The acting profession offers four distinct acting venues: theatrical (also known as "legit"), television, commercial and film. To work as a paid professional in any major venue you must first be a member of an acting union (generally SAG or AFTRA). To join an acting union you must have appeared in 3 union productions first (under a waiver). So the first challenge in becoming an actor is determining how you will "break in" to the business and land the union waiver roles that will allow you to join a union.

There are a number of smaller venues that will allow non-union actors to work toward their union membership. Extra work on a union production counts toward union membership. Most off-broadway productions operate under a union-waiver agreement, as well. The smaller the venue the more likely your chance of finding work there as a non-union actor. Thus, to become a paid actor you must first be able to land a role in a small theatrical, television, ad or film production. Where are these small productions located?

Television work occurs in Burbank, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto and New York. Work in the television business is seasonal. In Spring the networks "go to pilot", which means a number of small production entities hire new talent for shows that have been successfully pitched to the network. A small percentage of these shows will air in the Fall. Many more pilots are shot than are aired, and as a result of the demand for actors during pilot season many pilots feature non-union talent. Most of these "entry level" jobs are located in Burbank (then once the pilot "goes to air" the production frequently moves to Vancouver or Toronto).

Theatrical work occurs in all major cities, though the majority of jobs are found in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle. While there is a theatrical season, productions are staffed just a few months before they open, so work is available year round.

The advertising business is concentrated in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver. Work is year round, though actors are generally not able to land sequential advertising roles (the actor's face is no longer unique after their first national ad).

The film business is co-located with the television business, however there is no schedule for the openings that appear. To break into this business an actor should consider that most filmmakers start out in film school and are in need of actors during the school year (September to May). Film school productions are very tolerant of inexperienced actors and provide actors with the opportunity to endure the rigors of working on a set. These productions do not lead to SAG or AFTRA membership, but do build the relationships that will be needed later to land a union-waiver role. The film schools that graduate the largest number of working filmmakers are: University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles and New York University.

Gaining acting experience and union membership are the two key achievements that set successful actors apart from waiters. There are endless resources for improving one's acting ability, but an equal number of trained and untrained actors find work each year (it has even been suggested that talent is an inherent quality and cannot be taught). Thus understanding how to find work is clearly as important as having the skills required to land the role.
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Way too many film sets

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