Do You Need to Move to Los Angeles if Your Child Wants to Become a Child Actor?

The 405 July 14th -- Move to L.A. to Become a Child Actor? Getty Images@daylife

Moving to Los Angeles  for Your Child to Become a Child Actor

I’ve previously talked about the topic of moving to Los Angeles for your child to become a child actor (see “Should You Move to Los Angeles for Your Child to Become a Child Actor?“, “Will You Miss Your Family If You Move to L.A. for Your Child to Become a Child Actor?“, and “What Should You Do If Your Child Wants to Become a Child Actor?“). I always start thinking about this again in the summer after I take a trip back to South Carolina to visit my family.

Carmageddon

We just flew back into L.A. during Carmageddon (see the links to some articles on this topic below). We thought we might have to stay in a hotel near the airport because they predicted that the roads would be gridlocked and no one would be able to get anywhere all weekend.

A ten-mile section of the 405 Freeway was closed for much of this past weekend (July 16-17).  This is a very heavily used section of freeway in the Los Angeles area, and it is particularly important for people going to and from the LAX airport in Los Angeles. Due to the closure, people had to take alternate routes to get to and from the airport (and of course to and from many other locations in the area, jobs, etc.).

After driving around on the rural SC roads and interstates that often seemed almost eerily empty, I really dreaded returning to the L.A. traffic, particularly during Carmageddon. It is times like this that I really miss the Southeast and wish we had not moved to Los Angeles for our child to become a child actor.

Well, it turned out Carmageddon went much better than everyone expected, and we got back from the airport in an hour. We took an alternate route, and there was not very much traffic. Our worst traffic was in the line to get out of the LAX parking lot (not kidding), and it took longer than an hour for our baggage to come out in baggage claim!

(The traffic may seem a little off the topic, but it is something you have to think about if you move to L.A. or NYC)

In The Past, If Your Child Wanted to Become a Child Actor

Anyway, in the past, if your child wanted to become a child actor, you just picked up everything and moved to L.A. or maybe New York City.  Hollywood was where the action was, so that was where you went if you wanted to help your child succeed in the entertainment industry — either there or New York City.

We Thought We Needed to Move to L.A. or NYC for an Acting Career

When my daughter attended a talent convention in Charleston (not that many years ago), we were told that we needed to move to either Los Angeles and New York City to pursue a show business career. Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was to move from our comfortable home in South Carolina to go to L.A. or New York City.

Sure, we had some auditions in South Carolina and had an agent in Charleston and one in Atlanta, but everyone said for the really good auditions, the place to be was Los Angeles (with New York coming in a close second). And that is somewhat true.

We visited both L.A. and NYC, and while I thought the prospect of moving so that she could become a child actor sounded very exciting, I also had a lot of reservations about leaving my home and family. I would have loved it if someone had said to me, “You don’t need to move for your daughter to become a child actor.”

But no one said that to me. And here we are now in Los Angeles, a little over 2500 miles away from where we were in Charleston, SC. And I really do miss my family and I miss our family reunions and birthdays and weddings and even funerals. I miss my high school reunions and my college reunions and all those things because we now live so far away.

So, in case you are really wondering, “Do You Need to Move to Los Angeles if Your Child Wants to Become a Child Actor?“

While it is true that the greatest number of show business opportunities can be found in Los Angeles or New York, there are opportunities now all over the US and even all over the world.  So many things can be done right in the area where you live!  Sometimes you don’t even have to leave your house to audition…

So, NO, you don’t need to move to Los Angeles (or NYC) if your child wants to become a child actor. You can and should spend some time working on your child’s showbiz career right where you are.

Of course, there are all sorts of local modeling and acting opportunities that may not pay or may not pay much, but those are always great for building a resume and gaining experience.

But there are also plenty of other show business opportunities available to you without moving to Los Angeles or NYC.

The following truths make it easier and even preferable to pursue a career in the entertainment industry in your current location:

1. More and more filming is being done in locations outside of Los Angeles and New York. Filming is being done away from these locations partly because it is so much cheaper elsewhere than Los Angeles and New York City.  Many places also offer tax breaks for filming to try to draw film producers to these other locations. So you can look for casting opportunities in the area where you live.
2. The competition in Los Angeles and New York is much greater than it is in other places. There are so many people who already have a lot of experience pursuing show business careers in those places. So moving to L.A. or NYC may mean there are more opportunities, but there are also many more people trying to get into those auditions than in other places, and many of them have much more experience than your child has. Why not stay and compete in the smaller market where you live?
3. The cost of living in Los Angeles and NYC is very high. It may not seem like it makes that much difference, but if you live in a more rural area or even in or near many other cities around the US, the cost of living is probably much less than it is in L.A. or NYC or maybe even in Chicago or Miami. Just about everything from homes to gas to food costs much more there than in many other areas of the country. If you decide to move to L.A. or NYC, you’ll have to be able to handle the greater expense of living there plus all the acting expenses. And believe me, these expenses can add up quickly.
4. For voiceover, many people now do all the recording for auditions right in their homes. They make a recording using their computer at home and send it online to the people who are doing the “auditioning.” For this, it makes no difference where you are — you just need a computer and an internet connection and some fairly decent recording equipment. Sure, if you book the job, you probably need to go wherever the job is, so if you can’t travel to the location specified for the job, don’t submit for it. But there are recording studios all around, so for voiceover work, you have opportunities in many different places. Check out casting sites for voiceover and you can see what the opportunities are like.
5. Acting auditions can be “taped” at home and sent online to casting directors. Even for acting auditions, sending “taped” auditions online to the casting directors is becoming more and more common. It used to be that “taped” auditions were sometimes sent through the mail. But now with programs like “Yousendit” even very large files can be uploaded from your computer through the internet in just a few minutes and than be accessed on the other end by the casting directors. Then you only need to travel if they want to see you in person for a callback. You do need to keep in mind that, at some point, you might have to travel to audition, so you do need to be prepared to travel if you submit a tape for a film that is casting or filming in another location.

Investigate Opportunities at Home First

So before you spend too much time thinking about making a big move to Los Angeles or New York City, investigate the opportunities you have right there where you live. Look for films casting nearby and send a headshot and a resume to the casting director or go to the open calls for the local casting opportunities. Look for a talent agent in your city or a nearby city.

Casting opportunities for many areas of the country may be found on casting sites (not everything is for Los Angeles and NYC) such as the big three (or four) that I always mention (Casting Networks, Actors Access, Casting Frontier, and Now Casting) and also on other area-specific sites and other less well-known casting sites (but be careful about your choice of sites as some are scams and some such as Craigslist can be dangerous, so check everything out thoroughly!) You might be near one of the areas that has auditions posted on these sites.

If and when your child is successful locally and has gained a lot of experience and built a decent resume, then it may be time to consider a move to a bigger acting or modeling market. If you are sure you are ready to make that move, then go for it. But until then, don’t rush it!

Be sure to sign up right now for the Young Actors Newsletter to get a free mini-course in getting started in show business plus tips and information on a variety of topics related to the entertainment industry.

To your success,

Debbie Sikkema

Related articles

• Carmageddon hits Los Angeles: Five ways to cope (csmonitor.com)
• Carmageddon: Los Angeles ‘averts traffic gridlock’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Some thoughts on “Carmageddon” (michaeledwardkelly.com)