I moved to NYC 4 years ago. I’ve learned a lot. If you’re an actor thinking about moving to this city in pursuit of a career, here are the things no one tells you. (At least no one told me, or anyone I know)

1. If you want to succeed and not feel completely overwhelmed by the amount of options and auditions that are out there, you need to formulate very specific goals for yourself. The more specific the better.

2. If you are pursuing musical theater you need to have been training like an Olympian for many years in music, singing and/or dancing.( I say an Olympian because you may think you’ve been training in these fields for your whole life but if the training isn’t top quality, it makes no difference.) These are the people who can compete in Broadway musical auditions and can get steady work in theme parks and cruise ships.

3. There’s a lot of untalented, untrained people here but there are also tons of amazing artists as well. Market yourself to a distinct type. The more distinct the better. Casting is about how well you fit a part. Unfortunately someone less talented than you is more likely to be cast if they fit the character better.

4. You need money to make money. Don’t move here unless you have it. An entire side industry has been formed over the years just on the actor’s dream itself. Working your way up is all about forming relationships, but it is nearly impossible to even meet any agent or casting director face to face without paying anywhere from 30 to 500 dollars to do so, depending on how much time you get with them. (And this is just to meet them and audition, no guarantee of any beneficial outcome) You also need a lot of time and money if you want to be able to make your own art and just cast yourself. Becoming an actor is a lot like creating your own small business, and the investments can be about the same financially.

5. The people who seem to have it easiest, and work their way up the fastest are the ones that fall into these categories: people who are insanely gorgeous, people who are very distinct and fit parts like puzzle pieces, people who grew up here or went to school here and already have a lot of connections, people who sing and dance ridiculously well, people who have very rich parents or already have a ton of money from somewhere to invest in their career, and type A business minded people who are willing to make a lot of sacrifices. I’d suggest either going to a musical theater conservatory or double majoring in Acting and Business.

In the 3 years I’ve lived here I’ve managed to figure out my niche in the casting world, created a lot of internet comedy and a few stage shows thanks to my friend who was willing to pay for them, write them and fund raise, get a top commercial agent, stopped getting sent out and realized that nowadays agents don’t do the work for you and it’s all about your own personal efforts, paid 300 dollars to take a class with a comedy casting director and got an audition for an MTV pilot, did really well but wasn’t cast, started taking voice over lessons for 140 dollars an hour, reconnected with my agency and realized that getting voice over gigs was going to be a much longer road than expected.. among a lot of other things, that is the over all outline.

Unfortunately in our society it isn’t very easy for an artist to do what they love and support themselves, and I feel things might have been easier if I’d known all this starting out. Perhaps I would have had a little head start. So here they are, written down for you. I wish you the best of luck and hope that this helps!