that's good news. What will be frustrating to those who have watched from the sidelines these many, many months will be the realization that for as long as it took to come this far, very little has been achieved for SAG members.

Yes, some compensation will come their way for use of products they appear in on the Internet; but residuals for this usage are out. That was a huge issue for embattled SAG president Alan Rosenberg; it's a big deal for SAG members because Rosenberg just said "no" many times during this process because the terms -- and specifically this term - wasn't what he claims he was fighting for.

A lot has change in the nearly one-year old fight for a new SAG contract: In short, as we're all experiencing first-hand, the economy has put a serious dent in options and opportunity for most people. The landscape just wasn't right to strive for the kinds of financial gains Rosenberg and the union hardliners were fighting for. Not this time around, anyway.

This new agreement would run for two years and looks a lot like the agreement the other talent guilds have settled upon. Who knows what life will be like two years from now? Maybe, just maybe, it will be a better time then to smartly and realistically revisit these issues taking into account the landscape and the economic climate at that time.

The only remaining hurdle is whether or not the majority of SAG members will vote for this new contract or whether it all goes back to the table -- or worse yet -- to a strike authorization vote.

I encourage you to read up on the terms of the proposed new deal at SAG.org. SAG member or not, it's all about the business of acting and it's important to know what is at stake for all actors, both union and non-union alike.

What are your thoughts on the offer? If you are a SAG member, will you vote for it or not -- and why?

Let's start that dialog here.

I'm eager to read your comments.

BL