‘I’m the Scenery That Eats’

I was always told it would be tough, but I was never told it would be this hard to break into the entertainment industry.

I was only 2 years old when my mother plopped me in a Los Angeles Children’s Theater production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Even at that age, I was addicted. Shortly afterward, I announced to my parents and the world, “I want to be an actress.” Little did I know, so does everyone else. So it goes.

During those early years, my parents stuck to their beliefs that I needed a solid education and a normal childhood. It was only when school was on a break that I could train and do theatre. My summers were dedicated to learning about the industry. In college, I even did an internship at Chanticleer Films just so I could absorb the process of filmmaking.

Finally, in three years and three months, I graduated from UC Irvine with a major in the dramatic arts. I felt it was time to go out there and really pursue my chosen career.

Two and a half years later, my success hasn’t come so quickly.

For a year after I got out of school, I stayed on in my college job at Disneyland. By company policy, I can’t say what I did. I’ll simply admit that I was in entertainment and had a real “Mickey Mouse” job. After three years of doing it, I was tired of the crowds and policies. I felt it was time to put my degree to use.

I applied to the newly formed DreamWorks. At my interview to be a production assistant, I was told that I was overqualified. So it goes.

Next I tried “extra work,” and became known as “scenery that eats.” I thought that by being one of the people moving around in the background on TV and film, I would have a chance to be seen.

For the next year of my life, I was seen, even if it was briefly. I would point to the TV and yell, “There I am! There I go!”

However, I did get noticed. I became a regular extra on “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Third Rock from the Sun” and “Boy Meets World.” I was chosen a number of times for specific “featured” roles where I could actually be seen and (very occasionally) be heard.

I even became a celebrity of sorts with my friends after being seen on these shows. I arrived at work one day just to find out that I was the topic of gossip. Everyone wanted know how I got on an episode of “Third Rock” that had run the night before.

I should have been proud, but actually, I felt silly. I was tired of being treated like cattle and didn’t want to get labeled as an extra.

At that point, I had an agent and was getting sent out on a handful of auditions. However, all of the parts I was sent out for were wrong for me. I was always competing against tall, blonde, voluptuous girls. (I’m a short redhead). Once I was the only person over the age of 15. The next time I was the only one under 30. It was once again time to do something different.

That summer I went to England to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. It was an incredible summer, full of new experiences and creative growth. I tackled Shakespeare and sword play. I even did sonnets and soliloquies in Regents Park.

I fell in love with England and vowed to go back.

From February until the end of May of this year, that is exactly what I did.

My trip was only supposed to be two weeks long. However, I landed a coveted place with an actor’s cooperative agency, a management company composed of 15 actors working together as agents.

I discovered that acting is considered an art form there, not a business. There is a surprising lack of starlets and people who are trying to break into the industry because they think it would be fun. Actors have trained, and, thankfully, the competition is about talent rather than looks.

The downside, though, is that money is short. So it goes.

So now I’m back in Los Angeles with life experience tucked away to color my acting.

I’ve been told the key to breaking in is persistence. Besides, as a friend said to me recently, what would I do if I didn’t act?