Content Creation Instead of Moving to LA

Content creation: When you started your acting journey, someone probably told you that you would need to move to LA to be a professional actor. In California, you heard, auditions are plentiful and so are paying jobs for actors. Outside, not much happens that justifies your full-time dedication. Acting jobs are few and far between outside of Hollywood. That is because the money that is invested in the entertainment industry is highly concentrated in Hollywood. So, if you are not in LA, acting ends up becoming a hobby or a secondary income gig.

What if we told you that there is an easier way? If you focus on content creation for social media and online sharing platforms, you may have a shot at a professional acting career.

Moving to LA is hard and expensive. It is a much easier dream than reality. Unless you have money for the trip expenses and to relocate, it is virtually impossible. Rent prices are high, and the city is big, so not every neighborhood is great to move to without being familiar with it. In a nutshell: before you make friends who already live in LA and save some serious cash, a big move like that will be a scary and lonely experience. Daring to move anyway may put you in the sad statistics of people who end up giving up on their dreams and going back home broke and defeated.

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Moving to LA X Content Creation

Let’s talk about that. First, who are these people? Are they successful actors? Successful actors have an agent. Know that without an agent, you will be just another dreamer in LA. No matter how talented your local acting teacher told you you are, in LA you are not in the business until you have an agent. Getting an agent is not easy. So, before you secure one, the move to LA could be what kills your dream in the end.

Making sure you sign with an agent before moving to LA is not easy but it is very important. That way, you can arrive in the city of dreams ready to audition, and maybe even with some auditions already on your schedule! 

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Non-actors and Fellow Dreamers

Secondly, if the people advising you to move are either non-actors or fellow dreamers, you have to take what they say with a grain of salt. Non-actors know little to nothing about this business, no matter how well-meaning they are. Especially if they have never lived in LA and experienced how lonely the city can be to newcomers pursuing acting.

Finally, we have fellow dreamers, who are also pursuing acting and would love to move to LA. Unless they have a plan with everything we mentioned – money and an agent, their advice is no better than non-actors’ advice. We are not discouraging you from maybe joining forces with a fellow dreamer and planning your move to LA together. That would mean sharing expenses and being a support system for each other. But again, it would be wise to have an agent before you go. And content creation can help you with that!

[Read also: Social Media For Actors]

Why you should focus on content creation 

Creating content was something reserved for influencers, bloggers, and YouTubers. According to Hubspot, “Content creation is the process of generating topic ideas that appeal to your buyer persona, creating written or visual content around those ideas, and making that information accessible to your audience as a blog, video, infographic, or other formats.”

By definition, content creation is associated with creativity and sharing your stories with an audience. Therefore, it is not too different than writing a story and performing it. Content creators use mostly social media platforms to share what they produce. Because social media was never an actor’s main career focus, we didn’t dedicate time to creating content.

Living in a “main market” like Los Angeles used to be the first career strategy on an actor’s mind. It was better to save money and take that step as soon as possible than to remain living in a town or city that did not have the best-paying acting jobs. Influencers, on the other hand, were cooking, styling, traveling, and posting from anywhere, all the time, and monetizing. “They are not actors,” we thought. Until some of them started getting acting jobs simply because of their self-built audience.

[Read also: Acting Gurus: The Dark Side of The Business]

Starting With Content Creation

Little by little, actors started understanding that content creation is not beneath them. Just like with demo reels, short clips of your performances shared with the world are not only harmless but might even be helpful. You never know when a casting director or even an industry decision-maker, such as a producer, will find it. Casting Director Cathy Reinking, who currently works in Atlanta, and whose credits include Frasier and New Amsterdam, says: “I’ve always told actors: you must create content.” A quick look at her Instagram page and you will quickly find #createyourowncontent in several posts.

A bonus feature of content creation is that you can film your stories anywhere. Once they are ready to post, you can do it from your home, wherever you live. It makes no difference where you live for viewers to be interested in your posts. The added benefit of using this strategy is, that your acting material may fall in front of the right eyes by chance or recommendation – a casting director, an agent, a manager, or even a filmmaker.

A simple internet search will come up with several step-by-step strategies for content creation. Using the same approach influencers do while focusing on storytelling and performance should not be hard to do. If anything, creating short videos as if they were auditions or reel pieces is something any actor can do. The added step is to post your clips and share them with the world.

[Read also: 4 Ways Actors Feel Unsupported]

Conclusion

If you want to succeed as an actor but moving to LA seems impossible right now, you don’t have to do that first. Instead, create your own content and share it on social media. Make sure it reflects your talent in the best light. Perform as if you were at an actual acting job or audition, and let people watch you and discover your amazing acting skills! You may end up building an amazing audience and even meeting the people who will make your eventual move easier.

[Read also: 11 Acting-Related Things Actors on Hiatus Can Do]

“Creativity is a combination of discipline and childlike spirit.” – Robert Greene

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At Teacup of Wisdom, we share knowledge and insights about the entertainment industry from the actor’s point of view to inspire and empower your acting journey.