Author: Jen Levin

As actors, we have a mindset that anything can lead to our “big break”. A party could lead you to meeting someone who could bring you in one day for an audition. That audition could lead you to another audition or a booking. That booking might be for a nothing budget film, but that nothing budget film could be the next “Paranormal Activity”. You never want to miss an opportunity or turn down something that comes your way. But doing that can lead to exhaustion and burnout. I’m in the middle of a burnout right now and it’s a hard…

For as long as I’ve been in LA, I’ve wanted to be a SAG-AFTRA actor. It seemed like an unreachable milestone that had so many setbacks for me. I booked a commercial my sophomore year of college that was originally SAG (this was in 2003 so pre-merger), but then on the shoot day they went non-union. I started doing background work to get my vouchers and got one right away, but that was the only one I could get. I finally became SAG-eligible when I worked at Halloween Horror Nights in 2007. When you work that job you have to…

In the almost 14 years I’ve lived in LA, I feel like I’ve had multiple acting careers. It started with my first few years in LA when I was in college (I went to Loyola Marymount). I started auditioning my freshman year of college and was taking acting classes outside of school my entire 3.5 years there (I graduated early). I booked a couple of non-union commercials and student films and had a couple of theater and film auditions, but that first career really didn’t take off too much. After college, I tried to have a “real” job. I hated…

I’ve had several people in my life, or recently come into my life, question some of my choices regarding my acting career. Some are questioning if it is time for me to give up and get a “real job”. Some are questioning why I’m with my current representation. And some are just doubters in general. I don’t get why people have questioned me so much. I’m not harming anyone with my pursuit of acting. And would people pursuing “real jobs” get questioned as often as I am? If someone was struggling through medical or law school, would you tell them…

I’ve been out of acting classes for a while. I know this isn’t a good thing, but it’s been tough for me to find another class for me that feels right. When I was in college, I started studying with Kip King. I met him through a friend of mine who was also in improv class with me and she thought that Kip would be a great teacher for me. And she was right. Kip was like my acting teacher soulmate. I grew so much in that class and Kip really understood how to push me to make me a…

I was in a recent therapy session (I’m currently in recovery for a binge eating disorder) and my therapist challenged me to track things regarding my recovery on a checklist for the next 90 days. I am working on that, but as I created my checklist I realized that this is a perfect actor challenge! It goes along with my 10 actor goals for the year, but this way I’m doing daily check-ins with myself. So I created a productivity checklist regarding my acting career. I picked 10 things that I want to make sure that I focus on for…

Being an actor in LA can be a bit lonely. You are going to auditions alone in a car. You might work alone at home as your day job (or be the only actor at your day job). And if you are lucky, you might live alone. But I find it so important to surround myself by other actors (and other creatives) who are likeminded. But finding those people can be tough. I had a good couple of years where my actor friends were not the most supportive and I wasn’t being my best self around them. When I had…

It’s tax season. If you are anything like me, you are freaking out about how much you owe the government. This past year, I worked a good chunk of the year as an independent contractor, so I did save up some money. But until my taxes are worked out, I will have no idea if I saved enough. I usually have my taxes done by the same accountant who does my parents’ taxes, but this will be the last year that I do that. I’ve realized that I have been missing out on so many deductions that I can take…

I wanted to take a break this month from my top 10 lists to talk about pilot season. The phrase “pilot season” can be something super exciting or super scary, depending on actor’s experiences in the past. If you’ve always had fun during pilot season (like I have), you are usually excited when another pilot season is here. But if you’ve never really been a part of pilot season before or your last pilot season wasn’t good, you are probably thinking that this time is scary. First of all, not all actors are ready to be a part of pilot…

As creative types, we live pretty hectic lives. When you are looking for work, you are managing a day job (or day jobs), looking for work, trying to network, and making sure that all of your materials are in order for when someone might have a job for you. When you have a job, you can be working 12-16 hour days and then in your off time have to promote the work you are doing and maybe even look for new work if this particular job is ending soon. So when your professional life is crazy, it’s super important to…

With the new year approaching, I’ve decided to share my 10 actors goals for the coming year. I call them goals instead of resolutions because I feel like goals can happen any time during the year and resolutions have to start on January 1st. Some of these things may be goals that you have too, or some of them might be things that you are already rocking at already. So without further explanation, here are my 10 actor goals for 2015! 1) Get back into class. It’s been a while since I had been in a good acting class. Part…

With the holidays here already (seriously, where did the year go?!?!), it’s time to start thinking about gifts for various industry people you have worked with/hope to work with. So in preparation of the gift-giving season, here are 10 ideas for gifts that won’t necessarily break the bank. 1) Gift cards for coffee These are a default gift for me to get for casting offices that I’ve had an audition or two for this past year, or for people who I have met at an event and really are hoping to work with. For casting offices, I try to look…

Day jobs. We don’t like to think about them, but they are a reality for most of us. Even though I dream of landing that amazing series regular role, right now I still have to pay my bills. I like to think of myself as a collector of day jobs. I always have more than one at a time (right now I have 6) and I’ve done a variety of types of jobs. So I thought I’d share with you my top 10 list of day jobs. With the exception of the first one on the list, I have held…

I’m not afraid to admit it: I’m totally addicted to my iPhone. It’s my baby. It goes everywhere with me and if I didn’t have it I know that my life would not be anywhere near as productive as it is right now. And the main thing about my iPhone that I love are all the amazing apps that I have on my phone that make my life so easy. So I’d like to share with you my top 10 apps that I think all actors should have on their phone! 1. and 2. An amazing calendar and contact app…