I would recommend AMDA school in LA if you decide to make the leap. People are very pessimistic about moving to LA for acting because everyone here is quite jaded and its true - waitressing to make ends meat. The best advice I could give you is to find something unique about you that is marketable. Work on creating a fan base and carving out your own special niche from wherever you are so that if/when you make that move you ve got something new and special to bring to the table because the competition is INCREDIBLY insane. Sometimes its nicer and easier on your ego to stay the BIG fish in the smaller pond.I write a blog about acting and fun in LA you should check it out: Leadingladyla.blogspot.comGood Luck, and much success to you!
Don t listen to Speedy Gonzales, he uses hyperbolic language a lot, visa isn t the problem, the money is. If you apply for a college/ or maybe your family could sponsor u for a visa. I know this because i have plenty of European friends who got their visa in even less than a year. It doesn t matter where u live, whether LA, NY, Chicago or somewhere. It s the networking and connection u make with people, it ll get you far if you do it properly. Yea, any large US city is great, but remember, it is also more harder to get known, although the exposure is large in LA and NYC.
We get a dozen I wanna move to L.A. to become an actress questions a day. It DON T work that way. Stay in London and get into the business there. If you can t make it in your home town, you DON T stand a chance in Hollywood. That is where you go AFTER you have gained lots of experience somewhere else, it is not where you go to start out. It is vastly expensive to make a movie or television program, and producers DO NOT risk their funding on no experienced, no body wanna be s right off the street. You also con not legally work in the United States without a work visa, and to get one an American company MUST sponsor you. At the present time Wanna be actress is NOT one of the careers that will qualify. Sorry. Become famous in the U.K first and you may stand a better chance ..PS: Please note that one if the answers you got is from a teenage girl that lives in the U.K.
Every good-looking kid from every small town in America dreams of coming to Los Angeles to make it big in the movies. It s a cliche here that they all wind up waitressing... or in porn. For example: http://www.theonion.com/content/news_bri�� (This is a comedy site, not real news!)If you want be an actor, you d be better served to hone your craft in London, and maybe when you have built up your CV, to seek a Los Angeles agent from there. LA is nice place to visit, and a nice place to live if you have a decent-paying job, but a terrible place to try to make a living as an artist. Speedy Gonzalez points about what it costs to live here are all true.
If you want to be an actress then stay in London, the UK is less populated than the US which means less wannabe actresses and actors.Not to mention you can t even move to the US without a visa.
Visit the US Embassy for official information about the requirements for emigrating to the US.Almost every college in California has some sort of an acting class.
Screw the schools - it s a waste of money. Either you have it or you don t.
If you are not a legal resident of the US, you need to have a visa and the proper paperwork and that process can take years!Coastal California is the MOST COVETED area which means MORE $$$.Affordability does not exist in Los Angeles. Starting prices begin at around $1000+/mo. and that s usually for a studio in a somewhat decent area.Jobs are also nonexistent at the moment. Unemployment rates have jumped to 13% so good luck finding a job. Even if you find a job, that job will barely pay the rent (or not even come close to paying the rent.)Keep in mind you do NEED to buy groceries, hygiene products, clothes, emergency money, gas, electric, water, insurance, car, etc.Speaking of cars, you NEED a car in order to live in Los Angeles. The insurance for the car is not going to be cheap since the rate in Los Angeles are high and the gas prices are going to make you want to move back to your hometown.Bottom Line: You sound unprepared so my best suggestion for you is don t even bother moving to California because we already have a crisis going on and people like you are just contributing to the problem.
The biggest problem people have coming over here is being able to afford living here. If you have family here that can let you stay here, that s half the battle.Want to know how people get discovered ? It doesn t just happen overnight:1. Go as much experience as you can. That means practice, practice, practice, every day. Most people don t have the discipline to be any good. And this also means that you sign up for every singing workshop, musical theater production, and drama/singing camp that you can find.2. Next, you need contacts. By doing step 1, you ll start to get contacts. You need them in this town. Because the way you get a contract is when someone in the music or movie business hears about you. And they aren t going to sit in every karaoke bar in Hollywood to find you. (It s too painful, much like the opening rounds of American Idol).3. You need an agent. Because your agent will have your demo, your head shot, and he/she s the one with contacts in this industry. Your agent is the one that gets the casting calls. Your agent can set up the gigs in the really high profile places.4. You need money. Money to stay in LA while all this is going on. Money for workshops, camps, and classes while you improve your craft.If you wanted help, you got the best advice anyone can give you at this point. What you choose to do with it is up to you.If you want better advice about acting schools, go to the acting forum here on Y!A, and look for a guy there called Truth Teller 9 .