willing to act for free

hello

my name is Leah I am 13 years old and I am willing to act 4 free. I love acting more than anything and have a hav a alot of expeirience.

Pleaz reply if u r interested. I will work in adds, plays or yeah, pretty much anythink. I come from Brisbane

thanks!

Check out www.stagediary.com for upcoming audtions for your local theatre groups for around Brisbane.

Lel wrote:
>
> my name is Leah I am 13 years old and I am willing to act 4
> free. I love acting more than anything and have a hav a alot
> of expeirience.
>
> Pleaz reply if u r interested. I will work in adds, plays or
> yeah, pretty much anythink. I come from Brisbane
>



Please don't offer to work for free. Professional advertisements, theatre, and film work all have a standard fee structure, minimum wages, and established working conditions. By offering your services for free you are undercutting artists who rely on these wages for their living. You also do yourself a disservice by undervaluing yourself. If everyone offered to do this, there would be no reason for them to pay any of us, and any dreams you may have of working for payment in the arts in future would be destroyed.

Cheers,
Craig

[%sig%]

You know, I think if she had an equity card and an agent she wouldn't be in this forum begging for work. I am going to make an assumption in the girlz favour here and state that maybe she was just looking for any acting opportunity, which includes the wonderful world of "amateur" theatrics. Which we all know, well, those of us who are involved in it, that it really doesn't result in $$$ for actors. I am sure that once she realises how close she was to becoming a scab, she may reword her postings. Or perhaps look into any role playing work that is available.
Your point is taken, but for now, just settle. She said she is 13 and most likely, won't be stealing food from your mouth. She does live in Brisbane, after all. Like most performers, she just wants to do her thing. Let's crush her with the grim financial realities of the business behind it all a little later, eh?

Ta

Lance Jorgenson wrote:
>
> You know, I think if she had an equity card and an agent she
> wouldn't be in this forum begging for work. I am going to
> make an assumption in the girlz favour here and state that
> maybe she was just looking for any acting opportunity, which
> includes the wonderful world of "amateur" theatrics. Which we
> all know, well, those of us who are involved in it, that it
> really doesn't result in $$$ for actors. I am sure that once
> she realises how close she was to becoming a scab, she may
> reword her postings. Or perhaps look into any role playing
> work that is available.
> Your point is taken, but for now, just settle. She said she
> is 13 and most likely, won't be stealing food from your
> mouth. She does live in Brisbane, after all. Like most
> performers, she just wants to do her thing. Let's crush her
> with the grim financial realities of the business behind it
> all a little later, eh?



Thanks Lance,
If I was sounding militant, I didn't intend to be.

But I don't see that it does anybody any good to be sheltered from reality in this industry. I'm not in the least bit threatened that she's undercutting work from ME, but there are other 13 year olds nationwide who ARE trying to get legitimate work, and are disadvantaged by those willing to act for free.
Learning a good work ethic early is surely valuable advice that I am passing on.

Leah mentioned "work" and "ads"...now maybe it is semantics, but I would distinguish that pretty easily from amateur non-paid roles. When the subject heading is 'willing to act for free', that seems to be clearly different to just obtaining an amateur role.
Having an agent and an Equity membership unfortunately does not preclude people from taking whatever work they can find and undervaluing themselves and the industry. Also there are many people who will qualify to find such work yet will never utilise an agent or join the union.

My response was not a hard rebuke to Leah, who I am sure is well intentioned and just starting to find her feet. My thoughts are aimed at everybody else who reads this and finds themselves in a similar situation...and we all will, at one stage or another. The desire to work usually outstrips the desire to demand standard work conditions; but succumbing to those desires never helps you or anyone in the arts industry in the long run.


If I 'settled' and didn't comment, how would the lesson be taught to realise the 'scab labour' concept? If I don't suggest rewordings to postings, they will slip by and be accepted by default, whereas really they are not acceptable, and it's valuable to learn this regardless of how old you are.

As the request seemed to be about gaining experience in the industry, I thought my advice was appropriate, no?


Cheers,
Craig

[%sig%]

Hello,

I am a film student in Melbourne, I am regularly seeking actors from all ages, genders and backgrounds, should you be interested in any of my films I am contactable via djeriqg@msn.com.

Thank you