I find pumping time and effort to prepare and commit to goals extremely valuable. This appreciation was born from years of observing the people in my life with wants or goals that fell through; it was from giving everything I could toward what I want and seeing those efforts shape into reality; it was from realizing that life is just plain short, and knowing I need to support my passions in the most rich way possible. 

Plucking the fruits of my efforts is an incredibly gratifying experience. Thus, I want to share with you my preparation, my organization of these final two months before I make my trek to Los Angeles. I want to note that I have lived in California before, taken classes in LA, trained in NYC, Chicago, Portland, and Michigan. What I’m saying is that I’ve been doing years of prep for this moment, for this beautiful, exciting transition (one of many in my life). Not everything will be easy, not everything has been easy in my life, and that makes me who I am. I wouldn’t want to rid myself of tribulations, because I see how it forms me as a human being and as an actor.

My career choices (selected ones below) and personal choices at this two-month mark before departure are by no means the only way to do things. This is simply my personal process, and I will continue to share my experiences as these next few months of transition unfold.

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I am currently researching and interviewing Headshot Photographers. I’ve made a list of photographers that I want to work with, and am calling them to get a sense of who they are before we set up a meeting. My last headshot session was a year ago, and I’ve learned a lot about the way I want to market myself in this past year since I finished school in NYC. I’m super excited for this fresh marketing and deeper understanding of myself to burst forth.

I just signed up for Bonnie Gillespie’s (new!) online Get A-Listed Class. I am so excited for this!! It’s a month-by-month online class and the month of May is all about Resume Feng Shui. We begin by receiving an MP3 all about Resumes, and a week later we’ll get a PDF chock full of changes to make our resume slammin’. Then we get to ask questions, and receive another MP3 of participant Q&A’s. I want to soak in as much knowledge and tools as I can from the industry’s finest, the ones who have been doing this for years, and are consistently progressive in their approach. Hence, ladies and gentlemen, Bonnie Gillespie.

Also, I’m continuing to work (i.e. geek out) on my Excel spreadsheet list of Agents and Managers. I go more in depth about this in a former post. It’s absolutely essential, especially with all the access we have to industry information, to target who we want to work with, and who we want to be our teammates.

I’m also workin’ my patootie off Saving da Monies. Life costs money, and so does an acting career. I’m okay with putting in more than full time work now so that I can have a beautiful little nest egg when I arrive in Los Angeles. I won’t stop working of course, but I don’t know when saving money has ever been a bad thing. As explained in my Actor’s Embassy Guest Post, I’m keeping my income/expense flow budgeted with a simple, actually super fun program.

Find more about Anne Woods on Twitter, IMDB, and YouTube.