The Working
Actor's Field Guide🪄
Everything you keep meaning to Google before a callback, already looked up, by an actual person, on purpose.
No pay-to-play rankings. No promises of access. Nobody's cousin's manager. Just the classes, agencies, platforms and paperwork that exist, what each one is actually for, and a link straight to the source — so you don't have to trust us, you can just check.
Putting your headshots in order, too? Start with actor sessions, browse the Men’s and Women’s galleries, then read Shoot Prep. One less thing for the 47-tab situation.
- Agents & managers21
- Classes & coaches18
- Casting platforms9
- Self-tape & materials11
- Market briefs13
- Union & contract basics7
Your next
five moves
Three questions, no email address, no account, no chirpy little chatbot pretending to care about your day. Tell us where you stand and get five things to do, in order — because doing them out of order is how people end up with a $900 reel, four headshots, and nowhere to send any of it.
Your first five moves
Work top to bottomNinety days, five words, one screenshot
One room. Eight to twelve weeks. No hopping around trying on teachers like jackets.
One résumé, one strong headshot, tight clips, current profiles. Matching stories.
One narrow experiment, tracked for a month — not judged after three days.
Audition rate, callback rate, booking rate, cost, energy. Numbers, not vibes.
Change one variable. Don't rebuild your whole life over a quiet Tuesday.
Agents &
managers
Every agency here publishes its own submission route — a form, an address, a portal with opinions about file formats. We list exactly what they ask for and where they said to send it, and nothing else. Franchise status is a fact you can look up. Fit is not, and no web page, ours included, can hand you that part.
The Osbrink Agency
A region- and department-specific online form. Submit once, allow three weeks, and — their words, not ours — do not call to check.
- Depts
- Theatrical · Commercial · Print · VO
- Route
- Official online form
- Markets
- LA · NY · Atlanta
L.A. Talent
One published submissions email. Headshot, résumé, reel, and a line telling them whether you mean commercial, theatrical, or both.
- Depts
- Commercial · Theatrical
- Route
- Email, one address
- Markets
- Los Angeles
Zuri Agency
Listed for theatrical, but the public form we found is model-and-print specific. Flagging that instead of pretending it isn't true.
- Depts
- Print intake · theatrical listed
- Route
- Online model form
- Markets
- LA · NY · Miami
Mavrick Artists Agency
Beverly Hills boutique across theatrical, commercial and young talent. Submits through their own site only — no calls, no drop-offs.
- Depts
- Theatrical · Commercial · Young Talent
- Route
- Website form only
- Markets
- Los Angeles
The Sabel Group
A small, attorney-founded LA shop that says outright it takes new clients "by referral or review." Believe them — that's not boilerplate.
- Depts
- Film · TV · Commercial · VO
- Route
- Referral or review
- Markets
- Los Angeles
Backlot Talent Agency
Literally on the historic Fox backlot. Small curated roster across film, TV, commercial and literary — the kind of boutique that stays boutique on purpose.
- Depts
- Film · TV · Commercial · Literary
- Route
- Contact page
- Markets
- Los Angeles
TalentWorks
Burbank agency franchised with SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA and Equity. Referral only, interviews by appointment — no cold calls.
- Depts
- Commercial · Theatrical · VO
- Route
- Referral only
- Markets
- Los Angeles
Media Artists Group
One of the older SAG-franchised shops in town, reorganized with agents from the majors — including Lyle Skosey, a familiar name to LA theatrical actors.
- Depts
- Actors · Comedians · Hosts · VO
- Route
- Submit-talent form
- Markets
- Santa Monica
Innovative Artists
Eleven divisions under one roof, including a dedicated comedy and voiceover wing. Two submission inboxes, LA and NY, no in-between.
- Depts
- Talent · Comedy · VO · Commercial
- Route
- Email, LA office
- Markets
- Santa Monica · New York
Avail Artist Management
A Talent Managers Association member, which is one honest signal among several. Covers film/TV, literary, commercial, print and VO.
Contact page↗The Wayne Agency
Coast-to-coast shop across film/TV, commercial, VO and literary. Franchised with SAG-AFTRA and WGA, signatory with AEA and DGA.
- Route
- Dedicated /submissions page
Don Buchwald & Associates Pacific
Long-established bicoastal shop. Says it plainly: no unsolicited submissions of any kind — this is an agent-to-agent door.
- Route
- Referral only, no cold submissions
AIRE Talent Agency
LA and Burbank, roster-based representation. Franchise badge on their own homepage, plus a dedicated apply page.
- Route
- /apply page
Reign Agency
Commercial and comedy specialists — a roster built from UCB, Second City, The Groundlings and iO alumni. Industry referral only.
- Route
- Referral only, no cold submissions
CESD Talent
One of the longer-running names in town — voiceover, on-camera commercial, print, theatrical and comedy/digital under one roof, in LA and NY.
- Depts
- VO · Commercial · Print · Theatrical
- Route
- Online contact form
Check the license. It takes ninety seconds.
California keeps a public database of licensed talent agencies, and SAG-AFTRA keeps a live list of franchised ones. Both are free, both are searchable, and both will save you an afternoon and possibly a headache.
DDO Artists Agency
Julie Gudz — Adult Commercial & Print. Alicia Beekman — Youth. Confirmed on DDO's own team page as of this week.
- Contact
- julie@ddoagency.com
- alicia@ddoagency.com
Saint Agency
Chris Saavedra, founder — commercial and print, close relationships with a long list of major brands.
- Contact
- chris@saintagency.com
- Depts
- Commercial · Print
Daniel Hoff Agency
Daniel Hoff — commercial, owner. Theatrical department handled separately within the same shop.
- Contact
- daniel@danielhoffagency.com
- Depts
- Commercial · Theatrical
Ria Pavia Management
Manager and longtime acting coach — referral-based, no unsolicited submissions. Represents book authors, hosts, VO and film/TV actors 13+.
- Contact
- Ria@PaviaTalent.com
- Route
- Referral only
Commercial Talent, Inc.
Sherman Oaks agency covering commercial, print, hosting, voiceover and a theatrical division — six departments under one roof.
- Depts
- Commercial · Print · Host · VO · Theatrical · Youth
- Markets
- Los Angeles
Brand Model & Talent Agency
Santa Ana-based, SAG franchised, full-spectrum print, runway, kids and commercial modeling since 1986.
- Depts
- Print · Runway · Kids · Commercial
- Markets
- Orange County · LA
The directory
Type what's bothering you. "Reel." "Improv." "I have no idea what a slate shot is and I'm too afraid to ask." Every card says what the thing is, who it's for, and where the information came from, then gets out of your way.
Actors Access
Breakdown Services' actor-facing profile and self-submission platform. A free profile currently carries two headshots, a SlateShot, a résumé, and your sizes.
Casting Networks
The commercial-leaning profile and submission service. Free and Premium tiers differ in ways worth reading before your card gets charged automatically.
Central Casting
Background registration and role notices — the fastest legitimate way to learn how a real set behaves before you're the one with actual lines.
LA Casting
A longtime LA commercial-casting staple. Most active commercial reps expect their clients to keep a current profile here, full stop.
Casting Frontier
Free basic tier, paid Premium tiers for unlimited submissions and media. SAG-AFTRA members get 20% off the annual plan.
Talent Link
A Breakdown Services feature (lives inside Actors Access) that puts your profile in front of participating agents and managers for two weeks. Bradford recommends this one a lot.
Breakdown Services
The company behind Actors Access and Talent Link — worth knowing as its own entity, since a lot of legitimate casting flows through it first.
The Groundlings School
Improv and sketch, from a beginner intro class up through a genuinely competitive core track. Getting into the first one is not getting into the last one.
Howard Fine Acting Studio
Technique and scene study under the same roof as on-camera work, private coaching, and self-tape help.
Margie Haber Studio
On-camera classes built around audition material specifically, across a wide range of experience levels.
Lesly Kahn & Company
Comedy: pace, text, and the particular technical problem of staying funny on a fourth take at six p.m.
Art of Acting Studio
Stella Adler-tradition training in LA — technique, scene study, on-camera, voice, movement, intensives.
UCB Training Center
Real improv training, the same category as Groundlings — different house style, same idea: listening, point of view, and comic instinct built through reps.
Killian's Workshop
Commercial audition and scene-study workshops, focused specifically on redirects and on-camera room technique.
Carolyne Barry Acting Academy
Commercial-audition-focused classes, plus a free web class on the three types of commercial auditions if you want to test the water first.
Hey, I Saw Your Commercial!
Online commercial-acting program from a working commercial actor of 25+ years. Free audit class, then Zoom courses or a self-paced track.
Actors Access Media Guide
The official instructions for uploading clips, and the current advice to post short role-specific ones instead of a nine-minute montage of your soul.
JIG Reel Studios
Produced scenes and reel footage for when the honest answer is "I don't have anything usable yet, and it's fine, everyone starts here."
Disclosed collaborator
Bradford Rogne Photography
Headshots for actors in Los Angeles. Yes, this is our house. That's exactly why it says so right underneath, in writing.
This is us
Smart Girls Productions
Career-strategy sessions for the actor who has the training and the pictures and still can't tell what to do on Monday morning.
Disclosed collaborator
The stuff
nobody tells you
Four things that take ten minutes to read and save you about eleven months. Each one opens into a longer piece with the receipts attached.
Make your package agree with itself
One résumé, one current headshot, one profile, one clean tape setup. If the photo, the reel and the résumé describe three different people, casting believes the photo and moves on.
Your bedroom is now a stage
Light, sound, frame, file name. It's four things, none of them expensive, and three of them are the ones people get wrong every single time. The full setup ↓
Thirteen cities, honestly described
What actually shoots where, what it costs to be reachable there, and which markets are having a moment versus which ones just have a good publicist. See all 13 ↓
The least glamorous page here
The federal government's own data says actor work runs short and often part-time — about 6,300 openings a year, nationally. That's not a horoscope. It's a budgeting cue.
Six questions worth asking out loud
→ Does the level actually match my craft right now?
→ Will I work often enough in there to improve?
→ Is the feedback specific, or just nice?
→ Are costs, refunds and absences spelled out anywhere?
→ Is "education" quietly being sold to me as "access"?
→ Can I actually sustain this for a real block of time?
Click and we'll pull one small, genuinely useful audition-day tip out of thin air. Real magic, allegedly.
Your bedroom
is now a stage
A reliable tape makes you easy to see, hear, and redirect. Start with what you already own, and only upgrade the specific thing that's actually failing — not the whole setup because a forum told you to.
The free tier, mostly
Face a big window, find a quiet room, put the phone at eye level on something that isn't your hand, and step away from a busy wall. Test exposure and focus before you perform — not after.
Buy the failure point
A sturdy tripod and phone clamp first, always. Daylight unreliable? Add a soft dimmable key light. Room echoes? Move soft furniture closer before you buy a microphone.
Repeatability over spectacle
Marked tripod height, controllable key and fill, real background separation, consistent color, basic sound treatment, and a backup upload route you've actually tested once.
→ Correct scene, take, slate, orientation, filename
→ Eyes sharp, skin tone believable, no autofocus hunting
→ You're clearly audible above room, street or fan noise
→ No accidental personal details visible in frame
→ The file actually opens, plays through, fits the size limit
→ Private material only goes through the route they asked for
13 markets,
honestly run down
This is what the roadmap's "where are you standing" question is actually pointing at. Pick your city up above and it'll jump down here — or just scroll, nobody's checking.
The deep end
Work mix: studio and indie film, TV, commercials, VO, animation, verticals, print — the widest ecosystem on this list. Reality: also the most expensive and most crowded. Budget for the freeway, not just the class.
Two calendars, one city
Work mix: Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, TV, film, commercials, VO, live events. Reality: stage and camera use different materials and different relationships — pick what you're actually available for.
Volume isn't the same as odds
Work mix: studio and streaming TV/film, commercials, industrials, background work. Reality: a lot of production doesn't mean a light roster — check Southeast representation before assuming easy entry.
Theatre roots, camera money
Work mix: TV, theatre, improv/comedy, commercials, VO, industrials. Reality: understand both sides — union stage calendars and commercial-conflict rules run on different clocks.
Not one commute
Work mix: commercials, film, TV, VO, industrials, games, live performance across several Texas hubs. Reality: Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio are not interchangeable — pick your actual city.
Weather is a production variable
Work mix: film/TV, commercials, background work, location-driven production. Reality: incentives mean infrastructure, not a guaranteed performer pipeline — check the actual casting ecosystem.
Two different cities, one flight
Work mix: bilingual commercials/TV, lifestyle print, hosting, theme parks, cruise-adjacent work. Reality: language ability has to be performance-ready, not resume-flattering.
More than the music
Work mix: commercials, music videos, live performance, VO, corporate and independent production. Reality: keep singer-actor materials separate from theatrical clips.
Institutional work, institutional rules
Work mix: government/corporate media, commercials, industrials, theatre, film/TV. Reality: confidentiality and security constraints show up more here than most markets.
One label, several states
Work mix: film/TV, commercials, education/corporate media, theatre, VO, regional indie work. Reality: keep residency and tax assumptions tied to the actual project location.
Close to New York isn't New York
Work mix: film, TV, commercials, industrials, theatre, education media, VO. Reality: same-day NYC access is not the same as being a New York local hire.
Linked, not identical
Work mix: commercials, film/TV, games/VO, indie production, theatre around Seattle and Portland. Reality: treat Washington and Oregon as separate markets with separate rules.
Real market, real distances
Work mix: film/TV production, indie work, background/stand-in, production-supported training. Reality: confirm notice, call time and lodging before calling yourself local.
I sent this to four people before I even finished reading it.— the review we're fishing for, respectfully
Unions,
contracts, AI
Straight to the primary sources — the current agreements, the joining rules, and the digital-replica language everyone should read before a scanning day, not after they've already signed something on an iPad in a hallway.
2026 TV/Theatrical contracts
The ratified agreements running July 2026 to June 2030 — wages, benefits, audition terms and the AI provisions, straight from the union.
Contract hub↗Digital replicas & AI
Consent, compensation, and what to ask before you agree to be scanned or cloned. Keep everything in writing, always.
AI resources↗Joining options
Current pathways, eligibility and dues for stage work — with the actual timing consequences of joining spelled out plainly.
Membership↗How we
check this
Every "verified" tag on this page means the same thing: someone actually looked. Here's the whole method — no hidden clauses, because there's nothing here worth hiding.
Does it earn its spot?
A listing has to solve an actual actor problem, come from a stable primary source, and tell you enough to take the next step more safely. That's the whole bar — not size, not fame, and nobody bought their way in. Nobody's offered.
What "verified" actually means
The stated fact matched its source on the date printed on the card. Not that we personally audited every class or called every reference. Anything that moves — prices, submission rules — gets rechecked on a schedule, not forgotten.
Who we know, said out loud
Bradford Rogne Photography publishes this page. JIG Reel Studios, Smart Girls Productions, and a short list of working relationships are marked right on their own cards — never folded quietly into the crowd.
Tell us. Really.
Send the listing, the exact fact you're disputing, and your source. We'd genuinely rather fix a card than defend one — that's not customer-service copy, that's just less embarrassing for everyone.
Your headshot is either
working or it's lying
This guide is free because it's made by a headshot studio, and honestly we'd love it if you eventually needed one. No pressure, no pop-up, no exit-intent survey. The guide works either way.