Acting and Performing Opportunities During the Holiday Season

The holidays are almost here and everyone likes to find ways to make extra money to buy gifts for family and friends. While there are plenty of retail jobs available, there are a number of opportunities for actors to make money while still being able to use their acting skills.

• Halloween theme park jobs - It doesn't take long to get to a theme park if you live in Los Angeles. We have Universal Studios, Disney, Six Flags and Knott's Berry Farm and each one of them does some kind of holiday festival or event. Actors have the chance to work as characters that scare park guests as well as hosts/performers in shows. Zach has been working at "Halloween Horror Nights" at Universal during Halloween. The event happens at night which gives him time during the day for auditions and school. (Yes, I know that Halloween is almost over but it is something to keep in mind for next year.)
• Holiday singing and dancing - Halloween is not the only time theme parks need performers to entertain guests. Christmas is a big time for employment opportunities thanks to the parks putting on holiday themed live shows that include song and dance numbers.
• Work in a retail environment without having to sell items - Song and dance numbers also happen on a regular basis in malls and department stores. They hire performers to entertain shoppers with Christmas carols, perform background music while people shop and (of course)  work as elves and holiday helpers while Santa Claus is talking to kids.
• Entertain the public around town - There are agencies that hire singers and performers to entertain retirement communities and schools during the holidays. It is a great way for singers and dancers to practice their craft while still making money.
• Demonstrating products - These are the folks you see at Costco on the weekends sharing news about exciting products, promoting great deals and sampling amazing food items. While it is a sales job, the person promoting the product still has to memorize a script and be convincing about how great the item is and why shoppers can't live without it!

The above examples are just some of the ways actors can do what they love (perform) and make extra money between booking roles. The holidays are stressful so any chance to get out in public and perform for others is welcomed by those who enjoy entertaining for a living. Plus, all of these jobs certainly beat sitting in an office all day doing a temp job in front of a computer!

This actor has been scaring people at Halloween Horror Nights

Why Haven't I Been Posting Lately?

There has been a definite lack of new posts by me in the last few months. I have plenty to discuss and stories to share from Hollywood. The main problems are a lack of free time and (sometimes) a lack of motivation to compose a new blog.

It's not that I don't want to update my blog on a regular basis. There are just times when my brain is in "writer overload" mode.  In the past two weeks, I have written a combination of news stories, blogs, articles and white papers about these topics:

*The overseas cryptocurrency market

*Fishing season tips for residents of Texas

*Cosmetic surgery including Mommy Makeover, Rhinoplasty Revision, BBL and forms of Lipo

*Steps to take when talking to insurance companies after a hurricane

*Hot topics for parents in 2018

*How to track down company funding information

*A new cosmetics line based in Greece

*A film festival manual for aspiring filmmakers

*Duct cleaning scams

*Crowdfunding ideas and incentives for a number of companies

After spending about 10 hours a day writing, I sometimes don't have the mental energy to compose a thoughtful blog. 

While I might not be able to update you on Zach's adventures as often as I would like, I will give you a quick bullet point rundown of his recent activities:

• Contacted by "America's Got Talent" 
• Appearing on "Fresh off the Boat" 
• Stand up gigs in Burbank and Pasadena
• A show at iO West
• Auditions for series leads and recurring characters
• A part in a play running every weekend in North Hollywood

The kid stays busy while also going to college and working at Universal Studios.

Even if I don't get a chance to share everything with you on my blog, I do update his adventures in Hollywood on my social media pages. The links to my social media profiles can be found on the right side of this page.

Thanks for your patience. I will be back with more tales of Hollywood as soon as possible!

You can always check this page for updates on The Artist.

The Chance To Perform Is Always There (If You Look For It)

I often receive emails asking me when Zach will be on TV again  or when he will be in a movie on the big screen or direct to DVD.

To answer those questions, he will be seen on television sooner (rather than later) in an episode of "Fresh Off The Boat" as well as an episode of the new HBO series "Sharp Objects" starring Amy Adams.  However, these are not the only projects he has been working on in 2017.

Acting is a tough business because the odds of you landing a part are not in your favor if you stop and think about it:

• Agents and managers submit their clients to casting directors
• By the time all of the submissions are turned in, the casting directors likely have hundreds of submissions to look at
• Out of the hundreds of submissions, they will choose anywhere from 5 to 50 actors to read for the part
• Out of that group of actors, some may get a callback while others will never hear anything from the casting folks about the part
• The lucky actor is finally picked out of the hundreds of submissions that started the process

When you break down the various steps in the casting process, it's easy to see why the odds of landing a role are not in the favor of an actor.

That is one of the main reasons why many actors (like Zach) find other avenues to practice their craft beyond being on a film or television set.

Since July of this year, Zach has either been practicing or appearing in two plays in North Hollywood:

1. "The Marriage Zone" (which recently completed its run with Zach in the role of "Ryan")
2. "Somewhere in the Middle" (which recently extended its run with Zach in the role of "Adam")

Plus, he has been working on expanding his comedy career by playing new comedy clubs and networking with both established and rising comedians in Los Angeles.  He just added The Ice House in Pasadena as one of his regular venues and is already working the main room of the club.

While Zach certainly enjoys being on set and acting in front of the camera, he also understands the need to keep his acting skills sharp between movie and TV roles. I admire him for taking matters into his own hands and creating opportunities that give him the chance to perform in front of audiences that might not have a chance to see him otherwise.

Staying busy, and staying focused, are paying off for him now. I believe that his hard work and dedication will pay off with more big (and small) screen roles in the future.

This actor is also a stand up comedian and a thespian.