Where can I find upholstery classes in LA?

How to make good Entertainment industry connections without living in LA or NY?

• Hi, Please be respectful. So I am in the process of becoming an working actor. I am currently living in Indianapolis. I am not yet with a local agency, and I have no headshots yet. I have taken drama in high school, and I am not trying to come off as bragging, but I am very good at acting. I want to eventually move to LA or NYC. But not right now ,cause I am not ready. You hear all the time about how people pick up and just move to LA to pursue acting but they do it unprepared, and they often fail. I don't wanna be like that. I am currently going on local auditions and is willing to take any gigs, that would be good on my resume and also to build an reel demo. I am also going to start taking local acting classes to perfect my craft, and also have on my resume that I am taking classes. Once I feel prepared then I will get headshots, and start saving and preparing to move to LA. Since I stay in Indianapolis, I sometimes get a roundtrip tickect on the greyhound for $20 to find work and auditions in Chicago also. So my questions is, How can I start making connections and network with people in LA, without being in LA. How can I get myself noticed. I am 19, and I am giving myself til I am 24 to make something happen(become successful).. So how can I make connections where I am at? I mean people in LA or NY have to know somebody in Chicago, or Indy right?

• Answer:

  The ideal thing to do would be to get on a 3-year degree-level course at a top drama school. When you go to auditions, if you can find any without an agent, you'll be competing with graduate actors who have years of experience. A high school training and a few classes aren't going to impress them very much. As for 'perfecting' your craft - that never happens, and to even think that you could do it is naive and childishly optimistic. Professional actors never stop learning, all their working lives, and none of them ever achieve perfection. There's no point looking for work in any place you don't live really close to. If you live further away than an hour's journey, you'd be highly unlikely to win a role. You have to have a base really close to the work. Get more training near where you live, then work on building up a really impressive resume. Without that, it will be really tough trying to find auditions. As you say yourself - being prepared is really vital - and that means more than taking drama at high school. Good luck!