Esteemed veteran teacher, authoress, on-camera commercial and voiceover casting director Terry Berland was our speaker at our Industry Guest Seminar July 26. The room was packed with savvy, talented actors! By the end, 15 such actors also got up on their feet doing improv and scripted copy. It was like an interactive, mini-commercial on-camera acting class with Terry’s wonderful redirects!

A multi-part series for the not-so-established actor hoping to improve their career

I admire actors. It takes guts to grow roots in Los Angeles and pursue a daunting dream at which so few are successful. Since you are reading this article, I am assuming that you have aspirations of having commercial success. It may not be the only goal you have, and it may even be a goal you're pursuing to provide the means to achieve other goals, but right here, right now, you are interested in learning something about being successful commercially.

This month: The “Y” behind DIY Success

By the time you read this, I will either be or not be on my way to becoming the first Southwest Airlines Blog-O-Spondent (their term, not mine). Why, in the midst of preparing for two major speaking engagements, traveling on family business and taking care of the regular-usual, did I decide to give myself an additional 38+ hours of work by entering a contest I’m not even sure I want to win? Read on, little chickens, read on...

The rule is that if you want to be an actor in L.A., you have to have a car - NOT!  I have been riding my bike all over town for about five years now, and I have been car-free for about two years.  Meanwhile, I work on stage productions and films on a regular basis.

How do I get to auditions and to jobs, you probably ask? And what about auditions for which I need to be dressed up in heels and a skirt?  What about jobs that require my hair to be styled?

I get there by bike and public transportation.  Maybe twice a year I actually use a car.