PERTH ACTORS

is there any work in perth???...........i'm considering moving to sydney to get some work.....is it worth doing??

well it's got to be better then here. if you actually find payed work lets us know! it's as rare as snow here! Sydney has to be better but remember it has a bigger population meaning a bigger competition. there may be payed work available but it's a matter of actually landing a role.

It depends on what you are prepared to do. There is an organisation called Aragon & Associates that use Actors in Training Programs with the Police and Corperate organisations. It's paid work (not bad either).

You could try looking into voice-over work. I hear there's a call for that currently.

There is certainly more "work" in the eastern states, but as was pointed out, the competition is also more. The net result, you're not really that much better off unless you have the contacts already established and/or have the shining talent that head-hunters are looking for at the time their looking for it.

Also, try contacting the Media & Entertainment Arts Alliance (WA branch is Actors Equity) for advice.

Jeff Watkins

Small thing, Jeff-
in Perth, as everywhere else, your union is called the Media & Entertainment Alliance. The acting 'arm' is Equity, but to find them you can just look up or visit MEAA in Claisebrook.

The fact that theatre workers, musicians, actors, film workers and journalists are all members of the same union is an important one. I think you'll find Peter Woodward @ the MEAA would be pretty unhappy to hear that he works for Equity:)

There is paid work in Perth, if you are prepared to work your backside off to find it - there are that many lazy actors who sit around and wait for the work to come, that it makes it a lot easier for those of us who will do the groundwork and make the contacts. I have made a good living from acting over the last five or so years, with only modest casual jobs to pick up the slack. What did I do? It's different for everyone, but there is plenty of work out there, if you go about it the right way.

A few things:

Agents are almost necessary evils, because they let you know about the ads, voiceovers and interstate-overseas stuff that might be tougher to sniff out yourself.

You won't be able to join Equity until you have qualified by doing sufficient work, ie getting cast in a professional show. Once in there, though, it's a great community that really looks after its members.

Do as much Co-op as you can - people who count see so much of the work at the Blue Room and such places, and it's a good way to earn maybe $500 off six weeks acting work, which is great because it's something we'd all do for free (and frequently do!) anyway!

Do the hard work yourself. Contact companies. Keep your ear to the ground about upcoming auditions - including the ones you have heard they are not auditioning for - a little bit of moxy goes a long way!

Put a demo CD together and take it to the radio stations and the studios. I'm not sure where Jeff gets this concept that there is a 'big call' for voiceover talent, because it's a highly competitive industry that is remarkably hard to get a foothold in. Despite this, you can still wow them with a great demo, and you might have some luck.

Freelance and agree to do anything (within reason!). I have taken on projects in the last few years that have scared the pants off me, or seemed not really worthwhile, or I have been unsure of, which have turned into great opportunities.

Make friends with actors. Actors talk, and I have discovered in Perth that actors will let their friends know about projects, auditions, and even refer casting directors to each other if they are offered a project they can't take on. It's also a great support group, because you are all missing out on work that often, that you help each other out between jobs.

Man, it's too late at night to continue this stream of consciousness. There are no rules to acting, but the main point to remember is that nobody else is going to get you work except you - even if you do have an agent you have to keep working.

Hope this might have been some help, and maybe Craig or another of my contemporaries might have something to add.

Cheers.
Toby

sorcha wrote:
>
> I think you'll find Peter Woodward @ the
> MEAA would be pretty unhappy to hear that he works for Equity:)



No, I reckon he's pretty proud of it, and he does a damn fine job.

Woody is the head of two portfolios, Actors Equity and the Muso's Union. Most of his work is centred on these and the sections that include Dancers, Variety Artists, Theatrical Workers and Stuntmen.

Michael Sinclair-Jones is the MEAA State Secretary for WA, and as his background is journalism, he seems to concentrate on that area, leaving Woody to cover the rest.

Monica Main (an actor) is the State President of the Union; and of course an amazing amount of work is accomplished for ALL sections by the wonderful Administrator, Sandra Woodham.


Craig Williams
WA MEAA (Equity) Branch Councillor

yeah i know what u mean
soon as i finish school im in yr 11 im moving to sydney and auditioning for NIDA