Have you ever heard of ____.com? Are they legit? Will I get work from them? Is actors access a scam?

I get these questions all of the time through Twitter and there’s never enough space to fully answer them there. In order to clear things up for everyone, I’m going to tell you the websites that you should join and are legitimate websites used throughout the industry by professionals.
 

1. actorsaccess.com

I consider this the main stop for all actors that are just beginning their careers. Actors access is a great place to find projects being cast around your city* so that you are able to build your resume and your reel.

Actors access is an official tool used by the people that will cast you the actor in their project. Agents also use this website to submit you for those roles, so it is an essential part to your portfolio. It is important for you to have a profile with actors access and to keep it updated.

The great thing about actors access is that you are also able to submit yourself for these roles. You can choose to either pay for each submission individually or pay their annual fee for unlimited submissions per month (the latter is the best option).

Actors access focuses more on theatrical work (student films, short films, features, tv, etc), but from time to time they do have breakdowns for commercials.

* Visit actorsaccess.com and click breakdowns to see if your city is available.
 
 

2. lacasting.com

(AKA Casting Networks)
LA Casting is one of my favorites. Lacasting.com has separate websites for each city that they represent (ie. sfcasting, nycasting, etc). They are very meticulous about the projects that are posted and as such the breakdowns on lacasting are usually worth your time. Though, 90% of what is posted on lacasting.com is commercials, there are still theatrical roles that are cross posted between actors access and lacasting.com.

Like actors access, lacasting.com links to your agent so that they are able to submit you on roles and allows you to submit for roles yourself. It also has a price per submission, but you are able to pay a monthly price to submit unlimited (again the latter is better).
 
 

3. extrasaccess.com

Extras access is a part of Breakdown Services, the company that owns actors access. Extras access is exactly what it is… a service to provide extra/background work. Here, you are able to submit yourself to play as background or an extra on different types of projects as well. This is a great start to get some extra cash and experience on set. This isn’t the only place to get extra work, but I won’t talk about that in this post. :)

As far as looking for extra work ONLINE, this is the best website that I know of and it is legitimate. I think that all of the other websites claiming to offer extra roles in movies that I have visited are mostly scams. If you know of any website, send me a link and I’ll check it out.
 
 

4. castingfrontier.com

This isn’t exactly a website used to submit for work, but it is still a website that is essential for you to have when going to your auditions. A lot of casting offices are now using this service. Before at auditions we would have to fill out a size card with our info every time… now it’s all digital.

So if you have a chance make a profile on casting frontier so that you are prepared when a casting office asks you for your barcode. The barcode is what allows them to scan it and access your profile where your size sheet is. Aside from your size information you are also able to update your contact information, headshot, and resume.

Castingfrontier.com has a new feature that also allows you to submit to work, but it isn’t their forte so I would suggest sticking to actors access and lacasting for that.
 
 

5. nowcasting.com

This is the last one that I am going to talk about. I didn’t want to mention this before casting frontier because it’s more of an extra thing to have rather than an important tool. Now casting does the same basic features as actors access and lacasting. They allow you to submit to various projects happening around your city so that you can audition.

This is the last website that I recommend, but it can be useful. If you want to use all of the resources available to you then this is another website that you should join. It is used by industry professionals, but is not as popular as actors access and lacasting.

It is free to have a profile and look at the breakdowns, but in order to submit you have to have a membership.
 
 
I hope that this helps with the confusion of which websites to be a part of as an actor. It can be kind of confusing when thousands of websites on the internet offer the service of getting you auditions or booking you in movie roles. The 5 websites listed above are the most important ones that are used by professionals. Go to the websites and start submitting now! (:

“I’m a constant line flubber. Any tips or books for getting my copy down quickly and accurately for auditions?”

People have asked me this question a few times and I never quite know how to answer them because there are many techniques and the results of each vary between each person. Here are some tips that might be able to help some of you. The first three that I will list here are just for generic use, either for when you’re already booked and need to memorize lines or if you’d like to go prepared for an audition. If you want more specific techniques geared towards auditions then skip these first three.
 

1. The Essay

Write down all of your lines like a paragraph on a separate sheet of paper. Get your script, remove the other person’s lines, and write your lines one after the other as if they were sentences in a paragraph. After you’ve done this, then read that paper (or “essay”) over and over again until those lines become a part of you.

A lot of actors use this technique which has been taught by Meisner. The purpose is that if you think of the lines as being all thoughts that you just have in your head, then you will know what you want to say when the moment comes because it’s the right thought.

My father is one who uses this technique when he’s having trouble with a certain script. He says it helps him because he’s only thinking about what he wants to say and not (unintentionally) learning the other person’s lines as well.
 

2. Cover Up

While reading or rehearsing your script, take a piece of paper and place it perpendicular to your script so that you can only read the other character’s lines and your next line is covered by the paper.

If you use this technique, you will be forced to remember what you have to say next. But no peaking! This goes back to the textbook days, when you were shown an index card with a vocabulary word and you had to say the definition on the other side. All of us have the capacity to do this technique, because if you’ve had any experience for studying for a school exam, this is how you would usually do it.

So you read over the script and use this technique repeatedly until the lines are memorized and you don’t have to think about them anymore.
 

3. Logic

Read over the script a few times and study it. If you’re still having trouble with your lines, pay attention to what the other character is saying and then think about yourself. How would you logically respond to that statement? Knowing your backstory and the history of your character, what would be the next thing to say?

Usually this won’t come out word perfect, but if the intention is right then you are going in the right direction. It’s okay if it is not word perfect as long as you are getting the right points across.
 
 

Memorization for Auditions

Many actors feel pressured to memorize all of their lines before an audition. I think that’s great and personally I always memorize my lines for auditions. But it is not the most important thing when auditioning. A lot of actors focus only on the memorization factor and forget about everything else. This is a big no, no. I am going to list some techniques for those of you who want to feel a little bit more prepared, and don’t mind not being fully memorized.
 

1. First Line

This is the most important rule of all. Please, if anything, have your very first line of your scene memorized so that you can start the audition with your eyes off the page. This is so important, because you want to make a connection with the reader at your audition and you want the casting directors or whoever is running the audition to see that. So remember… the first line requires complete memorization.
 

2. Page as a Prompter

Some people really seem to like this technique. Keep your eyes connected with your reader at all times… when it’s your turn to speak then look down at your page take a second to grasp a group of words that you have to say next then look up and say them.

If you repeat this process throughout your scene then you will be looking up at all times and only using your script as a reference to see what comes next, memorize the next 5 words, and then say them without looking at your script.

I would suggest practicing this one on your own first before trying it in an audition room since it can be a little bit tricky. With this tip try to keep up the pace, don’t drag it in an attempt to get all of the words right.
 

3. Script up

When you are at your audition, try to keep your script high enough so that you can see it. Please do not put your script on your lap or have it hanging by your thigh. If you have to bring it up or look all the way down every time that you need a reminder for a line, then this is time that you are wasting for yourself. You don’t want the people in the room to see the top of your head! This will also keep the script very close by for reference throughout the scene.
 
 
I hope that these tips are useful. There are many many more. If you know of any that you personally use then feel free to share it in the comments section. Please let me know what you think of this post so that I can make my next posts better. (:

Hey everyone! This is my first post. I am starting this blog because I am an actress in Los Angeles, California and I get a lot of questions from very curious artists all around the world… just how does one break into the acting business.

Well, I want to answer as many questions as I can and give as many tips and as much advice as possible here. You can visit the About page for more information.

Ask me some questions in the comment section or tell me about some of your concerns and I’ll respond to them in my next blog post.

(: