L.A. vs. New York

There’s no doubt that New York City is the actor’s Mecca. For decades, actors have come to Gotham and its Great White Way to make it in show business, hoping to see their names on Broadway marquees while reciting the mantra, “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere.” 

But New York’s artistic preeminence is not immune to competition or, for that matter, outside influences. With Broadway churning out Hollywood remakes left and right, and off-Broadway theaters using the box-office power of big-screen stars, it seems like another city is calling the shots here: Los Angeles — the great urban sprawl, the confusing land of spaghetti freeways, where you’ll find palm trees in ghettos and homeless camps across the street from mansions. No matter how much we East Coasters hate to admit it, the City of Angels stands on its own as a destination for actors of all stripes. New York is still the world’s center for theater (any regional company worth its pay in dirt holds auditions here, and even theater companies on the West Coast look for actors in New York), but L.A. has always been the heart of film and TV acting.

Sure, things have balanced out somewhat over the last few years. As New York continues to lure producers with attractive tax incentives, California’s soaring production costs have been driving productions out of the state. But the shift hasn’t been severe enough to dislodge L.A. from its place as the world’s film and TV capital, and, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger working feverishly to pass legislation to ease the financial burden of filming in the Golden State, Tinsel Town is likely to continue its dominance. The bottom line? L.A. is probably the better choice if you want to have a diverse career in film and TV.

And let’s not kid ourselves. No matter what the local papers say, and no matter how many 99-seat theaters open up on the dingy streets of Hollywood, L.A. is not known as a theater city. As the conventional wisdom goes, “If you’re trying to make it in film and TV, you go to L.A. If you want to be a serious thespian, you go to New York.”

In L.A., casting agents (or their assistants) are a rare presence in theaters. Whatever the play, the threat or promise of the big break takes precedence over artistic commitment. When the TV or movie call interrupts an afternoon rehearsal, most actors are gone faster than you can say, “strike the set.” Indeed, according to a source at Actors’ Equity, L.A. actors rarely want to leave their city’s limits, afraid that they’ll miss the big call. As a result, it’s very hard to build a thriving theater scene in fear that your lead won’t last the three-week run of a show. 

So what to do if you’re an actor who wants to be on TV, audition for studio films, but still spread your wings theatrically? Maybe you can have the best of both worlds.

Sea to Shining Sea

Being bicoastal is a dream come true to the New Yorker in L.A. If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Gothamite, there is no question that L.A. is a tough town. L.A. is the urban experience spilled out on the floor. Its population is scattered across hundreds of neighborhoods, each blending into the next. There is no subway system uniting the place, no visible throngs of pedestrians bustling down a midtown street, reminding you that your life, with its interior monologue of thoughts and worries, is only one among millions.

In L.A., the common experience is the freeway — it’s you in a car surrounded by other cars and their passengers, but detached from them as well. It’s a city that thrives on isolated individuality, not commonality. To a New Yorker, lover of dense living and the urban experience, L.A. can be a haunting and depressing place. This is why being bicoastal is an attractive option: You’re in L.A. when you have to be, and you return to New York as soon as you can.

That’s easier said than done. Most actors who live bicoastal lives end up doing so because chance gave them that opportunity, not because they specifically intended it. And second, the more successful you are in professional acting, the easier it is to be bicoastal. Living in two places is never ideal, but if you have to do it, the bigger the network, the better. 

The Network

Tasha Lawrence never considered herself a bicoastal actor, but the track of her successful career displays many of the characteristics of what a bicoastal life can look like at its best. Trained at Circle in the Square Theater School and a veteran of New York TV staples like “Law & Order” and the now-defunct “Third Watch,” she is by almost every definition the quintessential New York actress. A few years ago, Lawrence was working on an off-Broadway show that was invited to continue its run in L.A. “I was only supposed to be there for three weeks,” Lawrence said. “But then, just like that, the show got extended.”

Not exactly overjoyed about having to live out of a suitcase, Lawrence got organized and displayed the logistical flexibility necessary for anyone working both coasts. First, she had to work out her living situation — finding a place to stay in L.A. and figuring out what to do with her New York apartment. Lawrence quickly found another itinerant actor to stay in her Upper East Side abode. “I’m really lucky because I have a rent-controlled one bedroom. So when I need to go away, people will line up to sublet from me.”

And in L.A.? “I’m Canadian. A friend of mine from Toronto was living out there so I stayed with him for a little while. Then I found an apartment through more Canadian friends of his,” she said.

In other words, Lawrence had a network — she immediately hit the ground running and expanded that set of contacts. An actor moving to L.A. should have a similar social cushion and, like the driven but amazingly personable Lawrence, the right personality to quickly pad that cushion. 

But actress Corinne Cason, who has been in the business for more than 20 years, has put a lot of time into developing a tight, reliable network. Cason, who volunteered at L.A.’s Screen Actors Guild conservatory, frequently flew back and forth between cities when her husband worked on a New York-based soap opera. Now her travels aren’t as extensive, but the bicoastal real estate habits remain. “I have an exchange with actor friends. When I go to New York, I stay with them and when they come here, they stay with me. It works nicely,” she said.

Knowing When To Go

It’s a show business truism that the higher up the ladder you climb in New York, the more people you get to know in L.A. That is, the more established the actor, the more likely someone in L.A. will want to meet him or her and have lunch. If you don’t feel up to it and you don’t have the contacts, then L.A. can be a tough, mean town, which is why some insiders contend that it’s best to stay put unless you book a job.

No Agent, No L.A.

Acting in L.A. without an agent makes little sense. A good day in L.A. is about how close you get to landing a role on TV or the silver screen. The L.A. actor’s life doesn’t unexpectedly segue into a life in the theater, dance or anything else. L.A. is a one-note town, and, unlike Chicago, Seattle and other proud cities, it doesn’t really bother to argue otherwise. The city is all about film and TV, and talent agents control all access to them.

“In L.A. you really do need representation. Bottom line,” said Lawrence. “I don’t think I would have stayed if I didn’t have representation. There’s no way to get in for anything in L.A. without an agent. I don’t know if the trade papers even have ads for these things.”

They don’t. Or if they do, don’t read them. L.A. actors should be wary of advertisements in the back pages of the trades or local papers that say they’re looking for new faces in film and TV. If a show needs an actor, it will cast through an agent. Unlike New York — where agents play catch up to the tireless drive of an ever-changing art scene — in L.A. there’s no reason for a casting entity to bypass the agent. All aspiring L.A. actors go through agents first, too.

Schedule

But let’s say you are confident with your network of friends, have money saved and agencies on both coasts to call home. There is still a bicoastal schedule to follow.

Pilot season (January to late March) is obviously the “primetime” to be in L.A. As networks develop a handful of shows for their fall schedules, more TV roles are auditioned in these months than the rest of the year combined. “If you don’t bag one of those roles, move quickly to buy your plane ticket,” Cason advised.

“Early spring is a good time to go back to New York if you want to get into summer stock and the like,” she said. “Out here in L.A., they do have some auditions for the summer circuits, but only for three or four.”

Summer in New York used to be considered a good time for TV commercials as well. When the hot sun came out in the Northeast and inclement weather became less likely, getting marketers to Los Angeles became less likely too. But the advertising world has a more permanent presence in L.A. than it used to, and, according to Cason, summer commercial bookings are pretty even between coasts now.

Wait a Minute

Generally speaking, working both coasts at an early stage of your career is probably not best. If you’re not in a position to call in favors or only have the infamous relative who works “someplace big,” it would be better, all agree, to bide your time. Continue to establish yourself here and gradually let L.A. make itself real to you instead of forcing it.

But wanting to do both is completely understandable. The attraction of Los Angeles, even if you’re an actor’s actor, is undeniable. The most important thing to consider is whether you’re ready to make the move. 

“The biggest mistake people make is thinking that a cross-country move is going to automatically boost their career,” said a New York-based talent agent who asked not to be named. “The reality is, both cities are very tough. Chances are, if you can’t find work in New York, you probably won’t find it in Los Angeles either.”