Why Florida?

           Why would Florida be a good place to start an acting career, rather than New York or Los Angeles? Well, what most people, especially actors, don't know is that Florida is a right-to-work state. As Wyatt Elling explained, this allows producers to hire non-union actors if they can make a professional case. Once a non-union actor is hired to a union production, that actor automatically qualifies for union membership. ("Bypass New York and L.A. and Start Your Career In The Sunshine State", para. 4). Basically, this makes Florida a great place for an actor to get their SAG (Screen Actors Guild) or AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) accreditation. That is, if they want it…

            See, once someone becomes a union actor/actress, they can’t continue to work in any non-union productions. This applies to everyone, in any state. For instance, if I were to become part of SAG, I could only work in SAG productions. As stated in their website (www.sag.org)

            “No member shall work as a performer or make an agreement to work as a performer for any producer who has not executed a basic minimum agreement with the Guild which is in full force and effect.” - from the SAG Constitution


            Now, the great thing about Florida is that non-union actors/actresses can work in both non-union and union productions because Florida is, say it with me, a RIGHT-TO-WORK STATE! :)

            Plus, Florida is, in my opinion, the underdogs of the acting industry. Florida is on FIRE and Miami is the HOTSPOT!

            In fact, Miami/Florida has been host to some of today’s most popular shows and movies like: Dexter, CSI: Miami, Burn Notice, Miami Vice, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Bad Boys (I, II, III), Marley and Me, Donnie Brasco, The Birdcage, Nip/Tuck, etc. 

            Besides the beautiful climate, which is what keeps attracting more and more shows and movies, Miami is one of the top five film production markets in the country, as reported by Elling.

            Yes, New York and Los Angeles are the big dogs of the industry. I myself wish to go there in the future to really kick off my career. It’s a great place to act and earn yourself a name, and I recommend it to any practicing actor/actress. Yet, there’s no place like Miami to start off and gain the experience needed. And if an actor/actress wishes to later on join the union SAG or AFTRA, they’ll be happy to know that Miami is home to the South Region offices of SAG and AFTRA (Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, The Carolinas), which have the highest amount of memberships after New York and Los Angeles.   

So remember, it's not the destination one remembers, it's the journey to get there!!

Happy Acting!

Post 3 coming up soon!

Thank You!

Gracias