You just uploaded all your new headshots, which cost you $700, but they FINALLY look like you. Your reel is updated and uploaded, that was another couple hundred bucks, but it now has professional pizzaz and pop. You’re in a pricey new acting class but it’s going to look great on your resume, plus its demanding and motivating. Damn, acting is taxing and expensive. Silver lining: you’ve finally done everything your agent and/or manager told you to do. You feel confident and accomplished. You wait proudly “by the phone”… but the phone never rings. Well, about a month ago, I decided to stop waiting. Stop complaining about the fact that “I never go out” or “I’m not doing projects that excite me” or the old “I’m not booking”. I decided to man up and put on my big girl pants. It was time to get proactive; if no one was going to hire me, I was going to hire myself. There are a million ways to get off your butt, here’s how I got off mine:
Step one: I have TONS of amazingly talented friends who are also not working (not as much as they deserve). So, I reached out to a few of my girlfriends, all of whom shared my frustrations, and after many glasses of red wine, we decided to create content together. Our initial idea was to do one video, but why stop there? The ultimate goal is to WORK, so let’s generate continuous work for ourselves.
Reality check: Creating is expensive. It can be overwhelming; where do you start? Who’s going to SHOOT and EDIT the projects? We’re all (poor) struggling actresses, so how are we going to pay for…anything?
Ego check/Sigh of relief: Luckily, we’ve all been in tinsel town for a minute, and collectively built up a great pool of resources. Though it’s very empowering to feel/say, “I can make it on my own,” it’s foolish and naive, because frankly you can’t. You can try but you’ll never sleep, eat, or date. You’ll go crazy and probably break the bank. We all have to start somewhere and this town is all about who you know, and I’m sure like myself, you have a wealth of talent surrounding you, so USE the people around you. Not in a selfish or malicious way, but in a ‘hey, you scratch my back, I scratch yours’ kind of way.
Putting together the team: We enlisted the talent of Alex Reeves at Point of Blue Studios (http://www.pobstudios.com/) to DP, co-direct, and edit. We acknowledged our individual strengths and weaknesses, which established roles within the group. We then charged ourselves to be actors/writers/directors/producers/casting directors/assistant editors/PR and social media masters. At the end of our first meeting, we had decided on a name, a weekly meeting time, and created content for our first video. By the time the week had finished, we’d shot promo pictures with Museface Photography, created a YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter account, and shot our first project. We did it.
Aftermath: We are on to video three, and moving along nicely. We have a couple hundred likes and thousands of views. Some might call these small victories, but to us, it’s the beginning of something great. WE did it, on our own, and it’s OURS. This whole process is new to all of us and it’s labor intensive, but it’s exciting to be working, investing in ourselves and each other, and creating work that we want to do.
It’s incredibly rewarding to achieve goals and to take-charge of your career. Is it defeating to flounder about, not knowing where your next job is coming from? Yes. Is it incredibly exasperating to still be waiting tables when all you want to do is be on set? Yes. But complaining about it achieves nothing and these days your resources are unlimited, so there’s kind of no excuse; between YouTube and multiple social media outlets, it’s easier than ever to get your face out there, your content seen by hundreds, thousands, and ultimately millions. So, this is me EMPOWERING you to assume control of your career. Hire yourself. Rally with your fellow peers and create beautiful, inspiring work together.
Full Frontal Females:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FullFrontalFemales?fref=ts
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF7oUJ9YaotxqRgz3F8aW0Dhv54OjsRlK