How to Start Acting in Los Angeles: Classes, Casting, Unions, and Your First 90 Days

You found an apartment, downloaded a parking app, and now everyone you meet has advice. Get new headshots. Get an agent. Take this class, not that one. Move to the Valley. Don’t move to the Valley. By week two you’ve spent money on three things and booked nothing.

Los Angeles rewards actors who treat it like a job market rather than a dream. The work is real, but it’s spread across a huge city and filtered through casting sites, agents, and a union system with its own local rules. Knowing how those pieces fit saves you a year of guessing.

The short version: learn what LA is actually shooting right now, which is less than the legend suggests. Join a class you can afford to stay in, and do small-theater work for stage time and people. Get on the casting sites LA offices use, check any agent against the state’s license list before you sign, and get fast at self-tapes, because that’s how most first rounds happen now. Then work a 90-day plan instead of a vibe.

Know what LA is shooting in 2026

FilmLA, the nonprofit that serves as the official film office for the City and County of Los Angeles, publishes the clearest numbers on local production. Its 2025 year-end report counted 19,694 on-location shoot days, down 16.1% from 23,480 in 2024. That’s the slump people mean when they say LA is slow.

There are signs of a turn. FilmLA’s third-quarter 2026 report counted 4,171 shoot days from July through September, down 4.8% from a year earlier, but feature shoot days rose 2.1% and TV comedy more than doubled. Projects backed by the state’s tax credit made up 40.3% of scripted on-location filming, nearly double the share a year before.

That credit got much bigger. In July 2025 the governor’s office announced that California had more than doubled its film and TV tax credit, from $330 million to $750 million a year, starting with the program round that opened July 1, 2025.

Two caveats. FilmLA counts on-location shooting only, not work on certified sound stages, so the real totals are larger. And commercial shoot days fell 15.9% in the same quarter, to 562. If you’re counting on commercial income in your first year, plan for less of it.

What does that mean for you? There is TV and film to audition for, but a new actor usually starts lower on the ladder: co-star roles, small independent features, student films, short films, and theater. Our guide to auditioning for a co-star role covers the most common first TV booking.

Train somewhere you can afford to stay

LA has more acting classes than any one actor could take, and the right one is the one you’ll still be in six months from now. Look for a class where you work every week, the teacher gives specific notes, and you can sit in before you pay. Our guide to choosing an acting class lists the questions to ask.

A few long-running schools with classes for adults, all operating as of November 2026:

• The Groundlings School teaches improv, sketch writing, and a fundamentals of acting class, with a single beginner session if you want to try it first (Groundlings School).
• Upright Citizens Brigade runs improv classes starting at Improv 101, plus a theater on Franklin Avenue (UCB).
• Stella Adler Academy of Acting on Hollywood Boulevard offers a two-year conservatory, part-time classes, and short workshops (Stella Adler LA).
• The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in West Hollywood runs one- and two-year conservatories, a 12-week program, and intensives (Strasberg LA).
• Beverly Hills Playhouse runs ongoing scene-study classes for all levels, meeting twice a week (Beverly Hills Playhouse).

If you want a degree, the big programs are close by. UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television has an MFA in acting and professional programs for working adults. USC’s School of Dramatic Arts offers a BFA and an MFA in acting, and CalArts’ School of Theater in Valencia does too. These are multi-year commitments with auditions, not drop-in classes.

Improv is worth a word. Many LA actors take it alongside scene study, partly to loosen up and partly because the improv theaters are full of writers and performers who make their own work. If comedy isn’t your lane, a strong scene-study class does more for you. If it is, our guide to improv in auditions covers when casting asks for it.

Do theater in LA’s small houses

Much of LA’s theater happens in small rooms, and that’s good news for a new actor. Actors’ Equity’s Los Angeles 99-Seat Theatre Agreement covers theaters of 99 seats or fewer in Los Angeles County, with pay based on minimum wage; the current agreement runs from July 28, 2025, to August 1, 2027. For even smaller, limited runs, Equity has a separate 50-Seat Showcase Code for venues of 50 seats or fewer.

Non-union actors work in these houses too. A small play won’t pay your rent, but it gives you a show to invite people to, stage time between screen auditions, and a cast of people who will tell you about the next audition. In a city this big, that last part matters.

Equity’s Western Region office is at 5636 Tujunga Avenue in North Hollywood, according to the union, and its LA audition center is at the same address. If theater is your main goal, our guides to Equity versus non-Equity theater and joining Actors’ Equity explain the trade-offs.

To find the companies worth knowing, Stage Raw reviews and lists LA theater. Seeing two shows a month at different small companies is the cheapest market research in town, and it tells you which rooms you’d actually want to work in.

Where LA casting is posted

Most LA film, TV, and commercial casting runs through a few platforms, and you want profiles on them before you need them. Actors Access is run by Breakdown Services, which says it is trusted by every major studio, network, and streaming service in North America. Casting Networks is free to join and posts thousands of roles. Backstage carries everything from student films to theater. Our roundup of casting sites for actors compares them.

Union stage work goes through Equity’s Casting Call, which the union calls its internal job board for members; notices also run in trade publications. Non-union theater calls tend to land on the casting sites and on each company’s own audition page.

Background work is the other open door. Central Casting, whose California office is in Burbank, now signs people up online only, and its help pages say registering is free and needs no experience. In California you also complete a Form I-9 and anti-harassment training before you can work. Background days don’t go on an acting resume, but they teach you how a set runs; see our guide to being a background actor.

SAG-AFTRA and the union path in LA

The SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local represents members in Los Angeles and several surrounding counties. You don’t need a union card to start. You become eligible by working: one principal day on a SAG-AFTRA job, three background days under a SAG-AFTRA agreement, or a year in a sister union plus a principal job there. Our guide on how to become SAG-AFTRA eligible walks through each route and when joining makes sense.

Once you’re a member, the training gets cheaper. The Local’s LA Conservatory offers low-cost classes, workshops, and talks for members. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists, at 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, runs programs that are free for members, including Casting Access sessions with casting directors.

Check an agent’s license before you sign

In California, talent agencies need a state license. The Labor Commissioner says anyone involved in arranging employment for an artist in the entertainment field must get a license, and you can look any agency up in the state’s license and registration search (choose the type “Talent Agency Entertainment”).

If you’re in SAG-AFTRA or plan to join, also check the union’s franchised agents list: pick Los Angeles from the Local menu and search. The union says an agency must be on its “All Franchised Agencies” list before a member can engage it.

California also bans one classic trap outright. Under a 2009 law, AB 1319, no one may run, advertise, or refer you to an advance-fee talent representation service, the kind that charges you up front to find you work. Paid talent listing, counseling, and training services are legal, but they must use written contracts with a 10-day cancellation period and file a $50,000 bond with the Labor Commissioner.

So the red flags are simple: an agent who wants money before you’ve worked, who pushes you to their own photographer as a condition of signing, or who isn’t on the state list. Our guide to spotting acting scams has the rest, and getting an agent with no experience covers when you’re ready to look.

Get fast at self-tapes

Self-taped auditions became the norm rather than the exception after the pandemic, Backstage reported, and SAG-AFTRA added self-tape guidelines to its November 2023 TV and film agreement. In LA, a first round for film or TV is usually a tape, and the sides often land the evening before it’s due.

Your tape competes with actors everywhere, so the basics matter: clean sound, even light, a steady frame, and a reader who doesn’t drown you out. Our guides to self-taping an audition and a self-tape setup on a budget cover the gear and the rules.

The hard part is usually the lines, not the light. When sides arrive at 7 p.m. for a tape due tomorrow, you need them cold before you press record, and your roommate may not want to read the other part fifteen times. Offbook helps with that part: upload the sides, pick your role, and realistic voices read every other character and wait for you to finish before they cue the next line. Rehearse on your laptop with the full script on a big screen, and listen to the scene on your phone on the way to class.

When you’re close, Offbook can hide your lines while everyone else’s stay visible, so you test yourself from the cue the way the tape will. On the day, you’ll still want a live reader off camera; our guide to finding a self-tape reader covers where to look, and how to name and send a self-tape covers the part people get wrong at midnight.

Plan your week around a very wide city

The places you’ll go are spread out. Equity’s office and audition center are in North Hollywood, Central Casting is in Burbank, SAG-AFTRA and the Foundation are on Wilshire, the Groundlings are on Melrose, and Strasberg is in West Hollywood. Group classes and errands by area, and when you pick an apartment, price the trip to the places you’ll go every week, not just the rent.

Transit is an option for some of it. LA Metro’s fares are $1.75 a ride, and when you tap, they’re capped at $5 a day and $18 for seven days (as of November 2026). For in-person auditions and callbacks, leave a real buffer; our guide on what to do if you’re late to an audition exists for a reason.

Your first 90 days in Los Angeles

Here’s the plan, in order. Each step builds something you’ll use for the next one.

1. Days 1 to 14: Build an honest one-page resume with our free acting resume builder, then set up Actors Access, Casting Networks, and Backstage profiles with current photos.
2. Days 1 to 14: Set up a self-tape corner and record a practice tape of a scene from our free acting scripts or a piece from the monologue library.
3. Days 15 to 30: Audit two or three classes and join the one you can afford for at least six months.
4. Days 15 to 45: See small theater every couple of weeks and audition for non-union shows that fit you.
5. Days 30 to 60: Submit to student films and short films, and ask for the footage from every one you book.
6. Days 30 to 90: Log every submission and audition in our free audition tracker, so you can see which sources actually lead to rooms.
7. Days 60 to 90: If you want set experience, register with Central Casting and finish the California paperwork.
8. Days 75 to 90: Once you have footage and a few credits, research agents. Check each one on the state license search and, if you’re union or close to it, on the SAG-AFTRA list.

Still deciding where to start? We have the same guide for New York, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, and Dallas-Fort Worth, plus a decision guide on whether to move to LA or New York at all and one on building a career outside the two coasts.

Questions actors ask

Do I need an agent to start acting in LA?

No. You can submit yourself through casting sites, do small theater, and book student and short films while you build footage and credits. An agent helps most once you have material to show and a clear sense of your type. Before you sign with anyone, check the state license search and, if you’re union, SAG-AFTRA’s franchised list.

Is LA still worth moving to with production down?

It depends on your goals. FilmLA counted 16.1% fewer on-location shoot days in 2025 than in 2024, but tax-credit projects made up a growing share of scripted filming in 2026, and features ticked up in the third quarter. If your goal is TV and film, much of that work is still cast here. Our guide to moving to LA or New York has a checklist for the decision.

How do I know if an LA talent agency is legitimate?

Look it up in the California Labor Commissioner’s license search, which lists licensed talent agencies. If you’re in SAG-AFTRA, also confirm it’s on the union’s franchised list for the Los Angeles Local. A legitimate agent is paid a commission from your bookings, not a fee up front.

Can non-union actors do theater in LA?

Yes. Small theaters cast non-union actors, and many small productions mix Equity and non-Equity casts under Equity’s 99-seat agreement for Los Angeles County. It’s a good way to get stage time, meet other actors, and give people a reason to come see you.

Should I do background work when I first move to LA?

It can help you learn how a set runs, and three union background days are one route to SAG-AFTRA eligibility. Central Casting’s sign-up is free and online. Just don’t let background days replace the classes, theater, and self-tapes that build an acting career.