Bypass New York and L.A. and Start Your Career in the ATL!
By Wyatt Elling
Atlanta is the cultural capitol of the New South, and it's one of the only regional markets in the United States where determined artists can make their entire living by acting. And as a place that prides itself as "The City Too Busy to Hate," Atlanta is an oasis of tolerance and open-mindedness in a part of the country that still bears a stigma of backwardness. As of now Atlanta is one of the most ethnically diverse acting markets in the country, and plays host to the thriving National Black Arts Festival every year.
Atlanta has a healthy stage acting scene, with a dozen or so Equity or Equity contract theaters in the wider metro area. Some prominent theaters include the Alliance Theater Company at the giant Woodruff Arts Center and the Theater in the Square, which are both straight Equity groups. Other theaters that run totally or partially on Equity contracts include the progressive 7 Stages, the eclectic Horizon Theater Company, and the middle-of-the-road Theatrical Outfit.
The professional theater work in Atlanta tends to slow down significantly during the summer season, but there are still plenty of smaller theater groups operating in the area during the downtime. Many actors also explore theater festivals in the wider are, as well as the many outdoor exhibitions that take place in Georgia and the Carolinas during the summer. In addition there is the year-round Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern, which has a series of rotating contracts to keep local actors working.
Another huge source of paid work for actors in Atlanta comes from the steady stream of professional conventions. Ever since Atlanta became an airline hub following WWII, the city has served as the commercial hub for most of the South, and as a result has become one of the busiest convention towns in the country. The hue World Congress Center is almost always booked, and they're always looking for professional actors to act in live industrials, or to do interactive promotions. It's not the most glamorous work, but it's fun, it pays well, and just about all working actors take the work when they need it.
While Atlanta doesn't have the same level of television and film production as Miami, it has its fair share of TV pilots, made for TV movies, and feature films located there every year. Movies like The Gift, Road Trip, Remember the Titans, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and Driving Miss Daisy were all filmed there. In the Heat of the Night was the first nationally broadcast TV show to be filmed entirely in a regional market, and more recently shows like Dawson's Creek have started casting out of Atlanta. Atlanta is also within driving distance of various cities that host film and television production, like Nashville, Asheville, and the massive studio complex at Wilmington, North Carolina. Productions across the South also usually maintain production offices in Atlanta, given its comfortable metropolitan feel and ease of access. In the last fifteen years independent film production in Atlanta has skyrocketed as well, as local artists try to carve out a name for their city of choice.
AFTRA and SAG share an office in Atlanta, and split most of the available work evenly. Georgia is a right-to-work state, so lax union rules make it much easier to get cast without a union card, which in turn makes it easier to qualify for union membership after you have work under your belt. The steadiest paid acting work in Atlanta comes from regional and national commercials, non-broadcast industrials, and voice-overs. More high-profile projects can be harder to secure without union membership, but if you start small it shouldn't be much of a problem.
If you live in the South and are looking to make your big break, then get out your sunglasses and head to Hotlanta!
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