LarJayne Blackwell's Lounge Discussions

Enjoy the roller coaster ride Towanna. Kudos for taking the leap...way better than corporate ScAmerica...as unsteady as it can be still a far better day than a 9-5. You got a great look & a fab smile too. Keep on Booking Towanna! LarJayne

Welcome ..........

Welcome! Keep on, keepin' on.

Hey Towanna, welcome! You have a great smile!

Fantastic to have you here, Towanna. Love the line about investing in yourself (I'm a true believer) and thrilled to hear you are already seeing the return on that investment.

Don't have one and yes - Baritone/Euphonium, but it has the same mouthpiece as trombone, so I learned that, too. Oh, and did a year on Tuba, but that effer takes more breath than I have LOL!

Everyone in my family seems to know a little piano, too. I mostly play by ear, but I can sight read.

I've only been in LA for 3 years now, so I'm kinda digging staying here. As much as I can't stand to return to my hometown in DC (too many memories), I really do love the East Coast Spring and Fall seasons. Boston or London would likely be my top choices, although I have yet to visit Vancouver, and I hear it's fantastic!

What about you?

Welcome LarJayne! Enjoy the platform!

Thank you Cherelynn...thrilled to be here today! Pleasure meeting you.

I agree. Extremely informative. It's great to meet you, LarJayne Blackwell.

This depends entirely on the production. Some would bring you in and some would require you to bring yourself. Your locale is important only for those who want local talent only for that purpose. Your locale has nothing to do with the audition per se, aside from that.

Han Solo said it best...

Hey LarJayne Blackwell! I'm an actor in Atlanta and have been for 20 years. I run a taping service, and over the 12 years of running that taping business, have seen SOOO MANY transplants to the east coast from LA. We see new people weekly who are making that change. That said, until Covid testing for productions goes away (doubtful in 2022), any out-of-state hiring is going to be very rare. It's just a huge liability to risk the cost of flying you in, housing you, and then testing you only to find out you're positive and they have to recast. Now, if you have connections on the west coast with directors, production companies, or commercial clients that have worked with you and love you, that might be enough to tip them over the edge.

The one thing that some actors do that I would NEVER ADVISE is lie about where you reside. Actors do it all the time. They're in Atlanta at my studio and slate "I'm so-and-so and I'm in Los Angeles." That's just dishonest, and very disrespectful to the production.

You may see some success in the Miami market, though I do know that every since Florida messed up their tax incentive, there has been less activity over the last several years. I'd look into getting an Orlando agent, because there may be more activity in central Florida.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to reply, Matthew. Yeah...lying....that you mention that. It's sooo deceitful and just smacks of lack of credibility. It's character assassination...great way to get blacklisted. I've been on the casting end so aware it's a big no no.

Maybe we Floridians can persuade Gov DeSantis to reimplement tax incentives! Miami...if I were 20. lol. Appreciate your suggestion of looking into Orlando...metropolitan area is probably my best bet.

Thanks again Matthew...pleasure making your acquaintance. LJ

Hi LarJayne, I agree with Matthew, that it will be tough booking a role in L.A. while living in FL. Especially, if it is not a starring role. You could be asked to work as a local hire. That means you will have to cover your own transportation and hotel on your own. Sometimes, my agents have been able to negotiate a modified local contract, so hotels are covered and milage is paid for (if I can drive to the set.)

There are some good agents in the Orlando area. And, there is some good work there as well. As you discussed earlier, Florida in general is not getting the film and TV work it used to get, but there is definitely some work there. You can reach out to me through my website howtoactandmodel.com and I am more than happy to share contacts with you.

Hi, to you as well!

That sounds ve-rrry in-ta-rrresting.

I keep returning to this project so the theme of the script -- how we handle the uneven distribution of wealth/tension between rich and middle class must be important to me. The four main characters are based in part on myself and my 3 tennis-playing friends but pretty loosely based.