Author: Sam Valentine

Before LA I had this vision of what audition rooms looked like. I had seen them occasionally on a movie or TV show. But I figured that was the “small rooms”, the ones for actors in little nonunion projects. And I knew I would audition in lots of these “small rooms” on my way “up”…whatever the fuck I thought that meant. I also thought that as you went in for bigger and better projects that the rooms would get bigger. And prettier. And MAYBE, just MAYBE, the lights would not be fluorescent.  Cut to LA: Yup. Small rooms.  Oh but not…

As I am working with a career coach currently, he is giving me occasional “homework” assignments. I love this for a lot of reasons, a main one being that often times our acting careers can feel so out of our hands. So having small tangible tasks to accomplish just makes things that much easier and puts that micro amount of power back into our hands! Most recently I was given a lot of small tasks to do online, most of which I had totally forgotten to do over the last year or so OR had just figured wasn’t important. Took a…

Ahhh the holidays. The perfect time to sit back, relax with friends and family, and let your brain go fucking haywire contemplating whether it was a good year career-wise. FUN. We are all guilty of this. In looking back at the holidays, Christmas time is usually spent with family who doesn’t really get what you do, so you spend hours explaining why you’re not on TV yet. Then New Year’s rears its {almost across the board disappointing} head and you’re supposed to evaluate your past year vs. your goals and then make new ones all while paying $75 for “A…

Once the big decision to move to LA was done, I don’t know about you, but I sat and waited in anticipation…and that’s pretty much it. I figured that only after I moved would I be able to do anything constructive towards my career. But I was dead wrong. Whether you’re one semester away from graduating college or checking the days off a calendar in a cubical, there are things you can be doing before you even step foot on La-La-Land. And most of them are free. Read TV and film scripts Especially if you’re in a college theatrical setting,…

You’ve heard it a million times. Got an audition? Do your research! But it donned on me that this may not be common knowledge. I think it’s different for everyone in small ways, but here is an overarching list of things that are commonly considered “the research” part of this job. This should go without saying but if it’s a TV show that already exists, you go watch the latest season of the show. You should be able to pick up on the general tone from 2-3 episodes. Sometimes this sucks because it ruins plot lines from a show you…

This is really hard for me to admit. But it took me until about a year ago to actually be happy for other actors when they booked jobs. I would say I was happy for them. I would act excited and supportive. But I was none of those things. I would analyze why they’re working and I’m not. I would obsess about why I didn’t get the same opportunities as others. And this feeling was not exclusive to the actors in my category either…so it was also an epic energy-suck. The most basic instinct people would assume this comes down…

*originally published on 1brokeactress.com Los Angeles – When you move to LA you will panic. If you’re from here, you will panic less probably. I dunno, I’m not from here. I totally fucking panicked. Money panic was high on that list. So of course, I did what you do and got on Craig’s List and stared searching for jobs like a mad woman. I wound up as a restaurant hostess at The Restaurant (I know) at the Sunset Marquie Hotel. Did I LOVE it? Fuck. No. But it got me on my feet. I have had various jobs between now…