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

Everybody's Talkin' In Hollywood

I've mentioned before how you can't go anywhere in the Los Angeles area without hearing conversations about movies and television or seeing a film crew in action. I work from home but often travel around town for meetings. I hear a lot of odd conversations during my time out in the real world and thought I'd share some of them with you.

1. "I told my kid to take his Halloween costume to Hollywood Blvd for a few days and make money as one of the characters on the street. He'll see that nobody cares about Green Lantern when he comes back with no money."
2. "I like to think of my script as a cross between Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Purge by showing the real reason kids ditch school is to put lawlessness in action."
3. "I normally don't mind being recognized but there are times I wish I could just disappear much like Bridget Fonda's career!"
4. "The casting director had the nerve to tell me that my headshot didn't look anything like me. Does he expect me to still use the same amount of Juvederm I had before that photo session?"
5. "I tried to get in the audience for her late night talk show appearance but her agency wouldn't return my calls. See if I'm nice to her next time I wait on her table!!!"
6. "I once saw a stage mom try to seduce a PA so her kid would get more screen time. I don't think she understands who has any sort of power on a film set."
7. "The crew didn't get the proper permits to film at the mall. I don't care who you are but Santa Claus still gets the prime real estate spot at the mall during the holidays."
8. "Is it a bad sign that I called my agent's office and the number now belongs to a dry cleaner?"
9. "I told him the best way for our comedy gigs to get attention is to find a club that is fine with us hosting in the nude. They'll either laugh at our material or our bodies but at least they'll be laughing."
10. "I like to think of myself as a leading man trapped in the body of an extra trying hard to be noticed by the camera as well as the director and the crew and the producers and anyone else in charge on set."

I hope everyone I quoted above achieves their dreams...Or at least gets the answers to their questions!

This actor has a comedy gig on Thursday night at Flappers in Burbank.

Hollywood Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween is just around the corner and you might not have your costume idea finalized yet.  No worries! There are six days left until Halloween so here are six last minute costume ideas inspired by Halloween in Hollywood.

• Don't have enough money to buy or rent a costume? Go out for Halloween dressed in your normal clothes and tell people that you write screenplays.  The sloppy clothes and sad look on your face will sell the undiscovered writer look of your costume.
• Got a group of girls of various ages that want to go out together on Halloween? Have each of them be a different version of Miley Cyrus. The latest versions will not have to spend much money on clothes for a costume.
• Want to perform a party trick while having a costume that costs next to nothing? Take a bowl out of your cabinets and write the word "Hollywood" on it. Balance the bowl on your head and tell people that you are the Hollywood Bowl.
• Do you have jeans and army jackets in your closet? If so, go out as the two dudes from "Supernatural". I've never watched the show but that appears to be all they wear if the commercials for the program are any indication.
• Go as a character from one of the following movies: "Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension", "The Last Witch Hunter", "Jem and the Holograms" or "Rock the Kasbah". The costumes are easy because all four of these movies tanked at the box office this weekend. You can wear whatever you want and say you are a character from one of the movies. Nobody saw them so they won't know if your costume is correct or not.
• Dress like a generic teenager that is running from adults and is a character from a post-apocalyptic YA novel that was adapted into a movie. Between "The Hunger Games", "Divergent" and "The Maze Runner", you stand a great chance of looking like one of the characters in those movies.

I hope this list helps you make a decision on what to wear for Halloween. Be sure and save some candy for me!

This actor has his costume picked out and ready to go.