West offers acting advice to students

Tuesday, 5/6/97 West offers acting advice to students Creator of
Actors’ Network educates, guides those aspiring to career

By Dayna Michaelsen Daily Bruin Contributor For all of those
actors and would-be actors out there, here’s a chance to get an
inside scoop on the industry from someone with experience. Kevin
West, creator of the Actors’ Network and an actor himself, will
speak today as part of Career Week ’97, presented by the School of
Theater, Film and Television. Today through Thursday, the school
will present a series of speakers on the acting profession. The
speakers will include casting directors Carolyne Barry and Mike
Fenton, and Commercial Agent Jeff Hardwick. When Kevin West comes
to UCLA, he promises not to speak simply as a representative of the
Actors’ Network, but as an actor whose extensive experience, he
hopes, will help his audience members. It is impossible to talk
about West without talking about the Actors’ Network, because the
network embodies so many of his beliefs and philosophies on the
acting profession. The network itself is quickly becoming an
important talent resource in Hollywood, and is the only service of
its kind. The network provides its members the opportunity to
interact with each other and to share information and tips on the
acting profession. With a mission statement that begins "Our desire
is to lessen the confusion in Hollywood and to expand your
possibilities," the Actors’ Network is based on communication
between its members. West, who feels that actors are very
undereducated about their profession, created the network partly as
a forum to share ideas, experiences, and warnings about the
business. It seems West had a bright idea when he founded the
Actors’ Network. He and partner Paulo Andres have built the network
out of a dream. "I literally had a dream in March 1991," West says.
"We had our first meeting in May 1991." Today that dream has grown
into a group of about 250 actors and actresses. What is surprising
is that he has accomplished this growth without the usual business
tactics. No advertising, just word of mouth. "The day you walk off
a set, you’re unemployed again," West says of actors. He knows that
it is important for actors to remain focused and dedicated to their
careers, especially when it is so easy to become distracted or to
be intimidated by the obstacles that actors encounter, or imagine
they encounter. West feels that much of what those in the industry
tell potential actors is designed to keep up these obstacles. It
allows them to weed out the masses of would-be actors they
encounter. These actors often find it easier to buy into these
obstacles than to risk the rejection they face by going for their
dreams. In acting, West says, "It is like a personal slap in the
face if someone rejects you. (Actors) will always find a way to get
by, but they will use excuses and distractions to avoid the
possibility of rejection." West also feels that many actors make
the mistake of believing that the old Hollywood cliche of "being
discovered" is the only way to build a career. "Having an agent
doesn’t mean you’re taken care of," he says. With the Actors’
Network, West hopes to enable actors to become more productive in
their own careers by educating them and providing them with a
focus. This week is Career Week ’97 at the School of Theater, Film
and Television. Kevin West will speak today from 1 to 3 p.m. in
Macgowan Hall 1330, and from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday. Kevin West
External Links: School of Theater, Film, and Television